Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts, better known as MMA, is a form of
sports that involves the use of a mixture of martial art
combat techniques to win over the opponent. MMA has become
very popular in recent years and MMA championships like the
"UFC" or Ultimate Fighting Championships have become very
popular.

MMA began with pitting one martial art technique with
another under minimal rules, so that the martial art which
would be the most effective in day to day life could be
found. Modern mixed martial competitions have evolved from
such events, but rules are much stricter due to which, the
sport has been promoted into acceptance. However, there is
no centralized sanctioning authority for mixed martial arts
and the rules vary from place to place or organization to
organization.

Striking and grappling are the common techniques used in
MMA. Striking techniques involve kicks, knees and punches
while grappling techniques involve the use of holds, sweeps
and throws. Techniques like eye-gouging, biting and fish
hooking are considered illegal in most MMA competitions.
Other techniques like head butts, spinal locks and elbows
may or may not be considered legal in different MMA
organizations.

In MMA competitions, victory is based on the judge's
decision, submission or knockout. A competitor's corner man
can also decide the outcome of the match and so can the
match doctor if the competitor is injured to an extent that
he/she can no longer fight properly.

Competitors participating in MMA have to train themselves
in a variety of fighting styles so that they can
effectively overcome their opponents. MMA training usually
involves stand up, clinch and ground combat. To make the
stand up combat effective, boxing and kickboxing are
taught. These improve kicking, punching, kneeing and most
important of all-footwork. Freestyle wrestling is taught to
improve clinching. Additionally, competitors are trained in
Muay Thai to improve the striking power during a clinch.
Training in Brazilian Jujitsu and Sambo improves ground
combat by improving the competitor's positioning. Further,
shoot wrestling, catch wrestling and judo are taught to
enhance the competitor's ground combat abilities.

Some of the best competitors are well rounded fighters.
But, they all specialize really well in one aspect of mixed
martial arts. Sometimes this style is so dominant that it
is overwhelming for the other opponent.

Success in modern martial arts lies in adapting many
styles. These styles have to be altered accordingly. Today,
MMA competitors do not train in a particular style but
train all the styles together. Flexibility plays a very
important role in succeeding in MMA competitions. MMA is
physically a very demanding sport and being competent is
the only key to success.

----------------------------------------------------
For more information, please go to our site:
http://www.ocjj.com

--

10 Secrets to Keeping the Weight Off for Good

10 Secrets to Keeping the Weight Off for Good
===================================
What's interesting about weight loss is that many people
think that it's just a process that begins when you make
changes to lose weight and ends when you've lost all the
weight.

However, if you're not continuing with the changes that
you've made, you might find yourself back at the original
weight that you were. Instead of going up and down on the
scale, here are ten secrets that you can use to keep your
slim figure.

- Weight training works ­ Studies have shown that people
that have more muscle mass will burn more calories, even at
rest. Because of this fact, you will want to incorporate
some weight training into you maintenance plan so that as
you increase your calorie intake, you're able to burn them
off without any gain.

- Food journaling - When you write down what you eat, you
will be able to control the amount of food that you are
eating. Even if you only write down your food intake for a
few days a week, keeping an eye on how you're eating can
help alert you of problems before they become pounds.

- Daily exercise ­ When you want to keep the weight off,
exercise will need to become a part of your life. However,
this doesn't mean that you need to workout for hours each
day. Try to fit in thirty to sixty minutes of exercise
each day to keep extra weight at bay.

- Allow yourself treats ­ Life isn't about deprivation, so
neither should your new figure. When you've lost weight,
you have learned about how much you needed to eat in order
to cut back on calories. Once you've learned this, you can
also learn to have a treat every now and then, enjoying it
instead of overindulging in it.

- Look at making changes rather than dieting ­ When you're
looking to lose weight, the ‘sprint' approach isn't going
to be a long term fix. You need to permanently change your
eating habits in order to ensure that your weight stays at
its new position.

- Learn to make favorite recipes healthier ­ If you have a
favorite cheesecake recipe; why not learn how to make it
lower in fat and sugar? This way, you can still enjoy the
foods you love.

- Get support ­ You don't have to join a weight loss club
to do this, but telling your friends and family about your
goals can help to get everyone into supporting your
efforts. When you do this, people will start to recognize
that family gatherings should have healthy options as well
as not always revolve around food.

- Keep the stress away - Many people eat when they are
stressed, but when you've lost weight, you want to avoid
this kind of trigger. Instead, figure out ways that help
you deal with stress. What can you do instead of eating to
help calm down and relax?

- Watch your weight ­ Studies have shown that those that
regularly monitor their weight tend to keep off weight
better than those that don't. You don't have to get on the
scale every day, but weighing in once a week can help alert
you to when you might need to rethink that second slice of
pie.

- Recognize a slip up and forgive yourself ­ When you start
to get angry about mistakes, you can backslide into old
eating habits. You will have times when eating right will
be more difficult, but you will persevere.

Acknowledge that you made a poor eating choice (or several)
and then forgive yourself and eat better at the next meal.
There's no need to punish your self.

Keeping the weight off can actually be more difficult than
losing it in the first place, but when you're committed to
keeping trim, these tips will make sure that you do.

----------------------------------------------------
Lynn VanDyke is a master trainer and fitness nutritionist.
Her fitness site, http://www.strength-training-woman.com is
ranked within the top 1% of all websites. She has authored
the wildly popular ebook, Melt the Fat
(http://www.melt-the-fat.com). It is yielded as one of the
best fitness and nutrition ebooks available.

Fish or Fish oil supplements?

Fish or Fish oil supplements?
======================
Both fish and fish oil supplements contain important
essential Omega 3 fatty acids needed for good health, but
as we will see, it isn't just any old fish and nor is it
any old fish oil that can do the job properly.

The Paradox

Today's consumers must be very confused about seemingly
contradictory advice about eating fish. The food standards
agency says most people should be eating more oily fish
like Salmon, Tuna, Herring and Mackerel, because the Omega
3 fatty acids they contain are good for our health. But at
the same time they limit the recommended daily amounts to 2
portions of oily fish a week for women and girls who may
want to have a baby one day and for breastfeeding mothers,
and 4 portions for everyone else. So first we are told to
eat more fish in order to gain the extraordinary health
benefits of Omega 3, but then we are told not to eat too
much because our fish are polluted with toxins,
particularly methylmercury. What are we supposed to do with
this advice? Perhaps we should look at how much Omega 3 we
actually need.

Omega 3 - how much is enough?

No official recommendation exists as to how much Omega 3 is
required for optimum health but on an individual basis the
ideal amount is linked to our intake of Omega 6. The more
Omega 6 fatty acids that we consume, the more Omega 3 fatty
acids we need to counteract the imbalance. First of all it
might help to explain that the body is unable to synthesise
Omega 3, or Omega 6 fatty acids for that matter, so we have
to rely totally on our diets to get them. Now here's the
astounding part.

Most of us today are eating diets that are deficient in the
anti-inflammatory Omega 3 fatty acids but excessive in
pro-inflammatory Omega 6. Over the past 70 years or so our
consumption of fish has drastically diminished and at the
same time we are eating more processed foods, grains and
vegetable oils. These foods aren't bad in themselves it is
just that this imbalance in our diets is believed by some
to be the root cause of a huge rise in inflammatory
conditions, heart disease and depressive disorders, hence
the need for more Omega 3.

The important Omega 3 fatty acids are Eicosapentaenoic acid
and Docosahexaenoic acid or EPA and DHA. Generally
speaking, 1g of EPA/DHA daily is considered enough for
everyone. To give you an idea of what this equates to in
real terms, to get this amount of EPA/DHA from the diet,
you would have to consume a 3-oz portion of salmon every
single day, seven days a week.

Bearing in mind the toxicity problem, one might think it's
safer to get Omega 3 from fish oil supplements, but here's
the 'catch'. Fish oil is made from the very same fish in
the sea, so it stands to reason that fish oil supplements
can be toxic too unless of course the fish oil has been
purified.

What types of fish oils are there and which one is best?

To put it simply, there are basically 3 types of fish oil
available.

• Cod Liver Oil
• Standard fish oil
• High-grade concentrated fish oil

Cod liver oil is produced from the liver of fish and
although contains high amounts of Omega 3, the liver is
where most of the toxins are stored and so potentially, cod
liver oil can contain a high level of pollutants. Cod
liver oil also contains high amounts of vitamin A and D and
too much can result in Vitamin A toxicity.

Standard fish oils are produced from the flesh of the fish
as opposed to the liver of fish but again, they can contain
impurities as whatever was in the fish at the time it was
caught is transferred to the oil. The amount of Omega 3
fatty acids they contain can also vary depending on a
number of factors including the time of year, environmental
conditions etc.

High-grade concentrated fish oil has an advantage over the
others in that not only has all the impurities been
removed, the oil can be concentrated to contain much higher
levels of Omega 3. For example, concentrations of 70% EPA
is possible and so fewer capsules are required in order to
produce the same effect. With some of the standard fish
oils, 5 or 6 capsules are required every day. EPA is
rapidly gaining recognition as the most important fatty
acid as the body can produce DHA when enough EPA is present
but this isn't effective the other way round.

Conclusion

To date there has been no real studies done on whether
there is a significant difference or benefit in getting
Omega 3 from fresh fish or from fish oil supplements.
However, as it stands today, it would appear that the only
way to ensure a healthy intake of Omega 3 without the risk
of harmful pollutants is to take a high-grade fish oil
supplement that has been through processes to filter out
the impurities.

----------------------------------------------------
Dave McEvoy is an expert in EPA with over 20 years
experience; for more information about fish oil and how it
can help come and visit. http://www.mind1st.co.uk
http://www.mind1st.com