Get To Know Myself Better

Did a Personality Test that sounded like a game, something like RL Stine's Give Yourself Goosebumps, and I find it quite accurate.

Your view on yourself:

You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:

You like to flirt and behave seductively. The opposite sex finds this very attractive, and that's why you'll always have admirers hanging off your arms. But how serious are you about choosing someone to be in a relationship with?

Your views on education

You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

The right job for you:

You have many goals and want to achieve as much as you can. The jobs you enjoy are those that let you burn off your considerable excess energy.

How do you view success:

You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

What are you most afraid of:

You are afraid of things that you cannot control. Sometimes you show your anger to cover up how you feel.

Who is your true self:

You are full of energy and confidence. You are unpredictable, with moods changing as quickly as an ocean. You might occasionally be calm and still, but never for long.

Gentle wrestle

This article was published in the Lifestyle Section of the Star newspaper on 23rd February 2009,
so I thought I'd put a copy up here before its lost to the archives.

By S. INDRAMALAR

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one martial art form that advocates defence without violence.

IT’S hard to explain how watching two people wrestle on the ground, each trying to out-manoeuvre the other and applying chokeholds to bring the other into submission, can be so fascinating.

Marcos Escobar: ‘BJJ is an amazing way to work out your body.’

As savage as it may sound, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art form that requires skill and efficiency, not brute strength. BJJ is built on the principle that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend himself against a bigger, stronger assailant using proper leverage and technique.

“The literal meaning of Jiu Jitsu is ‘gentle art’ as it is an art in which you don’t have to apply strength. It’s a smooth art where you use leverage and apply techniques to submit your opponent,” explains Marcos Escobar, a BJJ black belt holder and instructor from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Escobar recently opened a studio in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, where he has about 35 students enrolled in classes.

While BJJ is often compared to judo, there is one major difference between the two: in judo (and most other martial art forms) the goal is to bring your opponent to the ground. In BJJ, the fight really begins once you get down on the ground.

While many may compare BJJ to wrestling rather than any martial art form (such as karate, kung fu and judo which are stand-up sports; being on the ground equals failure), Escobar disagrees. “BJJ is still very much a martial art form,” he asserts.

Down but not out

Before going any further, there are some terms that will inexplicably be used when talking about the martial art form. First, the aim of BJJ is to get your opponent to submit, which is BJJ-speak for surrender.

To achieve this goal, you have to use a variety of manoeuvres such as (now, don’t be alarmed) chokes, strangles and locks while executing other moves (such as mounts and guards) to gain a dominant position to defend yourself.

Weight leverage: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is built on the principle that a smaller,weaker person can successfully defend himself against a bigger, stronger assailant

To concede defeat, the fighter who is overpowered has to tap his opponent.

You can train in BJJ for self-defence or for sport (to enter competitions). You can, of course, also treat the martial art form as a workout. In competitions, there are rules to follow to ensure the safety of players and uphold the integrity of the martial art form.

BJJ practitioners have to wear a standard gi (costume) which is similar to that worn by judo or karate exponents but with tighter cuffs on the pants and jacket so that there is less material for an opponent to manipulate. Escobar, who has participated in dozens of com­­petitions, has won many titles. He was champion at the Brazilian Team Cham­pion­ships (1997, 1998), the Red Nose BJJ Open (1998), the State Championship (Brazil, 1998), Abu Dhabi Championships (2001), the Brazilian Cup (Absolute Division, 2002) and the Brazilian Championship (2007), among others.

“I love competing. The training, the focus, the adrenaline ... it’s the best feeling in the world. Although I like it here in Malaysia, I do miss competing and whenever I go back to Brazil – which is twice a year – I try to take part in competitions,” he says.

Ground fighting

BJJ can be divided into three broad categories: self-defence (where you learn unarmed striking techniques to fight an armed opponent), free fighting competition (now popularly called Mixed Martial Arts competitions), as well as sportive BJJ.

Although he teaches sportive BJJ, Escobar claims that the techniques his students learn leave them more than able to defend themselves in any situation.

“What you learn in sportive BJJ is very effective for self-defence. In the real world, 90% of all fights ends up on the ground. In cases of abduction or rape, they always end up on the ground and the ground is our territory,” says Escobar, adding that BJJ also has techniques that teach you how to fight on your back, commonly perceived as a weak position to be in. It’s not as easy as it sounds though. Learning to move on the ground takes a lot of hard work and practice.

Force of habit: BJJ practitioners must wear the standard gi.

“In BJJ you also learn how to relax your body and fall without hurting yourself,” says Escobar.

The most important thing to master is leverage – it negates the significance of physical strength.

At Escobar’s studio in Kota Daman­sara, students are made to do gruelling warm-up exercises and conditioning drills at the start of each lesson. From running laps to doing push-ups, per­­form­ing solo drills that teach you how to fall safely and moving your hips on the ground, you will undoubtedly get a full body workout almost immediately.

Escobar took up BJJ 14. years ago while still in Brazil, and has never looked back since.

“I have always liked fighting. As a kid, I saw myself as Rocky Balboa or Bruce Lee. I learnt kung fu and water polo. Then I took up BJJ and it became a passion. I was hooked and did not stop until I had a motorcycle accident that forced me to take it easy for a while,” says Escobar who came to Malaysia to work as a fitness trainer three years ago.

Early origins

The early origins of Jiu Jitsu can be traced to India among the Buddhist monks who lived in isolation in monastries. The monks often faced threats from robbers who raided them for supplies.

Because of their principle of non-violence, the monks had to find an approach to self-defence that was effective but humane – no arms or violence and something that would not hurt their attackers, just overpower them. So they came up with a form of self-defence that used leverage to overpower.

Over time, this form of self-defence spread to Japan where it was further developed. Japanese Jiu Jitsu prize-fighter Mitsuyo Maeda came to Brazil circa 1915 and met a Brazilian politician named Gastão Gracie who was fascinated by the sport. Gracie wanted his teenage son Carlos to learn Jiu Jitsu from Maeda, and subsequently share what he learnt with his brothers.

Light touch: To concede defeat, the overpowered fighter has to tap his opponent.

Unfortunately, the Gracie boys were not as strong as Maeda, so they had to improvise: they introduced new techniques that hinged on leverage. They refined their techniques further, concentrating on ground fighting and this pretty soon evolved into an independent art form which we now recognise as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

BJJ picked up in Brazil as well as internationally in the early 1990s when expert Royce Gracie won several championships, sometimes against much bigger opponents.

Addicted to BJJ

BJJ student Lim Fang Han says he is hooked on the sport which he took up a couple of years ago.

“Initially, I had reservations about wrestling other guys on the floor, but once you get past the initial discomfort, it’s really challenging.

“I took up BJJ for fitness. I have an interest in martial arts too. I like BJJ because it is very physically demanding; it gives me a great workout and provides stress relief from work.

“It is a sport in which you have to prove yourself before attaining any rank. It takes an average of eight to 10 years for a person to get a black belt,” says Lim, who trains at Escobar’s studio three times a week.

Adds Escobar: “BJJ is an amazing way to work out your body. You are going to work muscles you never knew existed. You will get fit doing BJJ but you also need to be reasonably fit to train for the sport.”

May Tan took up BJJ for self-defence. She has since learnt that it is a great way to keep fit and lose weight.

“It’s tough, but I like it very much,” says Tan who signed up about five months ago.

Being a woman is not an impediment to BJJ, reckons Tan, because the sport is not about physical strength.

“That’s another reason I like BJJ. Most of the guys in my class are double my size but this is not an advantage in BJJ,” says Tan who is undaunted by the physicality of the sport.

Marcos Escobar can be reached at 017-635 6079 or ebjj@live.com

Buddhist ? What Buddhist ?

I am a volunteer with a Buddhist organization, technically I am a Buddhist, because my IC says so. But let me state this clearly, I am not a Buddhist. So what am I?? I am a truth seeker. I am spiritual but never religious.

Why am I not a Buddhist? "Buddhist" or "Buddhism" never even existed in the first place.
The Buddha did not created Buddhism and called himself and his followers Buddhist.

It is merely conventional labeling and I am never attached to it.

I dislike when people get so attached to Buddhist this and that.
I usually hear people say : "Buddhist should have 'these' qualities", "This is Buddhist values".

What the Buddha taught was Universal Values and Law.
Stop claiming it belongs to the Buddhist and get BIG headed! .
Enough of being ANAL with it.

POOORAH!

Pre-marital sex discussion in class

It goes like this, we were asked to discuss about so-called taboo issues, from homosexuality, pre-marital sex, abortion and yada yada the list goes on.

Our group choose pre-marital sex because we think it's fun. Why fun? try it and you'll know. HAHAHA! one girl group member actually said that to me lah ok...

One group member said, " Damn! Pre-marital sex is soooo taboo lah for me "
"Ok then, let's discuss about Post-marital sex then " I replied.
Everyone laughed, although I never thought it was funny.

After 20 minutes discussion, we were asked to present our point to the class, and the last point made the whole class went " huh ?? " for a second before breaking into laughter. The lecturer was kinda stunned too ..

" Pre-marital sex is like test driving before buying ".

Make sense? in a way also lah, girls won't want to marry some impotent guy right?
and same goes to guy, who wants to marry a girl who can't fuck or ok lah, fuck properly. lol

Yes, that is a point that I actually mentioned. But then it's all the girl's fault also lah.

Got one girl actually told me "I don't wanna marry and only know that my husband can't fuck me on the special night". Another one told me " I don't wanna be the one teaching him how to fuck"

Coming from girls, I'm loving it ! hahaha!

An Internal Letter for ISSA staff from Dr. Arria - RE: www.ISSAonline.edu domain

Good afternoon!

It's OFFICIAL!!! www.ISSAonline.edu

I'm very proud to announce that the ISSA has been granted the restricted privilege of using a .EDU domain name. The ISSA has again led the industry by becoming the first and only fitness organization to be granted this privilege.

As you'll see below, there are mandatory federal regulations for schools, organizations and colleges to use a .EDU domain. No other fitness organization can use a .edu domain because they’re accreditation is not recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

All ISSA members can be proud that our institution has met the most rigorous accreditation standards established by the DETC. Because of this prestigious accreditation, we have bee granted the privilege to use a .edu domain, just like other truly nationally accredited organizations, schools, colleges and universities.

To remain at the forefront of an industry, a company must truly lead...and for 20 years we have!

I'd like to thank each of you for your dedication and commitment to our fine organization as we remain, "The World Leader In Fitness Education & Certification."

Congratulations!

Sal -- Dr. Sal Arria CEO, Co-Founder ISSA International Sports Sciences Association www.FitnessEducation.com

****

What is the .EDU domain?

The .edu domain is one of the seven original top-level subdivisions of the Internet Domain Name System (DNS). The .edu domain is intended for accredited post-secondary educational U.S. institutions. It is managed under the authority of the United States Department of Commerce.

What are the eligibility requirements for obtaining a name in the .EDU domain?

Only postsecondary institutions that are institutionally accredited by an agency on the U.S. Department of Education's list of Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies (see recognized accrediting bodies) may obtain an Internet name in the .edu domain. These include both "Regional Institutional Accrediting Agencies" and "National Institutional and Specialized Accrediting Bodies" recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Note that institutional accreditation is required for .edu eligibility; program accreditation is not sufficient. Not all agencies accredit institutions. Some accredit only institutions, some accredit only programs, and others accredit both institutions and programs.

The U.S. Department of Education's list of Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies and State Agencies are the only official comprehensive lists of agencies.

CNY 2009

Some photos during Chinese New Year at Penang :)

Short Reflection

I've arrived safely in Penang about 2 hours ago, only to be kept awake by the caffeine that I consumed to keep me alert while driving back here, my father took over later on for the remaining 70++km before arriving to Butterworth.

As I was sitting and relaxing, I did a short reflection;

I will be turning 21 this year. I used to think that "I am still young and I have plenty of time". But this few days a feeling in me that somehow made me uneasy was " I am young, but not too young in a few years time ". I used to live with the excuse that I am still young, therefore it's fine to be ignorant when I don't know about something, but soon that excuse will come into expiry as my age grows. Responsibilities are getting heavier as well.

Personally, I think there is no reason for me to be procrastinating and thinking I still have plenty of time anymore. Things that are needed to be done, should be done as soon as possible. Opportunities that arises should be appreciated and made use of.

If I were to look back what I've allowed in the past 5 years, since 2004, I am indeed glad and never look back to my journey of my growth that made me what I am today. Nothing great, nothing big, I only did small things with love, and still allowing it.