Archive for December 2011
When Not to Use Love Quotes
Love quotes have been considered an excellent way to show affection for quite some time now. However, there are times when a quote alone simply will not work to get your message across. During these times, only your own words will be able to help the other person understand what you truly mean.
There are quotes that deal with breaking up. A quote alone should not be used to tell someone that the relationship is over. This has to come from you. That said, you can consider using a quote to help make him or her feel better after the initial pain has subsided.
There are other situations in which you own opinions and words should come only from you. Quotes can be used as a supplement, but should never be used to entirely replace a profession of love, marriage proposal, or wedding vows. These are all times in which what you say should be quite personal.
Feel free to use cute quotes as a supplement to your own sentiments. But be careful when selecting them as your only means of getting a point across. Quotes are indeed the words of others, and the words of others should never be used as they only way that you have of expressing yourself. Use them wisely during times when you need an extra boost to help you express your feelings.
Shaolin Kung Fu For Kids
Shaolin is a 1,500 year-old Chan (Zen) Buddhist temple in China that is famous worldwide for its peaceful-looking monks who perform incredible kung fu stunts.
You might have seen images or performances of Shaolin kids bending their limbs into mind-boggling positions and asked yourself “Now, how did they do that?” What you have just seen is a display of Shaolin Juvenile Kung Fu.
Juvenile Kung Fu? Is it only for kids? Yes, because boys start practicing this art at ages five or six. There’s another reason it’s called Juvenile Kung Fu.
After practicing this art for years the student stays as young as a child even though his hair may be white as a crane’s feathers.
Juvenile Kung Fu makes his body soft as cotton, light as a swallow and hard as steel. What is amazing is that a person who practices it stays as strong and sharp when he’s 60 as when he was 16. Hence, to become a great Shaolin Kung Fu master, it is vital to learn Juvenile Kung Fu.
Young boys selected for this unique training must be lean and have good bone structure and flexibility. (Bigger boys are selected for Shaolin hard qigong training.) Basic training involves a lot of leaping and rolling.
At advanced levels, the boys bend and stretch their limbs at impossible angles with soft and powerful qi-controlled movements. Their joints and tendons become strong and flexible. They have excellent blood and qi (chi) flow. And they show precise posture and fantastic power in their kung fu.
An excerpt from the fully illustrated children’s book “Shaolin – Legends of Zen and Kung Fu” (0-9733492-3-9) by Kah Joon Liow, 32 pages, includes original 3D-animated story “Enter The Zen” on DVD, published by SilkRoad Networks (Canada), Sept 2006, US$26.95, With the participation of MDA. Copyright 2006, SilkRoad Networks and MDA.
Shaolin Style of Kung Fu
The Shaolin style, the temple-derived and the family style are the three styles of Kung Fu. The temple style has always been taught in the temple, while the Shaolin styles perfected by the southern temples include White Crane, Tiger, Dragon, Leopard, Snake, and Southern Praying Mantis. Most of these use hand-based fighting styles.
The Northern styles, including Northern Praying Mantis, Black Crane and Black Tiger, focus more on kicks and nimble footwork. The movements are representative of the animals that they are named after and concentrate only on the maneuvers of that animal. All the blocks and the attacks imitate the bird or the beast.
Each Shaolin style is therefore as different from the other as the mantis from the tiger. However, the systems are not rigid and there is a mutual give and take. The Northern Praying mantis style, for example, incorporates the Tiger techniques and some amount of Monkey and generic footwork.
Each style revolves around a particular training objective. For example, the Dragon style revolves around building alertness and concentration. The Tiger movements focus on developing the bones, tendons and muscles. The Snake movements are used to develop endurance and fluidity. Similarly, the Crane system is used to develop character and spirit.
These Shaolin systems are further divided into the high and low orders. The low systems use physical manoeuvres of the Crane, the Cobra and the Tiger. The application of chi in these forms is considerably less.
Snake is an intermediate level between the high systems and low systems. It is a creature of the earth yet somewhat spiritual because it has an element of mystery about it. The snake style therefore has all the physical applications of the low systems but its movements are essentially those of the higher order. Chi is present in the practitioner as his body mimics the coiling, undulating motions of the reptile.
Dragon, Praying Mantis, and Wing Chun are all seen as high systems because of their efficiency of movement and the use of chi to either augment or replace physical techniques. These systems were taught in some measure to all monks as part of their training. The complete systems were, however, revealed to the few who remained in the temple after being granted priesthood.