a silent strongman speaks out

Disclaimer
this post is purely for the martial minded, highly energetic readers who don't mind subjecting themselves to some pain and don't find such indulgences sadistic.. just challenging.

its been in the dry docks for many hours together. hence ended up quite big. if readers get bored, head on to the last for some juicy philosophy instead :P
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i wonder if people out there know these things or not. anyway i share what i know..

you ever tried punching walls? if so, have you reached a point where pain doesn't appear until a good amount of blows? and mind it, punch on the columns of the wall for your good and for the good of the building you are in(telling this based on some bad experiences).

well, you might observe that during and after these exercises your knuckles would get bigger and pointier. this is because the bone fractures inside on impact and then reforms as bigger formations with tighter connections. this makes your bones much stronger than their original form and often allows you to surpass the normal resistance levels obtained by natural properties. I have very pointy and tough knuckles, especially on the middle fingers.

a down side of these hard hands is that, it would become next to impossible to take innocent jabs at your friend's fat tummy without making them cry with serious pain. its really true what spiderman said about power. :( restraint and patience. you need to bring them along when imbibing such strength into yourself.

anyways, that part is always there for us strong men of the world to handle. lets get on with our stuff..

i don't know how many of us natural strong men go to gyms to maintain and condition the body. atleast those stuck in the lazy IT industry which involves almost no action should be continuously upto something to live our 'natural' lives. but I don't fancy gyms. i kinda feel bad being in there. maybe i didnt find the right reason or trainer yet. well, I haven't even tried to :) thats the least my ego can do for me :D

but its very necessary to not lose the various strengths of our bodies. it is not just about being presentable.  its about being comfortable, being full of our energies and upto the task when the time comes. and each one of us has a reason to stay strong. lets remember them as they are the flames of our passion for strength.

another key strength point is the forearm. it helps in our day-to-day tasks. strong hands help in umpteen ways. also the arms are part of the body that is mostly visible to others and people form impressions based on appearance of the upper body. but leaving the appearance part, a fully functional and powerful upper body is key to any practitioner. from power abs to help you balance weights and lift yourself ,to strong fingers for tight grips, each part along the upper body plays an important part.

sometimes you can't tap the complete potential of one part without developing another. to know of such key points and train accordingly is where you need expert support of trainer and equipments. but these need not come from traditional gym environment either. as I have been always looking for alternatives to a gym, I know quite a few stuff to train myself with ,without too much advice and equipments. thanks to the internet and random things all around us :)

there are lots of simple things you can do if you are lazy as I am. stretch a lot whenever you feel like. you should get back to your comfortable level after these stretches. they help relieving pain and stiffness caused by prolonged sitting, laying down etc, which is natural in our sedentary lifestyle. a series of air punches can return the life into your system anytime. punch walls if you have a chance, because they do more for you :D

frequently clench and unclench your fists to strengthen the wrists. check if you are automatically clenching and unclenching your jaws as well. this, as far as I know is a sign of aggression. if you observe such a relation, practice slow clenching of fists to get rid of the connection and after sometime you will yourself being calm even when you clench your fists. also when you get angry you would no longer clench your fists, the way normal people do. that way you suppress one obvious gesture that gives away your intentions. very useful during street arguments :) you obviously need every advantage possible to have.

and for the biceps, triceps and shoulders, all must be knowing the pushups and many such well known exercises out there. i love mixing them with some extra moves to make em difficult so that instead of repeating them, i end up exerting same effort by doing just a few. talk about laziness being the mother of innovation. but right now, I am not sure if repeating simple exercises is better than doing a few complex ones.

my understanding of the body, its functions and its limitations come from the Ayurveda and the Eastern martial arts areas. The modern workout practices, as with most things modern focus on exterior and individual aspects, without considering a holistic view. A select few trainers understand the body well, and they lavishly mix concepts from East and West to customize workouts as per individual person's body and character. I wish some such trainer would come by and make me a superhero martial artist.. sigh..

the various forms of Kung Fu use the knowledge of the body to train the various parts rigorously. Although the various styles differ in many aspects and you have to find the right style to suit your body and personality type, they all involve lot of common work outs. The same goes for Yoga, which has umpteen variations. Even all the well known and not-so-well-known martial arts and healing practices stem from the basic concepts. Knowing one allows you to tap into the larger cauldron eventually. I am sure not many are aware of such variations. Yoga is not just about stretching,bending and breathing on yoga mats with meditation. Kungfu is not just about flying,kicking and fast moves that take the breath away. There are lesser known forms of the two where the roles are reversed.

I realize this is such a vast topic and stuff keeps coming out of my head continuously. Alright, moving on..

Abs. Now there isn't a single part of the body more closely scrutinized and lauded than this in terms of fitness. Six packs and eight packs are the definitions for fitness nowadays. Nothing less matters. I say that is a bag of dogshit. Pardon my language, but such narrow views only damage the ability and motivation for many of us to remain healthy. Please don't follow wealthy celebs in building bodies. They get paid and their entire lives depends on their looks and appearances. Lets not get our heads too high. If you already have good abs, then its good for you. Focus on other aspects of health too :)

If your abs allow you to balance your upper body against the lower and perform movements and stuff you love to, you have done enough to strengthen it. Let another layer of fat remain on top of it, if you like. Don't you sacrifice your favourite dish for that. :-)

To strengthen it, do only the crunches of various kinds. Anything that places load and pressure on the abs point also helps. Its fun to exercise your abs. I am testament to the fact that you can have rock hard abs under layers of fat tummy :)

Next comes my focal point, the lower body. Starting with the strong thigh,stable knees,big calf muscles and flexible ankles plus rigid foot. Its a killer combination! Legs are everything. They propel, they balance, they give you poise, they help you climb over anything, kick open stuff, break things and what not!
 
A mountaineer lives and dies by the strength of his toes,calves and every single part of his legs. A wrong twitch can end everything for him/her. A footballer, a cyclist, a martial artist, a dancer, and what not. Everything we do involves our legs. Losing it, thereby is the largest blow that can be given to someone. Pray no one gets such a punishment.

As a mountaineer,hiker,cyclist and a martial artist, I too love my legs. Among the parts of my body, I have always been partial to my legs. Hence they are still strong after years of relative inactivity. Recent cycling adventures helped regain the lost endurance. But they need to be regularly used and kept well oiled like rifles for perfect action.

Weak points are the knees and the ankles. They get bent,sprained, broken or swollen easily with impact. Such injuries can render you useless and prone to mortal danger. Hence always take good care of your feet. Run, exercise, lift weights on your feet, stretch, kick, do whatever you want to keep them in good 'running' condition.


Stances which involve balancing your body weight on individual legs, the knees or the ankles and toes are some basic stuff which can significantly increase their reliability on the field. And you don't need special time or equipments for any of these. That is another reason why I fancy leg training. Even sitting in the traditional Indian way is very good for the legs.


You can walk on your toes occasionally for fun and training the tendons.
Run occasionally. Jog. Hang by your legs.
Take longer strides than usual while walking. Walk fast. Walk really slow.
Hop over tiles, jump over obstacles instead of climbing over.
Kick things at different heights, kick backwards, kick sidewards.
Bend you leg backwards, lying down and with your arms bring them over your shoulders.
Bend your legs and touch your shoulders with your knees.
Jump up so that you can hit your palms kept at face level with our knees.
Do splits.

Jump over low walls.
Sit on slightly tall tools by springing onto it than climbing.
Cycle. Climb rocks. Climb really tall peaks.
Climb a vertical wall use bare hands and foot..
Raise your right leg 90 deg to right and hold it for long.
Raise it forward and hold it longer.
and many many more :-)

phew. been writing this from morning! i think i had enough, and I assume that you too have. if you have read till here with interest, then contact me. We can train together :)
 

nowadays people don't respect strength. they only end up fearing strength. i hate the kind of strength that can only inspire fear and no respect. such a strength is caused not by pure strength, but when weakness causes you to use your only strength and impose your will upon people with lesser strength. I can only see the pure strength in select few, and the number of such people are dwindling. I think the older generation had more understanding of such a strength. I find such references in lots of characters and stories from various books etc.  and idolize them.

To be a real strong man, you don't just have to have large muscles and lots of physical strength. Even with a little less of it, what you need most is a large heart to accommodate people with all their imperfections and hateful views. A strong man should be able to take it all in and give out good vibes. He/she should be the filter that cleans things around them. It takes time to become one and the path is full of struggle, pain and isolation. I am on the way I believe and I have seen many others too. Believe we will meet up sometime :-)

PS: Here, by using the word 'strong man' , I don't intend to isolate women from this role. In fact strong women are more common than strong men.

Refer to this article from Lifehacker for some very useful follow-up information from a more credible source about things I have spoken about here  :-)

the olympic saga continues

well..this is an update of my thoughts on the most happening event of the time..

 

Firstly, I have blown away by the level of organization done in the city of London by the organizers. Don't recall if Beijing had such a lot of volunteers. They had more engineering and decorations if I am not wrong.

Triathlon-one of my favorite events

Second, some events were really awesome. And I mean it. Be it Federer's marathon fight in the Quarters, the Skeet shooting finals dominated by Vincent or all the great performances by hundreds of athletes whose names I don't know, but surely made my day with the die hard competitive attitudes. Special mention to cycling, hurdles, fencing and badminton.

Vincent Hancock

Feisty finals china v/s china

I am happy that women's boxing was included this time. All their bouts were really good to watch. The women were proud, happy and ferocious at the same time . They seemed to want to prove a point to the world.


The Indian performances were largely satisfactory except maybe hockey. All the shooters did well and even if they didn't all share the podiums, the job was well done. The shuttlers especially Jwala and Ashwini looked very promising but unfortunately lost out. We even figured in 20km walking and such new events which people didn't look forward to. It even brought a Malayali to the limelight. OK no regional matters.. anyway it is a definite sign of better things to happen for the Olympics in this nation obsessed with just a handful of the usual stuff.



Proud of the medal winners Gagan,Saina and Vijay. Boxing was the single most event I would have followed all throughout the competition. Indian boxers did quite well indeed. Now only Devendhro and Kom survive. In that, Kom's fight was something I am glad I watched. R.E.S.P.E.C.T in all respects.

There were even a few things I did not like about this Olympics:-
a) The Madhura honey episode - but I loved the creative photoshop works that followed

LOL

b) Indian tennis hullah bullah
c) Some very questionable judgements and reversals by officials. Not just involving Indians
d) Changes in rules and point systems. It might have made some events more flexible, but elsewhere it spoiled the competition
e) The foul play incident in badminton. Threw lots of questions about the manipulators and dominators
f) And of course the late timings :P

Will she be the golden girl this time?

Anyway at this point I eagerly look forward to Kom's semi final bout against local favourite Nicola who looks defiant and confident. One thing to note is that in spite of Mary's legendary status in Women's International Boxing, she has only performed in the light weight category. She would find it difficult against the opponents of larger build and reach. Only experience, tactics and her speed can help her carve the victory required.The other contenders as per my observation are real champs too.
Mary has experience and speed to her side. But the weight category would be her Achilles heel. Ren Cancan from China is a super cool, super fast boxer with lots of tricks up her sleeve. Nicola and Espereza of US and Britain respectively are young and ferocious boxers. So there is lots of action yet to come..

If Mary does achieve the topmost spot, then it would a great moment for Indian Olympics, women's boxing, the sport as such in India and of course the media and feminist idealists in India would have a field day on TV and social media. I personally am gear up for a great finish to one of the grandest sporting events of the modern world.

Its not all over yet..

PS: Once the events come to a close I would try keeping away from Indian news channels who are currently lying in wait with their analysis and accusations.

oh.. did I miss a certain Jamaican and American? .. nope I don't think so..

Experiments continue

I am testing a few new styles in blogging from my part.It seems I can't create content that I see in many blogs even if I frame it in my mind.So,beta testing (even alpha) of stuff might be seen here.Its the same strategy that google uses.
In order to map my chaotic mind more deeply to the readers I am planning to mark thoughts in italics.That's just one of it.Why map your chaotic mind..want to hurt people or yourself?Hehe,the site is nothing but an experiment,contains nothing that might be done with a proper goal or aim for me,but just a virtual place for another set of experiments.

The topic I intend to talk about here is the distinction between martial arts as a method of defense and a form of art.Most of the readers might be aware of the flashy martial arts moves that almost every movie now sports.There are also those exotic ones that you see in the movies of local origin(East Asia mainly).Though it might be breathtaking or even cheesy,the stunts they put up deserve no more credit than a piece of orchestrated ballet.
It is meant only for amusement,and never is it advisable to try those moves in real-life battles.It would only end up in an 'uncomfortable' situation.As expert martial artists point out,the flashy kicks and blocks performed in the movies(forget the bigger stunts) would,in real life provide advantage to your opponent to beat you up.

For martial arts,there are a huge variety of forms and techniques.Most of the self-defense based moves that are taught in many schools around the world are meant for quick blocks and instant disarming.These are like crash courses that are taught to allow a person to defend himself or a group from one or more assailants(armed or unarmed) of any age or size.I must emphasize the word 'defense' as usually in the worst case,it just gives you a minute or two to escape.Most of the people expect martial artists to beat up goons or even their rivals on the fly.

Not only do most of the martial arts schools(common ones) emphasize the point that these arts are 'strictly for self-defense',but also the moves taught are seldom offensive.Kids who imagine but never actually train in martial arts end up taking risks,leading to serious injuries at times.

Though this is the case,experts also say that martial arts is not just about fighting or defending.It has an artistic style to it and also quite a lot of philosophical part.But they say,its best left to the experts to choose.

What is the point of entire post?I am just sharing a thought.Adios

Kenshin rocks!!

This is about my favourite anime character "Himura Kenshin" or Himura Battousai,the Hitokiri(manslayer) during the Meiji Restoration.

Get to know the basics here : About Kenshin

Why I am blogging about this now is largely unclear..but I can credit it due to the entry of new series,Naruto. It was suggested by my senior,Widad. I downloaded and saw four episodes and realized that I am gonna stick to it.But nothing beats my Ken-san. He is the ultimate swordsman.Using the Hitenmitsurugi Ryu technique(which is supremely fast),he performs wonderful and dangerous moves.

The main attraction in the story is the detailed explanation of sword techniques of any character in the series. Its really something good, not found in all animes. Even the smallest of characters get their moves explained and a proper counter action is made to defeat them. All characters are superb with their own style of life and fighting.

My heart goes out for Kenshin, when the ghosts of his past haunts him. His way of treating people is so good...and his funny way of saying "Oro" makes the series very funny.I learnt quite a bit of Japanese from it.Some of its episodes are hillarious due to Sagara Sanosuke,Yahiko, Kenshin and Kaoru.
The serious parts are perfectly combined with comedy, moral values, love and some suspense as well.

I just keep remembering some of the most sensible yet superb moves of kenshin,like the Battou-jitsu(lightning speed drawing)and the famous Amakakeru Ryu No Hirameki. Also there is this Hajime Saito(leader of Shinsengumi) who starts as Ken's enemy and later becomes best friend.His Gatotsu moves and no-nonsense attitude absolutely superb.Same with Shinomori Aoshi...the last battle between him and Ken is one helluva battle...

The  character of Kenshin somehow keeps one addicted to it.

Kenshin fans, you might want to read this very interesting article that explains the science behind each of Kenshin's moves. I bet you would pick the thing lying next to you that even remotely resembles a katana, and start swinging away...

Martial me

Sudden thought came to continue my mansuria arts..but few minutes practice reminded me of the short term for which I had received training....wrong moves causing back aches and sprains..ouch..anyway nice to do some of them..missed them a lot.
Though there is daily simple stretches..kicks and forms were rather neglected and were contaminated and confused by moves from movies(that includes kopeira,shaolin,kick boxing,muay thai..etc).
Gotta learn ...cannot spare time and planning to get proper training..though that idea has been in my mind for some time now...
Also got to restart my cricket,hockey and badminton ventures..i used to a fairly good player ....

Donno why this thought comes now..at the middle of the night...when i have not yet touched cse for the test tomorrow .

Maybe because ,the almost inactive lifestyle of my college mates just ran its course and I want my instincts to return..or i can never be in peace with myself...

The Last Samurai

A few words about one my really favorite film.
This is just an isolated posting,because if I start writing about each movie I wud need to .....sit for hours and days remembering scenes and thigns ....i will go mad.


OK.I want all people reading this to have seen the movie or see it soon.Its really nice.Its the story of West meeting East.The story revolves around Japan in the beginning of 20th century or end of 19th century I presume.The main hero of the story is a captain in the American army,Captain Nathan Algren(played by Tom Cruise).The guy has left his job behind and is conducting stage shows on his exploits during the skirmishes against the native Americans.
He seems a sensible man when people are enjoying the prepared narration of how he killed them,because he speaks his mind there.He describes the carnage and the savagery of the skirmish.

Algren is presented with an offer by Omura (Masato Harada), a rich and powerful Japanese businessman, to travel to Japan and “Westernize” their army in the ways of the new American warrior. Once there, Algren learns that his responsibility is to train the troops in order to defeat the Samurai, Japan’s ancient warriors who are opposed to the Emperor’s Westernization of Japan. During their first battle with the Samurai,Algren is taken prisoner, his life spared only because Samurai Leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) saw what he believed to be the courageous Captain in a vision. Taking refuge in the Samurai’s remote mountain village during the winter months, Katsumoto does not imprison Algren, but instead has his sister Taka (Koyuki) nurse the Captain back to health. During this time, Algren is allowed to roam (for the most part) free in the village, and in doing so, begins to see the honor and nobility in the way of the Samurai, which helps him come to terms with his own mental demons. Once he is returned to the Americans, Algren is torn between following what he knows in his heart to be honorable, and his military duty.




This leads to many fights and interesting twists.I liked the samurai fight and the way the western mind started viewing the power of the eastern ways.The strategies used in the numerous battles are worth mentioning,especially the one involving burning the haystacks.The superiorly armed foreign force(3-4 battalions) fight against a few battle hardened samurai warriors and lose out in terms of courage.The battle is breath taking and also heart breaking.The horrifying carnage involved the battles is also filmed perfectly.Altogether a perfect mix of action,melodrama and story with a moral.

One part I really liked was the last part when the Emperor comes to know of his mistake in allowing foreign countries to remove the trace of Japan's rich heritage.
The part "but we cannot forget who we are!!" in Japanese accent sounds heart rendering and I hear it in a corner of mind sometimes.hehe...call it aftereffects...

My favorite characters were Katsumoto,Algren and son of Katsumoto.

tats all for now.....

Its tough to just blog

Hm...the sequel to my last blog.

I really screwed up the exam today.I forgot even the simplest things.By god I was so furious.....
I don't know why I am behaving so.....irresponsible...
Coming to the topic....why blogging is so tough.
I get lots of topics while thinking(which is either done when I am sitting to study,lying on bed for sleep,sitting in veranda )...I even create plans to either write(formerly) or blog.But just as I enter the computer room and face the screen and sit..the creativity seems to have gone for tour or something..I never get a reply for all my calls for it.I feel the emissions from the screen could be the reason(wondering???I see such relations always) for this irritating phenomenon.

Writing also doesn't work because when I want to write...its hard to do so...and even if I do,to make changes I tear out pages and destroy whatever books I am writing on...so not much logic in doing that.

Or the reason for all this could be my introversion.I am quite alone at home and my senses have quite taught me to survive by observation and so I believe in the idea that there are lots of patterns in and around any object(don't ask for details...abstraction is my right!!) which might be spatial like a table or box or on a time axis(this is quite hard to explain).

I regard the example of people who have lost any particular sense using the remaining ones to a very high degree of precision and perfection.Its not quite possible for a normal person brought up in normal conditions to train and use his/her ears(mainly I like the idea of supreme sight that eyes don't give).It is said in many ancient texts that warriors who lose sight(or lack) in battles have supreme power of hearing,with which they can even guess and tackle their opponent's quick and complex moves.How they perform this,what they listen to...what pattern are these guys tuning themselves too???Ooh...these questions really energise and rise me up...I have been partially able to decode the energy flow of 'Chi' through our bodies on concentrated exercises done in perfect tandem with breathing.The breathing is supremely important as it seems to be co-ordinator,the manipulator of the power within.

Mallus may remember "Yodha",a super hit film of Lalettan....one of 'bestest' favorites....I simply love the mix...martial arts,mountains,orient and of course Lalettan.

Let me stop....patha hee nahi chala..kidhar sey kidhar pahoonch gaya mein..zindagi bhi tho aise hee hai...

INSHA ALLAH