Biomechanics: Can Table Tennis Skills Be Transferred to Other Racket Sports?

January 27th, 2012

Can ping pong help me learn tennis? Will racquetball hurt my tennis game? Can badminton help me play better table tennis? These kinds of questions about the transference of skills between racket sports come up all the time. The author has some unique credentials to help answer these questions. We will examine some of the mechanical similarities and differences between racket sports to help answer some of these questions.

To best compare the mechanics of tennis, table tennis, or other racket sports requires a bit of basic kinesiology. If you are standing relaxed with your hands at your sides, palms facing forward, you are in what is called the “Anatomic Position”. If you angle your fingertips away from your thighs, the max being about 45 degrees, that movement is called “Wrist Abduction”. Reversing that small movement is called “Wrist ADDuction”. Kinesiology students remember the difference by visualizing that this body part is being “ADDed” toward the midline, or long axis of the body and like to capitalize the first three letters for clarity.

Wrist posture is one very important difference between table tennis, tennis, racquetball, squash, badminton, and even fencing. Picture a fencer with a sabre or foil

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World Bowls – A History

January 26th, 2012

Bowls is a sport that is played and followed by millions throughout the world. It is a game of skill and precision rather than physical fitness and has therefore often been associated as a game for the older generation. However, many of the upcoming champions are becoming increasingly younger and the sport has spent recent years making its competitions quicker and more colourful to encourage followers.

Bowls can be played indoors or outdoors, and the rules are the same for both. Put simply, the aim of the game is to get your bowls as close as possible to a small white ball called the ‘jack’.

In the singles competition, one of the two opponents flips a coin and begins a segment of the competition by placing the mat and rolling the jack to the other end of the green to serve as a target. Once it has come to rest, the jack is aligned to the canter of the rink and the players take turns to roll their bowls from the mat towards the jack.

When all the bowls have been played, a competitor or team gets one point for each of their bowls that is closer to

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Paramilitary Politics: A Colombian Reality

January 25th, 2012

Mario Uribe Escobar, the president of Colombia’s cousin and leader of the Colombia Democratica political party, announced the removal of two Congressional candidates, Rocío Arias and Eleonora Pineda, from his party on 2 February for their outward support of paramilitary organizations. His announcement comes on the tail of a purge of a limited number of political candidates known to be supportive of Colombia’s paramilitary organizations.

These two candidates belong to a long list of politicians that in private will admit to close contact with paramilitary chieftains. Arias and Pineda are considered the most public faces of a wide-reaching and deep-pocketed effort to increase paramilitary political control on the national level through the upcoming congressional elections to be held on Sunday, 12 March.

A much smaller, more organized, and influential group of former paramilitary war lords has emerged. As a group, they began to exercise power within the realms of politics on a municipal and state level years ago. Their efforts were first recorded in the 2002 congressional elections. In these elections, paramilitary-supported candidates won with over 90 per cent of the vote in many cases because there was no opposition candidate on the ticket and voters were scared

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Television Watching – Effective Control Measures

January 17th, 2012

Do you watch too much Television? Are you concerned about the effect Television watching may be having on your family? Here are some suggestions that may help you keep your Television watching under control.

1 FIND OUT HOW MUCH YOU WATCH

It is wise to analyze your Television watching habits to see if changes should be made. Keep a diary for a week or so, writing down how much time you spend on Television watching. You may also want to list the programs that you watched, what you learned, and how much you enjoyed these programs. The main thing, though, is to calculate how much time you spend on Television watching. You may be surprised at what you find. Just knowing how much your life is devoted to Television watching may move you to make charges.

2. REDUCE YOUR TELEVISION WATCHING TIME

Try to do without Television watching for one day a week, a whole week, or a month. Instead you may want to set limits on the time spend on Television viewing each day. If you cut Television watching by half hour each day, you will have an extra 15 hours every month. Use that time, in

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Choose Children’s Furniture That is Durable

January 14th, 2012

Childrens furniture is something that can be a fun purchase or a stressful purchase. There are several things to consider before you make the final selection. Examples are durability, budget, space, décor, age and preference. Durability is one of those things that you can’t afford to skimp on. Not only do you want furniture that is going to last a while, but you also want to make sure that the furniture is safe.

When looking at childrens furniture it is ideal to always have a budget in mind. Only you know what you can afford. Even if you are low on funds, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find quality childrens furniture. Comparison shopping locally or online will reveal a wide range of options regardless of the price range you are aiming for.

Then you need to factor just how much space you have. Are you looking for only a bed or a complete bedroom set? Childrens furniture, just like any other type of furniture, can be very deceiving in terms of size, whether on the store room floor or online pictures. Be sure you realize how much space you have available and continue to watch out for

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Is Learning Tennis Important?

January 11th, 2012

Learning tennis can start at various ages. Some pick it up at a tender age of 3 – 4 years old. Others do not have the opportunity until later in life. Nevertheless, learning tennis is important for all ages, especially for kids for the following reasons and arguments:

• Tennis is a form of exercise

No matter how you see it, tennis will always give you some cardio work out which makes it a form of exercise. Tennis involves running, sprinting at times, stretching for the ball, power and grace. It not only requires physical agility but mental prowess as well. I thoroughly enjoy tennis as it gives me a good work out;

• Tennis stimulates the mind

For most people, tennis is merely a physical sport. Nothing more. But, if you look closely, you will realize that tennis requires more mental toughness and mental alertness than one would think it requires. For the competitive player, it is easily more than 80% mental than physical. Choosing the correct shot at the appropriate time is more important than just whacking the ball hard. This requires the mind to be nimble and agile to quickly discern the appropriate shot to

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An Insiders Guide to Crossing Over to Television Advertising

January 8th, 2012

Congratulations!

By deciding to investigate the benefits of television advertising, you are taking the first step to more sales and faster profits. More businesses owners than ever are turning to television as a powerful tool to grow their profits. And it’s not the traditional “deep pockets” crowd either. Small and medium sized businesses are flocking to television advertising like never before. Some are coming away battered and bruised. But many are smiling ear to ear because they have unlocked the secrets to television advertising success – on a print or radio budget.

The Golden Rule?

Don’t let the tail wag the dog. You need to take control of your journey into television advertising so that it pays off.

Does that mean you have to be an expert?

No. But you do need to know how the industry and the medium work in order to end up with a cost-effective television advertising campaign.

Which is exactly why we prepared “An Insider Guide To Crossing Over To TV Advertising… On A Print Or Radio Budget..And Making Plenty Of Profit!”

It’s your GPS to an affordable and profitable TV Advertising experience.

Now is the best time in history for small business

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Tennis for Beginners – Basic Tips and Advice

January 7th, 2012

This article goes into the basics of tennis for beginners. What are the first things you have to do when starting to play tennis? At what age should you begin? And what’s the best tennis racquet to begin with?

To start, one of the best ways of learning to play tennis is to use your body’s natural abilities. If you do this the right way, you will build up thousands of natural muscle connections. It will ensure that you can keep on developing and never run into a dead end along the way.

First Steps to Take

Three things are crucial to me when it comes to tennis for beginners:

Step 1 – In case you have never had previous tennis coaching, then find yourself a tennis coach who can teach you the fundamentals. Only when you have learned the basics of tennis, you can move on to more advanced stuff.

Step 2 – This is about really delving into tennis through reading, watching tennis games, and practicing tennis as much as you possibly can. My favorite motto is “sleep, drink, eat tennis”.

Step 3 – Now it’s time to learn specific baseline tactics and other tennis drills

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Girls in Sports – The Many Benefits of Team Sports For Young Women

December 25th, 2011

Though long espoused as crucial for the development of young men, involvement in sports is highly beneficial for girls as well. Young women involved in sports are more likely to achieve academically, have increased self-esteem, experience a higher level of health and wellness, learn crucial skills for entering a competitive workforce, and enjoy the social rewards that accompany working as a team and having fun with others. With the availability of girls’ sports increasing, it is important that young women be encouraged to participate and enjoy the higher quality of life that sports help them achieve.

The most obvious benefit of involvement in sports is a healthier body. All children involved in athletics experience a decrease in the likelihood of developing obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and several other complications linked to a sedentary lifestyle. For young women, in particular, there is a strong correlation between adequate exercise and a decreased risk for breast cancer and osteoporosis, both diseases that typically affect women. Studies also reveal that girls involved in extracurricular activities are less likely to experience an unwanted pregnancy. Being physically active when young increases the likelihood that a person will live an active lifestyle as an adult.

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How to Give Your Cat Pills

December 4th, 2011

So, you and your cat are back home after a visit to the vet. You have two bottles of medication in your hand and instructions to medicate your cat three times (eek!) per day. You aren’t quite sure how your cat will feel about this plan. You anxiously glance at your kitty, now curled up comfortably on the couch. Kitty opens one eye which boldly stares back at you… the look in kitty’s eye is unmistakable. It says, “just you try to medicate me, Human. By the time you’ve made your last futile attempt, YOU will be the one needing a visit with the doctor and some medication.” But, don’t panic! There are lots of tricks available to help you medicate your cat in an effective, relaxed, and danger-free manner!

Pill Pockets

Pill pockets work best for food motivated kitties. They come in two tasty flavors, salmon and chicken.

Pill pockets are hollow, soft treats into which you place the tablet or capsule and then ‘mush’ the opening of the pill pocket closed so that the medication does not fall out.

Disadvantages to pill pockets are that cats that are not food motivated are unlikely to voluntarily eat

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