Final Post

I selected Taekwondo as my topic of choice to tweet and write about because I am currently training in Taekwondo. I thought it would be interesting to write about my journey to the black belt and to also offer my perspective as a woman in Taekwondo.

I invented Nikita Leon. Names I took from action movie heros Le Femme Nikita and Leon from the movie The Professional. Nikita started off as a woman who offered a woman's perspective in the world of Taekwondo. Many of her articles on her blog discussed the differences between men and women and her struggles in trying to prove women can do anything a man can do in Taekwondo and in life.

Nikita was able to express her ideas and voice using two social media outlets: Twitter and her Blog.

She never used Twitter before and was not sure how she was going to be able to express herself in less then 140 characters, but slowly she learned how. She took short sentences that had impact and would post these on Twitter to catch people's attention.


During the end of the semester Nikita began a transition and started evolving. She wanted to shift her typical man vs woman topics and look into more enlightening topics about women, such as inspirational women fighters.


Her last article, The History of Women Fighters, allowed her to research and find that women have been fighting for centuries. The article marked a wave of change for Nikita. While her focus in the past was men vs. women she has grown as a person and realized that there was a lot more to discuss about women in martial arts.


Nikita will continue to explore her voice using other medium such as YouTube to create videos for women learning Taekwondo and Facebook to create a woman's Taekwondo community page.

Though she has enjoyed writing weekly on her blog, her blog will be coming to an end and she will be using Twitter and Facebook to post updates on her progress in Taekwondo.

History of Women Fighters - Draft 2

Women's boxing in 1950s in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Women fighting is not a trend. Women from all over the world have been fighting for centuries.

There are many artifacts that have been found from thousands of years ago that let us take a peak into the world of women's fighting. Bronze statues show women fighters from around 300 BC who wrestled with both women and men.

In 1889 "female boxing became popular throughout the United States. Cuts were stitched on the spot, and the women often fought with broken noses, jaws, and teeth."

Female wrestling became popular in Europe in the 1900s. Masha Poddubnaya from Russia won the Women's World Championship in 1909 and went on to win the title six times in the 1900s.

In 1905 an article in the New York Evening World said "It is a good thing for a girl to learn to box," because "poise, grace and buoyancy of movement result from this exercise."


Masha Poddubnaya (on right)

"Young ladies attending the Madison Academy in New York City also boxed and wrestled. The wrestlers included Pauline Fausek and Evelyn Reilly, who talked glibly of half-Nelsons and hammerlocks, while Annie Lynch, the boxer, was said to "hit a harder blow than the average young man." At some women fighting events thousands of men would be in the audience.

In Japan the first professional women's wrestling organization was founded in 1948 and is still very popular today.

Two  female wrestlers in Bolivia.

In Mexico women are boxing and wresting. In Russia women are kickboxing. In Asia women are practicing wrestling and martial arts like Kung Fu.  In La Paz, Bolivia the "Fighting Cholitas" wrestle. They are indigenous women dressed in traditional Aymara clothing who wrestle with other women in a "luche libre" style. The "Fighting Cholitas" have become a very popular show for locals and tourists.

And in America more and more women are entering the boxing ring. In West Virginia the Toughman and Toughwoman contests began in 1979, with amateur women boxing in the ring and still popular today.

In the 1990's we saw a surge of women boxers. Most notably, Laila Ali, daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, "made her professional boxing debut on October 8, 1999. She knocked out her opponent in 31 seconds in the 1st round.  Laila retired from boxing as the undefeated Super Middleweight Boxing Champion of the world with a 24-0 record and with 21 knock-outs."

At the London 2012 Olympics "Nicola Adams from Great Britain, Katie Taylor from Ireland and Claressa Shields from the USA won the first-ever Olympic gold medals in women’s boxing in the categories of fly weight (51kg), light weight (60 kg) and middle weight (75 kg)."

And now we have women like Gina Carano (right) and Ronda Rousey ruling the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Rousey is the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion.





Sources:

http://www.olympic.org/news/first-ever-olympic-medals-awarded-to-women-boxers/171926

http://www.lailaali.com/history/

http://www.fscclub.com/history/combat-history-e.shtml

http://msmagazine.com/blog/2011/11/03/women-boxers-advised-to-wear-skirts/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_World_Championship

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7214478/Love-but-little-money-for-Mexicos-female-fighters.html

http://www.puroresu.com/zenjo/



History of Women Fighters - Draft 1

Women's boxing in 1950s in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Women fighters hail from all over the globe starting from the beginning of time. There is evidence of women fighters from before 300 BC who wrestled with both women and men.

In 1889 "female boxing became popular throughout the United States. Cuts were stitched on the spot, and the women often fought with broken noses, jaws, and teeth."

In the 1900s female wrestling became popular in Europe. Masha Poddubnaya, wife of the great Russian wrestler Ivan Poddubny, claimed the women’s title.

In 1905 an issue of the New York Evening World said "It is a good thing for a girl to learn to box," because "poise, grace and buoyancy of movement result from this exercise."

"According to the New York World, young ladies attending the Madison Academy in New York City also boxed and wrestled. The wrestlers included Pauline Fausek and Evelyn Reilly, who talked glibly of half-Nelsons and hammerlocks, while Annie Lynch, the boxer, was said to "hit a harder blow than the average young man." At some events hundreds



Two  female wrestlers in Bolivia.

And around the world women are fighting. In Mexico women are boxing. In Asia women are practicing martial arts like Kung Fu.

In La Paz, Bolivia some of the indigenous women are called the "Fighting Cholitas". These women are indigenous women dressed in traditional Aymara clothing who wrestle with other women in a "luche libre" style.


And in America more and more women are entering the boxing ring. In West Virginia the Toughman and Toughwoman contests began in 1979, with amateur women boxing in the ring and still popular today.

In the 1990's we saw a surge of women boxers. Most notably, Laila Ali, daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali "made her professional boxing debut on October 8, 1999, she knocked out her opponent in 31 seconds into the 1st round.  Laila retired from boxing as the undefeated Super Middleweight Boxing Champion of the world with a 24-0 record, with 21 knock-outs."

And most recently at the London 2012 Olympics "Nicola Adams from Great Britain, Katie Taylor from Ireland and Claressa Shields from the USA have won the first-ever Olympic gold medals in women’s boxing in the categories of fly weight (51kg), light weight (60 kg) and middle weight (75 kg)."



Mixed Martial Artist Gina Carano.

And now we have women ruling the world of Mixed Martial Arts, with greats like Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey.  Ronda is the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion.

Catching a glimpse the history of women fighting and seeing where it is now is very inspiring.  Though it may seem like women fighting is unheard of or new now that we are seeing more women like Ronda Rousey, the truth is that women have been in the ring fighting since the beginning of time.







Sources:

http://www.olympic.org/news/first-ever-olympic-medals-awarded-to-women-boxers/171926

http://www.lailaali.com/history/

http://www.fscclub.com/history/combat-history-e.shtml

http://msmagazine.com/blog/2011/11/03/women-boxers-advised-to-wear-skirts/

Social Media Campaign

There are quite a few social media campaigns in the past few years that have caught my eye, for example who doesn't know the Old Spice commercials and YouTube videos?

Most recently there have been well known social media campaigns that have caught my attention as well. "The Human Rights Campaign launched one of the most visible campaigns in Facebook history, to accompany real life demonstrations outside the Supreme Court on the eve of two historic marriage equality hearings. Millions of Facebook users adopted a red version of the HRC's equal sign logo.
According to Facebook, some 120% more users changed their profile pictures on Tuesday, March 26 than on the previous Tuesday. The logo received 10 million impressions, 189,177 shares, 95,725 likes and appeared more than 18 million times in News Feeds."

Additionally, I have been very moved with Morgan Harrington's family and their dedication to helping women and families of missing children and women.

Morgan was a young college student who was at a Metallica concert in 2009 and went missing after the show. Her family created a Facebook page to get the attention it deserved and needed to help find Morgan.

Unfortunately, her body was found a few months later and the murderer is still at large. Her facebook page became "Help Save the Next Girl". You can visit the page here: https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheNextGirl

The goal of the campaign is to share information about currently missing women, so that we can help save the next girl or women who had been kidnapped or missing.

I follow the page and unfortunately often there is a new update with a new picture of a young woman missing or a sketch of a perpetrator. You never know when you might see someone in public that is on the page. So I think it's important to be vigilant and together as a community we can make a big difference.

Though I enjoy working on the blog getting readers is difficult. I personally enjoy the quick reach I have on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for my social media presence.

Twitter allows me to reach my target audience quickly using hashtags and a few words, so I intend to continue using Twitter.

Instagram allows me to also use hashtags and use photos and video to capture an audience. I would be able to use Instagram to take photos/videos of me training in Taekwondo (TKD).

The majority of people I know are on Facebook. I am able to quickly share updates and photos with friends and family on my personal page. I would like to create a TKD Women Facebook page, so that I could gather a large group of women and we can share ideas, and also share status updates. I would love to see photos of other women competing in TKD. Facebook would allow for us to build a community of support.

Lastly, using YouTube would allow for me to create tutorials for the YouTube TKD audience. I would choose YouTube over Vimeo for my TKD tutorials because for an unknown reason I correlate Vimeo with an artsy audience. I think YouTube has a larger audience that would be searching for Taekwondo videos. I know that YouTube is the first place I look when I am looking for a specific video in TKD.

Competition Results

I couldn't sleep on Friday night. I came back from our second and final team demo practice around 10 PM and couldn't fall asleep until 2 AM and had to wake up at 6 AM to get ready for the competition.

On Saturday morning I had planned to make myself a high protein breakfast, stretch and to meditate, but that did not happen.

My nerves got to the best of me. I couldn't even eat and had to force myself to eat half a protein bar in the car.

I arrived at the competition tired, yet strangely alert. I thought I was going to throw up a few times. The butterflies in my stomach made me queasy. However, as soon as I walked into the gymnasium and saw my Master and a few of my classmates from my Taekwondo school I felt relieved.

At 8:30 AM we would start Team Demonstrations. The night before we had our last practice, but the entire demonstration was changed last minute due to a few people dropping out, so technically it was our first and last practice. My position moved to be in the front of the entire team. I was so worried I was going to forget what I had to do. When the music started, I had a rush over me and just let my hands and feet do what they needed to do without a second thought. Our team did an amazing job, we had people do some amazing flips and then end with a break, we had a few members do a nunchuck and sword routine, and we all did choreographed form and dance in front of the judges and audience.

There were a few other teams after us. Those teams only had a small group of black belts performing. They executed some amazing kicks off ladders blindfolded and other neat things I had never seen before, but they all lacked enthusiasm and many missed breaks.

The Team Demonstrations were finished by 10 AM and the winners were announced. My team won!

Children began competing shortly after, next would be Junior (11 - 17 years old) and then Adults (18+) would go after.

We were supposed to start at 2:30 PM, but we didn't start until 4:30 PM. The adults grew tired and restless as the day went on.

I was worried that by the time I would go on the mats in front of the judges I would be too tired to perform. 

Around 4:45 PM I was called to go in front of three judges to perform my Form. One judge would watch my lower body, the second judge my upper body, and the last judge (a master) would judge overall.

As I predicted there wasn't many women competitors.
I bowed in front of the judges and waited for for the Korean command to begin. I took my time and made sure to show the details in my hands and feet position and also show snap in my punches in kicks. I won gold in form.

Next, in front of the same three judges  I competed in breaking. I performed four breaks:

1. Spinning knife hand on an inch board
2. A jumping hammer first on an inch and half board
3. A spinning round house kick on an inch board
4. A jumping front kick on a half inch board

Most women broke only half inch boards, so I knew I would have an edge if I broke an inch or higher board and I was right because I won gold in wood breaking.

I went home with two gold medals. I was so happy, yet I was disappointed that there was not many women were competing. There were no adult women who were competing in sparring, only a handful in form, and maybe 2 handfuls in breaking.

I have a few goals for next year's competition.

1. Improve on my breaking. I would like to break more boards. My goal will be to break two one inch boards and to all add some fun jumps and spins.

2. To encourage and recruit more women in competing. Even though I was competing with a handful or two, all the women were very supportive of each other. We all cheered each other on, hugged, shook hands and bowed to each other.

Movie Script - Revenge

Revenge is a movie about a young woman who is kidnapped the day before her sister's eighth birthday. As she goes shopping for presents and decorations she is kidnapped and disappears.

Ten years later her younger sister, Nikita, is 18 and heads out for a night with friends for dinner and a movie. As she walks back to her car she is kidnapped. Nikita soon finds out that she's with the same man who kidnapped his sister 10 years ago.

What he doesn't know is that she's been waiting for this moment all her life and is ready to fight him and his men until the very end end. She's ready for her revenge.



FADE IN:

VENDOR MARKET IN SOUTH AMERICA       DAY

Young woman finds a pretty necklace hanging from a vendor stand and buys it.

CAMILLE

How much is this necklace?

VENDOR

$25

CAMILLE

This would be perfect for my little sister.
It's her birthday tomorrow.

VENDOR

I will also include this matching bracelet.
You can wear it and give her
the necklace. That way you both
have it.

CAMILLE

Oh. Thank you so much.

That's so kind of you.

She leaves the vendor happily and shops at different vendors buying birthday party decorations.

ALLEY     DAY

She walks with two bags in both hands. The sun shines on her as she walks through an empty alley. Man comes from behind her and puts her in his car. She drops a bag.

OUTSIDE OF HOME     EVENING

Camera moves down the street and stops in front of a home. Camera moves toward window. 

Camera view goes inside the home through the window.

A little girl and boy plays with toys in the living room while their mother watches them from the couch as she speaks to a police officer.

The mother is worried and crying and the police office is writing down notes.

MOTHER

I last saw her at 11 this morning.
She's wearing a blue dress.
She went to the vendor market to buy
some decorations and gifts for her
sister's birthday tomorrow.

POLICE OFFICER

Have you both been arguing or fighting?

MOTHER

No. Not at all! She didn't run away if
that's what you are trying to say.

POLICE OFFICER

  I am sorry. It's just that we find that
many girls her age run off to
be with their boyfriends or friends.
Then come home a few days later.

Has she been acting unusual recently?

MOTHER

No. She's not like that. She's always home
with me. She's quiet and doesn't
have many friends. She keeps to herself.

POLICE OFFICER
Does she have a boyfriend?

MOTHER

No. 

POLICE OFFICER
Is there any friends of hers you can call
to ask if they have seen her.

MOTHER

She only talks to three girls at school.

I called all three of them and they last saw her
at school yesterday and haven't seen her since.

I know something is wrong. She doesn't
just run off like that. Someone took her.

POLICE OFFICER
We have a few patrol cars looking around the markets
and asking vendors and neighbors if they
have seen her. We are also working
with stores and banks down town to see
if we can find video footage of her.

Mother walks police officer to door and they talk more. Younger daughter looks on and listens to them as they speak.

CAR        NIGHT

Mother drives around town and neighboring towns all night with two children in the back of the car sleeping.

Youngest daughter wakes up.

NIKITA
Mom? Where is Camille?

MOTHER
Honey. Don't worry. Go back to sleep.

NIKITA

Will she be at my party tomorrow?

MOTHER
Yes, sweetie. She will be there.

Daughter goes back to sleep. Mother drives and sobs quietly so children cannot hear her.

Mother stops outside of vendor markets and finds an alley. She looks at a bag on the floor and finds birthday decorations inside.

10 YEARS LATER

NIKITA

Mom?! I will see you later. I am going to
the movies with Alana.

MOTHER
You didn't tell me you were going out tonight.

What movie theater? What time does the movie

start? And what time will you be home?

NIKITA
Mom. I will be back before midnight.

MOTHER

You have your cell phone with you?

Call me when you get there.

NIKITA

Of course mom. Don't worry.
I will call you as soon as I get there.

Getting Ready for Competition

My first Taekwondo competition is next weekend. I will be competing in three different categories: forms, breaking, and a team demonstration. I have been training for this competition since I first heard about it 4 months ago. Every day I have been practicing forms, strengthening my leg muscles, and stretching so I can have a wider and longer range in my kicks. I have also kicked it up a notch to lose a few more pounds. I lost 5 more pounds and have been building more muscle, by doing cardio and strength training.

This is a small competition from what I hear, I believe about 200 men, women and children will be competing. However, I have been taking it very seriously. For me it's a way to prove to myself what I am capable of achieving with hard work and practice.

Form, also known as Poomsae in Korean, is one of the four things we learn for each belt we earn. We earn a total of thirteen belts before testing for the Black belt.

However, we learn only eight forms for the first eight belts. For the remaining 4 belts we go back and re-train in all eight forms perfecting them before we can test for the Black belt. Below is a great video showing all eight forms. Forms are choreographed offensive and defensive movements. We are trained to pretend that when we perform these forms that there is someone in front of us that we are delivering kicks and punches to. For the competition I will be performing the fourth form, Taejuk Sa Jang.

The video below does a good job showing all eight forms.

In addition to competing in forms, I will also be competing with my school in a team demo. We have about 50 students from our school all participating in the team demo.

Lastly, I will also compete in the breaking category. I have to perform three different breaks of my choice.

I will be performing the following:

1. A spinning knife hand break, quickly followed by a jumping hammer fist break.
2. A double round house kick or a side kick or a spinning hook kick
3. A flying front kick.

Below is a good example of three stations of breaking that will be similar to mine. She starts with a spinning knife hand break. Her second break is a spinning hook kick, which I have been thinking about doing instead of a double round house kick, but I haven't been officially taught that kick and break yet, so my Master doesn't think I should perform it unless I am confident I can.

In the video she missed and during a competition missing is not an option, if you miss you will not get another opportunity to re-try to break and you will be deducted points.

This week during my regular scheduled training sessions at the dojo I will be practicing breaking boards. And I will be learning more about the rules and etiquette of a competition, for example when I should bow, how many times I have to yell "ki-hap" during the breaking competition.

I am lucky because we have an Instructor in my class who also judges TKD tournaments , so I hope to pick his brain this week to learn some insider tips on what they are looking for. I am also hoping to get a female point of view on things like how I should wear my hair, should I not wear any make-up or jewelry. It's hard to ask these types of things to my male Master, so I am hoping I can find an upper belt in my class who has competed and could let me know.

Taekwondo Infographic

Women in Competition - Where are they?

I want to see more women in Taekwondo competitions. In 2 weeks I have my first competition. I am competing in Poomsae (forms) and a team demonstration, and I am considering competing in breaking. Unfortunately, I won't be competing in sparring. I wish I could, but I haven't trained long enough to compete in sparring, but my goal is to compete in sparring next year.

I have gone to a few competitions to watch and I notice the same trend every time I go. There is an overwhelming amount of males competing. From young boys, teenagers, and men of all ages, but there aren't many girls or women.

Many of my fellow female classmates from my Taekwondo school did not even think about it before saying no. Some of them indicated interest and after they thought about it they returned a few days later to tell me that they were not going to compete at all.

I was dissapointed and saddened that I was one of the very few women from my school going to compete at this competition. You might think I would have been happy to be one of the very few women going, I am representing my school, but while I am happy to represent the school, I really wanted more women to compete and experience this with me.

It's important to me for many reasons, and here are just a few:

1. No competition. I took a look at the statistics from the same competition last year and on average there are 4 competitiors in each women's division. Each competition is different, but for this competition it is seperated by gender, age, and belt class.  If I am only going to compete against 4 other women in my belt and age division then 3 out of the 4 of us will win a medal (gold, silver, bronze). That's not fair to me or other women who compete. We need more competitors if we want to earn those medals. Which leads me to my next reason.
2. Competitions make you train harder and make you a better martial artist. If I don't have any competition I am not going to become better. We need to be constantly challenged and when I am I am motivated to try my hardest and work up to my next goal.
3. Confidence. Many of the men in my class are going to be entering the competition. They exude confidence while many of the women in my class would rather avoid any type of competition. 
4. Encouragement. I also think it's important for women to encourage each other. I have been trying to convince many of the women to come and compete because I think it would be great for them, they will become even better Martial Artists, boost their confidence, and it would be great to have females there so and we can support each other and learn from each other.

Do you ever compete at tournaments or competitions?? If you do, why do you compete? If you don't, why don't you compete?

Presentation - Women in Taekwondo Initiative

Click above to start video.

Note: I am battling a cold, so I am stuffy. There are quite a few pauses in the audio in the presentation above as I try not to sneeze or cough. Sorry in advance.

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art I study and teach. Taekwondo involves self-defense and fighting, but that's not all it encompasses. It's a lot more than just kicks and punches. We strive to become better people, instill positive values, teach people to be humble and respectful to all. I know I have become a better person since I have started training in Taekwondo. I have learned a lot about self-control, patience, and the power of kindness.

Our mission is to see underprivileged children have the opportunity to participate in Taekwondo. Women in Taekwondo provide children who require the most attention and resources.  

We want to give hope and provide the tools children need for a better life with our service. Recent studies indicate that children are less physically fit today than in past generations. Child obesity is at an all time high. There are a number of factors that contribute to child obesity and my foundation wants to help them active so that they can live happier, healthier, and longer lives.

Taekwondo will provide improved their physical fitness, it enhances their self-esteem, improves their concentration, and build their confidence and social skills.

In addition, our foundation assists women in a number of ways. Women In Taekwondo want to empower women teach them fundamentals of safety and self-defense for those who can not find those resource readily available. For example, women are still victims of kidnap and rape after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, these women need our help. They need health services, medical aid, and we want to go in and empower these women.

On average it costs about $2000 dollars a year for children to train in Taekwondo.  We raise fund and donations are used to provide children scholarships to train in classes, we provide underprivileged children and women free classes in Taekwondo. 

We know that providing the Taekwondo philosophy of courtesy, integrity, respect, perseverance, self-control, and determination will benefit children and women positively and greatly.

Nikita vs Her Boyfriend

It's going to be a year since we started training in Taekwondo. I convinced my partner of 12 years that he and I should practice martial arts. We both have always had an immense respect for the art, but never fufilled our goal of practicing it until now.

We both practice at the dojo three times a week and we both help our Master teach children once or twice a week and practice daily at home.

Though we practice the same amount of times a week there are key differences between us. He is more inclined to want to work on the punching bag. His punches are more powerful and more accurate than mine. I am more inclined to want to practice my flexbility by stretching in ways he cannot, and I work on small details in form, like the exact placement of hands and feet.

Other key differences are:

Nikita
I am naturally more flexible than he is.
I am better at forms (chorographed movements)
I can kick higher.
I have better balance.

Boyfriend
He has powerful punches and kicks.
He can do more push-ups.
He has better snap.
He is better at sparring than I am.

These are just a few quick things I have noticed and my Master has noted to us too. My partner needs to practice my positive attributes and I need to practice his. If I were to combine his skills with mine I would be a much better martial artist.

I often wonder why his punches are stronger than mine.

On a poll on Debate.org readers were asked "Are men stronger than women?" and 69% of responders said "Yes".  Many responders felt that it was "obvious" and "known" that men were naturally stronger than women.

There was a study from the US National Strength and Conditioning Foundation that indicated that "although women and men have the same muscle strength, the reason many men appear stronger is that they have more muscle mass and have a higher lean body mass-to-fat ratio, and have different fat distribution in the body than women do. Women’s muscles have the exact same strength as men do, and it is in fat distribution and lean body mass where they are different."

"From 1970 to the late 1990s, the Military and Army conducted numerous tests to determine whether the physiological differences between men and women in upper-body strength, stamina, endurance, speed, and coordination were genetically determined or the product of a less active culture among women and, therefore, subject to change through proper conditioning programs,” a 2004 Army study said. “Test results varied widely except in the case of upper-body strength, which, it was generally agreed, seldom reached the male level among females.” ( Thompson, 2013)

I found many articles with differing opinions and studies, some showing how women are just as strong as men and some proving that women were not as strong as men.

Men appear stronger because they have more muscle mass than women do. I know of a woman bodybuilder who weighs 240 pounds and can bench press 625 lbs.  Let's say she competed against a man who weighs 350 pounds and bench presses 800 lbs.

Is he stronger than she is?

Many people would say yes and that's a misconception. You might think he is stronger than she is, but that is incorrect. You need to look at weight of the person and the percentage of weight being lifted.

And she actually is lifting more weight based on her body weight lifted.

What do you think? Are men stronger than women?


Sources

Ferro, Shaunacy. February 6 2013. Science COnfirms Obvious: Men And Women Aren't That Different. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-02/science-confirms-obvious-men-and-women-arent-different

Thomspon, Mark. January 25 2013. Women in Combat: Vive a Difference. http://nation.time.com/2013/01/25/women-in-combat-vive-a-difference/#ixzz2ieiDY6or

Are Men Stronger Than Women. http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-men-stronger-than-women

First Draft of Elevator Pitch - W.I.T - The Women in Taekwondo initiative teaches Taekwondo and self-defense to underprivileged children.

Women in Taekwondo (W.I.T) is an non-for-profit initiative started by female practitioners and competitors in the world of Taekwondo to teach Taekwondo and self-defense to underprivileged children.

Sports assist child development. Children feel more confident, learn life skills, team building, and discipline.

"The evidence supporting sports participation for young people is overwhelming...It has the power to combat everything from racism to low self-image, to the high-school drop-out rate." (Sue Castle, Executive Producer of PBS Sports: Get in the Game)

"Female high school athletes are: 1. 92% less likely to get involved with drugs. 2. 80% less likely to get pregnant. 3. 3 times more likely to graduate than non-athletes."(Women's Sports Foundation)

However, sports can be costly. "Parents spend $671 a year on sports-related costs for a child, a recent consumer survey found. But 21 percent of U.S. parents spend more than $1,000 per child."

Taekwondo costs vary depending on the school, but on average the cost is $1,200 per child for training a year. This does not include supplies such as shoes, uniform, testing and competitions. 

Every two months children are tested and the testing fees are about $50 dollars each.

With all the expenses it costs about $2000 dollars a year for children to train in Taekwondo. On average it takes about 2.5 years to train and test for your Black Belt. The Black Belt test on average can cost up to $700.

W.I.T promotes the positive influences that Taekwondo provides for children and adults. W.I.T provides underprivileged children free classes in Taekwondo. We know  that providing the Taekwondo philosophy of courtesy, integrity, respect, perseverance, self-control, and determination will benefit children positively and greatly.

TKD vs Jiu Jitsu

Recently, I watched the documentary "Choke: Rickson Gracie" which follows World Champion Jiu Jitsu fighter Rickson Gracie, from the well known Gracie Jiu Jitsu family. It chronicles his preparation and training for the 1995 Vale Tudor, which is a no holds barred, full contact fighting tournament overseas.

You can watch the entire video here on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3vDHH825bg

I was not familiar with Jiu Jitsu before watching the documentary, but now that I am familiar with the techniques, I am extremely impressed.

This post is not to negatively put one style down over another. There are some martial art practioners that may think one style is better then another and I don't agree with the negative comparisons of styles. Most martial arts have been around for centuries and have a long history and have dedicated and passionate practioners that all should be respected.

Mixed Martial arts is the combination of different martial art techniques and that is very important when fighting or defending yourself. You can use a powerful Taekwondo kick to the face, stomach or groin; and then use Judo to throw the opponent to the floor, and lastly use Jiu Jitsu for ground fighting and to lock the opponents arm. These are just three quick examples of three different styles out of many different Martial Arts.

The style I practice is Taekwondo and within Taekwondo there are two known styles: Sport Taekwondo or Traditional Taekwondo. I practice sport, which is the same style used for the Taekwondo Olympic event.

We learn to fight with our fists, but mostly with our feet. We train the most in kicking and developing a strong leg and powerful kick. Like most martial arts its using these techniques at the right time with power and focus to get maximum results. I am constantly stretching, as flexibility is very important to get a high kick, strengthing my leg muscles, and balance.

In a fight situation using Taekwondo I would use my endurance to tire my opponent, using a combination of quick movements and sliding back and forth, quick and powerful punches to key areas like the nose, jaw, throat, and combining that with strong kicks to the groin, side stomach, legs, and using high kicks to the head.

However, in a "real" fight there are no rules and it's unlikely for both opponents to continue standing while fighting, most likely they will end up on the ground.

For women this is very important because if a male opponent/perpetrator is on top of you knowing how to get out from underneath him can be crucial. Jiu Jitsu focuses on ground fighting and for women it's an art that focuses on smaller opponents defending themselves against larger opponents and this is why I would like to learn Jiu Jitsu.

Like many women I have a fear of being attacked and not having the ability to get out of a situation, especially if the perpetrator is much taller and larger. When I spar against a larger male in my class, his legs and arms are much longer than mine, so he can stay at a distance and still hit me, while I need to get much closer to him in order to fight.

In Jiu Jitsu a smaller opponents can have an upper hand. If you have a strong technique you can over power a much large opponent.

Rickson Gracie is a great example. If you watch the documentary you will see the larger men he goes up against and how he is able to get out of head locks and from underneath these much taller and bigger men.

For this reason I plan on learning some of the fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu. I would like to combining those techniques with Taekwondo to become a strong fighter.

Elevator Pitches

1. Women's TKD Community website launches to encourage and to inspire women and girls in training Taekwondo

I have been doing quite a bit of research since I first decided to start training in Martial Arts. I wanted to find more information on women in Taekwondo and I was not able to. Once I started training, I started a blog so I could give other women who wanted to train or who currently on a perspective from a woman. Taekwondo for Women is a community and resource site for women who practice and compete in the martial arts of Taekwondo. The site will focus on a women’s point of view of Taekwondo. The main editor and a few contributing editors will write articles about women in Taekwondo, such as interviews with professional and non-professional Taekwondo practitioners. Women can ask questions to the community, and to the site editors, and the site contributors will select questions to write articles on. The site will feature important resources for women who are interested in practicing and are current practitioners. Some of the resources will include guides on techniques for kicking and forms, special stretches for women, and important events for women taking place in the Taekwondo world.

2. W.I.T - The Women in Taekwondo initiative teaches Taekwondo and self-defense to underprivileged children.

Training and playing sports can be costly. I pay monthly to train, I also pay to be tested every two months. There are additional costs for uniform, shoes, and competitions. It can be very expensive. Many families cannot afford to pay for their children to participate.

With the Women in Taekwondo initiative we will offer free classes to children who are interested in learning Martial Arts.  Taekwondo is a rewarding for children. I have seen the children we teach have more confidence, discipline and respect. Additionally, the children are active and are surrounded by positive role models and peers. We will offer scholarships to students who excel academically so that their Taekwondo training is paid for until they are Black Belts.

Dear Men, Don't Go Easy On Us

Dear men,

Please do not go light on women when playing physical sports. When women decide to play a physical sport, like basketball and Taekwondo, with a man we know what to expect. We expect that men compete with us how they would with other men. I have seen men treading lightly when competing against women. Going easy on us doesn't allow for us to learn new techniques and doesn't allow for us to push ourselves to the next level. 

In a real-life situation I am most likely going to need to defend myself against a man. I won't be prepared if you train lighter on me.  Don't worry. I won't cry and I won't complain. I won't say you can't hit a girl. I will take it the hits and pain because I asked for it when I signed up to train with you.

The other day, I asked a male partner in class to give me a kidney shot. I wanted to feel it and see if I could take it. Without any warning he jabbed me. I didn't expect it so I flinched in a pain a bit and then we both laughed. I could tell he gave it something, but he didn't give me everything he had. He simply said, "I can't do it." I didn't have the chance to ask him why.

Men feel comfortable being rough with other men and have learned not to with women. These are values you were brought up with by your parents, family and teachers. I understand, my brother and I would wrestle when we were children, but he wasn't allow to play too rough with me or pull my hair. However, if he wrestled another boy he could go as rough as he wanted to. That was "good for him", but never with a girl.

The other day in class my Master said if there were only men in this class there would be a war. Having both men and women in this class we learn to go hard, but we also learn our boundaries. He commended men for pushing some of us women and motivating us. I appreciated his comments. When my Master asks us how many push-ups within a set we want to do many of the women in my class will shy away and say 20-25, while the men might say they want 30-50 push-ups each set. We do three sets. I always do what the men do.

I was non-contact sparring against a man and I could tell right away he did not want to spar with me. I had just finished watching him spar with another man and they were both intensely sparring. In this activity, instead of full-contact sparring, we have to touch shoulders and knees for a point. I could tell he was going light, trying not to evade my space too much. He was just bouncing up and down and took light attempts to hit my shoulder. I got mad and turned it on and started quickly hitting his shoulder and knees, it took him a few seconds to finally turn it on and give me what I was looking for. I need someone to push me, but I needed to push him and show him that I wanted a challenge. His challenge was not to be beat by a girl and my challenge was for him to treat me equal.

I am not asking you to hit women when you argue with them. I am not asking you to hit a woman to make you feel better. Those values should always be upheld to respect women and all beings.

I am asking you that the next time your participating in training or playing a sport with your team mate, man or woman, don't hold back. Run as fast as you would if you were running against a man. Spar against a woman like you would with a man. Kick the targets like you would kick with a man. Train hard with us, so we both can improve and excel.

Sincerely,

Nikita

Midterm Proposal - What and who has Nikita become

Nikita Leon is a woman practicing the martial art of Taekwondo. She has been practicing Taekwondo for the past 10 months and is currently training for her first competition. She has always wanted to train in a martial art, but as a child her fear stopped her from trying it. She got over her fears, lost over 35 pounds, and started training in Taekwondo before she turned 30.  While she is training she is writing her blog about her experiences in Taekwondo as a woman, sharing personal stories about her weight loss, and her continued efforts to live a healthy life style.

I created the pseudonym "Nikita Leon" for a few reasons. When I was a young child I called myself Nikita after watching the movie La Femme Nikita, about a convicted woman turned assassin. At that time you did not find many women on TV carrying guns and training to fight. I always admired strong and tough women like her.

Leon is also based on one of my favorite movies of all time, The Professional. Jean Reno plays "Leon" a lonely professional assassin who becomes a little girl's caretaker. I never noticed until now that I have given myself the name of two assassins.

I use the same pseudonym as my Twitter name, @MsNikitaLeon. I thought it was important that the pseudonym and twitter name be the same because I find it a little confusing when both are not. I have thought about my twitter name and at times I do wish it was a bit stronger and correlated more with my world in Taekwondo. I thought about changing it to MissTKD or something similiar. However, I want to be considered as a real person, an individual, and not just an entity of ideas and thoughts.

What I am learning and enjoying:

• I am enjoying the critiques I have received from my classmates, group and my Instructor. This is a once in a life-time experience. I have never had anyone critique my work before and noone has ever offered it. At first, I took it a bit personally, and then I remembered that we are all anonymous here. I am going through this class open-minded and excepting of all forms of critiques. When I read the critiques and read how much better my words and sentences can be, I get excited about the possibilities of improving.

Some of my favorite pieces:

• Tweeting. I was never fond of Twitter before this class. I wasn't sure how to use it effectively. Since Nikita began using it I looked forward to tweeting and achieving a strong voice that grabs someone in the first few seconds they view the post.
• "In 2012 a violent crime occurred every 26 secs. One murder occurred every 35 minutes. Learn #selfdense basics. http://nikitasway.blogspot.com  #506iv "
• ""He punched me in the stomach. I almost threw up..but that didn't stop me. I lunged at him." http://nikitasway.blogspot.com  #506iv #tkd #girlpower"
• Articles. I enjoy writing, but I never felt that I was a good writer. Taking this course has made me want to be a better writer. Once I become a better writer I can finally touch people with my written words about subjects I find important. 
• One of my favorite articles I wrote on the blog was "Getting hit by a man". I enjoyed writing because it is unlike me to share personal stories about myself. I allowed myself to be very honest and open with myself and the readers. I want to see more pieces like this on my blog.

Some areas I would like to change:

• Blog name. When I first created the blog, "Nikita's Ways" I thought it was clever. My hope was to convey that I was showing my teachings, like the movie title, "Carlito's Way", starring Al Pacino. However, I think I need a stronger title, so that when a reader comes to my blog they know exactly what the blog is about.
• Twitter name. I am considering changing my Twitter name to incorporate Martial Arts or Taekwondo.

Some areas I would like to focus on are:

• Creating articles to submit to magazines and other blog related to women in martial arts.
• Hearing and sharing more of a man's point of view in Martial Arts. 
• Interviewing women, classmates, and leaders in Taekwondo for powerful blog articles.

Alternative Publishing Plans

In addition to posting to Nikita's Way blog, publishing articles on similar blogs would be a great alternate publishing plan. Bloggers can promote their work by guest blogging on similar blogs. For example, my blog is about women in martial arts. I provide a view in the world of martial arts for most people, but I pay attention to women particularly. With a women's view I can tell women what to expect in Martial Arts. Additionally, I write about my weight lost, so I can hopefully motivate and inspire others to do the same.
There are quite a few women martial art blogs that I enjoy reading. And I could possible guest post on:

• Jiu Jiu BJJ Blog - http://jiujiubjj.com
• Julia practices Brazlian Jiu Jitsu in Korea and while her blog covers different topics in Jiu Jitsu, most of her blog posts are on a women's perspective in Jiu Jitsu.
• My Journey to Black Belt - http://kickasssuec.blogspot.com
• A women's journey to getting her Black belt in Karate.

In addition to blogs, an alternative publishing plan consists of articles being publishing in magazines.  My blog discusses health, healthy lifestyles, and a women's perspective in martial arts. There are a few magazines that I could publish my articles in:

• Women's Health - http://www.womenshealthmag.com
  
• Black Belt - http://www.blackbeltmag.com
• Black Belt Magazine has been around since 1961.
• The magazine caters to men and women in all different martial arts.
• Submission guidelines: http://www.womenshealthmag.com
  
• Taekwondo Times - http://www.taekwondotimes.com/
• Taekwondo Times is more specific to the sport I am currently training in.
• The magazine provides information on current and past TKD leaders, upcoming world Taekwondo events, interviews, techniques and much more.
• Submission guidelines: http://www.taekwondotimes.com/centerPDF/Editorial_Guideline.pdf

My health and experiences in training from a women's perspective is unique and would be a great fit for this magazine as they are always looking for new features on health, techniques, and training. 

How I lost 40 pounds

At my heaviest I was 203 pounds. I still have a hard time believing that. I was overweight and I didn't know I had a problem. I was always thin and could eat whatever I wanted without an issue, but in college the weight crept up on me. My clothes started feeling tighter, so logically I bought bigger clothes. I started wearing clothes that stretched. That made the problem go away, at least in my mind.

But all that changed  in the summer of 2011 when someone took a photo of me and I couldn't recognize myself. Who was that person? I went digging and found a photo from a few years before and put them next to each other and it hit me. The best way I could describe it was like looking at a weight loss commercial. You know the one with the left photo showing the "before", which is of an overweight person and on the right is the "after" photo showing the amazing results.  But it was switched for me, I was small before and large after.

For my height and frame I should have been 140-145, yet I was 60 pounds over that weight. I estimated that I gained about 10-12 pounds every year for the past 5-6 years.

At first, I felt regret, then I got mad, and then I got even. Many times before I complained about wanting to lose some weight, but it was just talking, I never committed myself to actually doing it.

This time I could feel it was going to be different.  I took just these simple steps:

1. Replacing Junk - I first started by throwing away all the junk food I had in the house. For example, I threw away chips, I replaced soda and only drank water. I went to the market and bought fruits and vegetables. I bought hummus to replace any dips and started snacking on carrots and celery. I stopped eating take out and didn't stop at fast food restaurants.

2. Balance - I made sure I wasn't just eating meats and starch, like potatoes. I had to balance my plate. I read somewhere that it takes meat and potatoes 14 hours to digest, but adding fresh fruits and veggies accelerates that process. So I cut my meat and potato portions and started eating veggies and  fruits like blueberries with my dinner.

3. Stop eating after 7 - I don't practice this anymore, but in the beginning I did. I had to set up some rules to have order. After 7 PM is when I would look for snacks out of boredom, so I made sure I pre-planned meals. I knew what I was going to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks the next day.

4. Finding a Partner - I have a great partner. My boyfriend and I have been together for 12 years. We were slim together and we gained weight together. I used to eat what my boyfriend ate and would match him. If he had 6 slices of pizza, so would I. The only sport I was doing then was competitive eating...on my couch. Now, I made sure I ate no more than half of what he ate. We both started making changes together. Having a partner is the key because when one person wants to give up, the other person can motivate the other and we did that for each other.


I started noticing a difference and that year I lost 20 pounds.

I needed to kick up a notch. I was worried about doing any exercise because I had back issues. My lower back was always sore and I constantly pulled it with the most minuscule activity. I did physical therapy, but the pain didn't go away.

I started walking for a few weeks, and then I felt like I could jog a little bit, and once I started jogging, I felt I could run. When I was able to run I started playing basketball again. The activity helped me lose another 10 pounds. I was at 173 and I felt that I could finally enter martials arts and feel confident keeping up.

Martial arts incorporates strength training and cardio among other techniques. For example, at my dojo we have to run, dodge, do squats, sit-ups and push-ups to warm-up. My master encourages us and says, "If you want to lose weight, make muscle." I started seeing definition in my arms and stomach.  After a few months I lost another 10 pounds. I reached my original goal of 168 and now I am currently 163.

I have people come up to me that haven't seen me in a while and ask me what I did to lose the weight. And when I tell them the changes I made they look at me like I am lying. I think they hope I can give them a magic pill or secret to losing weight. I am not going to lie and tell you it was easy, it was hard work. I didn't see quick results. It took time. Sometimes I would workout so much and not see any difference for weeks and months on the scale. However, I felt a difference in my body and my clothes, but my weight would just stay the same and after a few months it would dip again. Weight loss is about commitment. You need to be dedicated and you will see a difference.

Lastly, I don't make big goals, because achieving small goals keeps me committed. For example, I didn't tell myself when I was 203 that my goal was 130 because if I didn't see 130 on the scale I would feel defeated.

So, instead I made mini goals. When I was 203 pounds my goal was to see anything with an 8 in it, that would be 180-189. When I was 180 something pounds, my goal was 170-179. I kept doing that. And now I am 163.

I still have goals and I am currently working on my new goal of 158. Between us, my ultimate goal is 140-145. I constantly remind myself about the positive changes I have made in my life. I am so happy I lost those 40 pounds. It has made a huge difference in my life. Some of the best include not having back pain, being able to walk and tie my shoes without losing my breath, clothes fit (bonus), practicing martial arts, and gaining lots of energy.

I am reminded of my achievement everyday with the little things. The other day I was at the market and I picked up a 5 pound potato bag and it was a pretty heavy a bag. I smiled when I remembered that before my weight loss I was walking around with 8 of those potato bags on my body.

Wikipedia - Protein for Women

Foods like yogurt (left) and egg
whites (right) are protein rich foods.

Protein in a women's diet is very important. Protein builds and repair tissues, and it is an important building block of muscles and bones.[1]  A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that increasing  dietary protein from 15% to 30% results in significant weight loss.[2]

Food with Protein
The best use for protein is to repair and maintain
body tissues. If people eat more protein than they need for tissue maintenance and repair, their bodies use it for energy.[3] Table 1 displays a list of high protein food, servings and the amount of fat.[4]

Protein Intake
The amount of protein intake depends on your weight, age, and activity levels. A survey conducted by Luna found that 50% of women ages 18–50 don't know if they get enough protein. [5]  On average 1 gram of protein is needed for every pound you weigh. For example, if you weigh 130 lbs you would need 47-106 grams of protein a day. [6]  Those who are active and have continuous physical training need to increase their protein needs. [7] The chart below shows an ideal daily protein intake dependent on your genders and lifestyle. [8] 

Breast Cancer
Though there has been controversial research results on the subject of protein's relation to breast cancer, the Shanghai Women’s Health Study found that women with the highest soy protein intakes throughout adolescence and early adulthood had nearly a 60 percent lower risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer than women with the lowest intakes. [9]

Issues
Consuming to much protein can actually be harmful to your body. Dr Gail Butterfield, director of Nutrition Studies at the Palo Alto Veterans' Administration Medical Center indicates that a diet in which protein makes up more than 30% of your caloric intake causes a buildup of toxic ketones. An over-build up of ketones can send your kidneys into overdrive in order to flush these ketones from your body. As your kidneys rid your body of these toxic ketones, you can lose a significant amount of water, which puts you at risk of dehydration, particularly if you exercise heavily. [11]

In addition to heart disease, studies suggest that eating high amounts of protein can contribute to high cholesterol levels, gout and may put a strain on the kidneys, especially those who suffer from kidney disease. [10] 



See also

• High-protein diet
• Nutrition
• Protein

References

1, 5. Betsch, Mara. March 1 2010. How Much Protein Do Women Really Need? http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410520,00.html

2. Weigle, David; Breen, Patricia; Mattheys, Colleen. The American Journal of Clincial Nutrition. 2005.  A high-protein diet induces sustained reductions in appetite, ad libitum caloric intake, and body weight despite compensatory changes in diurnal plasma leptin and ghrelin concentrations. 82:41–48.

3, 4. Hermann, Janice R. Protein and the Body. http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-2473/T-3163web.pdf

6. Calculators for Protein Requirements. http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blproteincalculators.htm

7. Russell, Robert M.D. and Sceppa, Carmen, M.D. How Much Protein Do You Need? http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/nutrition/art2059.html

8. How Much Protein Per Day To Build Muscle, Lose Fat & Be Health? http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/how-much-protein-per-day/

9. Harvard School of Public Health. Protein: Moving Closer to Center Stage. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/protein-full-story/

10. Nelson, Miriam. Will Eating More Protein Help Your Body Gain Muscle Faster? http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=50900

11. Thrasybule, Linda. August 31, 2013. 3 Things You Need To Know About Protein. ttp://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/08/31/3-things-need-to-know-about-eating-protein/

How to Get More Energry

I work full-time, I am working on my Masters, I practice and teach Taekwondo, and I also run a side business. I usually have about 6 hours of sleep every night and when I can I take 30 minute power naps. The power naps give me an extra boost when I need to stay up late working on fulfilling orders.

For quite some time I felt sluggish. Naps helped, but I still didn't have the extra boost I was looking for. I asked my brother, an athletic trainer, for some advice and I made some small adjustments and the differences have been remarkable.

Here are just five things you can start doing today to get more energy:

1. Stop eating over-processed, high-sodium and high-preservative foods.  At one point in my life I could not live without drinking Coca-Cola. I stopped drinking it for a few reasons. I wanted to fill my daily intake with natural and whole foods. Soda is filled of sugar and though sugar can give you a temporary boost in energy it is not long-lasting and not a healthy way to get energy. Additionally, pre-packaged foods are filled of sodium and preservatives, which may cause an increase  in your blood pressure and when your blood pressure is high your heart has to work harder. This may give you a feeling of tiredness.

"The average American eats about 3,400 milligrams sodium a day, but the recommended amount for a healthy person is 2,300 milligrams a day."

I don't recommend eliminating sodium from your diet because we do need sodium. Include some potassium when you do eat salty foods, like bananas.

2. Protein, Protein, and more Protein.  My brother recommended that I start tracking calories on apps like MyFitnessPal or LiveStrong's My Plate. I downloaded My Plate on my smartphone. What I like about this app is that you can search for food you eat and add it to your breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack category. Its database is filled of common foods and even restaurant menu items, so it makes it very easy to track what you are eating. It also shows your daily nutrients breakdown.

I saw a huge disparity when I started tracking how much carbs, fats and proteins. I noticed I ate a lot more fats and carbs and not enough protein. I did quite a bit of research and protein is huge contributor in weight loss, muscle repair and energy. I knew I needed to add more protein to my diet.

My brother recommended lean protein, like grounded turkey and egg whites.

I did some research and I found Premier Protein bars. They have a whopping 30 grams of protein, and only 200 calories. It comes in three different flavors, and they are the tastiest and fulfilling bars I have ever had. These make great meal replacements or snacks. If I don't have time for breakfast, I eat one of these.

I have also added the Premier Protein shakes, they have only 160 calories and 30 grams of Protein, Fage yogurt which is also low in calories and filled of protein. I mix some fresh blueberries and a few almonds in the yogurt. I am not a huge fan of yogurt, but this tastes great and if you want you can add a teaspoon of honey for taste.

3. Eat more. I know that doesn't sound logical, but if you eat small healthy snacks and meals in between breakfast, lunch and dinner you are fueling your body. Your body needs food as it breaks it down for energy. Make sure you have some great snack options with you. I love almonds, pistachios, bananas and peanut butter.

4. Start exercising. I am not saying to start an intense workout regime, but I am recommending that you add some type of exercise into your daily life. When I was overweight, I was living a bad daily cycle. I would wake up, get ready, not eat breakfast, go to work, sit for 8-9 hours straight in front of my computer, eat a heavy lunch, go home, watch tv, eat a big dinner, dessert, and bed. I had no desire to do anything else, but sit. I noticed a huge difference in my attitude and motivation once I forced myself to get out of that cycle and start walking just for 20-30 minutes a day

5. Sleep. This is a no-brainer, but we need sleep in order to re-energize our bodies. How many hours of sleep do you need? Some people need 8 hours and some might need 6 hours. Over-sleeping doesn't help either, I have read countless studies on people who try to make up their sleep on the weekends, but that just makes them more tired. Be consistent and try to get the hours you need every day.



Sources:

3 Ways to Stop Oversleeping: http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Oversleeping

The Negative Effects of Oversleeping: http://www.symptomfind.com/health/effects-of-oversleeping/

Why Is Too Much Salt  Bad for You? http://www.livescience.com/36256-salt-bad-health.html

How Much Protein Per Day To Build Muscle, Lose Fat & Be Healthy?  http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/how-much-protein-per-day/

Women's Taekwondo Uniform

This past summer Juanjo Padrós proposed a re-design to the traditional dobok worn in Taekwondo. Padrós proposed that the design would only be for women and that men would continue wearing the same traditional uniform.


"The new design was presented to the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)Expansion Committee in Puebla, Spain. during the World Taekwondo Championship."

The differences between the re-design and the traditional uniform are stark. As you can see from the image on the left the new re-design is tighter compared to a traditional uniform Taekwondo martial artists wear, on the right.

Currently, both men and women, children, white belts through black belts wear the same uniform.

A few of the main reasons Padrós created the new female uniform are:

1. Renew the female Taekwondo image and make a better difference between the male and female categories.
   Padrós indicateed that "amateur spectators find it difficult to differentiate a female or male combat."
   
   
   
2. Ease and release the body movements in Taekwondo.
   Padrós also indicated that "all scientific evidence suggests that new fabrics are vital to fit the body and allow a better freedom of movement, creating more definition and clean movements."
   
   
   
3. Improve Taekwondo image in the TV and press.
   "The most important reason is to take a better advantage of our female competitors because they are a treasure.  It is important to show that practicing Taekwondo gives good health, helps to stay fit and gives a beautiful body shape.  This last issue must be exploited and must be used to promote Taekwondo in this specific moment, after the success in the Olympics and a great World Championship, to attract television and mass media interest."

If the new re-design of the uniform should "ease and release the body movements" for women, it should also be provided for men.

Padrós comments on the re-design improving Taekwondo image in the media is sexist. A tighter uniform on a woman's body does not improve the image of the sport, unless the image that is being strived for is to make women wearing the uniforms more attractive to men.

Women do not practice Martial Arts to attract men, they also do not want their uniforms to attract men. When I enter the dojo, my mind is on training. Feeling comfortable mentally and physically are two important factors. I believe if women were mandated to wear the new designed uniforms that they would be very uncomfortable mentally and physically. There a quiet a few women I know that are overweight who join Taekwondo to build their confidence and to lose weight. They would never feel comfortable wearing a skin tight shirt and leggings. Even the women in tip top shape wouldn't feel comfortable wearing it.

By making men and women wear different uniforms you are excluding women in the sport and unnecessarily bringing attention to the differences between men and women. There is no need to bring attention to the differences because in the dojo we are all a team and we are all equal.

Why should women have to wear something different?

Share your thoughts below.

Sources

Female Taekwondo uniform could be redesigned. http://en.mastaekwondo.com/2013/08/female-taekwondo-uniform-could-be-redesigned/