We have al look with excitement growing for the 2020 Hurling Season; GAANOW looks at some of the young hurlers to watch out for in 2020!
How to balance martial arts training with other types of exercise
Long time reader Wim asks: How to balance martial arts training with other types of exercise
“To train in martial arts is harder than most people think. You have to train your strength, you have to run and of course you have to train martial arts. So how does someone who has to work a full time job and raise kids balance their martial arts training with other types of exercise?”
Great question Wim. I know a lot of people will be struggling with this problems so I will share with you a few techniques that I have learned along the way.
How to balance martial arts training with other types of exercise
I think the source of this problem is Bruce Lee. It was Bruce Lee who popularised cross training with martial artists. Because of him every martial artist now lifts weights, runs, jumps rope, stretches as well as training their traditional kata or form. Back in the old days in China or Japan the martial artists pretty much just practiced their own art without these other types of exercise. Now, however, we feel the need to do all these other types of exercise to improve our martial arts skills.
Whether this is right or wrong I won’t touch on here.
What I will touch on are some thoughts I have on the matter of balancing your martial arts training with other types of exercise.
- Realise that we don’t have as much time
Can you imagine a Shaolin Monk in ancient China getting up at 6am, feeding the kids, shaving, getting ready for work and then coming home and doing 6 hours of kung fu?
No.
It simply wasn’t like that back then. These monks were so good at kung fu because they dedicated their whole lives to training their art. They didn’t have families. They didn’t have jobs. They just trained and meditated.
We cannot do that.
So the first step is to realize that we don’t have as much time as the Shaolin monks or as millionaire celebrities like Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris or Jet Li. With our limited time we can only work with what we are given. And if that is only one hour per day then we have to accept that.
- Set your goals in stone
Martial artists often try to do too many things at once. They are good at many things but master of none. For example, a karate student might start lifting weights so that his legs are stronger but then realizes that he is spending more time lifting weights than he is training karate. When this happens it means you have lost sight of your goal.
If you write down your goal and always remember it then you will be less likely to lose your way.
For example, if you want to be the best kick boxer in the state then you must remember that kick boxing comes first. Weight training doesn’t come first. Running doesn’t come first. Kick boxing comes first. And while these other types of exercise will help you develop your kick boxing skills, they can also lead you astray.
Always make sure you devote more time to your establish goal than to the other types of exercise.
- Get up 15 minutes earlier
Getting up 15 minutes earlier is not hard. If you get up at 6:30am to go to work you will have no trouble getting up at 6:15am. And in those 15 minutes you can get a lot of work done.
For example, if you are struggling to find time to work on your kata or martial arts form then you can spend 15 minutes in the morning going over it again and again and again. Me and my mates used to do this in high school. We’d get up early before school, do the basic kata for 15 minutes straight and then run through each move once. While is doesn’t sound like much on paper it is a lot of work. It boosted our fitness levels and it sharped our technique such that our kata was always better than the other students in the class.
The same goes for kick boxing or boxing. If you want to work on your left roundhouse kick then get up 15 minutes early and throw 100 kicks into the heavy bag before breakfast. If you want to work on your left uppercut then do the same thing.
You can get a lot done in 15 minutes.
- Write down a set routine
There is a tendency for martial artists who are dabbling in other types of exercise to waft around for hours not really doing anything. For example, if you are lifting weights to improve your strength you should make sure your weight lifting session is as focussed as your martial arts session.
In a martial arts class there is a set routine. You come in, warm up, do the basic katas, basic moves and then maybe have a spar and go home. Why should the other exercises be any different?
If you want to get more done try writing down a routine and stick to it. Write down exactly what exercises you are going to do, how long you are going to do them for and so on.
- Evaluate yourself all the time
If you are not improving every week then you are doing something wrong. It is very important to look back at what you have been doing and see if it has helped you with your goals.
If your goal is to get faster punches and your punches are the same as they were six weeks ago then you probably have been spending too much time doing those other types of exercise. This is a great way to determine how much you should be doing of any given exercise.
For example, if your kicks are the same as they were last month then you haven’t been doing enough kicking. If your fitness is the same as it was last month then you haven’t been doing enough cardio. And so on.
This also applies to establishing whether or not a routine has been working for you. For example, if you want to add some strength and have been doing a kettlebell workout for six months and seen few results then perhaps it is time to switch to heavy weights instead.
We must constantly evaluate ourselves and make changes. Meanwhile, if you feel stress, there are suggestions from mental health professionals to help you relax. One way to chill is to play irish online casinos. It’s so easy to made with casinos that accept trustly payments.
About the Author
Theo Lit is a martial arts enthusiast and occasional freelance journalist.
Minister Paschal Donohoe stresses the importance of Tourism and Sport for Irish economy
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, yesterday updated Seanad Éireann on Ireland’s tourism performance and what he is doing to ensure our recent success is built upon into the future.
Not all of this is directly involved with sport of course but indirectly it will have a great longer term effect on tourism in Ireland and that is usually translated into more customers at sports fixtures, great on and offline sales of sports goods, jerseys etc when travellers be they Irish or International visit your region.
Plenty of attractive fixtures in the world of sports in the months ahead as indeed we had of late with the European Championship qualifiers and the Guinness Rugby Autumn series to name but two such success stories.
We’ve probably all heard too much from politicians of late, not all of it good news, but nonetheless worth studying what Minister Donohoe had to say:
“We have moved from a position in 2010 where overseas visitors had fallen by 16% in two years, to where those numbers have increased every year since 2011. This is thanks, in no small part, to Government initiatives such as the Gathering and the Wild Atlantic Way, and measures such as the 9% VAT rate, the British-Irish Visa Scheme and the setting of the rate of the Air Travel Tax to zero. This has resulted in Ireland attracting almost seven million overseas visitors to Ireland in 2013, and an estimated contribution of €3.3 billion to Irish economy. Figures released from the CSO show that we are continuing to build on that success with over 6.5 million visits recorded in the first ten months of the year – an increase of 8.8% compared to the same period in 2013. We also now have almost 140,000 people working in the food and accommodation sector as a result.
“But there is no room for complacency. The Wild Atlantic Way, which is the first ‘brand proposition’ developed by Fáilte Ireland, has been a great success, significantly enhancing the visibility of the west coast of Ireland. But in order to maintain our competitive position, we must continue to develop our tourism offering in a way that has the biggest impact on what is a very crowded international market.
“A proposition which is currently in development to encourage tourism in the South and East of the country, which I hope to launch early next year, will see the cultural and heritage tourism assets and experiences of that region being grouped via a network of routes, trails and journeys. This will result in a new tourism experience that can easily be understood and which attract overseas visitors.
“Where Dublin is concerned, I recently established the Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance, the aim of which is to create a unifying brand identity for the capital for the first time ever. This was done to ensure that we do not continue to lose market share to other ‘branded’ cities in Europe such as Berlin and Copenhagen and to enable us to we maximise what we have to offer.
“I will be publishing my Tourism Policy Statement in the coming weeks which will prioritise medium to long term investment. This will allow us to maximise our return from tourism, which will help in supporting the jobs we already have within the sector and enable the creation of many more into the future.”
Combining data from the domestic market and international visitors, total tourism revenue for the economy in 2013 was around €5.5 billion. Of this, €1.4 billion directly benefited the Exchequer through taxation. This is a very significant contribution by any benchmark.
I am pleased to report that the picture for 2014 is again very positive. CSO figures released just this morning show that there were over 6.5 million visits in the first ten months – an increase of 8.8% compared to the same period in 2013. This represents an additional 532,000 visitors from around the world.
There are almost 140,000 jobs in the accommodation and food sector, and overall employment in the tourism and hospitality sector is estimated to be in the region of 200,000.
I campaigned strongly at Cabinet for the retention of the 9% VAT rate, and I know its retention has been warmly welcomed by the industry.
On another taxation issue, the Air Travel Tax, introduced by the previous Government, damaged Ireland’s tourism competitiveness, particularly given our island status and the importance of air travel as a means of delivering overseas visitors to Ireland.
In Budget 2014, we set the rate of the Air Travel Tax to zero.
I am very pleased to report that airlines responded very strongly to our initiative, with substantial growth in air connectivity.
For the peak summer period of 2014, air access increased by 10% from Mainland Europe, by 14% from North America, and by 14% from Australia and other long-haul markets. I know the relevant agencies are all working hard to ensure that the positive momentum in this regard is maintained in the years ahead.
Initiatives such as Wild Atlantic Way, South and East proposition
This increased air capacity would not have been introduced by airlines unless there is a compelling business case to do so. It is clear that the quality of Ireland’s tourism offering continues to resonate with international consumers who are deciding, in increasing numbers, to select Ireland as their destination of choice.
In order to maintain our competitive position, we must continue to develop our tourism offering in a way that has impact in the very crowded international marketplace. To have an impact, new tourism initiatives must be of sufficient scale to push through the multitude of competing products and destinations.
This is the rationale behind Fáilte Ireland’s move towards developing what are called ‘brand propositions’ – projects of sufficient scale that they can be marketed overseas in their own right.
The Wild Atlantic Way project is the first major project to be developed on this basis. The aim was to develop a long-distance driving route that would achieve greater visibility for the west coast of Ireland in overseas tourist markets.
It is Ireland’s first long distance touring route, stretching for 2,500km from Malin Head to Mizen Head.
The Wild Atlantic Way was developed specifically for the Western seaboard to address the decline in international visitors to the region. It builds on what is distinctive and appealing about the West coast – its rugged coastline and powerful ocean, complemented by a deeply rooted and authentic culture and people – to give it visibility in a crowded international tourism market.
I know that it is already proving a major hit in our key overseas markets.
While Fáilte Ireland provided the central co-ordinating role for the Wild Atlantic Way, it would be impossible to develop a project of this magnitude without the support of the Local Authorities along the route and accordingly, I wish to take the opportunity to formally acknowledge and thank them in this regard.
Fáilte Ireland is currently developing a similar unifying tourism proposition for those counties in the east and south.
That brand proposition will group the cultural and heritage tourism assets and experiences of Ireland’s East and South via a network of routes, trails and journeys into a new tourism experience that can easily be understood by and will appeal to overseas visitors.
It will build on the very significant investment supported by Fáilte Ireland using capital funding from my Department across the region, such as the Medieval Mile in Kilkenny and the Waterford Viking Triangle.
I look forward to the completion and launch of this exciting new proposition next year.
Promotion overseas (work of Tourism Ireland, leveraging the new Common Travel Area visa)
While the tourism industry, Fáilte Ireland, Local Authorities and other stakeholders are engaged in the continuous development of our tourism offering, it is the responsibility of Tourism Ireland to bring that message to potential visitors in overseas markets.
Tourism Ireland will be building on the opportunities presented by the new British-Irish Visa Scheme, which was launched last month by the Irish and British Governments. The scheme, based on mutual recognition of each other’s visas by Ireland and the UK, is an historic breakthrough between the two jurisdictions and will be initially rolled out in the key growth markets of China and India.
The scheme will build on the success of the current Irish Short-stay Visa Waiver Programme which was launched by the Government in July 2011, and has led to significant increases in visits from the countries covered by the Programme.
Estimated visits to Ireland from China and India grew from around 25,000 in 2009 to nearly 40,000 in 2013. The new British-Irish Visa Scheme will make it even easier for those numbers to continue growing, as the hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Indian visitors to the UK each year will now be able to travel to Ireland on the same visa.
Top Hurling goals of 2019
Across Club and County we were treated to some fantastic goals in 2019 and here are some of #GAANOW’s favourite Hurling Goals of 2019! Do you agree?
Manchester player Aguero best overseas goalscorer in the history
Sergio Aguero made a hit record and emerged the highest-scoring overseas player ever in the history of the Premier League. His playing prowess was confirmed by Alan Shearer who says he is still the time best striker in the tournament “by a mile”. This earned him the Premier League hat-trick.
Aguero scored 03 goals following their 6 -1 victory at Aston Villa which earned him his 12th Premier League hat-trick, taking him ahead of Shearer.
The victory increased his overall goals to 177, which made him overtake Thierry Henry as the highest-scoring foreign player. This moved Frank Lampard to the fourth position in the all-time scorer’s chart.
Shearer explained why Aguero came first before Henry and Didier Drogba last year. “He is still the best striker in the Premier League by a mile,” says Shearer, who included Aguero in his Matchweek 22 team of the week.
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Former Liverpool goalkeeper gets signed on loan and moves to Villa Park for the rest of
the season.
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Aston Villa has published the news about signing the former Liverpool player Pepe Reina on a loan from AC Milan till the end of this season.
The 37-year-old goalkeeper makes a return to the Premier League after eight seasons with Liverpool between the years of 2005 and 2013. Pepe made a total number of 285 appearances in the Premier League tournaments.
Pepe had a clear record of 134 and has won the Premier League Golden Glove thrice. Being with Liverpool for these years, he was able to secure a four (04) win trophies. His earned trophies are; the FA Cup, EFL Cup, FA Community Shield, and UEFA Super Cup. The player has equally played the FA Cup, EFL Cup, FA Community Shield, and UEFA Super Cup.
Pepe joined Villa as a result of a knee injury that had to make Tom Heaton stay off the field for the rest of the season.
“We have managed to secure a player in Pepe who has a wealth of Premier League experience,”
Villa head coach Dean Smith said to the club’s official website.
“At the start of the summer, we were looking for an experienced goalkeeper and brought in Tom Heaton.
“Unfortunately, his injury has ruled him out for the rest of the season but Pepe fits our criteria not just because of his experience but also because of his leadership qualities.” He added.
Reina could make his first appearance under Villa against Brighton & Hove Albion and may equally line up against Liverpool on the weekend of 11 April. Fans are anticipating to see what Pepe has in store for them and they truly can’t wait to watch him do what he knows how to do best.
Here Are 5 Most Puzzling Facets About English Premier Football
The EPL gets much considered as the top football leagues worldwide. It’s because of their storied franchises, team and supporters’ connections, venues, among others. It commands a great deal of viewership worldwide. There are certain exciting aspects of EPL that you probably don’t know about now! Are you curious to know them? They are as follows.
- The benches
Here’s one of the most distinctive qualities of the EPL. You’ll notice that players who aren’t part of the game get to watch it live in action on the field.
One might think that the benches are somewhat a place to sit for players; however, some teams in the premier league reserve players within the multi-tiered or enclosed courts that might seem like stadium seats.
Each footballer has a personalized chair, which is quite phenomenal. It’s intriguing as its one of the essential qualities that make EPL unique in its way.
- The acting
Another puzzling aspect of the EPL is the acting amount that makes its ways after a foul. Acting occurs in the aftermath of an athlete breathing too profoundly close to one who’s controlling the ball.
Diving or acting is another significant aspect of the EPL. Some players act like they’ve suffered an unfortunate career-ending injury while an opposing player might clip his ankle. These antics occur more often. However, after a while, the injured player might be seen begging to get back into the game if his team isn’t doing too well.
- Gambling
Gambling on EPL teams is a common practice around the globe. It’s entirely legal, and it’s a fun activity. You can easily stake a wager on your favorite team and emerge a winner. It would be best if you paid attention to the football score table to see the latest stats that you can use on your next big gambling opportunity.
- The crowds
Most people travel miles and even cross borders to see a live sporting event. The energy of the group in the EPL plays a significant role in the game’s outcome. The viewer standpoint is one of the most appealing aspects of the EPL.
The chance to hear the home spectators supporting a team is beyond words. It’s simply impeccable. It always makes the football event to both hardcore and casual fans.
- Promotion and relegation
The fans of the premier league are often enthusiastic about publicity as well as relegation. The chance to see your team fight for the top sport is a direct ticket to the champions league. The entire premier league is often exciting as some cant wait to see their organizations strive to stay out of the basement. It’s because bottom dwellers get a demotion, which is quite heartbreaking.
Relegation takes EPL excitement to a whole new level. It often means more than just a pennant race.
The English premier league football displays fantastic qualities that are to die for each time. The star players are adorned by many from fans to punters alike. Don’t forget to check out the football score table to get the right stats for any championship’s league.
The 3 Sporting Events We Are Most Looking Forward to in 2020
Every year we look forward to the All-Ireland football and hurling finals, the Champions League and the Six Nations.
Those come around every year, of course, and will no doubt be covered in great deal across Irish sports sites. But 2020 has some real humdingers when it comes to sporting events, happening both locally and on the international stage. Here’s the three big events we are really looking forward to next year:
Euro 2020 in Dublin
There group games and a Last 16 fixture will be played at the Aviva Stadium, and it’s arguably the biggest international sporting event held in the country since the handful of games in the 1991 Rugby World Cup at Lansdowne Road. What could make this an even bigger event is if Ireland can squeak through in the play-offs, setting up dates with Poland and Sweden in the Aviva on the 15th and 19th June respectively.
That, of course, would be the hottest ticket in town, and as we saw in Euro 2016, UEFA can have poor form for ticket allocation, so why not find out more about securing tickets before you get disappointed? In the end, even if Ireland don’t make it through, it will be an incredible advert for the country and the city – and perhaps lead to chance of hosting other big soccer events in the future.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics
It seems like an obvious pick, but there are several reasons why Tokyo could deliver one of the most memorable Olympics in living memory. As we saw in the Rugby World Cup, the hosts know how to put on a special event; and, despite the time difference there are plenty of reasons to get to the pub for an Olympic breakfast. For instance, we have our eye on Christian Coleman to become the new face of men’s sprinting in the absence of Usain Bolt.
Irish hopes look good for boxing in the shape of Joe Ward, and the O’Donovan brothers and Annalise Murphy will fly the flag in rowing and sailing respectively. We would also keep an eye on Thomas Barr. He’s had mixed fortunes since coming agonisingly close to a medal in Rio, finishing 4th in the 400 hurdles. He has a big race performance in him, and he could deliver some overdue success on the track for Ireland.
Ryder Cup 2020
The Ryder Cup has really entered into a golden period again, and some of the events held in the 2010s were the greatest in history. In September 2020, Europe heads off to Wisconsin headed by our own Padraig Harrington as the captain. The USA are marginally backed by bookies to win back the trophy thanks to having home advantage, but it’s been a difficult tournament to predict in recent years.
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One thing that might cause some fireworks is the fact that the tournament is being held when the US Presidential Elections will be in full throttle, and Wisconsin is considered a crucial swing state. Will the golf-mad Mr Trump involve himself in the drama? Somehow, we think that’s one of the more predictable outcomes of the tournament.
11 Irish Show Jumpers ranked in World’s Top 100
reland has 11 riders ranked among the top 100 in the world according to the latest Longines World Show Jumping rankings from the FEI, a figure only surpassed by the USA with twelve.
The news comes on the back of a strong start to the season by Irish riders at competitions around the world.
Wexford’s Bertram Allen continues to be Ireland’s top-ranked showjumper at No.23, just ahead of Tipperary’s Denis Lynch at 24 and Meath’s Cian O’Connor at 25. Cork’s Shane Sweetnam is next best at 31.
One of the biggest movers this month was Co Derry’s Daniel Coyle who continues his rise up world rankings with the 23-year-old moving up seven places to 34, while Tipperary’s Shane Breen comes in at No.44.
Other Irish riders among the top 100 include Darragh Kenny (51), Conor Swail (66), Richie Moloney (80), Mark McAuley (81) and Cameron Hanley (93).
America’s Kent Farrington remains the World No.1 with Dutch rider Harrie Smolders at No.2 and Sweden’s Peder Fredricson at No.3.
Gaelic football goals scores of the decade
We take a look with GAANOW Rewind at some of the greatest Football goals we’ve seen over the last 10 years here! Do you remember these moments?
Compare and contrast essay writing on Football and Rugby
This sample is provided by a team of expert essay writers from Write My Paper Hub service. It can be used as an example for a high-school or college essay. The structure is common, adjustments can and should be made according to MLA or APA requirements.
Rugby and football are two classical games, and there is no life without them in Northern America. Millions of people are fond of these kinds of sports and know all the specialties about each of them. They think that the rules are clear and simple. However, if you are not among fans, it might be a little hard for you to understand differences and separate football and rugby from each other. So let’s make a list that will help you to deal with this question.
History
Both of them appeared in the XIX century and became national games very quickly. The beginning of rugby was a surprise for everyone and happened because of a violation of the football rules. After that, there were a lot of transformations, and now we have an Olympic types of sports as a result.
Technical Characteristics
The fields are different for rugby and football. It is visually obvious and logical. The field for football is more narrow compared to the rugby field. The field marking is also different according to the rules of each game.
The goal of rugby is to throw the ball to rival’s field. The goal of football is to get close to the rival’s score field as much as possible. When players do their job, it seems like the unstoppable process when speeds are so high, but remember that they follow only one main goal.
The general time of a football match is one hour. It contains four quarters, fifteen minutes each. There are two one-minute break between the first and the second quarter and the third and the last quarter. The longest break with fifteen minutes duration is between the second and the third quarter. Rugby is a game with two forty minutes times, but the game can continue longer and longer until some special action like out will not happen.
There are fifteen rugby players on the field, and there are no limits for players substitution. At the same time, there are eleven football players on the field.
Rugby is a little lighter, so the equipment of players is like all other sportsmen uniform. Comparing with football, the players seem undressed. If you are an American football player, you have massive protection for all the body. You will look like a hockey player with a huge helmet and shin-guards.
During the rugby match, players can use hands and feet to make passes to each other, and their ball is bigger and heavier than the ball for the football. Their form seems the same, but they are different in elongation. A rugby ball is more colorful, and the football ball has its special lacing. It is normal because football players don’t give passes by feet and use only hands.
The Power Tricks
A rugby player is in danger only when he is an owner of the ball. In another case, it is forbidden to use power trick. The situation in American football is opposite. Every player can be attacked by another team, so now you see why the uniform is different for the players. According to these rules, the fight might happen in every part of the field between any players.
Sure, the fans of the game can say that our list is not full, and they can add hundreds of important differences, but I believe that for a nuby who research this information the first time, it will be enough. I must say that both of the games are great and entertaining and only you can decide which one is more preferable for you.