Arts Backpack

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Samay Performing Arts Presents egyptian Nights

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MIAMI, FL Internationally renowned dance director and choreographer Samay promises a mesmerizing night of magic as she takes you on a journey to Egypt without having to leave your seat. The much anticipated yearly Middle Eastern dance recital will showcase the talent of over 200 student performers on Friday April 30th, 2010 at the Manuel Artime Theater. With previous shows having sold out to more than 2,000 attendees in only days, this years production guarantees another eager full house. Titled Egyptian Nights, this show will provide a cultural display of Middle Eastern music and dance including thrilling masterworks and much awaited new choreographies.

Standing side by side with Samay on this yearly production is the School of Community Education of Miami Dade College. Here, students in the Middle Eastern Cultural & Arts Program are offered an array of classes under the direction of Samay to meet different needs. Students in the classes range from beginner levels to advanced troupe levels which provide a chance for certification, or levels of dance that are simply for fun and fitness. Even the choice of learning to dance with customary props, such as Zills, Veil and Shamadan, is offered. Within the program, students can learn and understand all aspects of the art form such as movement, history of dance and music, as well as different styles of raks sharki and folklore from all regions of the Middle East. Since 1997, this successful program at MDC’s Kendall Campus has been and will keep growing into one of the largest of its kind within the state of Florida. I am proud to have trained many future performers and instructors in South Florida and I am determined to continue the hard work and dedication of training future stars, says Samay.

Belly dancing itself has significantly grown in popularity in recent years. Today, the dance is known by over thousands of women who admire its captivating charm and exquisite technique. Although always evolving, there is no doubt that Samay has a love for traditional Egyptian dance. Graceful women like Samia Gamal are within the range of dancers who rose to fame during the golden years of the Egyptian film industry and certainly inspire Samay to choreograph such elegant dances for her wonderful shows. This year marks the eighth anniversary of one of the most awaited events of the year. Directed by an international award winning dance company, it is Samays goal as an artist and instructor to have others embrace the art form of Middle Eastern Dance.

For more information about the 2010 show or about Samay Performing Arts, please contact Danna Prpich at 305-726-1195 or visit www.mdc.edu/ce/kendall/bellydance/default.html or www.bellydancebysamay.com .

About Samay
Samay is an internationally known professional Middle East dance artist, instructor and choreographer. She has extensively traveled the Middle East to acquire the technique and cultural aspects of Middle Eastern Dance including raks sharki (proper term for belly dance) and folklore. In 2004 Samay was awarded first place in the Ahlan Wa Sahlan International festival and competition in Cairo Egypt hosted by world renowned Raqia Hassan. Samay has been featured as a performer and instructor in the Ahlan Wa Sahlan festival, the largest Raks Sharki festival in the Middle East and also recently featured in Europe. Samay has had the honor of studying and participating in seminars with world renowned Egyptian and local artists such as Raqia Hassan, Yousry Sharif, Dina, Nagwa Fouad,Tamalyn Dallal (Samay’s main instructor), Jihan Jamal and many more.

Martial Arts Equipment For All Styles

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In the “old days,” it was not unusual for jugs of water, bags of rice, and buckets filled with sand to be incorporated into a number of different workout programs. Nowadays, we’re fortunate enough to have access to an excellent selection of martial arts equipment. Because of the effective usage of such equipment, it becomes possible to achieve the most from a structured class or private training.

Of course, this could raise questions regarding the type of martial arts equipment is necessary for the “average” workout. Again, there’s enormous variety available. Below is a brief overview of the martial arts equipment you’ll commonly encounter. Nearly all of it is a must for virtually every martial arts practitioner regardless of style.

Certainly, the common punch bag is a clear must in a dojo or training hall. Punching bags not just give you a definitive target to direct your blows towards. Such bags enhance the possibility to develop solid endurance and cardiovascular conditioning. You can find great variety among the many different punching bags available and they include:

Standard Boxing Size: These would be traditional boxing bags that mimic the shape and size of the torso. They’re primarily for the purpose of punching but mid-line and high line kicks are generally effectively trained on these bags as well.

Banana Bags: Most are thinner punching bags which are the size of the human body. The lower region of the punch bag permits the effective training of leg kicks, knees, and also other strikes.

Light Bags: Light punching bags are low weight (about 1/3 the weight and size of a punching bag) and are designed mainly to give resistance to jabbing style punches as well as hook and uppercut line blows. Some even make use of a lightweight punch bag to train headbutts!

Punching bags may be hanging bags that are affixed to various “hooks” in the ceiling or they may be freestanding. Freestanding bags are, essentially durable base mounts. Such bags are significantly more expensive than a number of the traditional hanging bags but they are much easier to move and store.

While hitting the heavy bag is really a must for effective training, you really do need to hit it in as safe a manner as possible. This will likely require the proper protective gloves essential for hitting an impact target. Including all manner of impact targets – heavy bags, focus mitts, shields, and Muay Thai pads. The knuckles inside the hand are quite small and fragile bones. For this reason reliable gloves – whether they are traditional 12oz, 14oz, or 16oz boxing gloves, boxing bag gloves, or mixed martial arts lightweight finger free gloves – must be worn when hitting a heavy punch bag. For those that enjoy sparring with “point karate” gloves, be mindful of the fact that such gloves aren’t manufactured for hitting impact targets. They will not provide you with the adequate protection you require for such training. Stick with using them for light contact sparring instead.

As most martial artists realize, the hands are not the only area that require protection which explains why a substantial amount of martial arts equipment will provide protection to the feet. Shin pads and point fighting footwear are two of the most common. Some may assume that such equipment is only used in sparring. In actuality, wearing when hitting impact targets is advisable too since this can protect the lower extremities and nerve endings from damage. Really, the perennial running theme here is that most martial arts equipment is intended to enhance safety. Obviously, you can also get some items that serve other purposes as well and they’re well worth a look at too.

Stretching devices can be employed to help you extend the range of motion in the leg ligaments. This will definitely prove helpful for people who would like to enhance their kicking flexibility. Similarly, the “old school” Eagle Catcher is a perfect spring action handheld device designed to build up a great level of gripping stretch. The classic makiwara pad has long since been used to toughen the hands in traditional karate training. Similarly, the kung fu wall bag is a fantastic asset for developing strikes common in the Chinese martial arts. Such older and more traditional training aids definitely have their place in a modern world which is becoming more and more noted for its sportive approach to training. But, whether you are practicing for competition or traditional self-defense, you will need equipment that helps facilitate your goals.

Regardless of the type of martial arts equipment you purchase, you want to make sure it is from a reputable name brand manufacturer. Some will make the error of buying more affordable equipment from a “no frills” manufacturer. Rarely is such equipment worth much of anything. Not only will cheap equipment not deliver on expectations, it can put the user at an injury risk. Certainly, that would not be helpful in any way whatsoever. Keep with reliable name brands for your martial arts equipment needs. Such an approach will assuredly prove significantly more helpful in the end.

How to Do Fa-Jing –Issuing Energy — in Tai Chi, Hsing-I and Bagua

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He was one of the greatest kung-fu masters in the world, a direct descendant of the creator of tai chi, and he was asking me to show him a punch. It was an exciting moment but also nerve-wracking. Trying not to be nervous, I settled into the posture and prepared to show him internal power. Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang stood in front of me, watching carefully.

Trying to remain relaxed, I shifted my weight from my right to my left leg and my right fist shot out, fast, relaxed, and powerful. At the same time, my left elbow thrust backward and my left hand stopped at my ribcage.

Grandmaster Chen was not impressed. He took my right hand in his left, my left hand in his right and told me to relax. Before I knew what was happening, he jerked the right hand out and pushed the left hand backward. I wasn’t quite relaxed enough and almost suffered whiplash in my neck.

Relax, he told me again, and once again he jerked my arms — hard — forcing one to punch and the other to return to my ribcage. For a minute, I was like a rag doll, completely limp as he repeatedly demonstrated how relaxed I was supposed to be when performing fa-jing.

It’s amazing how the internal arts of China — Tai Chi, Hsing-I and Bagua — have been distorted by teachers who take what they have read too literally. The subject of fa-jing (pronounced “fah-zhing”) is one example of how a simple concept is misunderstood and misinterpreted.

Fa-jing means “issuing energy.” Unfortunately, the people who desperately need to believe in the supernatural think that in doing fa-jing, you are shooting chi out of your hands or body. They take it literally.

It’s not magical or mystical. It’s a matter of physics, and in the internal arts, it’s a matter of body mechanics.

Boxers issue energy anytime they deliver a jab, a hook, or an uppercut. If you’re into karate, you issue energy when you break a board with your foot, and if you’re into MMA, energy is issued when you drive a knee into an opponent’s face.

In the internal arts, fa-jing — issuing energy — is more complex, but the end result is the same. You knock someone into next week.

Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang, whose ancestor,Chen Wangting created Tai Chi 11 generations ago, teaches that fa-jing is a matter of proper body structure (posture) and good internal movement. From there, he says you simply “step on the gas.” He likes using automobile metaphors. In other words, if you use good structure and mechanics and then add speed, you will create the unique relaxed power of the internal arts.

I’ve studied other martial arts and have found the body mechanics of the internal arts far more difficult and complex. For high-quality tai chi you must maintain ground strength, peng jin, whole-body movement, silk-reeling (spiraling movement through the body), dan t’ien rotation and opening/closing the kua. You must connect all of these skills through the body as you deliver the strike with speed, power, and relaxation.

It takes years to learn how to do this from an internal perspective, because we all bring bad habits to the internal arts and it takes years to learn the above-mentioned skills and learn to maintain the whole-body connection as you move. It takes years for us to lose the muscular tension that we’ve developed all of our lives.

When Grandmaster Chen worked with me on the punch, I didn’t have it the first few times I did the punch and he corrected me each time. Suddenly I understood, and the next time I punched I connected the relaxed power from my foot, through my body and out my hand, exploding and shifting my weight at the same time.

“Ahh!” he said, his face lighting up. “Good.”

As a martial artist, few things are better than getting a “good” from Chen Xiaowang.

A short time later, he astonished those of us attending his Washington, D.C. workshop by doing a series of fa-jing strikes.C. With each strike, it seemed his uniform was exploding in all directions. That type of power comes from being connected and relaxing — and from a lifetime of practice. When he does fa-jing, you can almost feel the energy even standing halfway across a room. It reminded me of being on the floor right behind the basketball hoop during a University of Iowa game. When the big players were slamming into each other beneath the hoop, you could feel the body heat and almost feel the energy as they collided. I’ll never forget it, and being close to Chen Xiaowang when he does fa-jing is very similar.

There are two myths about tai chi that all martial artists should put aside. One is that tai chi is a slow motion health and meditation exercise. In truth, it’s a powerful martial art that is practiced slowly so students can learn the body mechanics and later can speed up the movements and deliver amazing power without a lot of obvious effort to the untrained observer.

The other myth people should forget is about chi. Fa-jing has nothing to do with shooting energy out of your body. Instead of focusing on chi, which has never been proven exist in independent scientific studies and which is too often the focus of tai chi teachers, you should focus on proper posture and body mechanics. Do this and you’ll be closer to developing the relaxed power of fa-jing.

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Ken Gullette has practiced martial arts for 36 years and is best known for his high-quality instructional DVDs, his online internal arts school and his internal arts blog. He is dedicated to dispelling the myths surrounding tai chi, hsing-i and bagua, showing that the skills required for the internal arts are physical, not metaphysical.

Health Benefits Of Mixed Martial Arts Training

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Mixed martial arts is defined as a complete contact combat sport which involves a number of fighting skills and techniques, from a mixture of other fighting sports, used in competitions. Such training programs are great for the body and help one to improve stamina and strength.

It has been proved by a number of researches that individuals who practice any form of martial arts on a regular basis have high levels of fitness as compared to individuals who don’t. In addition to this, they also have a stronger immune system. These training programs are considered good for individuals suffering from innumerable health troubles like high cholesterol level, cardiac problems, high blood pressure, breathing difficulty, poor circulation and many others.

Some of the major benefits offered by MMA training programs are given below:

Increases flexibility and strength
This is one of the major benefits offered by such training programs. Regular training helps in the strengthening and toning of muscles thus increasing body flexibility. One becomes physical stronger and capable of defending himself from any kind of physical attack. Moreover, these training programs also help in muscle strengthening and stress release.

Weight loss programs
This is another major benefit associated with such training programs. Such programs are considered good for weight loss and help one to have a healthy and slim body.

Increases mind sharpness
Learning martial arts not only makes a person physically stronger but mentally sharper as well. The training involves good concentration and self control and thus improves coordination between the mind, body and soul.

Thus, mixed martial arts training provides innumerable health benefits to individuals and is becoming immensely popular worldwide. There are innumerable organizations which are offering MMA courses as per the needs of individuals.

The Top 3 Martial Arts Movies Of 2010 & Their Power On The Martial Arts Community

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Martial arts films have become a fairly popular theme recently. You might have noticed that there are already many martial art movies that have been created and released during 2010. A great way to share your love of martial arts films with others is to take some time to discuss the top 3 martial arts movies of 2010 and their impact on the martial arts community.

Ninja Assassin has been one of the main films that everyone has been interested in. The plot is based in Berlin and focuses on an orphan who lives with a clan of ninjas. The orphan experiences violent and rough training throughout his life so that he can become a ninja and assassin, though this is different from who he actually wants to be. In reflection of this, after all of the cruelty he experiences and the amount of freedom that he is denied, he betrays the clan one night and focuses on becoming independent.

After he has betrayed the clan, the group of ninjas begin to search for him in order to avenge his betrayal. In the process of avoiding them, he meets a government agent who is also interested in the case and they eventually become friends while working together. The film showcases many martial arts scenes that are very memorable, which is likely why it has become so popular.

Another popular film is known as Ninja. This film begins with some good historically based scenes about ninjas throughout the ages. Here, you are allowed to see some beautiful examples of martial arts. However, the storyline then progresses very quickly to situation where the main character and the villain of the film fight each other because they like the same girl. There is then a storyline about ninja heirlooms and a plot unfolds in the process. While this film is good for some martial arts scenes, it is possibly more bloody than it needs to be.

There is also a film that has not yet been released, which is already very popular. This film is the remake of The Karate Kid. Generally, it would seem that the reason this is so popular without a release even happening yet is because people want to know if this movie will be as impressive as the original. If you haven’t seen the original yet, then it is recommended you should see it first and then see the remake. This way, you can judge for yourself which film was better and which had better martial arts scenes.

However, the original film itself was a great example of martial arts. Additionally, it was safe for younger individuals to watch. This allowed for many younger people to become curious about martial arts and want to learn more about it. If the remake is any reflection of this, then there will again be younger generations that are curious about the practice and want to know more.

Most of these films were released in the earlier part of 2010. Because of the amount of films that have already been released, it isn’t unusual to wonder how many more films will approach as the year continues. More positively, the martial arts community can use this to interact with as many interested individuals as possible. But likewise, the films would be better if there was less of a focus on ninjas and pointless gore.

These are aspects you might want to consider and mention during your discussion of the top 3 martial arts films of 2010. There are still many films that need to be released in the period of a year and it’s undoubted that there will be more films to discuss. But in the meantime, you can use some of the above films as examples and conversation starters.

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