Hatchet Kick - Volume 8 of the Achieving Kicking Excellence Series by Shawn Kovacich

What exactly is a hatchet kick? It is not as well known as your common side kicks and popular roundhouse kicks. Nor is it as self-descriptive as a front kick. So how do you describe it? Guinness World Record holder, black belt, and author Shawn Kovacich describes the hatchet kick like this, "A properly executed hatchet kick performed by a man (or woman), can be compared to a hybrid combination of a turning wheel kick and an in-to-out axe kick." If you are still uncertain just what a hatchet kick is or how to execute it properly, Kovacich's eighth book of his impressive Achieving Kicking Excellence series will ensure you have every component to master this kick.

Hatchet Kick by Shawn Kovacich is similar to the others in the series in that it is a stand alone volume that focuses on all aspects of performing the hatchet kick and ten of its main variations. Like the other volumes, this book contains short chapters on anatomy, warm ups, stretching, strength training, speed training, and power training.

The meat of the book however is the detailed descriptions of how to execute the hatchet kick and the variations. Kovacich breaks each kick down into its parts and illustrates these components with detailed photographs. I have not seen any other text illustrate kicking with such detail. The kick variations that Kovacich includes are: Step-Back, Spinning Hatchet Kick, Hop/Slide Forward, Hop/Slide Backward Hatchet Kick, Front Leg, Back Leg Hatchet Kick, Switch Hatchet Kick, Off-Setting Hatchet Kick, Jump Turning, 540 Degree Jumping Hatchet Kick, and the Spinning (with the left leg).

The book is full of notes and illustrations to assist you with mastering this kick and to be able to use the kick in various situations. Kovacich includes some of the applications for the hatchet kick near the end of the text, right after he addresses some common problems with the kick in his troubleshooting guide.

This volume is another exceptional book on kicking and as I said is the eighth of a ten book series on what Kovacich calls the basic kicks. This book and the rest of the series makes a superb resource for anyone who practices a kicking art. Even if you perform kicks a bit differently than Kovacich's style, you will learn things to make you better. If you teach kicking, Kovacich's books will aid you with imparting kicking knowledge to your students. I highly recommend this book and the entire set to all martial artists.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a mediator/attorney with Bennett Law Office P.C. and an author/speaker through his own company Burrese Enterprises Inc. He helps people discover the warrior's edge as he writes and speaks about a variety of topics focusing on the business areas of negotiation and success principles as well as self-defense and safety topics. He is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, several instructional dvds, and numerous articles. You can find out more about Alain Burrese at his websites http://www.burrese.com or http://www.bennettlawofficepc.com

basketball
basketball

To Wear Or Not to Wear - The Importance of Mouth Guards in Athletics

It's uncomfortable, makes it cumbersome to swallow, and even worst, it makes it basketball to communicate to your teammates. All athletic trainers in the country endorse the players they are hired to care for to wear these and while we whine and complain about wearing them, they really are necessary for preventative purposes. Mouth guards really do serve to help curb injuries.

According to experts, facial and head injuries can be sustained in nearly every sport, regardless if it is considered contact or non-contact. Damage to the teeth, lips, tongue, and jaws have frequent occurrences in both children and adults. Dentists report that they see more injuries to the mouth as a result of playing basketball than from any other single cause. Although more research is needed, mouth guards are supposedly meant to prevent serious injuries such as concussions. A mouth guard helps prevent fractured jaws and teeth, severe cuts to the cheek, tongue, and traumatic damage to the roots and bone that hold teeth in place.

Against popular belief, all mouth guards are not created equal. Depending upon the design and materials used, mouthpieces will vary in fit, protection, ease of maintenance and longevity. Custom made, mouth-formed and ready-made stock are all possible options. Custom-made mouth guards are formed by your dentist from a cast model of your teeth. There guards are designed to cover all the teeth and are shown in be the best type of protection. These can cushion falls and blows to the chin. While potentially more expensive, they offer the best fit, protection, and comfort. Mouth formed guards are generally made of acrylic gel or thermoplastic materials shaped to fit the contours of your teeth. They become molded by placing them in boiling water before your mouth attempting to get them to mold to your teeth. Ready made stock is commercially produced. They make no attempt to fit well, be comfortable, or extremely effective. This option is the least expensive, but is nearly ineffective and not recommended in dental literature.

Just like any protective gear, it takes getting use to wearing, but they really do offer something beneficial. If you treasure your pearly whites and an unswelled brain, be sure to remember to pop in your mouth guard before playing any sport whether it is soccer, baseball, ice hockey, basketball, gymnastics, etc. Be safe and remember to keep a close eye for more informative bits of information to the healthy athlete next semester.

Our coaching ideology at DSWAthletes is to develop an athlete's fundamental core foundation by using drills common to different sports and activities. We incorporate additional elements to promote strength and flexibility of the core region. In order to maximize peak performance and effectiveness, we create drills that use multiple muscle groups, improve your strength, aerobic, and anaerobic capacity, and keep your body constantly guessing. Multiplicity in focus will have you seeing results faster than if you worked alone or with more conventional coaches

Our program will develop your physiological 6th sense enabling you to react on instinct. We will guide you through a 6-station routine to keep your body constantly challenged. Our goal is to show all participants the most efficient and productive way to do things in a supportive and positive environment

The program will test even the most seasoned athlete. We challenge your preconceived notions about sports training and re-teach you the right way to approach development, in turn making you a great athlete. Change the way you see sports training with DSWAthletes' intense program and no-nonsense coaching style

More can be found out about DSWAthletes and Owner Derrick Wong at http://DSWAthletes.com

Grow Taller by Performing These Free Exercises - Part II

If you have not read the first part of this article, I recommend you to read it. In this part I will give you more exercises by performing which you will be able to increase your height and become more fit.

First Exercise - Jumping Stretch - In this exercise you have to try to jump up as height as you can and in the mean time stretch your arms up. This is commonly practiced by basketball players who want to learn how to dunk. It is good if you have basketball kind of a measurement like ceiling, so you can try to reach that by jumping. Maybe you have not noticed but all basketball players are quite tall, this is also effected by exercises they perform. Always remember to warm up before this, stretch your spine, etc...

Second Exercise - The Yawn - This exercise is quite simple really and it can be done almost at any place. You do it by standing straight and putting hands behind your head. Then bend your upper body backwards in that way stretching out the spine. The motion is similar to the one performed in the bridge exercise only in standing position. After you do this for about 5 seconds return back to default standing position.

Third Exercise - Super Stretch - Another effective exercise that can be performed anywhere. It is a variation of the previous exercise only here you put your hands straight above your head and then lean back only little so you can feel your spine stretching. Do this for about 5 seconds and then return to standing position.

Try to basketball these exercises daily and you will be stretching your back in no time. They will also make you more flexible.

If you want to find out more about stretching exercises or tips on growing taller, I advice you checking out my Grow Taller Page