Old Aikido Demonstration - October 2000 (Post 2)

An old Aikido demonstration performed by friends at a gym in Antique, Philippines. I have broken this down into basic techniques so that readers can use this as a practice guide, this I believe is Mune Tsuke Kote Gaeshi.

Old Aikido Demonstration - October 2000 (Post 1)

An old Aikido demonstration performed by friends at a gym in Antique, Philippines. I have broken this down into basic techniques so that readers can use this as a practice guide, this I believe is Shomen Uchi-Kokyu Nage.

The Best Age for Men to Make a Healthy Baby

The capacity of women in giving birth ends after menopause. Men are still capable of making their partner pregnant even up to their 70's, like some famous celebrity fathers. The health of the first time mothers were always the focus in monitoring the health of the baby, but recent findings have shown that the condition and age of the father should also not be ignored. The belief that the quality of the mens sperm is the same from its puberty until he dies, is definitely not true. This belief is mainly because of the patriarchal society of most nations. Men are also like women, they have also a biological clock that ticks away the capacity to reproduce as the years pass by. Men in their 50's can still be a father, but will definitely take a longer time to make her partner pregnant compared to a 30 year old father.

As men grow old, the testes becomes small and decreases in size, and the swimming ability of the sperm decreases. We all know that the very hard journey that the sperm travels in order to fertilize an egg, and if their swimming ability is hampered, the chances of the sperm of getting the egg fertilized decreases.

The condition and age of the biological father has a great and disturbing effect on the baby. One disorder that has been seen on newborns with fathers aged 40 years and up is autism. This kind of disorder has a much lower occurrence on newborns with fathers aging 39 years and below. The risks of having babies with birth defects increase as the age of the father increases. Fathers at the age of 50 have babies with achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder because of the mutation of the genes. The chances of cognitive impairment also increases with babies with very old fathers.

Even before the conception of your baby, looking ahead and planning for the future will have a great effect on the growth of your future child. The man must always have an open communication with his partner in order to prepare themselves on what changes that they will encounter. For men who still don't have any plans on starting a family even when they are already about to reach the age of 40, they must always make their self fit always, eliminate all vices in order to reduce the risk of complication in your offspring. We must see pregnancy as our chance of taking care of a wonderful gift given to us, and facing the changes that you will face in the future together with your partner.

"Cheap Ways" To Enjoy The Summer

One of the favorite destinations of every Filipino family during summer is the beach. One of the most enjoyable time of the year where you can be together with your family. Most of the children who are at vacation during this time always look forward to this time of the year where they have no more classes and they can play all day long. The mother can simply prepare some food that they can take in the beach, and some towels where they can lay in the sand, and everything is set. Just do not forget to always bring sunblock lotion to protect the children from the harmful rays of the sun. A disadvantage in open or public beaches is that it will not assure you of the cleanliness of the water, especially if there are many houses living near the coastline. To enjoy a clean beach area for your family to enjoy, you can always choose a private resort, but you need to pay some entrance fee, and rent a cottage, which is more expensive.

One very affordable way of enjoying the joys of swimming, and cooling yourself and your family during this hot summer season, is to buy a rubberized family pool! Having an average-sized rubber pool in your front yard will allow your family to enjoy swimming during the summer season without the hassle of going to the beach, and getting immersed in the unclean beach water of a public beach. An average-sized rubber pool, about 5 feet in diameter, is only about P1,500 in department stores nowadays. A very cheap investment that your family can enjoy. It is a very nice to place your rubberized pool under a large tree in your front yard so that your family can enjoy swimming even during noontime were the sun is high! A rubber pool is very easy to maintain, and if well taken care of, it can surely last a very long time for your family can enjoy.

Aikido Days

Found my old site and reposting some articles there about our Aikido club. I am also updating the contents and information on that site here.

original site: aikiloilo.bravehost.com/article.htm

Sensei Francisco P. Valencia was born August 14, 1922 in Iloilo City, Philippines. He first started practicing Aikido when he was

stationed at an American base in Guam, Marianas Island. In May 23, 1965 during a rigorous examination, he recieved his Shodan certificate from Sensei David Kalama and Sensei Richard Sasaki of the Guam Aikido Dojo making him one of the first Filipino Blackbelts in the whole world. When he recieved his Shodan certificate in 1965, he became the third highest ranking instructor in the Hawaii Aiki Kwai. In 1967 he was promoted to 2nd Dan and he instructed classes in the Hawaii Aiki Kwai, the Marianas Aiki Kwai as well as the Guam Aikido Club.

During 1968, he with Sensei David Kalama and Sensei Roger Sasaki were conducting classes for about 70 members at the Asan dojo in Guam, Marianas Island. At that period he was also conducting classes for the Roxas Aikido Club. By 1970 he was already promoted to 3rd Dan or Sandan and in 1974 he was promoted to the title of 4th Dan or Yodan in japanese.

During his time in Guam, Sensei Francisco P. Valencia was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Guam Aikido Club and a practicing member of the Guam Judo Club. Much later he was offered the job of representing Aikido in the Philippines but due to the fact that it conflicted with his work in Guam he declined the offer.

When he went home in the Philippines, he taught for a short while in YMCA Iloilo and in a dojo in Mandurriao, a town in Iloilo. And in 1991, he founded the Iloilo Aikido Dojo in Villa, Iloilo.

Currently, the Iloilo Aikido Dojo which Sensei Francisco Valencia founded still thrives but has relocated to Javellana St., Jaro, Iloilo City with Ramon "Jack" Tentia, one of the few students awarded by Sensei Valencia with a Shodan title, as the head instructor due to the ailing condition of Sensei Francisco Valencia.

FMA Legacy

I was born in a rough neighborhood in the Philippines. Growing up in that neighborhood entailed living in fear and desperation which can suffocate any individuals hopes and dreams for a better life. Living there requires an attitude of constant vigilance and extreme fortitude, and all attributes that can be draining to anyone who can't cope with the constant pressure.

Lucky for me though that I had an uncle that is well known for practicing "Arnis de Mano", a Filipino martial art that is as old as the Filipino race itself. Arnis is a martial art that is characterized by the use of sticks, made from hardwood trees indigenous to the Philippine archipelago, as defensive tools or as weapons to attack an enemy.

The Arnis system has many forms and are as diverse as the 7,107 islands of the archipelago. From the single stick technique that is “Arnis de Mano”, to a double stick technique “Doble Baston”, to double handed staff-length stick techniques that is called “Largo Mano”, and stick-and-dagger technique variants called “Espada y Daga” and many others.

By learning this age-old self defense system from my uncle that emphasizes learning to use a weapon first rather than training and defending yourself empty-handed, I was endowed with a feeling of security and confidence in my actions which helped propel me out of that environment and into a better one.

Today, like my uncle did in his spare time many years ago, I also teach people this art so that they can better themselves and lead them to a hopeful future like it did to me.

Teen Age Drinking - Silent Destroyer Of Our Youth

Our national hero, Jose Rizal, used to say, "our children are the future of our society." The generation of today have very weird hobbies and pastimes that the parents and guardians are having a very hard time comprehending and understanding. We parents are trying to give our children the appropriate freedom that they need in order that they will grow to their full potential, but nowadays, every social gathering of young adults always involve alcohol.

Drinking among teenagers nowadays are very rampant. Every event in a high school student's years up to college, drinking alcoholic beverages is very common and are usually ignored by the parents and guardians. Even how strict a parent is, a young adult can always find a way of getting past their parents and continue drinking alcoholic beverages. It may start as a curiosity, and tasting of alcoholic beverage by a 13 year old, but as it goes unmonitored, the situation becomes severe already before the parent is aware of the condition of their child. Unlike other vices, drinking alcoholic beverage does not need a lot of money. Few high school students, can easily save their allowance to buy 1 bottle of whiskey mixed with soda, which they can already enjoy together.

Addiction in alcohol among teenagers is very rampant and often continues silently. Peer pressure is the one that has the greatest contribution on teenage alcoholism. That is why parents are advised to know, and if possible, to choose the friends that your child goes with.

Educating young people on the harmful effects of alcohol, with the proper parental guidance are few of the important things that can help our youth in preventing them from being hooked to alcoholism.