Bruce Lee did more than blaze the movie screens with powerful, lightning quick punches and kicks. He launched a martial arts revolution and encouraged martial artists to break the ties that bound them as practitioners. Lee freed himself and other martial artists from the ties that limited the skills traditional fighters. He envisioned unity among the divided disciplines of martial arts. After years of research and development, Lee managed to fuse every helpful martial arts components into one system. He incorporated western boxing, the Chinese style of Kung Fu called Wing Chun, and Western fencing and added bits of Karate, Judo, Aikido, Muay Thai, and Jiu Jitsu. The result was a concept that served as a forerunner for Mixed Martial Arts MMA, called Jeet Kune Do Way of the Intercepting Fist.

Jeet Kune Do, according to Lee, is not another martial arts style or method. It is a concept where different combat arts and techniques are used. Whether it is from Japan, China, India, or the Philippines, combat artists are encouraged to explore various fighting system and absorb its essence. Lee wanted to create a martial art that was unbound and free, where movements are simple, direct, and non-classical. He later expanded the notion that the art should be used for personal development and become a better fighter. The final stage of training designed for practitioners of Jeet Kune Do was the no limitation stage where advanced students were free to change and explore their personal styles of fighting.

Bruce Lee was able to accomplish this feat because of superb physical and mental training. He freed himself of the stress and anxiety that distracted his training. He developed his abdominal muscles because these muscles play a key role in the movement of martial artists. In addition, these muscles protects the ribs and other vital organs. Lee constantly trained and attempted to achieve maximum efficiency, according him martial artists of his time lacked necessary physical fitness to back up their skill. There were times when Lee would ride a stationary bike for 45 minutes to increase his muscle definition and reduce body fat. He combined weight training with his regular workout to improve his performance and physique. His workout was designed to avoid bulky muscles to avoid hefty muscles that might interfere his martial arts movement. In addition, Bruce Lee trained properly to avoid muscle spasms and lower back pain. Injuries may hamper his training and affect his performance. He also took nutrition seriously and was strict on his diet. He drank his concentration of vegetables, apples, celery, carrots, and prepared it using an electric blender. Lee consumed high-protein drinks which included powdered milk, eggs, bananas, and peanut floor.

Bruce Lee is one of the most recognized names in the world and accomplished so much despite living a very short life. His goal of breaking the bounds that acted has limiting factors succeeded and started the genesis of many hybrid martial arts. Lee did not become a seasoned martial artist overnight, his accomplishments are products of intense and vigorous training coupled with proper nutrition.

From the time you said yes. you knew it was coming. As a Christian, you have long understood the toll of following Christ and the dues you have to pay as a servant. Going out of your comfort zones and being exposed to various sorts of humility-teaching mission trips…going down the ditch just like what the Savior did just to reach the Christ-less people… making great sacrifices… and going the extra mile just to realize the cause of the name that has been affixed to yours.

Even in the face of all these challenges and trials, you still allowed yourself to be enlisted as a soldier in a spiritual movement. But after some time, you also find yourself mired in the mud of doubt. You start to see the faults of your Christian peers which makes following Jesus more of a drag. The people you look up to in the faith, instead of promoting a Christ-likeness in your group, have been behaving unconventionally. Church and ministry pressures have become almost unbearable. To make matters worse, you somehow feel that you are now less appreciated compared to the favored new Christian guys. The fire within you starts to fade out. The faithful and enthusiastic Yes! had already become a faint I-can’t-do-it-anymore retort. Indeed, most Christians experience their fair share of stress and anxiety. Even those looked upon by others as being strong in the faith have found their normal routine disturbed by all the troubles of every day life.

A lot of issues confront Christians, especially those who are called to be full-time ministers. Among the stress factors that afflict ministers and church workers include the difference between expectations and hard reality; the difficulty of being a leader and a servant at the same time; the so-called Peter Principle in which one feels inadequate to lead a group of committed volunteers; the wide scope of responsibilities of a minister or church worker; and the constant pressure of living a pure life in front of a congregation.

Stress and anxiety can manifest not only as stressors overwhelming emotions induced by environmental factors but can also be seen as internal factors — like the fear of being compared to others, for example. Being accused falsely by someone that you trusted; constant bickering with a fellow believer; conflict and confusion over theological principles and corporate beliefs — all these can lead to stress and anxiety. These distressing predicaments can really put out the fire in a Christian’s life. Psychologists also point out that stress and anxiety can inhibit normal brain activities, which can later lead to faulty decisions.

Compounded by all these problems, many believers feel like being on the verge of quitting. However, in the real sense, the word quit, or any word which carry same meaning is not registered in God’s vocabulary. Instead, He wants us to persevere until He comes.

A struggling believer should consider the following suggestions that can help revive a sense of victory in one’s spiritual and daily lives

Prepare for stressful situations
As they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Even Jesus prepared for his great battle of temptation with a 40-day fasting. So, in this light, we must also follow the Master’s example by being always prepared.

Relax for a while
Jesus encouraged us to obey the Sabbath and keep it holy. The Sabbath also was given so that man can rest from all the hard work. It’s a good regimen for coping with anxiety. Listening to your favorite music and engaging in your hobbies are also effective in dealing with anxiety.

Practice a Healthy Christian lifestyle
Just like food that is important to the body, prayer and devotion are essential to one’s spiritual nourishment. A car wouldn’t run without fuel. In the same manner, our spiritual life would be in great peril if we do not take time to read God’s word and constantly seek His guidance through prayer.

Set your priorities
This is not only applicable in the corporate world but also in living the Christian life. The sad part is that many Christians tend become lax about their spiritual life and, in the process, abuse God’s grace. By knowing one’s priorities, a believer’s use of time, energy, and resources would be optimized.

Seek for continuous strength from God
Jesus is the ultimate source of our strength and power. Therefore, we need to constantly attach ourselves to the power source.

The Apostle Paul said, Let us fix our eyes on Jesus — the author and the finisher of our faith. By removing our focus on the daily problems and struggles that cause us anxiety, we are able to gaze on the Source of Life. Paul also advises all of us to …press on toward the prize. Indeed, with prayer and faith, all of us must continue in our journey of faith regardless of the trials that come our way.

The tragic death of thirteen year old Megan Meier has caught the attention of millions of parents, educators, medical professionals, and child advocates worldwide. She had committed suicide the day after Josh, a boy she met and became friends with on the popular social networking website MySpace, abruptly ended the relationship and began sending her nasty messages online. The incident was brought to international attention after it was discovered that the identity of Josh was apparently the creation of a family, primarily the mother, who lived in Megan’s neighborhood who wanted to know what the girl was saying about their daughter online. The two girls had previously been friends but had a falling out recently.

This case has brought to light a growing threat to many children and adolescents—the phenomenon of online bullying. Online bullying, also referred to as electronic bullying or cyber-bullying, can be defined as the repetitive and willful harassment through the use of the Internet, mobile phones or other forms of interactive andor digital communication, usually with the intent to humiliate, torment and threaten an individual in order to assert the perpetrator’s power over the victim. It is speculated that about one in ten children have experienced some form of bullying, but others insist that the numbers of victims are higher.

According to a 2005 study, cyber-bullying can take different forms, such as sending mean, vulgar, or threatening messages or images; posting sensitive, private information about another person; pretending to be someone else in order to make that person look bad; andor intentionally excluding someone from an online group. This is usually done through e-mails, instant messaging IM, text or digital imaging messages sent on cell phones, web pages, web logs blogs, chat rooms or discussion groups, and other information communication technologies. This kind of bullying is often limited to children, pre-teens and teenagers.

Traditional bullying is distressing enough; however, cyber-bullying is even more terrifying because the harassment can occur continuously at any time of the day or night, with the messages and images distributed quickly to a very wide audience. With the advent of camera phones, perpetrators can take pictures of their intended victim in compromising and potentially humiliating situations and post it on the Internet. Examples of these can be seen in websites such as YouTube which allows members to post pictures and videos online and subsequently viewed and downloaded worldwide. It may also be circulated through e-mails in the form of attachments. This increases the humiliation felt by the victim, often heightening the stress and anxiety they feel. For Megan Meier, the bullying aggravated her condition; she had been diagnosed with depression and attention deficit disorder. The girl was extremely vulnerable and this was what ultimately drove her to kill herself.

Online bullying can be classified as a computer crime punishable by law; however, prosecuting the perpetrators of this crime is limited by the laws that are in place in the state or country where it happened, mostly because computer crimes are very much a new thing. And as with any crime, in order to prosecute one must have sufficient evidence. Unfortunately, unlike traditional bullying, cyber-bullying is difficult if not impossible to trace. This is because the youthful perpetrator can remain anonymous online, supply false identifying information or constantly change online personas.

This is exactly what happened in Megan’s case. The account was created and maintained in order to gain Megan’s trust, and while her parents acknowledge that no one could have predicted that the eventual outcome of the scheme, they feel that the offending family should be held accountable for what they did. Tina Meier, the victim’s mother, said law enforcement officials told her the case did not fit into any law, but sheriff’s officials have not closed the case and pledged to consider new evidence if it emerges.

The Meier family had been storing a foosball table for the family that created the Josh persona online. When Megan’s parents found out that it was that family that had driven their daughter to suicide, they destroyed the table and dumped the remains on their neighbor’s driveway. This is perhaps the only payback that they’ll get for losing their beloved daughter, however paltry it may be. But Megan’s tragic death may not be in vain; lawmakers in her community have proposed a new ordinance related to child endangerment and Internet harassment. While it comes too late to save Megan’s life, it may save other children and give them some way of getting back at their oppressors.

A number of couples restrict themselves from talking about sexuality and their sex lives. Some are shy while others are reluctant to open up with their respective partners. This approach to sexuality can lead to ruined marriages. Sexuality is one of the key factors in having a healthy marriage. Sex is not just about satisfying each other’s libido or sexual desires. More than that, it is about effective communication and intimacy. Both partners should look forward to an entirely satisfying sex life along with the emotional connection that it entails. According to many health and marriage experts, it is normal for couples to encounter difficulties in their sexual relationship. Some of the common problems couples may encounter are boredom, lack of intimacy, low sexual desires, and lack of passion in sex. Another cause may be the failure of one partner to perform according to the expectations of the other party.

Some wives claim that they often feel rejected when their husbands lack intimacy. Some of these sexual problems take a toll on the emotional and physical condition of people. There are people who gained weight and lost their self-esteem in part due to poor sexual lives. On the contrary, people who reportedly had active sex lives had become happier and closer to their partners. Robert Holden, a doctor who specializes on emotional health, says that sexual intercourse is not just an act of lust, but a form of communication and intimacy. He said that, …one of the big mistakes we make in relationships is that we don’t give our best energy to the people that matter most. And I think that people should make time to be able to give some of your best energy to each other.

But what if one of the parties involved, particularly the men, fail to perform? Specialists advise men who have difficulty in their sexual performance to check and improve their lifestyle. Health experts believe that one’s lifestyle including food intake, daily work and domestic routines, and level of physical fitness all play a role to determine a person’s sexual health. They also believe that alcohol should be taken moderately since it is one of the major causes of sexual problems including impotence erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. A study on 17,000 alcoholic men revealed that after several years of zero alcohol intake, at least 50 percent of the respondents regained their normal erectile functions while the other 50 partially or completely achieved erection.

High blood pressure is also a major cause of erectile dysfunction. A study published in the Journal of Urology in 2000 showed that 68 of men with high blood pressure aged 40-79 experienced erectile dysfunction at one time or another. At least 45 of these cases were considered severe erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction occurs because high blood pressure keeps the arteries that carry blood to the penis to dilate. This causes the smooth muscles in the penis to reduce its ability to relax, leading to inadequate blood flow to the penis that hinders the erection of the penis. In addition, high blood pressure in men may lead to low testosterone level. Testosterone is the male hormone that plays a crucial role in the male sexual arousal. Cigarette smoking and consumption of fatty foods are the leading causes of high cholesterol, which leads to high blood pressure.

Health specialists advise individuals to exercise and undergo other physical activities. These activities however should be done moderately to avoid over-training. Clinical studies show that proper exercise may enable the body to produce more testosterone. Additionally, a substance called endorphin is produced when people exercise. These endorphins gives periods of relaxation and bliss and relieve people who exercise of the stress and anxiety that they experience.

Over-training, however, is one factor that is considered to contribute to sterility. An investigation by health experts revealed that over-training causes fatigue, which then temporarily reduces sperm count and affects its quality. Specialists say that this happens because the body literally kills itself during training. To build muscles and improve the body, it needs to recuperate to attain normal cell development. Intense physical activities may reduce the level of hormones in the bloodstream that affects sperm production. Medical experts believe that sperm levels return to nearly normal after about three days. They added that drinking coffee after a few hours of training may protect sperm quality because of the antioxidants that are found in caffeine.

Studies show that frequent sex between married couples lowers feelings of insecurity and increases the level of commitment. The whole process deepens their physical intimacy and strengthens their bond of love. Understanding sex between married partners may lead to improved and fruitful marriages. Openness, willingness to experiment, and mutual trust should be the cornerstones of a healthy, active sex life between married couples. After all, love is supposed to be fun and exciting!

During the ’80s, many men and women were attracted by the advertising campaign launched by Philip Morris. Filmed in the beautiful outdoors, the television advertisements showed the hardy cowboy lighting a cigarrette, relaxing in front of a camp fire after a hard day’s work. The chilly, mountain night scene blended well with the lights and shadows created by the camp fire. Any thought of cold temperature was extinguished by the warmth of the fire, and the lit cigarrette. Other versions of the commercial showed cowboys on horseback traversing wild, white rivers and galloping across grazing lands of the West. The images are made more powerful by the music composed by Elmer Bernstein which was originally used for the ’60s Western film entitled Magnificent Seven. The score was used extensively in Marlboro commercials prior to the implementation of the cigarrette advertisement ban. At the center of this commercial was the quintessential Marlboro Man — rugged, tough, manly, and a smoker. The commercial ends with an appealing invitation to, Come to where the flavor is…

Wayne McLaren and David McLean both played the iconic Marlboro Man in those series of commercials. Both men died of lung cancer and other medical complications related to smoking. McLaren posed for some promotional posters of Marlboro in 1976 He was a professional rodeo rider and appeared in some television series during the ’70s. He smoked a one pack and half every single day. By age 49, he was already diagnosed with lung cancer. He underwent chemotherapy that led to the removal of one of his lungs. However, when he began the treatments, the cancer cells had already spread to his brain and eventually killed him. David McLean started smoking at the tender age of 12 and continued his habit until he was diagnosed with emphysema in 1985. By 1993, doctors had to remove a cancerous tumor from his lung. Two years later, he died due to the spread of cancer cells to his brain and spine. Before they died, both former cigarrette models launched anti-smoking campaigns to warn the public about the very harmful effects of smoking.

Smoking is more than just a habit, it is very similar to drug abuse. Research upon research has substantiated claims about the highly addictive content called nicotine. At least one milligram of nicotine is found in an average cigarrette and acts as a stimulant. The nicotine in the cigarrette causes glucose to be released from the liver and the production of epinephrine — both of which result to stimulation. It also activates the so-called reward pathways in the brain which are responsible for the production of feelings of euphoria.

The average smoker will easily say that cigarrette smoking helps reduce stress and anxiety. Others smoke right after eating a large meal or during stressful situations. Others see the cigarrette as an importance prop or ingredient to their overall lifestyle. This reasoning should not come as a surprise especially if it comes from smokers who were born during the ’30s to the ’50s. Television programs were usually interspersed with cigarrette commercial during those eras. In fact, during the ’60s, it was very common to see t.v. and screen heroes smoking in reel and real life.

Those who became addicted to cigarrettes, whether they knew it or not, were really on a path to self-destruction. To this day, many are still hooked on tobacco despite the cigarrette commercial ban and the aggressive anti-smoking campaign by government health agencies. Indeed, smoking cigarrettes is not an adventure as once portrayed in commercials. Tobacco addiction is, in truth, a habit that quite literally leads to the grave. Fortunately, for those who want to kick the deadly habit, cold turkey methods and anti-smoking medications are now available to help them stop puffing their lives away.

The body’s core — which includes the abdominal, lower back, pelvis, and hip area — is considered the most vital part of the body. The core is where the body’s center of gravity is located and this is where force production and movement begins. The muscles in this area work in harmony to provide stability to the body to bring force, power, and stability from the legs to the upper and vice versa. Many of the body’s core muscles cannot be seen because they are hidden underneath the other muscles. According to health experts, a strong core makes it easier to do physical activities, even the most strenuous routines. They add that the core is very complicated and serves many important tasks that may lead to improved overall health and sexual health.

A developed core is essential to stability and sports performance. Martial artists need developed cores to execute difficult kicks and attacks properly. Basketball players need core strength to perform acrobatic dunks and layups. Golfers need core stability to swing properly. More importantly, core training is important because training the muscles in this area corrects postural imbalance that may lead to injuries. By strengthening the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support the spine, core training may help reduce the risk of lower back pain. In addition, a developed and stable core may help prevent injuries because stronger muscles support the spine, pelvis, and shoulder joints. A well-developed core is essential to attain full range of body motion — an ability needed for both work and leisure. For these reasons, health and fitness experts recommend people to undergo core training.

Core Training, also called core muscle training, core stability, and core strengthening provides a protective defense to the spinal cord and several organs of the human body. This kind of training may involve proper hydration, nutrition, core exercises, and body relaxation. Many fitness experts believe that core training can be used as an alternative solution to stress and anxiety, bad posture, and weight control. Other activities that involve core training are yoga, Pilates, and martial arts. These types of training help practitioners develop a healthy body, increase lifespan, achieve a state of bliss, and have a better sex life. Studies show that performing these exercise routines help promote more body energy, self-esteem, and increased testosterone levels. Stretching exercises in yoga, Pilates, and martial arts act serve as massage for the internal organs of the body, enabling the body’s internal systems to function properly. Both Western and Chinese medicine support claims regarding the health benefits of having a well-developed core.

According to eastern medicine, the core is the center of all human energy. These principles believe that the core is the source of the ‘chi,’ the power within. The ‘chi’ is responsible for self-healing, self-recovery, and self-realization. Chinese beliefs add that the this power is a life force and is present in every living thing. The ‘chi’ flows in the body thorough channels called meridians and give the body life nourishment and energy. The chi can be developed by meditation, visualization, and breathing. Activities that are done in yoga, Pilates, and the martial arts. The health benefits of having a developed core has been approved by science and eastern beliefs. Core strength is important to ordinary people and athletes alike. Incorporating them in a workout may reduce strength, avoid muscle injury, and improve posture and strength.