Showing posts with label taekwondo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taekwondo. Show all posts

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Live you long time: Dr. Jeffry Life's quest to conquer "getting old"

Story by Max Plenke
Dr Life
The secret to longevity? Exercise, diet — and hormone injections? A man named Dr. Life (really!) explains
Dr. Jeffry Life can kick me in the face. He tells me this at 6 in the morning, before the sun and my eyelids are fully up, before the second-to-last set of his morning weight-lifting routine at a Las Vegas Athletic Club near Summerlin. I’ve been told this before. But never in such a friendly tone — and never from a man in his 70s.
“I never used to be able to kick higher than this,” he says, lifting his foot a few inches above the ground. “But my instructor told me a flexible man is a sexual man. She has a lifelong client now.”
The high kick is the product of Life’s blue belt degree in Tae Kwon Do, something he practices three times a week after work. I should be more surprised by the statement — both the threat to my jaw and some old man practicing martial arts half of every week. But I’ve spent the last few minutes watching Life lift more than my body weight in multiple positions and repetitions, and looking at his weekly exercise regimen. He lifts weights with Rod, his ex-military trainer of four years, who looks like he was born when two Sherman tanks collided.
“This is what we do every morning,” Rod says. “He’s getting better with age, which is contrary to most people.”
The Doc uses pump-up phrases like “Let’s rock ‘n’ roll” when he’s ready for another set. Beautiful women in their 30s stop to watch him push and pull, at which point he starts talking more about his wife of 12 years, who’s almost two decades his junior. Maybe they’re impressed; he is, after all, old enough to be their father or grandfather, and probably in better shape than most of their boyfriends.
Or maybe they recognize him as the poster boy from that ad. You know the one: It’s on numerous health websites, LVAC video screens and billboards around town. The one brandishing a ripped, beaming bald guy with the frame of a USC defensive tackle, advertising age management medicine — the 21st century’s next step toward the fountain of youth.
“I’m not against aging,” Life says later at his office overlooking the Strip. “Everything ages. I’m against getting old. Age management medicine is about not getting old. It’s about doing all the things you need to do to maintain optimal health and vitality and not lose your sexual function or muscle mass or energy levels.”
Life’s full of these reassuring, quippy phrases. He sounds like a self-help smartphone app at times, interspersed with little grandfatherly stories about people recognizing him at the airport — these are the only times he seems his age.
[HEAR MORE: What are your options when you get older on KNPR's "State of Nevada."]
The injection connection
At work, Life walks around like the rooster of the coop: Strutting, his jacket and tie hung up, multiple buttons of his dress shirt undone, exposing man-cleavage that should belong to a 30-year-old pool boy. Maintenance men call him sir. He calls them by their first names, asks them how they’re doing in the calm, deliberate voice he uses for everything. Studio-quality photos of his torso and arms are plastered on the walls of the office lobby, the ultimate hybrid of hubris and client motivation. Stacks and stacks of his book, The Life Plan, are on most surfaces, housing his two young, astonishingly cute secretaries in self-help castles. The book is the reason he’s showing up everywhere lately, and why his schedule, in between personal fitness and celebrity and executive client consultations, is full of interviews and video shoots.
In his book, he writes almost obsessively about nutrition, exercise and the benefits of the injections Life swears by and has been taking himself for years. It’s the superlative power-sell, starting with the typical health book concepts (Eat clean! Get enough sleep! Track your workouts!) and then ending with a bang: A third of the book covers vitamins, disease-prevention and hormones — all of which Life’s medical practice offers. That last one — hormones — is what sets him apart from many longevity docs, and not without controversy.
The building blocks
In the middle of the day, Bret FitzGerald, the LVAC vice president, walks in wearing cut-off sweatpants and a T-shirt. It’s a little surreal seeing a man worth more than the city’s foreclosed houses sweating in his slummin’-it wardrobe. He’s coming for the equivalent of a check-up; a workout that tests everything from flexibility to strength to resting heart rate.
Like Life, he’s energetic for an older guy. He joined the program a year ago when he found himself getting tired and losing energy, unable to keep up with his kid — what Life calls a decline in his zest for life. After hours with Life’s trainer, FitzGerald and Life sit down to talk about how he’s been over the past few months — not necessarily his mood, but his building blocks: His blood. His muscles. His overall stamina. They’re getting better. But it always takes more effort, especially to hit the goal — Dr. Life.
“My big plan of getting older but being younger is working,” FitzGerald says. “This program is my way to live as long as I can and continuing to snowboard, mountain bike and do triathlons until I’m 85 or 90.”
It doesn’t come cheap. The reason most of Life’s clients are executive types and celebrities is because they’re the ones who can afford to pay the initial $3,995 evaluation cost and $1,000 a month for tests, medicines and supplements — none of which are covered by any insurance plan. Life’s been on the program for 13 years and takes what he calls a handful of pills daily — what actually comes out to around 30 a day, plus testosterone twice a week. Even before that, Life won the Body for Life contest in 1998 for his age group; he was already a buff old man after a doctor’s visit (and the threat of diabetes) scared him into the gym.
But according to Life, even eating well and working out hard can’t sustain you through old age. That’s when he started working with Cenegenics, the big local age-management medicine practitioners, and got himself on a regimen of injections that gave him the testosterone levels of a man half his age — which eventually led to him donning a Cenegenics lab coat.
“Dr. Jeff Life has been the quintessential physician — passionate for medicine, dedicated to patient care and consistently striving for medical excellence,” writes Cenegenics COO Kristy Berry in an email. “His longstanding commitment to age management medicine, from his medical practice to his personal health and lifestyle, are nothing short of inspirational.”
Playing God? Heck yeah
If “Age Management” sounds like playing God, that’s essentially what’s happening, whether or not the doctors who practice want to admit it: Life and doctors like him promote the idea of healthy aging by injecting testosterone and, in some cases, Human Growth Hormone (HGH), raising the levels of testosterone that diminish as we age. Not all medical professionals think it’s such a great idea. For example, a 2010 New England Journal of Medicine study found adverse side effects — high rates of cardiac, respiratory and dermatologic events, the former of which Life’s working to reverse in himself — that made their own test come to a halt.
“I think (human growth hormone) is dangerous, expensive, and inappropriately used all across the board,” says another skeptic, Walter M. Bortz II at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who focuses his practice on longevity and healthy aging. “I’m categorically opposed to the use of growth hormone except for dwarf kids, that’s the only reason for it.” And he says any benefits of additional testosterone are outweighed by the increased risk of prostate cancer it introduces.
But Dr. Life says it’s a no-brainer for him.
“I don’t feel the least bit bad knowing what I have to do to keep this quality of life and this level of energy and fitness,” he says. “As people get older, their quality of life declines until they’re put in a personal care home, then a nursing home, and then they die. My whole goal is to sustain that quality of life that people have at age 40 and keep that going as long as possible, and not have your death dragged out over years.”

High on kicks
Weeks later, Life isn’t dragging anything, especially his feet. It’s Tae Kwon Do day, and his instructor’s making him high-kick his way through the office’s empty lobby area. His marketing manager, his trainer, his astonishingly cute secretaries: all gone for the day. In a thick European accent, the instructor commands him through a regimen of kicks and stretches, making him visibly exhausted for the first time since I met him.
“At the end of the day, look at all these women telling me what to do,” he says, half-grinning, half-grimacing after delivering a particularly high kick to the pad, one I can practically feel in my molars, legitimizing his lighthearted threat from weeks ago. As his instructor puts the pads away, Life cleans up and, for the first time that day, pats himself on the back.
“If someone told me, when I won the Body for Life contest in 1998, that 13 years later I’d look better, feel better, be healthier and be doing all this stuff, I wouldn’t have believed it. People tell me they’re amazed at how I look. But no one’s more amazed by it than I am.” 

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

3 Steps to Reduce Stress with Martial Arts Training


              Martial art is regarded as one of the most effective ways of reducing our stress level. With the help of a trained martial arts instructor, you can understand the basic principles of stress reduction and also learn how to manage it successfully.
Is your lifestyle killing you? Do you feel so anxious that it's now getting in the way of sticking to a regular routine? Martial arts training could be the perfect stress buster for you.
Find a skilled and dedicated martial arts instructor near where you live and make the most of the training provided. It is psychologically proven that traditional martial arts training programs are highly effective in diminishing our stress level as well as aggression. It also induces positive attitude towards life.  Here are 3 stages of how to cut down stress level with a conventional martial arts training program efficiently:  


Step 1: Select a martial art form that is best for you
Take your time and learn about different martial art styles, techniques and their basic philosophies. Primarily focus on the traditional forms for maximum stress relief. You can either go for soft styles (such as aikido, tai chi, judo, wrestling, jujitsu etc. which involve throwing and grappling) or concentrate on hard styles like boxing and develop striking as well as blocking skills. Traditional Karate (taekwondo, kung fu etc.), which is a perfect combination of both the elements can also be practiced.
Step 2: Identify with the principles of stress reduction
Martial arts training helps us to know the causes of stress and understand the basic principles of reducing them. It polishes our mind and fosters our warrior spirit which is essential for developing as well as strengthening some of our stress-reducing characteristics. With the help of efficient martial art training sessions, we can sharpen our decision-making capacities, overcome our fears by dominating the associated aspects, establish true focus, project self-confidence and enhance self-management skills greatly in order to build your coping mechanisms against stress.  



Step 3: Learn to expose yourself to the fear factors
When you start practicing martial arts under the proper supervision of a proficient martial arts instructor you undergo a routine that involves facing an opponent. It makes you confront several fear-evoking circumstances. When you are exposed to such situations again and again, you learn how to tackle these successfully. It is extremely helpful in eliminating the fear as well as anxiety as you learn how to take action sensibly and coolly. This is why, martial arts training is considered as one of the most effective ways for boosting our confidence level and self-esteen. However, with time, endurance and regular practices, you would be able to achieve better posture as well as stronger movements. You just need to enlist yourself in a suitable program offered by a martial arts instructor and you would soon find yourself being stress-free.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Martial Arts for Women






        The world can be a dangerous place for women. Women are victims of violent crimes like sexual assault and domestic violence on a daily basis. Many women are interested in learning how to protect themselves against violent situations, but they are often not sure where to turn. Martial arts classes are a place where women can develop the mental and physical skills to defend themselves against attacks. Some of the best martial arts for women's self defense are Tae Kwon Do, Krav Maga, Aikido, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Jeet Kune Do (cf http://www.livestrong.com ).
The best way for women to protect themselves against violent attacks is to be prepared. There are martial arts classes in nearly every city that can help women learn the necessary skills to prevent and escape dangerous situations. The best way to find the right self defense class for women is to take that first step into a martial arts studio and try a class. Giving martial arts a try could be a live-saving decision.




         

Friday, January 4, 2013

Scott Adkins - " I am the most complete fighter in the world !! "


      Scott Adkins was born in Sutton Coldfield, England, on June 17th, 1976, into a family that for generations were Butchers. Along with his elder brother Craig, he was raised by John and Janet Adkins, a loving middle-class family. It is worth mentioning that Scott's great, great grandmother was of Spanish descent. Scott attended Bishop Vesey's Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield. Probably not the best of students, he used to sneak downstairs after his parents had gone to bed and watch films all night then fall asleep during lessons. A natural athlete, Scott enjoyed a variety of sports as he grew up, but when he was 10 years old, he accompanied his father and brother to the local Judo club. The attraction was instantaneous. Idolising stars such as Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott began to train everyday. He took over his Dad's garage and turned it into his own Dojo. He even had a shrine to Bruce Lee in there that he would bow to. He remembers being mugged on a bus when he was around 13 and that really kicked his training into overdrive. He wasn't ever going to let that happen again. At the age of 14, Scott went on to train in Tae Kwon Do under the instruction of Ron Sergiew with the T.A.G.B. After a few years, he moved on to Kickboxing under Anthony Jones.Starring roles in feature films soon followed with his portrayal of Talbot in Special Forces (2003) (V) and Yuri Boyka" in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006). It was this film that broke him into the mainstream with his villainous portrayal of a Russian MMA underground fighter Boyka in what has been hailed as one of the best American made Martial Arts films of recent times.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Welcome!


   


Welcome into the world of martial arts!

In this place we collect all the information of martial arts.
All news and events in the world that will happen in the martial arts will appear on this blog.



 "Let's get ready to rumble !"