Body Wisdom:
The Way of Karate !

By Annie Paul

Why do I learn karate? I want to answer that question and to convey a reasonably vivid sense of the way karate is less a sport than a system of living and a philosophy. For more than how to act, karate teaches how to react, or, frequently, how not to react. And curiously karate achieves this mastery of the mind and spirit through vigorous training and preparation of the body.

I certainly had no idea of all this when I joined the Kingston, Jamaica, branch of Seido karate in the year 2000. You could even say that I joined for the most ignoble of reasons. A man I had recently met and liked was never available on weekday evenings because he had "karate class".

When I finally responded to his invitations to come and watch a class, I discovered that ..............

Being Safe on the Internet

Guidelines for Kids' Online Usage

These guidelines for children's online usage are common sense rules, incorporating existing teachings about strangers, telephone etiquette, and television viewing.

1) Know what your kids are doing online. Supervise your children's computer activities, just as you do their television time
2) Never give out personal information online, such as a home phone number, address, last name, name of school, passwords, or credit card info. Your kids would not give their address to a stranger on the phone, nor should they divulge it online.
3) Be cautious of online chat rooms. Allow them only with your supervision. Chat rooms are the cyber equivalent of CB radio. Users can "type" to each other in real-time, and messages are viewed by everyone in the chat room. Private chat rooms are also available. The problem is, as a famous New Yorker cartoon put it, "on the Internet no one knows you're a dog" or a child or an adult masquerading as a child.
4) Teach your children to come to you if anything ever makes them feel uncomfortable, such as inappropriate questions or an invitation to a private chat room. Do not respond to offensive email.
5) Never allow your children to meet "face-to-face" someone they've "met' online.
6) Limit online time as you would television viewing.
7) Use parental control software as appropriate. Parents routinely lock up household chemicals to protect their toddlers and the Internet can also be selectively locked. Today there are several software products to keep kids out of adult Internet sites.

SO TELL YOUR KIDS.....

The Internet is a great place for learning new things, making friends and being entertained. But remember, even if you feel you are in the safety of your own room in your house, you must be extremely careful. After all, when you're chatting online, you are talking to strangers, and you must maintain some distance and not give away too much information about yourself. There have been some cases of adults pretending to be teenagers, making children meet them in dangerous situations. You can never be sure that Tom, who says he is 14, isn't Steve, who is 40.
Always practice the following:

Don't give out your real name.
Don't give anyone your address and phone number.
Never tell anyone which school you go to.
If you want to meet someone from a chat room, always have an adult, such as one of your parents with you.
Talk to your parents or guardians if you feel uncomfortable with someone online.

- Does the person want you to keep your chats a secret?
- Does the person tell you something and ask you not to tell anyone else?
- Does the person want to meet you in private?
- Does the person send you pictures that make you uncomfortable or ask you for your pictures taken in a way that would make you uncomfortable?

If any of these things happen, tell one of your parents or another adult immediately.

H1N1 Swine Flu Down, Not Out

By Daniel J. DeNoon

H1N1 swine flu is no longer widespread in any state, but new infections continue and the death rate remains high, the CDC recently reported on 5 Feb.

A Harvard poll shows that about half of Americans believe the H1N1 swine flu outbreak is over, and only a third remain concerned. That may explain why three in four U.S. residents still haven't been vaccinated against the pandemic virus, despite now-plentiful vaccine supplies.

CDC figures clearly show that the fall/winter wave of H1N1 swine flu has long passed its peak. The number of people seeing a doctor about flu symptoms has for three weeks hovered just below epidemic levels.

Yet for the same three weeks, deaths from pneumonia and influenza have been above what CDC calculates to be the seasonal "epidemic threshold."

While flu isn't the cause of all these deaths, this figure -- and reports of nine new pediatric swine flu deaths in the last week of January -- are troubling reminders that H1N1 swine flu continues to infect, sicken, and even kill susceptible people.

"This virus is still around," CDC respiratory disease chief Anne Schuchat, MD, said at a news conference. "People are being hospitalized and are dying. ... The virus is still spreading and those not who have not been vaccinated still are vulnerable."

Schuchat admits that there may not be another huge wave of H1N1 swine flu infections. But she noted that ongoing spread means cases "really can add up over time."

According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, Heres yet another indication that conventional medicine simply does not have it all figured out, and that vaccines are not the sole solution to influenza epidemics.

Ive already posted numerous articles about the benefits of vitamin D and C to combat the flu, and this latest research adds to my previous recommendations for proper diet and sunshine exposure, especially prior to- and during flu season.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO LEARN MORE.....

We will be holding our
March Belt Exams on the standard
split schedule;

Children: Lil Dragons & Goshin Juniors will test on
Friday 19 March 2010

Adult Martial Arts & Jiu Jitsu will test on
Saturday 20 March 2010

Please review the testing schedule, exam roster, and upcoming events to see how it may affect you by visiting our website @

http://www.americanblackbelt.org/student.html

MARCH BBC DATES !!

FRIDAY 5 MARCH 10

FRIDAY 12 MARCH 10

FRIDAY 26 MARCH 10



DON'T MISS IT !!!

MARCH
KID'S DEMO TEAM DATES !!

SATURDAY 6 MARCH 10

SATURDAY 20 MARCH 10

FIGHTING IRISH SPARRING GEAR SALE !!!

15 - 18 Mar 2010

30% OFF
ALL SPARRING GEAR