How To Handball: AFL Style!

Hey Guys!

As part of my blog entries I am going to be providing you will the basic tips and tricks of how to play my favourite sports. First things first, AFL. I have grown up loving the game, and will love it till the day I die. The objective of the game is to score points by passing the ball through the team's goal. The main way to score points is by kicking the ball between the two major goal posts. The team with the higher total score at the end of the match wins unless either a draw is declared or a tie-break is used. The two ways in which you can legally dispose of the football is by hand balling or kicking the ball. Is this blog I am going to show you how to correctly handball an AFL footy.

First things first, if you are left handed, you will need to cup the ball in the ball of your right hand, and vice versa if you are right handed. After playing the game for a while many players become ambidextrous in their abilities and can handball it using both hands.

Now, using the other hand that you are not holding the ball with, clench your fist and using the bit of your skin between the knuckles of your index finger and thumb, strike the ball with a flowing motion.

After you have released the ball, catch the ball you have struck the ball with in the other hand that was holding the ball, so as if you are replacing the ball resting there with your hand. You want to strike the ball so that it spins backwards, as this gives you the best control of where it is going.

Thanks for reading, and hope this helps anyone who needs it.

Peace,

Lewis

Bicycle Polo

Hello again ladies and gentleman!

As part of my continuous effort to bring you news on the strangest sports around, I have dug deep within the realm of obscurity, picking my way through a minefield of  vegans and inter-city hipsters, only to find myself staring into the very depths of Hades. This a very personal hell, and that hell is bicycle polo.

Image Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-29/brisbane-bike-polo/3026160

Described playfully as an 'anti-sport' by one enthusiast, bicycle polo is a sport generally played on  public basketball courts and other such places with enough open space and hard solid ground. Conceptually, it is very similar to other games of polo (whether they be on horse, elephant or any other played by men with overpriced shirts), as such, the game consists of teams of 3, who attempt to hit a ball into a goal using a wooden mallet. The twist of course, is that the game is played by people on racing bikes.

Image Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-29/brisbane-bike-polo/3026160

This is where the game becomes terrifying for me, pretty much all of my traumatic childhood memories involve bikes one way or another, whether it be the time I rode into crow territory and got chased and pecked, the time I attempted to ride along a seat, fell off and hit my head so hard that the helmet cracked in half, or the time the chain on my bike broke at 'bring your bike to school day' and I was forced to sit and watch everyone else have all the fun. generally speaking, bikes and I are not friends, however, being the pioneering journalist I am, I'm going to brave these chasms, just for you my dear reader, you should feel flattered.

The central hub for all things Australian bike polo may be found at www.bikepolo.com.au, however generally speaking, polo activities are organised at a state or area level, with annual national tournaments held in Melbourne. Information in regards to local events may be found at sydneybikepolo.org, with the most recent tournament being 'Cirque De Sydney' in February, and more to come later in the year.

Perhaps the most significant and positive aspect of bike polo is the way its organisers wish it to be percieved and played. All you need to join in is a bike and a mallet (which can either be home made or bought fairly cheaply), and due to the casual nature of the sport, it is open to persons of any age, experience or skill level. Whilst it is technically a competitive sport, its players pride themselves on their sporting and gentlemanly demeanor, you can forget about fat soccer mums yelling profanities from the side lines!

Not Pictured: Fat Soccer Mums

Image Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-29/brisbane-bike-polo/3026160

One aspect that may be of concern however, is that due to the inherent nature of the sport, minor injuries are a fairly common occurrence. Hence, perhaps it wouldn't be the best idea to jump right in if you're a bit too fragile to handle a few spills.

Ouch.

Image Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-29/brisbane-bike-polo/3026160

However, if you're fit, enthusiastic, and looking for something a bit different to quench your sporting thirst (or are a former polo champion whose horse was repossessed by the bank), why don't you give it a go? you may just discover a hidden passion for this game of bikes, mallets, helmets and fun.

Until next time

-Sam

E-Sports in Australia

Hey guys! it's Sam again, and today I'm going to provide you with an insight into something beyond the realm of 'normal' sports, instead focusing on a fairly niche area in Australia (and to a lesser extent, the world) that I hold a great deal of interest in: E-Sports.

E-Sports in Australia

The term 'E-Sports' (or Electronic Sports), refers to the playing of certain video games in a competitive, organised and sport-like fashion. E-Sports, as they are known today, began in the mid to late 1990's in Northern America with the creation of the Cyberalthlete Professional League (http://thecpl.com), and growing international interest in these sports led to the creation of global competitions, such as the World Cyber games in Korea (http://au.wcg.com), as well as Major League Gaming (www.majorleaguegaming.com). This was also supported by the release of games in which such a competitive style of play was the primary intention, such as Counter-Strike in 1999 and Starcraft in 1998. Since this time, the world of competitive E-Sports has greatly expanded, finding a truly international market, with ever increasing advertising and sponsorship deals providing prizes of up to $1,000,000 for winning teams, such as that seen within the tournament promoting the release of the game DOTA 2 (http://www.dota2.com/tournaments/international).

The winners of Valve's DOTA 2 promotion tournament

Unfortunately, as is often the case with items of relatively niche interest, Australia has been seen as somewhat slow to become involved in the the competitive gaming scene in any serious sense. It was not until 2006, with the creation of the Australian Cyber League, that a professional outlet for E-Sports within the country existed. However, since then, Australian interest in the sport has risen exponentially, with pro teams such as Sydney Underground and Mind Freak gaining serious international attention. Whilst, to this day, competitive gaming remains far more of a casual hobby than a serious sport, the prevalence of tournaments and competitions, both online and in organised Local Area Networks (LANs) has increased far beyond anything previously imagined, and I have little doubt that as this growth continues, so too will interest and recognition from sponsors and media networks, thus promising a bright future for the world of Australian competitive E-Sports.

I will now provide a brief overview of some of the primary games played within competitive tournaments, both in Australia and Internationally.

Counter Strike

Image source: (http://store.steampowered.com/app/240/)

Counter Strike, released as a mod for Half-Life in 1999, is generally considered one of the defining games within the professional circuit. It follows a simple, two-team structure in which Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists use a variety of realistic weapons to plant bombs, rescue hostages and eliminate the opposing force. Since 1999, three more iterations of the game have been released (Condition Zero, Source and Global Offensive) thus ensuring that Counter Strike remains at the forefront of competitive gaming, and holds a spot in all the largest E-Sport Leagues.

Starcraft

Image Source: (http://media.bestofmicro.com/4/0/245088/original/SC2%20title.jpg)

Starcraft was released in 1998 by Blizzard Entertainment, and follows the basic structure of most other games within the Real-Time Strategy (RTS) genre, with multiple players creating and fighting with large armies of units. Starcraft's enormous presence within the competitive gaming industry is the result of its unprecedented degree of popularity within South Korea, generally attributed to its release alongside the national internet network. Since then, Starcraft has grown to become South Korea's unofficial national sport, with two television channels dedicated to showing coverage of the game, and professional players receiving celebrity status within the public eye.

Defense of the Ancients

Image Source: (http://storefront.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/570/header.jpg)

Defense of the Ancients (generally known as DOTA) was originally released in 2003 as a mod for the game warcraft 3. It follows a unique structure in which players work in teams of up to 5, controlling an individual hero and attempting to push through increasingly powerful defenses and into the opponent's base, whilst simultaneously defending their own. Due to the constraints of the engine on which it was originally built, DOTA has been somewhat superseded of late by games borrowing its basic structure, but providing simplified and specific means of finding others to play with, such as League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth. Later this year, Valve software will be releasing the official sequel to DOTA, as shown above, thus hoping to bring the community back to its roots, and replace both the original game and its competitors within the professional E-Sports scene.

Wow, that post was longer than I originally intended, thanks for sticking around till the end :)

See you next time

-Sam

Concentration Bicep Curl

Have you ever thought of getting big arms like Anord has?

Do you want to have big biceps like those people in the gym have?

concentration dumbbell curl. This Is How!

concentration dumbbell curl

The very basic and common way to boost up your biceps is by doing concentration dunbbell curl, this works primarily on your biceps Brachii, this is a beginner skill level, everyone could easily do that, so guys, dont worry, give it a go!

step 1

Sit on a bench, hold a dumbbell in one arm with your elbow resting on your inner thigh, keep your forearm straight, as illustrated.

step 2

Raise the dumbbell up toward your shoulder while only bending at the elbow. Keep your wrist straight through the movement.

Step 3

Returning to your starting position and repeat.

I recommend you guys to do 3 sets of 13s. hit this muscle twice a week, keep on good work. you are getting closer to your dream arm!

Hint

Here is a trick which helps you to get fit faster.

While you trying to lift the dumbbell up, lots of people would like to keep their hands straight (do not use their wrists), so it will become like that, as illustrated (WRONG).

WRONG

CORRECT

By doing this way, it might make it easier for you to complete this move. but this is NOT the right way!

The most effective way is to twist your twist a little bit towards your belly, like what I illustrated above(Correct), this little twist will help a lot, you could feel the muscle is tighten while doing concentration curl.

Good luck on your work out, next time will be focusing on gettig a big chest!

by Adrian Xiao JI

Martial Arts in Australia

Martial Arts in Australia

Hi! It's Sam again, and I'm here to give you some insight into the vibrant world of Martial Arts, both here in NSW and Australia as a whole.

The Australian Martial Arts scene is one that I have been heavily involved in for a number of years (6 to be exact!). From ages 12 to 14, I did Kung Fu with the Praying Mantis Academy (www.prayingmantis.com.au). As this was done for school sport, it was based more on exercise than serious self defence. This left me with a burning interest in martial arts, and inspired me to seek further involvement in the sport.

Kung Fu at age 12 (aren't I cute : D)

It was this interest that led me to begin practicing Taikudo Karate through the Japanese Academy of Martial Arts (www.karateselfdefence.com), under the instruction of former Japanese, US and Australian Karate champion Hide Hirayama. Since then I have gained a great passion for this sport, and thus have continued training since 2006.

Hide, breaking blocks like it ain't no thang

(Photo from http://www.karateselfdefence.com/chief_instructor.htm)

The world of Australian competitive Karate and martial arts is one that is large in volume and wide in scope, ranging from junior in-school tournaments to national championships and open full contact competitions. All forms of Karate are registered under the Australian Karate Federation (www.akf.com.au), and thus state and national competitions within the federation see a great range of styles and techniques.

Another body that holds a primary role in organisation of Martial Arts tournaments is NAS or the National All Styles Championships (http://www.nationalallstyles.com.au). These are held at regional, state and national levels, and draw the most competitors in terms of both numbers and skill.

Karate tournaments are generally split into two main categories: Kumite and Kata (though the specific rules within those categories differs from competition to competition.

Kumite is free fighting, and involves competitors using Martial Arts techniques against one another on a points based system (generally one point for punches, two points for body kicks, three points for head kicks). Matches are carefully refereed, with points awarded by judges, whoever comes out with the most points at the end of the fight (usually lasting between 1 and 5 minutes) is declared the winner.

Kata refers to the use of specific sets of Martial Arts techniques, made to be presented in an aesthetically impressive 'war dance'. Each different style of martial art has its own Katas, made to reflect the individual aspects of their form. Katas are generally viewed by three judges, who give a score out of 10, from which the winner is declared after everyone has performed.

Me, after winning bronze in Kata in 2009

From 2006 to 2010, I competed in a number of tournaments at the local and inter-school level. I found a fair degree of success in this, winning silver and bronze in Kumite and Kata respectively in 2006, bronze medals in Kata in 2007 and 2008, and gold and silver in Kumite and Kata respectively in 2010. Unfortunately, I stopped entering competitions during 2011 and 2012 so I could focus on my HSC, but will be re-entering the scene this year, hoping to gain spots at the state and national level. Wish me Luck! :)

-Sam

Extreme Shoulder Workout

Hey guys, how is your arm work out going? feelling like poping up now? keep on good work!

This time I will show you an extreme workout on your shoulders, muscles such as Deltoids and trapezius are not easy to grow as biceps, in order to stimulate these muscles, you gotta hit it hard!

All right, lets do some stretching and get started!

Seated dumbbell shoulder press.

Step 1.

Sit on the end of a bench, bring weights up to the sides of your shoulders-your elbows should be pointing down with your knuchles pointing toward the ceiling and keep your palms face forward.

Step 2.

Keeping your back straight, slowly press the weights over your head until your arms are extend above you, elbows unlocked.

Step 3

Slowly lower the weights back down to your shoulders and repeat.

3 sets of 13 reps, take 45 seconds break after each set.

Now take a small sip of water, we will do 3 exercises together as ONE SET.

Dumbbell front raise

Step 1

Stand straight with your feet hip width and light dumbbell in each hand. Hanging down your arms in front of your thighs.

Step 2

Keeping your arms perfectly straight, slowing raise the weights out and up in front of you untill your arms are parallel to the floor.

Step 3

Hold for a second then slowly lower the weights back down. Repeat.

Dumbbell lateral raise

Step 1

Same as Front Raise.

Step 2

Raise the dumbbell out and up to the level of your shoulders. keeo your palms facing the ground.

Step 3

Keeping your elbows bent, lower slowly back to the starting position and repeat.

Bar upright row

Step 1

Stand with your feet slightly wider than a shoulder width apart and take an overhand grip on a barbell with your hands also a shoulder width apart.

Step 2

Pull up to the level of your chin, keeping the bar close to your body and keeping your elbows highr than the ball.

Step 3

Hold for a few seconds before lowering back to starting position and repeat.

Take Front Raise, Lateral Raise and Bar Upright Row as One Set.

3 Sets and take 60 seconds break after each set, within one set, take 30 seconds break after each exericise, 10 reps for each exercise.

This technique, combing these 3 workouts together has been widely used in American high school for basketball team training.

Doing this extreme shoulder workout once a week, you are guaranteed with wide shoulders!

by Adrian Xiao JI

Hi everyone! Jack's welcome post!!!

Hey everyone! I am Jack! Hahaha..I am the last one to post- Sorry to keep you waiting. I am so happy to meet you guys! I am actually a third-year international student studying media! I love playing different types of sports activities since I was little. Back home in Hong Kong, I played badminton for school and competition for 5 years. I also like playing squash, volleyball, fencing and water sport like windsurfing and kayaking. In Sydney, I have been working at few Sports and Aquatic Centres as a professional lifeguard for about one and half years. I used to swim laps to release my pressure when I have leisure time- I just love water so much! For this blog, I will share some of my sporting experience with you guys! Just recently, I am also employed as customer service officer at Macquarie University Sports and Aquatic Centre- so stay tuned guys! I might bring you the latest information about any sporting events and interesting facts!

By the way, just a bit of fun-the picture below is me- when I was five?? I think I am pretty cute, right?
Love ya! x

Lewis' Welcome Post

Hi guys,

Sorry about a slow entry, with all this rain coming down my internet has been playing silly buggers, but that's another story for another day.

I'm Lewis and I have been actively a part of sports since a very young age, I grew up playing Baseball, AFL and Basketball. All of these sports I have played at a representative level. I am a very active member up at my local gym and keep fit by body boarding as much as possible.

In this blog I will be giving you a basic introduction into the skills of AFL and Basketball. Keep posted for more!

workout together!

Hello guys, This is Adrian, I have been spending most of my time in the gym since last year, I trained with a personal trainer at Virgin Active, one year ago I was 58kg, now I am 63kg, FYI, not gaining fats, but muscles!

So guys, at this blog, I will share exclusive workout exercises and techiques with you, so that you won't pay extra bucks for personal trainer at gym, because all the advises I have paid for, you will now get it for freeeeee! this blog will help you to get ripper faster and save your bucks!

Click follow and Stay updated with us!

Welcome note: Sam

Welcome!

This is our blog for ISYS100, Semester One 2012. After much deliberation we have decided that the overall theme of this blog will be that of 'Sports', however, the content itself will differ wildly between that posted by Lewis, Adrian, Wai-Him and I, ranging from match reports, to criticism, to field reporting, to advice, to the exploration of obscure/e-sports.

First off, each member of our group will write a short introduction of themselves, detailing their previous experiences with sports, and what they intend to write about within this blog.

As far as most Australian kids go, my experience with sports is probably relatively strange. I was never really one for rugby or soccer or cricket and the like, however, I did play Field Hockey from year 8 through to year 12 (though not particularly well :P). My primary experiences in regards to sports have come from Martial Arts, as I have been training in the form of Taikudo Karate, as well as entering competitive tournaments, for around 6 years now.

As such, I will be using this blog to explore less 'mainstream' sports, and will almost certainly do some reporting on the world of Martial Arts. I also plan to deliver some degree of foray into the world of sports criticism, as well as a more theoretical exploration of Australia's national pastimes.

Here is the blog plan we made in our first meeting together, demonstrating a general outline of the topics we'd be posting about

Thats it for me for now, you'll be hearing again from me, as well as the rest of the team, very soon!

Thanks for reading!

- Sammuel Dobbie-Smitham