Fly Fishing in Russia
March 23, 2008
Fly Fishing in Russia
by: Rick Chapo
A few years back, I spent a year living in Siberia and had a chance to head out to a town called Tinda. Much to my surprise, a couple of the locals had fly fishing on the menu.
The Siberian Surprise
Mention the word “Siberia” and most people think of bleak, frozen tundra stretching for hundreds of miles. Well, this is more or less true in the winter. In the summer, however, much of Siberia is a burst of green with temperatures in the eighties and nineties. As I had failed to bring shorts, this was a bit of a surprise to me.
Living in the city of Chita, I had an opportunity to visit the forest town of Tinda. Tinda is located about a day east of Lake Baikal and was built in the 1950s to act as a lumber town. The communist government haphazardly relocated a hundred thousand people and there they remain today. The area around Tinda is very mountainous and very beautiful. As the winter snows melt, rivers, lakes and creeks spring to life.
Mental Toughness for Golfers: Avoiding Comfort Zones in Golf
March 22, 2008
A comfort zone becomes a problem whenever a player is playing better than expected or is breaking new ground. I teach golfers how to break out of self-limiting expectations and preconceived beliefs. Comfort zones don’t limit great players on tour, such as David Duval, Tiger Woods, and Davis Love, III. Comfort zones actually benefit pro golfers when they can bring a poor round back into their scoring zone and turn a score of 76 into a 72.
When going low, pros don’t just try to "get it in the clubhouse" when they get to four under par after 12 holes. If a pro gets to four under par after 12, that’s great, but he doesn’t stop there. His goal is to get to five under. This attitude, adopted by many professionals, is far from the mindset of the amateur who is playing better than expected or on the verge of breaking a personal best score. In my new book, "Going Low" I teach golfers how to play without the restriction of a comfort zone.
Pro-Style Basketball Goals: How to Select the Right System
March 21, 2008
Pro-Style Basketball Goals: How to Select the Right System
by: Bill Gibson
There are many reasons for wanting to find a pro-style system when preparing to purchase a basketball goal. These reasons are important to consider when checking out the various options and features offered by each manufacturer.
The Minimum Requirements for a Professional Basketball System
One of the primary reasons that people are interested in the pro-style basketball systems is because they, or their children, aspire to become professionals in the game. Of course, it only makes sense that a proper professional basketball goal is used in practice or training. For this reason, having a pro-style goal serves a greater purpose than just providing a sense of authenticity when shooting basketball hoops. While shopping around for the right system, be sure to check that the basketball goals being considered fulfill at least the minimum criteria to be considered ‘professional’. The standard features of a pro-style basketball goal should include:
Shatterproof tempered glass or acrylic backboard;
Flexible, breakaway basketball hoop;
Weather-resistant structure, including a specialized rustproof coating and nylon bushings where metal meets metal;
Height adjustment mechanism to set the precise level of the basketball hoop;
Soccer - The World’s Most Popular Sport
March 20, 2008
Soccer - The World’s Most Popular Sport
by: Peter Valentine
Soccer is perhaps the world’s favorite spectator sport, popularly known as “Football” in Britain and other European countries. This game can be as frustrating as golf, as physical as football and hockey, as erratic as baseball, and as exciting as basketball. No simple word can describe the popularity of the game, with a global television audience of 49 billion people for the 2002 World Cup alone. The game is exciting and highly addictive to watch and play.
Professional game rules require 11 players per team, 10 playing the field and one goalkeeper. With the use of a round ball, the matched is player with the two teams wearing shirts of different colors with distinctive soccer patches. The game is divided into two sets, each for 45 minutes long with the referee adding “extra time” based on time being wasted or play being stopped during the original 45 minutes. Usually, the extra time will be about one-to-three minutes.
A maximum of three substitutes may be used in any match played in an official competition organized under the auspices of the World Governing body Federation International Football Association (FIFA), the confederations or the national associations. However, in other competitions the rules must state how many substitutes may be nominated, from three up to a maximum of seven.
Mental Training for Golfers: Attitudes that Sabotage Commitment
March 20, 2008
Plateaus in performance sometimes occur when you don’t see any measurable improvement in score even though you are working hard. "I’m practicing more than ever, but I don’t seem to be shooting better scores," many players tell me in frustration. Thus, when you don’t see gains in performance or have a coach pushing you daily, it is difficult for golfers to stay committed to their training. In this issue of Peak Performance Golf Insights, I discuss how golfers lose or sabotage their own commitment to training and ideas for how to increase commitment.
What is commitment? Commitment is a type of motivation. It is the ability to stick with a program, method, or philosophy and apply it daily over a long period even in times of adversity. How do you stay committed to your practice plan and goals? By reminding yourself of your dreams and performing the daily tasks you need to reach your goals.
The first step to improving commitment is to identify beliefs or distractions that sabotage your motivation. Armed with this information, you are in a position to change your attitude for the better. Here are seven ways people get sidetracked or sabotage their own commitment.
T-Shirt Designers Say “Black Icons Are Cool”
March 19, 2008
T-Shirt Designers Say “Black Icons Are Cool”
by: Anthony Palladino
What’s hip in t-shirt design, you ask? T-shirt designers say nothing’s cooler than Black Icons. Yes, they mean African American Pop Iconsvisionaries, entertainers, athletes, and activists. And why are t-shirts with the likes of Muhammad Ali, Richard Pryor, George Clinton, and Martin Luther King Junior all the rage? Because these brothers are cool.real cool. Is it the color of their skin? Is it their fame? Is it their struggle? Is it what they’ve accomplished? It’s all of that, but most of all it’s because they’re all leaders in their own right. And people, regardless of race, respect and admire people who take charge. And if you’re a brother in charge, well then more power to ya.
Some fashion critics say it’s also the Hip Hop movement that’s bringing famous brothers and sisters to the fashion forefront. Recent polls show that Hip Hop gear is the most popular attire for American kids in their early teens to mid-twenties. Thanks to Hip Hop pioneers like Russell Simmons, chairman & CEO of Rush Communications, which founded Def Jam Recordings and Phat Farm Clothing and Sean “P-Diddy” Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Entertainment and Sean John Clothing, the Hip Hop lifestyle has gone mainstream. Kids and young adults from all over the world are embracing the music, clothing, and swaggerous way of living that is Hip Hop.
Best Online Bingo Tips
March 18, 2008
Best Online Bingo Tips
by: Simon Wood
Online bingo has become extremely popular in recent years and there is loads of money up for grabs at these internet bingo halls. Here are some of the best online bingo tips you will find online.
These online bingo tips will help you get a lot more out of your internet bingo games than just a little entertainment.
Online Bingo Tips (1) - Don’t play too many cards.
At many internet bingo sites you need to manually mark off the numbers on your bingo cards as they are called. Therefore for it doesn’t make much sense to play 5 or 6 different bingo cards at once as you could end up losing track of you numbers.
Some cyber bingo sites do automatically mark off your numbers as they are drawn and it’s at these websites that one can play up to 50 different cards at once. The more cards you play with the greater your chance of winning will be.
Online Bingo Tips (2) - Be polite
Simple Golf Warm Up Exercise
March 17, 2008
Golf warm up you say? Aren’t you supposed to rush to the course, pull out the BIG DOG, take a few hacks at it and start your round? Is that what you do? Come on be honest with yourself. If so, what was the result on the first tee? I’ll bet it wasn’t even a par! Am I wrong?
I don’t mean to add too much sarcasm in there, but I want to get your attention to the importance of doing golf warm up exercises to avoid those big numbers the first few holes.
Are you with me? Good.
Now let me talk to you like you’re an athlete for a minute. Time to re-live the glory days one more time.
Now remember back in the day when you had a game, meet or competition. Did you run out on the field or court and start playing your sport?
I’ll bet not!
You did a sport-specific warm up didn’t you?
Well why wouldn’t you do one before golf then? Ah?gotcha didn’t I!
You would most definitely do a warm up. Not just pounding balls either. That’s the worst thing you could do. You need to do golf warm up exercises to prepare for optimal performance on the course.
Bird Watching Fastest Growing Recreational Activity U S-Why?
March 16, 2008
Bird Watching Fastest Growing Recreational Activity U S-Why?
by: Laura Gray
Bird watching has become the fastest growing recreational activity in the U.S. It’s no secret that about fifty million Americans enjoy bird watching every year, and why not? Birds are beautiful creatures and there are so many different kinds of birds, that you’ll never lack a different view.
You also get a magnificent chance to commune with nature. It’s also relaxing and can turn into a wonderful past time that takes you into your own back yard. You can sit at your kitchen table and view the birds that inhabit your backyard, while sipping a cup of coffee. You can also build your very own bird habitat, which can lead to years of learning and recreation.
There are bird watching trails and guided tours. While on these trails or tours, you won’t just be able to watch a variety of different birds, but you might get a chance to see other wildlife, and areas of the country you might never have visited at all if it were not for your fascination with birds.
Golf and Business a Path to Excellence
March 15, 2008
Golf and Business a Path to Excellence
by: Roderick Fraser
Golf is the sport of excellence and more. In exploring the relationship between golf and business, we can take a closer look at two themes of experience, two levels of conversation that weave together and through each other.
The first is your personal experience and how golf is a pathway to personal and business excellence. Secondly is the experience with others to create relationship often referred to as Business Golf.
Golf a trance of frustration or a powerful meditation
Many people experience golf as a blend of a few moments of elation and generally a whole lot of frustration without ever knowing why.
A few have been fortunate or intelligent in discovering that golf is another expression of any ancient art. That golf is a magnificent meditation in the art of intentionality, blending the use of mind, physiology and use of energy to create a clear intention and outcome.
The doorway to high performance is through relaxation, awareness, a decision, commitment and focus. To achieve this there is some learning required at the level of principle, in mind, physiology, language, emotion and skill, a cybernetic loop where each one impacts the other, an integrated whole.
