extreme webmaster evernerve

First and foremost: If you wish to succeed in life (and on the Web, if that is how you earn your bread), you should take care of your body. You cannot succeed if you are nailed to your keyboard 12 or even 15 hours a day. You may function in that manner for a certain period of time while you are young, but as time goes by, you will begin to feel the adverse effects of your unhealthy lifestyle.

Computers can be dangerous for your health

Trust me, I know from experience: I used to work very long hours at my computer without paying attention to how I was sitting and what’s even worse, without being engaged in any form of physical exercice at all. I developed a sharp and debilitating pain in my right shoulder, which effectively stopped me from using my right hand. I began to use the mouse with my left hand! I had to switch the functionality of the two buttons because of that; I just had to have the main/selection button under my index finger.

I even managed to learn drawing and do all the chores that a webmaster does with my left hand! OK, maybe I even could have become ambidexterous if I wanted to, but that’s not the point. The point is that I almost crippled myself by not taking proper care of my body. My right hand rested for months. After I recovered, I began to use it again, I began to pay attention how I sit, but, alas, in a matter of days, the pain would return.

Do not let modern life cripple you

Remember that our bodies were made to run, roam around and do all sorts of stunts and acrobatics. People were generally fit before the onset of the industrial and more recently, information age. Before, people had to walk to get somewhere.

Don’t let yourself become a fucking sack of lard or a zombified hunchback. Today’s way of life can easily turn a man into a spineless slug. Just because mostly everything today is available at the push of a button or because you can pay someone to do it for you, it doesn’t mean that you should go along that path.

Get yourself in shape already, will you? Start running, start walking, dump your car and start riding a bike - get off your ass! And when you actually decide to make yourself a decent human being, I recommend that you start practicing martial arts. You shall see now why the practice of a martial art overshadows any other sport and has far more benefits than any other physical activity. Practicing any kind of sport is great, but martial arts are light years away from any other outdoor/indoor physical activity.

The practice of a martial art will push you to your limits

Ever wanted to feel really powerful? Ever wanted to really feel that only the sky is the limit? Enroll in a martial arts club. You will be pushed to your limits. Every single muscle in your body will be engaged in a myriad of dynamic exercices. You will use the whole of your body in a natural way. You cannot get that kind of exercise in a stupid gym, by pumping iron and gazing into your own fucking reflection in search of some trace of a six-pack.

Screw bodybuilding, screw fitness machines, screw indoor bikes! That is just a bunch of crap! People were practicing and refining martial arts for millenia, while the modern technological garbage is around for a few decades at most. Most fitness machines and gizmos that you see advertised on TV are pure fucking crap. Why? Because you must sweat and work hard to get into any decent shape. There are no easy solutions and shortcuts. And once you begin training, you will come to enjoy it immensely. You will realize that it’s not hard at all even when it seems so.

And here is where the martial arts come. You will feel like you just can’t take it anymore at the end of each training session, but in fact, you will discover that you can push yourself more and more as you endure and progress. Remember: if you don’t feel pain in your muscles after your training session, it means that you just haven’t been training hard enough.

There is no sport which develops your cardio, muscle strength, flexibility and explosiveness as martial arts do. The only thing that maybe comes close is the triathlon. Swimming is great because the whole of your body works in harmony. But the problem here is that you must have a swimming pool, the sea or a lake nearby to be able to practice regularly. You can practice martial arts anywhere: in your dojo, at home, in the nature, in a hotel room. Anywhere!

The benefits of practicing a martial art are manifold

Any sport is fine for your body, but a martial art will bring you benefits that can’t be found anywhere else: physical, mental and spiritual advancement.

1. You will develop real dynamic strength

Like I said before, weights suck, machines suck. Martial arts will make you use your own body and will push you to your real limits. Ever tried to do a handstand push up? Ever tried to do 10 of them? 20? Ever tried to do 200 hindu squats? Can you make a bridge and touch the ground with your nose? (I can and this exercise fucking rules.) These kinds of exercices are a real test, not some dumb bench press.

Let me give you some examples:

The British SAS, the US Navy Seals and the French Foreign Legion are the elite of the elite: the best special units in the whole world. Do you think that they spend their time pumping iron? No, they have the most brutal, grueling and hard to endure training programmes that ever existed. These people seem to have superhuman strength and endurance, while in reality they just pushed themselves enough to accomplish what anyone with enough willpower and determination can do. OK, this may seem a really extreme example (that’s why it works), but read below for another good example of real dynamic power.

Ever heard about parkour? Just take a look at what this young Russian fellow can do. Again, this is real dynamic power and speed, as opposed to artificial machine bullshit.

2. You will learn that pain doesn’t really exist

Most martial arts involve direct contact with your opponent, and some even what is called full contact. I am currently practicing Muay Thai (aka thai boxing) which is a pretty brutal full contact martial art. During a training session, I always pick a sparring partner which is willing to push himself/herself that extra bit. I deliver and recieve punishing kicks, among other things.

At first, you may recoil in fear, because the natural reaction of your body is to avoid damage and pain. But if you endure, you will become used to it and soon discover that there is no such thing as pain. You will be able to take in much punishment and smile and joke about it.

This will in turn lead to a very positive attitude and will boost your mental strength by leaps and bounds. Because you will realize that anything is possible. Because you will realize that you can endure any kind of pain. Because you will know that you are able to deal with any situation.

This means that you will develop your fighting spirit. And that, my friend, is really powerful stuff. You can apply it to any area of your life.

3. You will be able to defend yourself and others

Running or swimming are excellent for your body, but they won’t teach you self-defense. If you decided to get in shape, why not learn to defend yourself while you’re at it?

This is a precious skill. Being able to fend off an attack and to kick ass is a powerful skill. Being conscious of the fact that you can engage an opponent without fear will boost your confidence and self-respect.

4. You will stay out of trouble

What’s amazing is that once you start practicing a martial art, trouble tends to stay away from you. People will feel your confidence.

I remember an evening when I went out and met a troublemaker. Some retarded idiot wanted to pick a fight. I just assumed the fighting stance and began to observe my opponent, to see if he is going to make a move. I didn’t say a word, I just stared at him. Needles to say, the guy got scared, became awkward and gave it up. He just walked away.

And that is the best solution: When no one gets hurt. In his timeless classic, The Art of War, Sun Tzu said: “The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities… It is best to win without fighting.”

Remember this:

• Most people do not practice martial arts.
• Most people who practrice martial arts stay out of trouble.
• Therefore: If you practice martial arts, you will stay out of trouble and be able to defend yourself and overcome your enemy if trouble does occur.

You are starting to see now why martial arts simply rule.

5. You will have more self-respect and more respect for others

Being an active practitioner of a martial art will boost your self-respect. You won’t pay attention to people who say stupid things just to vent their own shotcomings and inadequacies. You will ignore them because you know your own worth.

If you happen to work or live near someone who is provoking you all the time (you know, everyone has met that sort of an asshole once in their lifetime), just give them the shut-the-fuck-up-or-you’ll-regret-it look and they’ll get the message. Once, I dealt with a major asshole who just couldn’t stop harassing me by getting a millimeter from his face and staring him right in his eyes and yelling at him “What do you want?” He never ever dared to approach me after that.

As for nice people, you will learn to respect them even more. And strangers too. Because martial arts teach you to be humble. You will respect others because you will learn that everyone is special in their own way.

Also, you will have your ass kicked many times during your training sessions. This will make you humble and realistic: There is always someone more skilled and stronger than you. The best warrior in the world doesn’t even think about the fact that he is the best.

You will realize that with your power comes humility and responsibility.

6. You will change your worldview

Most martial arts involve a mental and/or a spiritual practice also. A sport doesn’t include that. Most martial arts are paths that will lead you to better know yourself and to better understand the world you live in. Some, like Aikido, are even paths to enlightenment.

You will begin to question many things in your life and see that you can shed many bad habits and improve in countless ways. You will change your lifestyle.

You are going to become more calm and collected, more fearless, even in extremely dangerous situations. This is a sign of a balanced and relaxed mind. This will in turn lead to less stress in your life and more control over your life and any given situation.

7. You will expand your knowledge and enrich yourself

Many martial arts come from exotic cultures and faraway lands like Japan, China, Phillipines, Thailand, Indonesia, Brasil, etc. By practicing a martial art you will inevitably gain knowledge about its roots, its homeland, the ways of the people who inevented it… You will learn a lot about an entirely different culture.

This will expand your worldviews, open new horizons and make you a more cosmopolitan person. Who knows, you will maybe become tempted to learn a new language.

8. You will expand your possibilities for employment

You never know when opportunity will come knocking on your door. Maybe you’ll become a bodyguard, whoe knows? And why not, as a new experience?

Why not become a webmaster and a martial arts master? The first thing that you’ll notice is that you will stop surfing the Web for bullshit and actually searching for more information about the martial art of your choice. This will lead you to realize that you can start a new blog or forum where you will discuss about it with your new friends and acquaintances and even learn some money from it.

It is possible that you will become so proficient at martial arts that you might actually start teaching others and become a certified instructor.

Choose a type and style of martial art that suits you best

There are many different styles and types of martial arts and some will be better suited for you than for someone else. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try different things. Also remember that there are bad or poor instructors out there who aren’t exactly skilled at their art, want to rip you off or are aggressive. This is the same as in every human endeavor: there will always be bad persons and low-quality things. Don’t let this disappoint you. There are many great martial arts schools out there. Seek and you shall find.

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