Tighten Your Core with Break Dance

English: Break dancing in Lyon, in front of th...

Of all the dance disciplines, there are few as intense and body-transforming as break dance. Not only does it look amazing (and, let’s face it, really cool), but it also does incredible things for your body. Upper body strength is key to break dancing and general fitness will need to be upheld just to be able to pull off some of the more complicated choreography. Warm ups before a break dance lesson will tend to include an aerobics-style workout, featuring crunches, push ups and headstands, making this one of the more tricky styles of dance to get into. More than worth it, however, as once you have begun to pick up even the most basic moves break dance is energetic, exciting and will transform body your physical shape and the general way you move.

The History of Break Dance

Break dance originated in the 1970’s, inspired in part by James Brown’s energetic onstage moves, and quickly became popular with young athletic men who wanted to take part in a form of dance that was impressive and acceptable on the streets. Break dancers formed ‘crews’ and could meet up to ‘battle’ (basically a dance-off, with the emphasis on pulling off … Read more at FryingPanSports

5 Weird Discontinued Olympic Sports

If you think the modern Olympics have always featured the same, traditional events then you’re wrong. Here are five of the most unusual events to have ever graced the games.

Swimming Obstacle Race (Paris, 1900)

If you fancy competing in a spot of obstacle swimming you’re going to have to travel back in time to Paris 1900, as this is the only time the event was included. 12 competitors raced the 200 metre course that included three obstacles. The first was a pole which the swimmers had to climb over. They then had to clamber over a row of boats, before swimming under another line of vessels towards the end of the course. The gold medal was taken by Australia’s Frederick Lane, so perhaps they should have resurrected the event for the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Long Jump for Horses (Paris, 1900)

This one doesn’t really need an explanation does it? The winner was simply the horse that jumped the furthest, which incidentally wasn’t very far at all. The winning horse managed to leap just over 20 feet, which is more than 2.5 metres shorter than the current human world record.

Live Pigeon Shooting (Paris 1900)

How mental do the … Read more at FryingPanSports

5 Paintball Tips for Beginners

Paintball is a very exciting hobby, but when you are first getting started playing paintball you want to be aware of some things. Spend a few minutes going over these five paintball tips for beginners, and you and the people playing with you will enjoy the game much more.

One important paintball tip for beginners is to communicate.
Many times a beginning player will quietly play the game and feel it isn’t their place yet to speak up and communicate with the other players on the team. The more you communicate with your fellow players the better you will do.

By communicating with your team you will be in a better position to coordinate attacks on them. Many times opposing teams change the strategy mid-game, and if you don’t let your team know about changes you see, they can be exposed to potential attacks. The more you communicate the better the team will know where on the field all the opposing players are. Communication doesn’t have to only involve radio, if you see something you can shout it out to your team members.

A great tip for beginners is to practice on your own. Take some time and go … Read more at FryingPanSports

Accurate Golf Lob Shots

Accurate Golf Lob Shots

The golf lob shot is usually a short shot of no more than 50 yards at most, and is usually employed to get the ball high very quickly, often to get it over an obstacle of some kind. It is a shot that can be used in a sand bunker, for example, where you need to lift the ball forcefully and drive it towards the hole, all in one shot, though perhaps a sand wedge is actually more useful in such a situation. A lob wedge is generally used to gain greater accuracy than a full iron shot.

In your set up with a golf lob shot, aim to the left of your target. The reason for doing this is that the ball will spin towards the right upon landing on the green, thereby cancelling out the original left of target attitude. At least, that’s the theory. If you want to add extra height to the ball, say, to lift it over a particularly high obstacle, then open the clubface more before striking the shot.

The swing is important if you hope to get a fairly accurate golf lob. Start by setting your weight fairly evenly … Read more at FryingPanSports

MMA Clothing and Competition Rules

During the development of the modern incarnation of MMA, or Mixed Martial Arts, rules were virtually nonexistent. As the sport has evolved, however, it has incorporated extensive rules and safety regulations regarding MMA clothing and techiques.

Pre-approval

MMA clothing required for fighters includes preapproved competition shorts, no shirt, and no shoes. Shorts are not allowed to contain any hard plastic or metal components, such as rings, zippers or buckles. Competitors must wear protective mouth guards for the duration of the bout. The fighter’s gender also impacts required MMA clothing; male competitors must wear groin protectors, and female competitors must wear chest protectors.

Athletic Commission

All fighters must wear padded gloves that have been provided by the athletic commission. These gloves must weigh no less than four ounces, but no more than six ounces except in the case of 2XL or larger gloves, which may be slightly heavier than six ounces. Fighters may wear hand wraps made of soft gauze and protective tape under the gloves, but they must be inspected and approved by an athletic commission official before the gloves are put on.

Technical Knockout – TKO

An ordinary MMA fight lasts for three rounds of five minutes each, … Read more at FryingPanSports

Cornhole: It’s a Serious Outdoor Sport

When many people hear about the game cornhole for the first time, the first reaction is often snickering or laughter. While this might seem like just another bean bag toss game with a silly name from the Midwest, cornhole is actually gaining strong momentum as a very serious game. The history of cornhole is a little muddled as no one is quite sure when exactly it started for the first time. Some stories say the original version of this game came from German immigrants in the 1400s, while others have the game as being created in the Midwest around Indiana and Kentucky about a century ago. Whatever the true nature of this game’s history, it doesn’t change the momentum that cornhole has created for itself as a serious pastime.

You might be surprised to know that there is even an additional governing body for the sport. The ACA, American Cornhole Association, is the official governing body of cornhole and creates the standard regulations for the game as well as sets up official tournaments for professional corn toss players. That’s right, there is an official set of rules for informal games as well as an official set of cornhole rules … Read more at FryingPanSports