50’s Diner™ from Step2
Are your children always in the kitchen while you are preparing meals, wanting to help? Do you feel bad that it’s usually too dangerous to allow them to help around sharp knives and hot stoves? Well, there is a way you can let your children play with food while still keeping your sanity at the same time: by getting them their very own kitchen set, 50’s Diner™ from Step 2.
50’s Diner™ from Step 2 introduces your children to a time gone by, where things were a little simpler and everything was supposed to be a little more fun. Your children will love how lifelike the entire set looks that they’ll play with it for hours on it.
With 50’s Diner™ from Step 2, your children can prepare and serve food for their siblings and friends in a stylized version of a diner from the 1950’s. 50’s Diner™ from Step 2 comes with everything your children need to take orders, cook and serve pretend food for as long as their little hearts desire!
50’s Diner™ from Step 2 includes a kitchen with a grill, oven, fryer, sink and freezer, along with a dining area on the other, complete with booth-style seating for their ‘customers.’ The kitchen and dining areas are separated with a retro metallic window. There’s even an electronic bell to let the ‘staff’ know when food is ready to be served!
Along with the kitchen and dining area in the 50’s Diner™ from Step 2, you’re children will have everything they need to prepare an All-American meal, including pretend food like burgers, fries, hot dogs, ice cream and pie.
Help your children boost their imaginations, learn to work together with others to prepare and serve customers while playing with the 50’s Diner™ from Step 2. These skills prove to be important life lessons for children that will serve them well from now until adulthood. The best part? They won’t be bothering you in the kitchen while you’re trying to make their dinners. With the 50’s Diner™ from Step 2, everyone wins!
50’s Diner™ from Step2
It’s no secret that kids love to play make believe. Just watch a group of children play together for a few minutes and you’re bound to see them playing ‘house’ or any number of imaginary games that their young minds can come up with. It’s important to help foster that imagination in young children and that’s why you should get 50’s Diner™ from Step 2 for your children for Christmas this year.
50’s Diner™ from Step 2 is a stylized version of a real 50’s style diner, complete with all of the amenities your children need to play restaurant in their very own home! This complete set includes a kitchen on one side of the 50’s Diner™ from Step 2 set and a dining area, complete with booth-style seating, on the other side.
Your children will marvel at all of the accessories that come along with the 50’s Diner™ from Step 2. They’ll have everything they need to create and serve (pretend) 50’s style meals to their friends! Some of the accessories that come along with the 50’s Diner™ from Step 2 include:
• A full kitchen, including a grill, oven, fryer, sink and freezer
• A full service dining area booth-style seating
• Metallic window that separates the kitchen and dining area
• Electronic bell to let the ‘staff’ know that the food is ready
• Retro jukebox that includes 50’s style music for the children to enjoy
• Food to prepare meals with like burgers, fries, hot dogs, ice cream and pie
Along with growing their imaginations, children will learn to work together in order to prepare and serve the food while playing with their 50’s Diner™ from Step 2. These are important skill that children need to learn to be successful adults. By getting your children the 50’s Diner™ from Step 2, you’re helping them learn these skills at an early age which will only help them as they grow older.
Help your children grow and learn while having fun at the same time! Get them the 50’s Diner™ from Step 2 and let them make you a delicious ‘meal’ for once!
Dot Cully
Sunday 30 November 2008
Xbox 360 - Keep the entire family happy for Christmas!
Xbox 360
Video game systems have come a long way since the Atari. Over the years, video games have evolved from simple one player games to complex gaming systems with a whole host of add on peripherals designed to bring players a gaming experience that rivals real life.
The best system that really brings players into the games they play is the Xbox 360 video game console. Developed by software giant Microsoft, the system was first released in late 2005 and quickly sold out around the world. Since then, the new components and accessories introduced for the Xbox 360 have helped it remain as one of the top selling video game consoles in the world.
The Xbox 360 comes in three different versions: the arcade console, the premium console and the Elite console. Each console has its own set of add ons and accessories. One of the most unique qualities of the Xbox 360 is its Xbox Live component. This component allows subscribing players to interact with other gamers around the world. They can interact with other players around the world via the chat function while playing games with or against people around the world. Xbox Live users can also download different content, games, TV shows and movies only available to Xbox Live subscribers.
Xbox 360 also boasts a wide variety of add ons to help players enhance their game playing experience. For example, players can use both wired and wireless controllers, specialized headsets and webcams for chatting with other players along with dance and exercise mats to use with certain games.
The Xbox 360 has a vast selection of games for players of all interests to enjoy. One look at the available games for the Xbox 360 show traditional war and fighting games, along with games designed for women, girls and preschool aged children.
There really is something for everyone in the family with the Xbox 360. That’s why the Xbox 360 is a great gift for anyone in your family this Christmas. Hey, you might even want to think about getting an Xbox 360 for yourself this year. With all of the different interactive games, you’re sure to find something that interests you and helps you spend your precious free time having fun!
Dot Cully
Video game systems have come a long way since the Atari. Over the years, video games have evolved from simple one player games to complex gaming systems with a whole host of add on peripherals designed to bring players a gaming experience that rivals real life.
The best system that really brings players into the games they play is the Xbox 360 video game console. Developed by software giant Microsoft, the system was first released in late 2005 and quickly sold out around the world. Since then, the new components and accessories introduced for the Xbox 360 have helped it remain as one of the top selling video game consoles in the world.
The Xbox 360 comes in three different versions: the arcade console, the premium console and the Elite console. Each console has its own set of add ons and accessories. One of the most unique qualities of the Xbox 360 is its Xbox Live component. This component allows subscribing players to interact with other gamers around the world. They can interact with other players around the world via the chat function while playing games with or against people around the world. Xbox Live users can also download different content, games, TV shows and movies only available to Xbox Live subscribers.
Xbox 360 also boasts a wide variety of add ons to help players enhance their game playing experience. For example, players can use both wired and wireless controllers, specialized headsets and webcams for chatting with other players along with dance and exercise mats to use with certain games.
The Xbox 360 has a vast selection of games for players of all interests to enjoy. One look at the available games for the Xbox 360 show traditional war and fighting games, along with games designed for women, girls and preschool aged children.
There really is something for everyone in the family with the Xbox 360. That’s why the Xbox 360 is a great gift for anyone in your family this Christmas. Hey, you might even want to think about getting an Xbox 360 for yourself this year. With all of the different interactive games, you’re sure to find something that interests you and helps you spend your precious free time having fun!
Dot Cully
Tuesday 30 September 2008
Exciting News - Free Marketing Graphics
Exciting news for all internet marketers.
I came across this great product that is a definite plus in my books.
Not only does it make the job of an internet marketer easier, faster and with a great professional look, they are offering it for free.
Imagine that! Finding great professional work like this will cost a fortune, not to mention if you even try to design them yourself�.
I am sure it will consume your days leaving no time to attend to anything else. I must say that the graphics are great and the quality is superb, just what you need to grab attention and to help make that sale.
http://tinyurl.com/4zojcc
You can use these for
-Opt In forms
-Order Now Buttons
-Download now Buttons
-Guarantee Buttons
- and more...
And the best part is, the are All for free.
To find out more, click here...http://tinyurl.com/4zojcc
Thanks,
Dot
I came across this great product that is a definite plus in my books.
Not only does it make the job of an internet marketer easier, faster and with a great professional look, they are offering it for free.
Imagine that! Finding great professional work like this will cost a fortune, not to mention if you even try to design them yourself�.
I am sure it will consume your days leaving no time to attend to anything else. I must say that the graphics are great and the quality is superb, just what you need to grab attention and to help make that sale.
http://tinyurl.com/4zojcc
You can use these for
-Opt In forms
-Order Now Buttons
-Download now Buttons
-Guarantee Buttons
- and more...
And the best part is, the are All for free.
To find out more, click here...http://tinyurl.com/4zojcc
Thanks,
Dot
Your Free Twitter Report
Walt Prorok & Chris Vendilli just
joined forces & created what will
soon be known as the internet's
premiere resource for Twitter
tips.
These guys really break it down
and show you step by itty bitty
step how to setup all of your
Twitter related accounts &
resources so that they're all
geared for one common goal:
TRAFFIC
If you download this free report
and go through the steps &
suggestions they outline, you're
guaranteed to see some free
traffic fro Twitter come rolling
your way.
Just go here....
http://twitterhints.com/?vip=2172
Thanks,
Dot
PS - This is the original "Twitter
Report" so when you see all the
knock-offs come sure to come out in
the next couple weeks & months just
remember you were told about the
real deal from yours truly.
Go:
http://twitterhints.com/?vip=2172
joined forces & created what will
soon be known as the internet's
premiere resource for Twitter
tips.
These guys really break it down
and show you step by itty bitty
step how to setup all of your
Twitter related accounts &
resources so that they're all
geared for one common goal:
TRAFFIC
If you download this free report
and go through the steps &
suggestions they outline, you're
guaranteed to see some free
traffic fro Twitter come rolling
your way.
Just go here....
http://twitterhints.com/?vip=2172
Thanks,
Dot
PS - This is the original "Twitter
Report" so when you see all the
knock-offs come sure to come out in
the next couple weeks & months just
remember you were told about the
real deal from yours truly.
Go:
http://twitterhints.com/?vip=2172
Tuesday 5 August 2008
New Web 3.0 Social Technologies!
TokSee - New Web 3.0 Social Technologies!
If you ever wanted to be in on the ground floor ahead of the huge
wave in an explosive industry TokSee is it.
"Imagine a Company that could harness the power of Facebook;
MySpace; YouTube & Skype and become much bigger than all
of them combined - Would you like a piece of that Company?"
"TokSee is the New Googlelicous Kid on the Block!"
THE VERY BEST IN AUDIO, VIDEO, VOIP SERVICES, IM
AND SOCIAL NETWORKS ALL ROLLED UP INTO ONE
VISIONARY VIRAL IMPLICIT PRESUMER MODEL
w/ SOCIAL MARKETING TOOLS BUILT IN!
Communicate with Audio, Video, Cell phone and VoIP To
ANYONE in the World! Communicate with friends in other
social communities without having accounts in those communities.
Official Launch is Approaching Click to see the Future!
NO SOFTWARE TO INSTALL! EASY TO USE! ALL WITH
the TokSee Communicator Widget & SOCIAL COMMUNITY!
TokSee is a whole new level of web30 technology!
TokSee is visionary new business and compensation model
to its users. Get Paid to use the TokSee Free Social
Community and Free IM Communicator Widget!
Welcome To The TokSee Experience!
Click to see the Future!
Regards,
Dot Cully
Friday 9 May 2008
I Want You To See This Mini Movie...
Here is a quick 8 minute movie I thought you might be
interested in watching, please watch it and let me know
what your thoughts are, ok? Click this link below now
to start watching....
http://www.byoaudio.com/playv
Then, after watching go to my website here...
http://streamlineMagic.com/?hub=514361
Take care,
Dot Cully
Thursday 17 April 2008
Creating A Work Home Business Online
Creating A Work Home Business Internet Online
Within this article today, we're going to look at creating a work at home business that focuses on the Internet and online. There are many different businesses that you can focus on and we will look at what you should look for within a particular business that you want to do.
There are great many opportunities for you in creating a work at home business that focus on the Internet and online. One of the best resources for you to find information about this is at www.affiliateprograms.com. You'll want to spend a great deal of time visiting this website because you can find many different affiliate programs that you can market in many different categories. Some of the categories that they have that you can market include finance and investment, food and beverage, automotive, and health and fitness. Take the time to read because each affiliate program will list their website as well as a small description on what they do and you will want to visit the website as well. If you are going to be spending a great deal of your time promoting a particular website and program, you'll want to make sure that this is worth your while. Also, with each of these particular programs, you should look at how much money you would be making by selling each of these. You'll probably find several programs that seem interesting to you so see which one peaks your interest and pays well and head for that opportunity.
As far as fair warning for what seems to be opportunities on the Web for other things, there are many different websites that promise that you can make money through either taking surveys or through posting on free forums for several hours day. This sounded good and many people have signed up and found that they have wasted a great deal of time and money in the end when trying out these so-called "opportunities. Remember to listen to your gut when you're thinking about this. There are many work-at-home scams out there so make sure to take your time in reading about what the different websites have to offer.
Another great work home business that has an online focus can be eBay. This is stressed throughout some articles on this website but it is a great tool for you to begin your career. You can learn how to write sales copy for your auctions as well as how to properly promote yourself. If you take the lessons to be learned on eBay and apply them to other Internet marketing areas, you will find yourself ready to tackle almost anything out there.
Hopefully this article on creating a work at home business that focuses on the Internet and online has been beneficial to you. When we designed this article and wrote it, we want you to know what to look for within a particular business as well as what to do for it. It is important to know what to look for as well as what to avoid.
Creating And Starting An Online Business
Within this article today on creating and starting an online business, we are going to look at different ways of creating an online business for you.
There are many different online businesses that you can start but most of them come down to three broad categories which are: selling products or services to retail customers, selling on eBay, and business-to-business selling. When you are looking at creating and starting an online business, you'll want to look at what your specialty is in creative business around one of these three broad categories. If you decide that you want to sell to retail customers, you will have to find a way to sell your products or services in a different manner than many of the other retail websites out there. If you decide that you want to sell on eBay, you'll want to find a wholesale distributor of products where you can buy your products at a great discount. If you already work within the business-to-business forum, this will be an easy transition for you.
Each of these three categories can be broken into but you must decide upon which of the three will focus. Many people will decide to start an online business but have no idea where they should focus their efforts. By focusing your efforts on one of these three categories, you'll know in which direction to start. If you decide to start with eBay, look for a wholesale distributor where you can buy your products of the great discount. This is most effective for many startups because you do not have to buy the products in you can worry about selling online to people who want your product. The people who want your product will be the ones who are bidding so that you know exactly what they want when the auction is over. To find some wholesale distributors for you, look at the following website: www.worldwidebrands.com.
If you decide that you want to sell products or services to retail customers, try and find a niche that is underserved by your and your Internet competitors right now. This is when the keys to creating a starting an online retail business because you want to find an area where there is little competition that you can dominate. To find some of these underserved niches, visit the following website: www.findhotniches.com.
Finally, if you decide that you want to do business to business selling, figure out how you can provide benefit to the particular market that you want to go after. Many people work online as freelance writers and you are able to do this and potentially differ yourself from the competition if you market to one particular niche. Business-to-business selling is similar to the retail strategy in that you want to focus upon a niche and try and dominate that niche.
Hopefully this article on creating and starting an online business gives you an idea on which of the three areas you would like to focus.
Creating Best Online Business
There are many different ways to make money on the Internet but this article today will focus on one particular idea, creating the best online business. There are as many ways to make money on the Internet as possible but there aren't a great deal of tried and true methods that can work for different people.
The method that we will focus on today is creating a website in a small but profitable niche. What all businesses come down to is finding and maintaining a strong and solid customer base that can constantly make them money. This is true no matter what type of business this is, Internet or retail. The only way that a company makes money is by attracting a solid base of customers and then building off of that. If you are able to build a solid base of highly responsive customers, you will have the opportunity to print your own money.
The first key in creating the best online business is to help you identify a niche that you can work in. this can be a bit tricky but you must make sure that it has a few characteristics. First, you will want the subject to be something that you are interested in hopefully. To truly create a website that people will want to keep visiting, you will have to have a great deal of information and different ways to keep them interested. You will probably need to be researching these topics quite a bit so a strong interest within the field will help you. Secondly, visit www.findhotniches.com. This website can help you generate ideas on what different areas are underserved. The author of this website, James Jackson, gives you niches plus keywords so that you know what to build your website around.
That was great information but here is the rest quickly. You want your website to be built around those keywords so that Internet searches bring up your website among the first page of search results. By doing this, you can start gaining traffic to your website. By constantly writing articles, you can develop a repeat client base which you can begin selling to. Once you are done developing the website, you need some sort of product to sell. This is not necessarily something that you have to come up with. If you go to Clickbank.com, you will find many different products that you can probably sell within your particular niche. You will get a share of the profits and the system is automated so that you just have to guide your clients over to that particular website and everything else is taken care of for you.
These are a few to give you a good start:
http://tinyurl.com/5kwosj
http://tinyurl.com/3d2634
http://tinyurl.com/2tmupj
If you decide and look into developing a newsletter then you can promote a product at the end of the newsletter, which could bring you in a great deal of money. This is where you can make some good money. Hopefully this article on creating the best online business will help you out. If you want to succeed, try this idea but keep testing as it takes great time and effort to become a strong and profitable website.
Creating Free Grant Form Online For Businesses
Within this article today, we are going to look at ways to help you in creating free grant forms online for businesses and where you can find money. We will give you a couple of different websites where you can put in your information and your ideas and see if you are able to get a grant for your small business. A grant is a great way for anyone who doesn't have the money to go because this is money that you normally may not have to repay. Grants are a much different source of financing than small-business loans are. It is often very difficult to get this though because there are some people who will compete for this. Keep that in mind as you're searching for grants to help build your business.
The first website and we came across in creating a free grant form in searching for grants online for businesses was found at the following web address: http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/business_grants/index.php. You can receive up to one thousand dollars for your business ideas from this particular website. Here is another link that you should look into as well: http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/business_grants/grants_advice.html. This comes from the same website but it does give you some information as far as what you should look for when trying to get a grant. On this page as well, there is a calculator that can help you determine how much money you may need when financing your small business. This can be very good because most people will put together a business plan but have no idea of how much they may possibly need.
Here is another website that we came across in creating a free grant form online for business was: http://www.mygovernmentgrants.com/. This website has a great deal of information as far as different grants are concerned so take your time and go through this website carefully. It is not a website that has been used by the authors of this paper submission that everything seems all right when you look into this.
Here is a notice as far as grant money is concerned with the federal government. The Small Business Administration currently does not give away any grant money but rather if grant money is to be given, it is passed along through into intermediaries such as lending institutions. Remember that grant does not mean that you're getting free money. This is often a common misconception that we do want to clear up before the end of this article. Only this article will help you in your search for more sources of funding for your online businesses. Remember that the more educated and the more time you spend on a subject, the better the chance is that you will find yourself in place to get a good source of funding at low cost to you. Take some time to visit these websites and see what you can gather from them. Remember that you have many different forms of funding and financing for your business other than grants so do not think that this is your only option.
Dot Cully
http://www.cullyclan.biz
http://starprize.automaticblog.hop.clickbank.net
Within this article today, we're going to look at creating a work at home business that focuses on the Internet and online. There are many different businesses that you can focus on and we will look at what you should look for within a particular business that you want to do.
There are great many opportunities for you in creating a work at home business that focus on the Internet and online. One of the best resources for you to find information about this is at www.affiliateprograms.com. You'll want to spend a great deal of time visiting this website because you can find many different affiliate programs that you can market in many different categories. Some of the categories that they have that you can market include finance and investment, food and beverage, automotive, and health and fitness. Take the time to read because each affiliate program will list their website as well as a small description on what they do and you will want to visit the website as well. If you are going to be spending a great deal of your time promoting a particular website and program, you'll want to make sure that this is worth your while. Also, with each of these particular programs, you should look at how much money you would be making by selling each of these. You'll probably find several programs that seem interesting to you so see which one peaks your interest and pays well and head for that opportunity.
As far as fair warning for what seems to be opportunities on the Web for other things, there are many different websites that promise that you can make money through either taking surveys or through posting on free forums for several hours day. This sounded good and many people have signed up and found that they have wasted a great deal of time and money in the end when trying out these so-called "opportunities. Remember to listen to your gut when you're thinking about this. There are many work-at-home scams out there so make sure to take your time in reading about what the different websites have to offer.
Another great work home business that has an online focus can be eBay. This is stressed throughout some articles on this website but it is a great tool for you to begin your career. You can learn how to write sales copy for your auctions as well as how to properly promote yourself. If you take the lessons to be learned on eBay and apply them to other Internet marketing areas, you will find yourself ready to tackle almost anything out there.
Hopefully this article on creating a work at home business that focuses on the Internet and online has been beneficial to you. When we designed this article and wrote it, we want you to know what to look for within a particular business as well as what to do for it. It is important to know what to look for as well as what to avoid.
Creating And Starting An Online Business
Within this article today on creating and starting an online business, we are going to look at different ways of creating an online business for you.
There are many different online businesses that you can start but most of them come down to three broad categories which are: selling products or services to retail customers, selling on eBay, and business-to-business selling. When you are looking at creating and starting an online business, you'll want to look at what your specialty is in creative business around one of these three broad categories. If you decide that you want to sell to retail customers, you will have to find a way to sell your products or services in a different manner than many of the other retail websites out there. If you decide that you want to sell on eBay, you'll want to find a wholesale distributor of products where you can buy your products at a great discount. If you already work within the business-to-business forum, this will be an easy transition for you.
Each of these three categories can be broken into but you must decide upon which of the three will focus. Many people will decide to start an online business but have no idea where they should focus their efforts. By focusing your efforts on one of these three categories, you'll know in which direction to start. If you decide to start with eBay, look for a wholesale distributor where you can buy your products of the great discount. This is most effective for many startups because you do not have to buy the products in you can worry about selling online to people who want your product. The people who want your product will be the ones who are bidding so that you know exactly what they want when the auction is over. To find some wholesale distributors for you, look at the following website: www.worldwidebrands.com.
If you decide that you want to sell products or services to retail customers, try and find a niche that is underserved by your and your Internet competitors right now. This is when the keys to creating a starting an online retail business because you want to find an area where there is little competition that you can dominate. To find some of these underserved niches, visit the following website: www.findhotniches.com.
Finally, if you decide that you want to do business to business selling, figure out how you can provide benefit to the particular market that you want to go after. Many people work online as freelance writers and you are able to do this and potentially differ yourself from the competition if you market to one particular niche. Business-to-business selling is similar to the retail strategy in that you want to focus upon a niche and try and dominate that niche.
Hopefully this article on creating and starting an online business gives you an idea on which of the three areas you would like to focus.
Creating Best Online Business
There are many different ways to make money on the Internet but this article today will focus on one particular idea, creating the best online business. There are as many ways to make money on the Internet as possible but there aren't a great deal of tried and true methods that can work for different people.
The method that we will focus on today is creating a website in a small but profitable niche. What all businesses come down to is finding and maintaining a strong and solid customer base that can constantly make them money. This is true no matter what type of business this is, Internet or retail. The only way that a company makes money is by attracting a solid base of customers and then building off of that. If you are able to build a solid base of highly responsive customers, you will have the opportunity to print your own money.
The first key in creating the best online business is to help you identify a niche that you can work in. this can be a bit tricky but you must make sure that it has a few characteristics. First, you will want the subject to be something that you are interested in hopefully. To truly create a website that people will want to keep visiting, you will have to have a great deal of information and different ways to keep them interested. You will probably need to be researching these topics quite a bit so a strong interest within the field will help you. Secondly, visit www.findhotniches.com. This website can help you generate ideas on what different areas are underserved. The author of this website, James Jackson, gives you niches plus keywords so that you know what to build your website around.
That was great information but here is the rest quickly. You want your website to be built around those keywords so that Internet searches bring up your website among the first page of search results. By doing this, you can start gaining traffic to your website. By constantly writing articles, you can develop a repeat client base which you can begin selling to. Once you are done developing the website, you need some sort of product to sell. This is not necessarily something that you have to come up with. If you go to Clickbank.com, you will find many different products that you can probably sell within your particular niche. You will get a share of the profits and the system is automated so that you just have to guide your clients over to that particular website and everything else is taken care of for you.
These are a few to give you a good start:
http://tinyurl.com/5kwosj
http://tinyurl.com/3d2634
http://tinyurl.com/2tmupj
If you decide and look into developing a newsletter then you can promote a product at the end of the newsletter, which could bring you in a great deal of money. This is where you can make some good money. Hopefully this article on creating the best online business will help you out. If you want to succeed, try this idea but keep testing as it takes great time and effort to become a strong and profitable website.
Creating Free Grant Form Online For Businesses
Within this article today, we are going to look at ways to help you in creating free grant forms online for businesses and where you can find money. We will give you a couple of different websites where you can put in your information and your ideas and see if you are able to get a grant for your small business. A grant is a great way for anyone who doesn't have the money to go because this is money that you normally may not have to repay. Grants are a much different source of financing than small-business loans are. It is often very difficult to get this though because there are some people who will compete for this. Keep that in mind as you're searching for grants to help build your business.
The first website and we came across in creating a free grant form in searching for grants online for businesses was found at the following web address: http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/business_grants/index.php. You can receive up to one thousand dollars for your business ideas from this particular website. Here is another link that you should look into as well: http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/business_grants/grants_advice.html. This comes from the same website but it does give you some information as far as what you should look for when trying to get a grant. On this page as well, there is a calculator that can help you determine how much money you may need when financing your small business. This can be very good because most people will put together a business plan but have no idea of how much they may possibly need.
Here is another website that we came across in creating a free grant form online for business was: http://www.mygovernmentgrants.com/. This website has a great deal of information as far as different grants are concerned so take your time and go through this website carefully. It is not a website that has been used by the authors of this paper submission that everything seems all right when you look into this.
Here is a notice as far as grant money is concerned with the federal government. The Small Business Administration currently does not give away any grant money but rather if grant money is to be given, it is passed along through into intermediaries such as lending institutions. Remember that grant does not mean that you're getting free money. This is often a common misconception that we do want to clear up before the end of this article. Only this article will help you in your search for more sources of funding for your online businesses. Remember that the more educated and the more time you spend on a subject, the better the chance is that you will find yourself in place to get a good source of funding at low cost to you. Take some time to visit these websites and see what you can gather from them. Remember that you have many different forms of funding and financing for your business other than grants so do not think that this is your only option.
Dot Cully
http://www.cullyclan.biz
http://starprize.automaticblog.hop.clickbank.net
Wednesday 26 March 2008
Screw Guru-style Copywriting, Do This Instead
How do you grab your visitor's attention in a polite, warm and
friendly way that makes him WANT to stay on your site?
How do you instantly build rapport and trust with a complete
stranger who's never been to your site before and doesn't know
you from Adam?
There is only one way...
Video, of course.
But not just any video.
Video that plays automatically, smack dab in the middle of the
screen.
Video that is so smart, the moment the scroll bar is used, the
video moves to the side, so it's not in the way of the sales
copy.
Video that mooooves with the page, so it stays ever present to
the side of your sales material, building rapport but not being
intrusive or overbearing.
Now that's SMART video, also known as Video Pop-ins...
(Not to be confused with MARY Poppins ;-)
Here are some questions I received on Video Pop-ins...
Q. Does video really boost response?
A. Yes! Studies have shown that video and text can produce 89%
better results than text alone.
With Video Pop-ins, you DON'T have to be a Super Ad-Copy Guru to
be successful on the web.
It's almost like cheating :-)
Q. Can you customize your Video Pop-in?
A. Yes! You can customize the look of it, and even put your HTML
and/or subscriber opt-in form above, below or next to the video.
You can also choose the entry and exit directions and speed of
the pop-in, the size of the pop-in, the pop-in's location on your
page, shadows, border, and more.
Q. Is it difficult to use?
A. No. Just choose your video, choose your options, paste the
code into your web page(s) and upload the files. Full
instructions included.
Q. What if I don't have a video camera?
A. No problem. Included in your Video Pop-in package is Instant
Video Suite, which has everything you need to get started... even
if you don't have a video camera.
See the bonus section for more info on this and the other BIG
bonus that is included.
Dot
P.S. One last thing you need to know... order now and the $247
package is only $67. Come back later and it's $97.
And they are NOT kidding about this.
Tuesday 18 March 2008
Copy Writing
Copywriting
For those of you who are not familiar with the art of copywriting, this article will focus on giving an introduction to the subject and why it is in such high demand today.
The field of copywriting is large and continues to expand every year. A way to describe copywriting is putting a creative message in front of a consumer. In the book, Copywriting, it is mentioned that copywriting is based upon three fundamental principles. When you are writing to a customer, there has to be an involvement between the customer and the seller. You must then make sure that you explain the rewards as far as when the customer is purchasing a product. The final piece is achievement and that is what you as the writer will be focusing on. Whenever you write copy, you are looking to have a certain effect upon consumers. Usually this effect will be for consumers to desire a certain product because they will want to gain certain rewards. You know that you've achieved your objectives by hitting certain sales goals that have been set for your copywriting. There are many writers in the world but there is a specific niche for copywriters. Copywriters are the ones who write messages but mold them in a way that it brings about an interest in a consumer. With the number of advertisements out there today, consumers will not respond unless it is something that specifically interests them. This is why it is more important than ever to have a clear focus when you are writing your copy so that you know which particular niche you're trying to hit within the broader population.
There will always be a need for copywriters no matter whether the economy is in a recession or in a boom. Companies must always put out a message to consumers and as long as this demand is needed, copywriters will be in high demand. If you are interested in working as a copywriter, you will have many different places to look for work. You can decide to work for advertising agencies, on the Internet, or be your own boss. There are many different markets for you in these three that were just listed.
When you are writing copy for a seller of a product, the key is that you must remember to put yourselves in the shoes of the consumer. This is done through doing extensive research and studying what goes through the mind of that particular consumer. Each niche or group of people will be different in what will motivate them to do certain things. By doing this research, you will have a better idea of where you need to go with the message that you are trying to convey to your target audience.
This article on copywriting is meant to give you a broad overview of the field. The demand for copywriters will always be strong due to the need of companies to send messages to their audiences to buy their products. If you do not employ someone to promote your product, you will be left behind. This is why copywriting is such a good field and is in such high demand.
Copywriting Assignments
There are numerous methods for you to acquire copywriting assignments. Within this article day, will focus on different websites where you can acquire copywriting assignments as well as how to acquire clients who will bring you copywriting assignments.
There are many different online freelance marketplaces where you can acquire copywriting science. There are three particular websites which stand head and shoulders above most others. The first of these is www.guru.com. This is the biggest online freelance marketplace. He second of these three websites is www.elance.com. A third of these three websites is www.findafreelancer.com. Each of these websites has a search agent which can e-mail jobs based upon the desired search criteria which you would like. The third website is the European version of the first two. It is the smallest of the three but is still a significant source of good copywriting work. Most of the websites do usually charge a subscription fee, whether it be monthly or quarterly. This can be a great investment because you will have access to copywriting assignments that you would not normally have seen.
There are many other ways to acquire copywriting assignments other than using online freelance marketplaces. This is a place where you can use your creativity in selling yourself. Many companies in need of copywriting work will not normally look online first. They may go towards local contacts and sources that they have because they feel more comfortable using someone who they can physically meet with. You can take advantage of these needs by cultivating contacts within your region. Look into joining your Chamber of Commerce as well as other civic groups. Be sure to bring business cards with you and have a thirty second speech explaining what you do so that people remember what you do and who you are. Do not work at directly selling yourself to them at first but rather make the connection and allow them to come to you. People are more willing to do business with you when they actually know you rather then just a face on a website or an anonymous bid to a project that they post.
Another key when acquiring copywriting assignments is to make sure that you have a website. Many copywriters and professionals do not have a website and this can give you a competitive advantage. You can publish some of your past assignments on the Internet so that if people are interested, they can look at your website. You do not have to worry about e-mailing them any information and they will contact you if they're interested. If you work on getting your site indexed, people searching the Internet for copywriting could also stumble across your website and provide in other source of leads for you.
When looking for copywriting assignments, the key is that you must sell yourself and think creatively outside of the box. If you set yourself up well, you will find that you will be inundated with work by consistently prospecting for new business using some of the techniques explained above.
Copywriting Jobs
There are a great deal of copywriting jobs out there today. Within this article today, we will look at the future of copywriting jobs as well as where you can find more information.
The number of copywriting job is enormous. As of February 10, 2007, if you did a keyword search of "copywriting", there were 509 open jobs. This is only a small part of the market and you could find many other copywriting jobs on other websites as well. With the evolution of the Internet, there are more and more jobs available to write good web content among other things on the Internet. Often many copywriting jobs can be found where you will find a plethora of advertising agencies and a good example of this would be in New York. Within your area, there will be a good number of smaller marketing agencies where you may be able to find work as a copywriter. The number of opportunities for a copywriter is very high and this is a great feel to work in.
Copywriting salaries usually range from $41,000 a year up to $56,000 a year or more. From this website, 41,000 represented what the 25th percentile are making on average within the field whereas the people earning 56,000 a year were in the top 75%. This is a rough gauge on what you could potentially make if you decide to take a copywriting job.
To look just be on the realm of grabbing a job as a copywriter, you could also look at doing some freelance copywriting. If you're not happy with the amount of money that you could make within the copywriting field, you could look at supplementing this on the side by bidding for projects at either of these two following websites: www.elance.com or www.directfreelance.com. On either of these two websites, you are able to bid on projects that are listed as well as set up a profile to showcase your best work. You can create search criteria so that jobs that meet what you want can be e-mailed to you. This is a great way to supplement your income.
Copywriting jobs are out there for the taking. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, copywriting jobs will grow in line with the general economy over the next decade. This means that you will see probably about average growth for the industry but you could see a great deal more growth if you focus on Internet copywriting. This is a very flexible industry in which you have potentially a greater chance at dictating your terms and conditions and how you would like to work. This is something that you can look into when you start talking with a potential employer. Do not underestimate also the opportunity to work as a freelancer because you could command higher rates and this would increase the amount of flexibility you would have within your life.
Copywriting Procedures
Within this article on copywriting procedures, we will look at how to structure your copywriting when working for a client. There has been a great deal of copywriting done through the years and it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel every time you want to write copy. We will specifically be focused upon the sales letter because this could have the greatest impact for you, especially if you decide to do SEO copywriting.
One particular school of thought speaks to making your website one large online sales letter. Continuing in this train of thought, this could present a great opportunity for you. You could write for both off-line businesses as well as for online business using the format of a sales letter.
Within a sales letter, there are three main components that will make a difference whether or not your product will sell. The first component is the headline. If you do not grab your prospects' attention right away, you will have wasted your time in developing the rest of the copy. The second component of a sales letter is the offer. This part is important as you must be explicit with the offer to give the prospect what he or she now wants. It must be something that will entice the prospect to take action upon the completion of reading the letter. The final component of a sales letter is the postscript. This is the second most read portion of a sales letter after the headline. When you are writing this, this is the extra incentive that you will be using to motivate your prospects to take advantage of the offer that you presented right away. When you are focusing upon writing a sales letter, you should take each particular step of the sales letter in order. You do not sit down and just writes a sales letter completely through but rather take it step by step. This entails writing the headline followed by writing the offer and then followed by writing the postscript. Following these copywriting procedures will ensure that you will have set yourself up for great success.
If you do not have a great deal of experience within copywriting, make sure to follow the examples of copywriting procedures set up by some of the foremost experts. One of the key authors who you should look into is Dan Kennedy. He has written some great books over the years and is a great resource for you to use.
Hopefully this article on copywriting procedures will help you in becoming a better copywriter. The key behind successful copywriting is to use the formulas that have been developed while putting your own spin on what you're writing. Copywriting procedures are important because people have developed these in a certain method to be successful for a reason. There is no need to reinvent the wheel because this will only be frustrating for you in the long run as you'll find that you have less sales while putting in more effort. By taking the time to follow operating procedures, you'll set yourself up to maximize potential sales when developing a sales letter.
Dot Cully
http://www.dotstrustinyou.com
http://www.yourlearingcurve.blogware.com
For those of you who are not familiar with the art of copywriting, this article will focus on giving an introduction to the subject and why it is in such high demand today.
The field of copywriting is large and continues to expand every year. A way to describe copywriting is putting a creative message in front of a consumer. In the book, Copywriting, it is mentioned that copywriting is based upon three fundamental principles. When you are writing to a customer, there has to be an involvement between the customer and the seller. You must then make sure that you explain the rewards as far as when the customer is purchasing a product. The final piece is achievement and that is what you as the writer will be focusing on. Whenever you write copy, you are looking to have a certain effect upon consumers. Usually this effect will be for consumers to desire a certain product because they will want to gain certain rewards. You know that you've achieved your objectives by hitting certain sales goals that have been set for your copywriting. There are many writers in the world but there is a specific niche for copywriters. Copywriters are the ones who write messages but mold them in a way that it brings about an interest in a consumer. With the number of advertisements out there today, consumers will not respond unless it is something that specifically interests them. This is why it is more important than ever to have a clear focus when you are writing your copy so that you know which particular niche you're trying to hit within the broader population.
There will always be a need for copywriters no matter whether the economy is in a recession or in a boom. Companies must always put out a message to consumers and as long as this demand is needed, copywriters will be in high demand. If you are interested in working as a copywriter, you will have many different places to look for work. You can decide to work for advertising agencies, on the Internet, or be your own boss. There are many different markets for you in these three that were just listed.
When you are writing copy for a seller of a product, the key is that you must remember to put yourselves in the shoes of the consumer. This is done through doing extensive research and studying what goes through the mind of that particular consumer. Each niche or group of people will be different in what will motivate them to do certain things. By doing this research, you will have a better idea of where you need to go with the message that you are trying to convey to your target audience.
This article on copywriting is meant to give you a broad overview of the field. The demand for copywriters will always be strong due to the need of companies to send messages to their audiences to buy their products. If you do not employ someone to promote your product, you will be left behind. This is why copywriting is such a good field and is in such high demand.
Copywriting Assignments
There are numerous methods for you to acquire copywriting assignments. Within this article day, will focus on different websites where you can acquire copywriting assignments as well as how to acquire clients who will bring you copywriting assignments.
There are many different online freelance marketplaces where you can acquire copywriting science. There are three particular websites which stand head and shoulders above most others. The first of these is www.guru.com. This is the biggest online freelance marketplace. He second of these three websites is www.elance.com. A third of these three websites is www.findafreelancer.com. Each of these websites has a search agent which can e-mail jobs based upon the desired search criteria which you would like. The third website is the European version of the first two. It is the smallest of the three but is still a significant source of good copywriting work. Most of the websites do usually charge a subscription fee, whether it be monthly or quarterly. This can be a great investment because you will have access to copywriting assignments that you would not normally have seen.
There are many other ways to acquire copywriting assignments other than using online freelance marketplaces. This is a place where you can use your creativity in selling yourself. Many companies in need of copywriting work will not normally look online first. They may go towards local contacts and sources that they have because they feel more comfortable using someone who they can physically meet with. You can take advantage of these needs by cultivating contacts within your region. Look into joining your Chamber of Commerce as well as other civic groups. Be sure to bring business cards with you and have a thirty second speech explaining what you do so that people remember what you do and who you are. Do not work at directly selling yourself to them at first but rather make the connection and allow them to come to you. People are more willing to do business with you when they actually know you rather then just a face on a website or an anonymous bid to a project that they post.
Another key when acquiring copywriting assignments is to make sure that you have a website. Many copywriters and professionals do not have a website and this can give you a competitive advantage. You can publish some of your past assignments on the Internet so that if people are interested, they can look at your website. You do not have to worry about e-mailing them any information and they will contact you if they're interested. If you work on getting your site indexed, people searching the Internet for copywriting could also stumble across your website and provide in other source of leads for you.
When looking for copywriting assignments, the key is that you must sell yourself and think creatively outside of the box. If you set yourself up well, you will find that you will be inundated with work by consistently prospecting for new business using some of the techniques explained above.
Copywriting Jobs
There are a great deal of copywriting jobs out there today. Within this article today, we will look at the future of copywriting jobs as well as where you can find more information.
The number of copywriting job is enormous. As of February 10, 2007, if you did a keyword search of "copywriting", there were 509 open jobs. This is only a small part of the market and you could find many other copywriting jobs on other websites as well. With the evolution of the Internet, there are more and more jobs available to write good web content among other things on the Internet. Often many copywriting jobs can be found where you will find a plethora of advertising agencies and a good example of this would be in New York. Within your area, there will be a good number of smaller marketing agencies where you may be able to find work as a copywriter. The number of opportunities for a copywriter is very high and this is a great feel to work in.
Copywriting salaries usually range from $41,000 a year up to $56,000 a year or more. From this website, 41,000 represented what the 25th percentile are making on average within the field whereas the people earning 56,000 a year were in the top 75%. This is a rough gauge on what you could potentially make if you decide to take a copywriting job.
To look just be on the realm of grabbing a job as a copywriter, you could also look at doing some freelance copywriting. If you're not happy with the amount of money that you could make within the copywriting field, you could look at supplementing this on the side by bidding for projects at either of these two following websites: www.elance.com or www.directfreelance.com. On either of these two websites, you are able to bid on projects that are listed as well as set up a profile to showcase your best work. You can create search criteria so that jobs that meet what you want can be e-mailed to you. This is a great way to supplement your income.
Copywriting jobs are out there for the taking. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, copywriting jobs will grow in line with the general economy over the next decade. This means that you will see probably about average growth for the industry but you could see a great deal more growth if you focus on Internet copywriting. This is a very flexible industry in which you have potentially a greater chance at dictating your terms and conditions and how you would like to work. This is something that you can look into when you start talking with a potential employer. Do not underestimate also the opportunity to work as a freelancer because you could command higher rates and this would increase the amount of flexibility you would have within your life.
Copywriting Procedures
Within this article on copywriting procedures, we will look at how to structure your copywriting when working for a client. There has been a great deal of copywriting done through the years and it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel every time you want to write copy. We will specifically be focused upon the sales letter because this could have the greatest impact for you, especially if you decide to do SEO copywriting.
One particular school of thought speaks to making your website one large online sales letter. Continuing in this train of thought, this could present a great opportunity for you. You could write for both off-line businesses as well as for online business using the format of a sales letter.
Within a sales letter, there are three main components that will make a difference whether or not your product will sell. The first component is the headline. If you do not grab your prospects' attention right away, you will have wasted your time in developing the rest of the copy. The second component of a sales letter is the offer. This part is important as you must be explicit with the offer to give the prospect what he or she now wants. It must be something that will entice the prospect to take action upon the completion of reading the letter. The final component of a sales letter is the postscript. This is the second most read portion of a sales letter after the headline. When you are writing this, this is the extra incentive that you will be using to motivate your prospects to take advantage of the offer that you presented right away. When you are focusing upon writing a sales letter, you should take each particular step of the sales letter in order. You do not sit down and just writes a sales letter completely through but rather take it step by step. This entails writing the headline followed by writing the offer and then followed by writing the postscript. Following these copywriting procedures will ensure that you will have set yourself up for great success.
If you do not have a great deal of experience within copywriting, make sure to follow the examples of copywriting procedures set up by some of the foremost experts. One of the key authors who you should look into is Dan Kennedy. He has written some great books over the years and is a great resource for you to use.
Hopefully this article on copywriting procedures will help you in becoming a better copywriter. The key behind successful copywriting is to use the formulas that have been developed while putting your own spin on what you're writing. Copywriting procedures are important because people have developed these in a certain method to be successful for a reason. There is no need to reinvent the wheel because this will only be frustrating for you in the long run as you'll find that you have less sales while putting in more effort. By taking the time to follow operating procedures, you'll set yourself up to maximize potential sales when developing a sales letter.
Dot Cully
http://www.dotstrustinyou.com
http://www.yourlearingcurve.blogware.com
Thursday 14 February 2008
Knowing the basics of Aikido
Aikido is one of the oldest form of martial arts. Founded by Morihei Ueshiba, aikido came about through the studies of many different kinds of traditional martial arts. In fact, is often perceived as a form of exercise or a dance because of some of its forms. It is also viewed by some quarters as some form of martial mesmerism.
Aikido is even confused with Daito Ryu Aikijutsu, it is different in its essence. Still, its founder attributed his creation of aikido to the way, his master Sokaku Takeda, grandmaster of Daito Ryu, opened his eyes to the nature of Budo.
What is aikido?
Despite its many perceived forms, aikido is a Budo or martial arts. It is the refinement of the techniques that are being taught in traditional martial arts and is combined with a philosophy that calls on for the power of the spirit. In its essence, it is a blending of the body and the mind.
Its philosophy is basically derived from the belief that deceptions and trickery or brute force will not make us defeat our opponents. Instead, concentration that involves the spirit will be enough to strengthen us.
Aikido is also used as a way to discover our true paths so that we can develop our individuality. It also teaches its practitioners to unify their body and their mind so that they will become in harmony with the “universe” and with nature. Their power and their strength will come from this balance and harmony.
The word “universe” in aikido is not some obscure concept that one cannot achieve. It is actually quite concrete and is even within the grasp of the person. In aikido, “universe” can be achieved through actual experiences and everyday life.
Aikido’s movements and techniques are circular. When a circle is created in aikido, the person is said to be protected from a collision from an opposing force. A firm center, however, is needed to create this circle. An example of a firm circle is a spinning top that turns at fast speed. Without a firm center, the speed of movement will only create imbalance. The stillness of the spinning top while in speeding motion is what is called sumikiri in Aikido language. This is achieved only by what Aikido founder calls “total clarity of mind and body.” However, this is not so easily achieved. It takes a long time of study and practice in order to find this intense concentration and centeredness.
Training is important in aikido as well as concentration because while it may be easy to create a centered being when inside a martial arts gym, the same cannot be said of situations and circumstances outside. It will not be easy to keep one’s composure when faced with extraordinary circumstances. This is actually one of the goals of Aikido training. It aims to teach its practitioners to maintain their composure and their centeredness even in panic situations such as danger and calamities.
One method taught in aikido is to breathe with what is called the seika tanden point. This is the part of the body that can be found two inches below the navel. Controlled breathing is one key to being one with the universe and to center oneself with nature. When a person learns to do this, he or she will feel extraordinary calmness that they can use in the practice of aikido.
The Art of Aikido
Martial Arts is one of the contributions of Asia to the world. Who can forget Bruce Lee and the fact that he was first and foremost a martial arts athlete before being a movie star? Even until now martial arts is still a big hit with the increasing popularity of Asian movies like crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and more recently the House of the Flying Daggers.
The Chinese are the first people that come to mind when it comes to these things but the Japanese are just as athletic with a rich heritage of body contact sports that can be found in their history. The modern Japan still gives honor to these things by holding tournaments and promoting such sports abroad,
One of these is Aikido. It is interesting to note that the word comes from three Japanese words from which one can derive the meaning of the one word. Ai means joining, Ki means spirit and Do means way. From this we can understand why Aikido is beyond just the physical skills of it students especially sin its proponent Ueshiba focused more on the spiritual and philosophical development of his students.
In Aikido, one is not taught violence instead one is taught to be in harmony with the opponent to be able to defeat. This might seem odd but it actually works. In approaching an opponent, the aim of the Aikido practitioner is to be one with the opponent to be able to attack him where he is weakest and in doing so diver or immobilize him but never to kill.
This is where Aikido becomes an art. Art is something beautiful to watch and something positive and Aikido is all that. At least one of the people involved in the fighting strives for harmony and harmony can only be achieved if there is grace in the movements. The moves maybe calculated but there is an air of finesse in doing these movements, not a womanly finesse but just a finesse that emanates peace. The art of peace as what they call in Aikido is one of the most positive influences of Aikido to its students and to everyone who choose to know about this Japanese martial art.
Some of the techniques in Aikido include the following. Ikkyo is the first technique. Using this technique you control an opponent by using one hand in holding the elbow and one near the wrist, this action is supposed to make you pin your opponent down in the ground. Nikyo the second technique is when you do an adductive wristlock that enables you to twist the arm of your opponent that will in turn cause enough nerve pressure.
The third technique is Sankyo which is a pronating technique that directs upward-spiraling tension throughout the arm, elbow and shoulder. There are many other techniques but the first three should get you started.
In studying Aikido, it is important to remember that along with building physical strength to be able to defeat your opponent the mental capacity should also be developed. Just like in any art, it takes a lot of practice and discipline to perfect the art of Aikido. The important thing is the one who wants to get into the art should have determination to give honor to the art by performing it in the best way possible.
Into the world of Aikido martial arts
With the visible convergence of East and West cultures, more and more people are discovering and rediscovering new means self-discipline especially in the field of martial arts. One of these means is called "Aikido," a very popular Japanese martial art.
KNOWING AIKIDO
“Do not fight force with force,” this is the most basic principle of Aikido. Considered as one of the non-aggressive styles in martial arts, Aikido has become popular because it doesn’t instigate or provoke any attack. Instead, the force of the attacker is redirected into throws, locks, and several restraining techniques.
Since aikido uses very few punches and kicks, the size, weight, age, and physical strength of the participants or the opponents only partake only a small role. What's important is the skilled Aikido practitioner is skilled enough to redirect his or her attacker's energy while keeping him or her in a constant of unbalance.
The history of Aikido as a martial art can be traced when Morihei Ueshiba discovered and developed its principle of aikido. Known as "O Sensei" or the "Great Teacher," Ueshiba made sure to develop a martial art that is based on a purely physical level using movements like throws, joint locks and techniques derived from another martial arts like "Jujitsu" and "Kenjutsu."
Technically, aikido was stemmed out and developed mainly from "daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu" while incorporating several training movements similar to the "yari" or "spear, "jo" or a short "quarterstaff" and from "juken" or "bayonet". Although these jujitsu movements are prominent while practicing the martial art, many practitioners agree that strongest influences of aikido is that of kenjutsu.
When he finally developed the minor and major principles of Aikido, Ueshiba emphasized that the martial art does not only pertain to self-defense techniques but can also play a major role in the enhancement of the practitioner's moral and spiritual aspects eventually leading them to place greater weight on the development and achievement of peace and harmony. In fact, because of the great emphasis in the development of harmony and peace, seasoned aikido practitioners say that "the way of harmony of the spirit" is one phrase that could describe or translate the term "aikido" in English.
Just like any other martial art, aikido has various techniques that include ikkyo or the "first technique," "nikyo" or the "second technique," "sankyo," or the "third technique," "yonkyo" or the "fourth technique," the "gokyo" or the "fifth technique," the "shihonage" or the "four-direction throw," the "kotegaeshi" or the wrist return, "kokyunage" or the "breath throw," "iriminage" or the entering-body throw, "tenchinage" or the "heaven-and-earth throw," "koshinage," or the "hip throw," "jujinage" or the "shaped-like-'ten'-throw," and the "kaitennage" or the rotation throw."
Although aikido is not about punching or kicking the opponent, it is not considered as a static art. It is still a very effective means of martial arts because it requires the aikido practitioner to use the energy of their opponent so they can gain control over them. When you will look at the martial art closely, you will realize that aikido is not only a means of self-defense technique but can also serve a means of spiritual enlightenment, physical health or exercise or a simple means of attaining peace of mind, concentration, and serenity.
Although different aikido styles gives great emphasis on the spiritual aspects to varying levels—some to greater or lesser degrees—the idea that the martial arts was conceptualized in order to achieve peace and harmony remains the most basic ideology of the martial art.
http://www.dotstrustinyou.com\page3.html
http://www.dotstrustinyou.com/page7.html
http://www.dotstrustinyou.com/page18.html
Aikido is one of the oldest form of martial arts. Founded by Morihei Ueshiba, aikido came about through the studies of many different kinds of traditional martial arts. In fact, is often perceived as a form of exercise or a dance because of some of its forms. It is also viewed by some quarters as some form of martial mesmerism.
Aikido is even confused with Daito Ryu Aikijutsu, it is different in its essence. Still, its founder attributed his creation of aikido to the way, his master Sokaku Takeda, grandmaster of Daito Ryu, opened his eyes to the nature of Budo.
What is aikido?
Despite its many perceived forms, aikido is a Budo or martial arts. It is the refinement of the techniques that are being taught in traditional martial arts and is combined with a philosophy that calls on for the power of the spirit. In its essence, it is a blending of the body and the mind.
Its philosophy is basically derived from the belief that deceptions and trickery or brute force will not make us defeat our opponents. Instead, concentration that involves the spirit will be enough to strengthen us.
Aikido is also used as a way to discover our true paths so that we can develop our individuality. It also teaches its practitioners to unify their body and their mind so that they will become in harmony with the “universe” and with nature. Their power and their strength will come from this balance and harmony.
The word “universe” in aikido is not some obscure concept that one cannot achieve. It is actually quite concrete and is even within the grasp of the person. In aikido, “universe” can be achieved through actual experiences and everyday life.
Aikido’s movements and techniques are circular. When a circle is created in aikido, the person is said to be protected from a collision from an opposing force. A firm center, however, is needed to create this circle. An example of a firm circle is a spinning top that turns at fast speed. Without a firm center, the speed of movement will only create imbalance. The stillness of the spinning top while in speeding motion is what is called sumikiri in Aikido language. This is achieved only by what Aikido founder calls “total clarity of mind and body.” However, this is not so easily achieved. It takes a long time of study and practice in order to find this intense concentration and centeredness.
Training is important in aikido as well as concentration because while it may be easy to create a centered being when inside a martial arts gym, the same cannot be said of situations and circumstances outside. It will not be easy to keep one’s composure when faced with extraordinary circumstances. This is actually one of the goals of Aikido training. It aims to teach its practitioners to maintain their composure and their centeredness even in panic situations such as danger and calamities.
One method taught in aikido is to breathe with what is called the seika tanden point. This is the part of the body that can be found two inches below the navel. Controlled breathing is one key to being one with the universe and to center oneself with nature. When a person learns to do this, he or she will feel extraordinary calmness that they can use in the practice of aikido.
The Art of Aikido
Martial Arts is one of the contributions of Asia to the world. Who can forget Bruce Lee and the fact that he was first and foremost a martial arts athlete before being a movie star? Even until now martial arts is still a big hit with the increasing popularity of Asian movies like crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and more recently the House of the Flying Daggers.
The Chinese are the first people that come to mind when it comes to these things but the Japanese are just as athletic with a rich heritage of body contact sports that can be found in their history. The modern Japan still gives honor to these things by holding tournaments and promoting such sports abroad,
One of these is Aikido. It is interesting to note that the word comes from three Japanese words from which one can derive the meaning of the one word. Ai means joining, Ki means spirit and Do means way. From this we can understand why Aikido is beyond just the physical skills of it students especially sin its proponent Ueshiba focused more on the spiritual and philosophical development of his students.
In Aikido, one is not taught violence instead one is taught to be in harmony with the opponent to be able to defeat. This might seem odd but it actually works. In approaching an opponent, the aim of the Aikido practitioner is to be one with the opponent to be able to attack him where he is weakest and in doing so diver or immobilize him but never to kill.
This is where Aikido becomes an art. Art is something beautiful to watch and something positive and Aikido is all that. At least one of the people involved in the fighting strives for harmony and harmony can only be achieved if there is grace in the movements. The moves maybe calculated but there is an air of finesse in doing these movements, not a womanly finesse but just a finesse that emanates peace. The art of peace as what they call in Aikido is one of the most positive influences of Aikido to its students and to everyone who choose to know about this Japanese martial art.
Some of the techniques in Aikido include the following. Ikkyo is the first technique. Using this technique you control an opponent by using one hand in holding the elbow and one near the wrist, this action is supposed to make you pin your opponent down in the ground. Nikyo the second technique is when you do an adductive wristlock that enables you to twist the arm of your opponent that will in turn cause enough nerve pressure.
The third technique is Sankyo which is a pronating technique that directs upward-spiraling tension throughout the arm, elbow and shoulder. There are many other techniques but the first three should get you started.
In studying Aikido, it is important to remember that along with building physical strength to be able to defeat your opponent the mental capacity should also be developed. Just like in any art, it takes a lot of practice and discipline to perfect the art of Aikido. The important thing is the one who wants to get into the art should have determination to give honor to the art by performing it in the best way possible.
Into the world of Aikido martial arts
With the visible convergence of East and West cultures, more and more people are discovering and rediscovering new means self-discipline especially in the field of martial arts. One of these means is called "Aikido," a very popular Japanese martial art.
KNOWING AIKIDO
“Do not fight force with force,” this is the most basic principle of Aikido. Considered as one of the non-aggressive styles in martial arts, Aikido has become popular because it doesn’t instigate or provoke any attack. Instead, the force of the attacker is redirected into throws, locks, and several restraining techniques.
Since aikido uses very few punches and kicks, the size, weight, age, and physical strength of the participants or the opponents only partake only a small role. What's important is the skilled Aikido practitioner is skilled enough to redirect his or her attacker's energy while keeping him or her in a constant of unbalance.
The history of Aikido as a martial art can be traced when Morihei Ueshiba discovered and developed its principle of aikido. Known as "O Sensei" or the "Great Teacher," Ueshiba made sure to develop a martial art that is based on a purely physical level using movements like throws, joint locks and techniques derived from another martial arts like "Jujitsu" and "Kenjutsu."
Technically, aikido was stemmed out and developed mainly from "daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu" while incorporating several training movements similar to the "yari" or "spear, "jo" or a short "quarterstaff" and from "juken" or "bayonet". Although these jujitsu movements are prominent while practicing the martial art, many practitioners agree that strongest influences of aikido is that of kenjutsu.
When he finally developed the minor and major principles of Aikido, Ueshiba emphasized that the martial art does not only pertain to self-defense techniques but can also play a major role in the enhancement of the practitioner's moral and spiritual aspects eventually leading them to place greater weight on the development and achievement of peace and harmony. In fact, because of the great emphasis in the development of harmony and peace, seasoned aikido practitioners say that "the way of harmony of the spirit" is one phrase that could describe or translate the term "aikido" in English.
Just like any other martial art, aikido has various techniques that include ikkyo or the "first technique," "nikyo" or the "second technique," "sankyo," or the "third technique," "yonkyo" or the "fourth technique," the "gokyo" or the "fifth technique," the "shihonage" or the "four-direction throw," the "kotegaeshi" or the wrist return, "kokyunage" or the "breath throw," "iriminage" or the entering-body throw, "tenchinage" or the "heaven-and-earth throw," "koshinage," or the "hip throw," "jujinage" or the "shaped-like-'ten'-throw," and the "kaitennage" or the rotation throw."
Although aikido is not about punching or kicking the opponent, it is not considered as a static art. It is still a very effective means of martial arts because it requires the aikido practitioner to use the energy of their opponent so they can gain control over them. When you will look at the martial art closely, you will realize that aikido is not only a means of self-defense technique but can also serve a means of spiritual enlightenment, physical health or exercise or a simple means of attaining peace of mind, concentration, and serenity.
Although different aikido styles gives great emphasis on the spiritual aspects to varying levels—some to greater or lesser degrees—the idea that the martial arts was conceptualized in order to achieve peace and harmony remains the most basic ideology of the martial art.
http://www.dotstrustinyou.com\page3.html
http://www.dotstrustinyou.com/page7.html
http://www.dotstrustinyou.com/page18.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)