Sports Parents

While Christmas and holidays, it really comes down to looking at things differently. Part of it is understanding the process of celebrating Christmas, and not letting that process get to you. This is where reframing it will really help. Some of this may sound foreign to you because right now it is an emotionally charged period of time and you just want to get something resolved now and it is not happening the way you want. We encourage you to not give up. Instead, step back and look at this in a much more logical way and a more strategic way and that is where we come in to help you with those strategies.

The first and most important part is not to rise to the bait of what is being put out top the Family Court and others – That were a) the bad dad, b) you are the deadbeat dad, c) that you are a menace to your child and society at large and cannot be trusted. Above all, if you are angry and why would you not be over all this.

We get calls where there are dads on the phone that are very, very angry. It’s understandable and totally justified. However, no one within the system that is going to help you, nor help you turn around the situation if you are presenting yourself in an angry way. They will be looking at you and saying, “Oh okay. No wonder you are not seeing your kids. Look at where you are at.”

A lot of your strategizing will come down to positioning. Often, many fathers or the grandparents have been positioned because of a lack of knowledge or a lack of education or a lack of guide rules?

Well, they are up against the wall. They have been pushed there. They are up against bigotry and ignorance.

Sometimes it is also the other party has more money for legal fees available to spend in Family Court proceedings, or they are on some sort of legal assistance so they can keep going back to court. Sometimes you cannot because you cannot afford to anymore. It is not a level playing field. The unfortunate casualties here are our children.

What distinguishes those fathers and grandparents who are successful in this situation is this: They were having a problem but ultimately they got it resolved before Christmastime – They started early, getting to Family Court long before the rush hour that happens the last few days before Christmas.

The fact is that the court system works very slowly and December is when people start worrying about seeing their kids. Also, marriages break up in December and January. It is the busiest time of marriage and family breakup there is in a year.

So, if you want to see your child, get started with your pans in October.

Why is that again?

For the very reason that in December, Family Court is just a bottleneck. There is just not enough time to get you in front of a judge to state your case as to what the problems are.

Now, here is one factor that you would keep in mind. This is something I am sure some of the people are thinking. Well, in October, everything seemed fine. I did not think it would be a problem seeing my kid for Christmas. Now, all of a sudden here we are a week away and I am being told “Well, no, you can’t have little Danny on Christmas Eve like we originally planned. I’ve got something else going on now. You can see him for a couple of hours on Boxing Day on the 26th.”

Well, this is why they have in every court system in the western world emergency procedures for just that sort of thing. That is why family court is so jam-packed at Christmas. The problem though that we encounter a lot of times and the statistics here in Southern, Ontario — and this well pretty much throughout I think the western world from everybody I have ever talked to on this subject, 50-85% of people are going through family court with no lawyer whatsoever because either:

(A) They never had the money in the first place Or they spent all their money;

(B) They spent all their money; or

(C) They have had such a rotten experience they do not want a lawyer but they still do not know what to do.

The other problem of course is that you do eventually run out of money and you may not have all of your issues resolved when that money does run out. So, what do you do then?

The solution really comes down to is that you have got to become an educated consumer of the legal services and family courts services. In other words, you have to take it upon yourself to begin learning how the process works. The first place to start really is to go into your local family court and start watching on motion days to watch how judges decide things, to watch how the lawyers argue things, to see if you still have some money and you are interested in hiring a lawyer see if you could find a lawyer who actually can win for a father.

BUT consider the following: What if you celebrated Christmas a week early? What if you didn’t tell the kids you were going to do this? Do you think they’d be unhappy?

Of course not and look at the legal fees you just saved that you can spend on Christmas presents instead.

My best advice: Celebrate Christmas Day before Mom you will be a HERO to your kids,

Many people are planning to start learning about martial arts nowadays but may not have taken into account the fact that they will need martial arts equipment to be able to practice this hobby or occupation. Here are some tips on how to get the best martial arts equipment you need:

1.Try to figure out which martial arts equipment you want to become proficient in. The uniforms in martial arts differ in design, color and use so you have to be specific about which uniform you wish to use. This also applies to your martial arts equipment since the martial arts equipment for one martial art may be unique to that martial art.

2.Find out what protective gear you need to be able to spar and train in your preferred martial arts. Protective gear as martial arts equipment is very important because the last thing you want is to get injured in a sparring session. Protective gear as martial arts equipment can be categorized either as head gear (like face masks and helmets), gear to protect your torso (like chest shields), gear to protect your groin (which is more for men than women, and may consist of a crotch guard or sports cup to shield your privates from being punched or kicked), shin guards to keep the shin area of your legs from being injured when you block a flying kick with your legs (since getting hit on the shin tends to be rather painful since there isn’t much flesh and muscle to shield your shin bone), feet gear (such as kicking boots, designed to keep your opponent from being critically injured if you should hit them with your legs or feet), and hand gear (such as punching mitts, used also to shield your opponent from the full force of your punches.) You need to invest in quality martial arts equipment as protective gear so you get the best protection possible.

3.You can also invest in practice martial arts equipment. This means getting punching bags (like those used in boxing), and martial arts dummies (which attempt to give you an idea of how to punch and kick a real human being.) Your punching bag can consist of either the teardrop bag or the bigger boxing-type punching bag. Martial arts dummies are basically like punching bags except they may be a bit bigger and shaped like human bodies. Though these martial arts equipment are no replacement for sparring and training with real-live opponents (because these practice equipment cannot dodge your blows or retaliate), they are very important to have around so you can get the feel for the sport.

4.There will be sports that require you to become proficient in certain martial arts weapons (which are also martial arts equipment.) However, you should always be careful when trying out such weapons in the first few sessions because you might hurt someone badly (such as yourself) if you don’t know what you are doing. If you are at the stage when martial arts equipment like weapons are necessary, then always pay attention to your instructor and learn how to master the weapons first. Often, such weapons were designed to maim your opponent and maybe even kill him so caution is always necessary in training with weapons.

Martial arts equipment were designed to work a certain way. Many martial arts equipment have a long history that can help you study how your preferred martial arts evolved. Study carefully how martial arts equipment are meant to be used and they can really help you become a better martial artist afterwards.

Will a video game promote your good health? You bet it can, if its a Nintendo Wii fitness game! We all know the bad reputation video games have gotten in the past. It was believed video games led to a sedentary lifestyle. Parents have complained for years that their couch potato tykes do nothing but sit around day and night playing video games as their health deteriorates. And, of course, we all know the horror stories of how sofa tater children grow up to be sofa spud adolescents who can’t cut it in the adult world.

Some may disagree with these fears, but now, things have changed! Nintendo Wii video games makes these fears a thing of the past. A Wii fitness game mixes all the skill and fun of a average video game with exercise you would get, if you were actually playing it. Doctors and parents have all started to support the Wii. You may not burn as many calories as playing the actual sport, but, you will burn a significant amount and that’s a heck of a lot better…and more fun, than sitting there.

Just envision yourself on a tennis court, ready to serve the ball to your opposition. You enhale, throw the ball up and swing with all you’ve got. Now envision doing this in the comfort of your own home, wearing whatever you find comfortable. If you are not able to find an opponent to play against, no problem, you can just play against the computer. If, on the other hand, you have a friend (or three), you can all get into the fun. Volley the ball to and fro, matching your skill against your nemesis. You start to get into the game and begin to forget it’s just a Wii fitness game, and best of all, you even forget you are receiving an aerobic workout!

The Wii game console has made it a possibility. The action can be so close to reality, and the bodily benefits so terrific that some physical therapy specialists have in reality tied wii fitness games into their patient’s workout procedures, helping them to regain lost or impaired joint and muscle flexibility.

Senior citizens are even getting in on the action. It is no longer accurate to depict the elderly sitting around living a dormant life. Wii fitness games have been turning up in more and more elderly living centers. What was once seen to be a lethargic universe has again acquired fresh life, as the elderly are able to easily learn the necessary skills to enter into all the fun the Wii gaming console has to offer. There have even been Wii bowling clubs starting up in the centers, providing hours of amusement and most importantly bodily movement and exercise.

So, if you’ve been considering getting into better shape, or getting your family active together, then toss out your antiquated ideas and turn to video games. Provided you’re talking of the Nintendo Wii gaming console, you can’t lose anything but some extra pounds.