Posts tagged exercise
Preview of new documentary: “Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes”
Dec 30th
Here’s a preview of an upcoming documentary on Bartitsu, the art highlighted by Sherlock Holmes and one of the first mixed martial arts:
This documentary is sponsored by Tony Wolf and the Bartitsu Society, and includes lots of great footage, including the earliest footage of jujutsu.
Bartitsu was one of the first martial arts to combine Asian and Western fighting styles (70 years before Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do) and predated modern MMA fighting by about 100 years. This art also provided self-defense skills to the Suffragette movement.
The art is currently undergoing a revival, and work is being made towards collecting funds for a memorial for E.W. Barton-Wright, the art’s founder.
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Review: Manduka PRO 85-inch yoga and pilates mat
Dec 28th
A good exercise mat seems hard to find.
I wanted an exercise mat that was relatively portable and that would provide a stable exercise surface when exercising in various indoor locations, such as on wood flooring, carpet, or tile. Sometimes I do just body-weight exercises, sometimes I work with the TRX, and most often I use the kettlebell, but I do these exercises in various locations while on travel.
Based on lots of positive reviews, I thought I would try the Manduka BlackMatPRO 85-Inch Yoga and Pilates Mat
PRO:
* this mat easily rolls up and is portable
* this mat is not too heavy to carry around
* the length of the mat allows for coverage in a variety of exercises/poses
CON:
* the mat gets slippery when wet (as when sweating), which can be dangerous
* the mat is a little too narrow for my taste. For example, my hands are off the mat when doing a pushup, unless I use a narrow hand placement
Also, though this mat is marketed as a yoga mat and so probably is not expected to be able to withstand more rigorous use, one day I accidentally dropped a kettlebell onto the mat and the bottom edge of the kettlebell actually cut a hole through the mat. I mention this in case anyone is thinking of using the mat in a more general exercise setting.
So this mat seems fine as long as you stick with basic body-weight exercises only, and, as some reviewers have suggested, you use a towel or something to help prevent you from slipping if you exercise enough to work up a sweat. But for the price I was expecting a little more.
Manduka BlackMatPRO 85-Inch Yoga and Pilates Mat
