Entry #2- Keep Yourself Safe

Prevent Yourself from being a Victim

Everyday, people are attacked and do not know how to defend themselves. Do to this a lack of knowledge of self defense, people often end up robbed and/or seriously injured. One way to help prevent such loss and injury, one could participate in classes to teach him or herself how to fight. 

There are a variety of ways to defend yourself from attackers, but nothing is better than learning how to use your own body as a method of protection. Many people do not always carry weapons such as guns, pepper spray, or knives on them. Also, if somebody were to grab you from behind and make it difficult to move, you would have to know some kind self defense techniques to get yourself out of his or her grip to even gain access to protective weapons if you do happen to carry some with you. 

Examples of Self Defense Techniques

Brazilian Jujitsu- a type of fighting style that can be used in situations such as being grabbed from behind or pinned to the ground. Techniques of this fighting style include hip tosses, getting out from under a person on top of you, and wrist locks. It is a good fighting style that uses the weight of people against them. 

Kickboxing (Thai boxing)- if you manage to get out of the grip of the attacker and create distance, critical strikes should be your next thought. Kickboxing teaches you how to strike with power, balance, and speed. It is efficient for all weights and sizes, giving you a variety of strikes such as leg kicks, straight punches, and elbow and knee strikes.

Proper Self-Defense Classes- classes applied to real life situations such as getting attacked when getting money out of an ATM or entering your car late at night. They can teach you critical blows such as groin, throat, and eye strikes.

One should always know how to protect him or herself in case of being attacked. Not only would it be good to take classes on self defense to protect yourself, but it would also be good to use to protect your loved ones. In my case, I would use it to defend myself and my little brother who does not know how to defend himself. My boyfriend uses it to defend himself, his family, and me. Self defense classes are not to look cool or pick unnecessary fights, but instead are a way of providing protection and a sense of security. It would be a good thing to learn for yourself and those you love. Stay safe! 

Entry #1- Opinion on Blogs

As we begin our blogs for Eng102, we need to learn what to do and what not to do. Hopefully, I can stay along the lines of, "What to Do." I went over a few blogs to look at and gather opinions of other blogs to help develop a stronger sense of blogging. Here are a few that I liked, and one I did not like as much.

Good to Go's!

1) The first blog I enjoyed viewing and reading was 20-Nothings by Jessie Rosen. She kept a professional look to it while still making it sound welcoming and entertaining. Also, she explains her posts before getting into detail, which helped me decide whether I wanted to read it and if I thought it would keep my attention. I particularly liked her post about 49 Life Skills Every Modern Woman Should Have since she made it into a list, thus making it easy and entertaining to read. 

What I learned from 20-Nothings:

- Use lists when appropriate to make things easier to read

- Try to write in a way that keeps the attention of readers

- In short, explain what I'm writing about before diving in

2) A second blog that was particularly nice to go through was Dot Earth by Andrew C. Revkin. 

It was informative and professional, keeping readers updated on world news. In a way, it was similar to a newspaper. For instance, Revkin updates people on the ebola epidemic in West Africa. Another thing I appreciated about this blog is that the pictures and text were evenly spaced out and did not create any type of disorganized clusters. Also, it had many links to lead to a more detailed version of each topic blogged. 

What I learned from Dot Earth:

- use links when appropriate

- avoid disorganized clusters

- be informative when needed

Not that Great

1) One blog I viewed that I did not like whatsoever was PostSecret. It hardly had any text to it and was mainly a long stream of pictures. Also, the content was mostly inappropriate material that made me a little uncomfortable. It wasn't professional in any way, and it also was not particularly personal. While the things posted may be personal information, it was a cluster of posts made be many people verses one. 

What I learned from PostSecret:

- do not post things that could potentially make readers uncomfortable

Hopefully my blogs will be easy for everybody to navigate through and will keep your attention by breaking it down into sections and staying organized!