The Content Hoarder

The term ‘backpacking’ is derived from the backpack one carries, which is a survival kit for a hiker. What to take and what not to take depends on person to person.

The fact remains that this decision is very important as this will be a main cause for disappointment or enjoyment at the end of the trip.

Weight is a very important factor, if the backpack is heavy then the hiker will be able to walk with ease and cover more area but if it is heavy then he/she might even suffer from injury and soreness, which will greatly reduce the fun.

There should be evaluation of balance of weight vs. utility for every piece of equipment As a thumb rule total pack weight is not to exceed 25% of body weight.

Significant reductions in weight can usually be achieved with little sacrifice in equipment utility, though very lightweight equipment is often more costly.

Backpacking gear and backpacks have become a big industry. So entire kits are available which includes the backpacks, as well as common camping equipment modified to reduce the weight, by reducing the size, reducing the durability or using the modern materials such as special plastics and alloys of aluminum.

Designers of stoves which are portable and tents have been very ingenious. Homemade gear is common too, such as a ‘beverage can stove’.

There is lot of science which is applied specially in food- the main constituent of a backpack.

Food is highly packaged, dehydrated so that it is light and reconstituted when hot water is added. Some may carry pre-cooked and vacuum-packed without being dehydrated. These can be reheated when needed by a chemical reaction, which reduced the burden of stove and fuel. But these tend to be heavier and to some extent the advantage is lost if there are more than two of such packs.

One of the popular foods is Trial mix - consisting of Good Old Raisins and Peanuts.

As in life, Backpacks should be packed with more ‘commonsense’ than ’science’.

Brand new careful Global Positioning System measurements carried out on the 17-18th August have recorded that Mount Blanc amounts to 4810.5 meters. Mount Blanc is layered by a heavy icecap which has augmented by 2.3 metres in exactly 2 years but more unexpectedly the mass of the ice has virtually grown twofold . At least that’s according to the experts.

The mass of snow and ice was figured for the first time during 2004. It amounted to 14400 meters cubed higher up than 4790 metres. It was only 13700 meters cubed in 2003 perchance due to the heat with positive temp as high as 4800 metres height. Nonetheless the ice cap has all but doubled up since then and nowadays measures 25000 metres cubed.

Chamonix town’s valued near by weather man Johnny Delariva stated the increment in the bulk of the ice cap is one of the perverse results of global warming: Snow hasn’t grown generally in the Alpes but with climate change we’re having a lot of hot westerly air currents that bring rainfall lower down but in summer this means dense snowfall that rests at higher altitude than 4000 metres height thus the amount of the ice cap is increasing. Counterpoint that to the state of affairs in winter when snow crystals are very cold and are transferred by the wind and so do not rest on the peak.

Chamonix Mont Blanc is not just famous for Mont Blanc it is also a world renowned ski area and alpinism centre with many holiday finds and luxury chalets to be had. Moreover at only one hour from Geneva airport it is unbeatable for a short break.

Benchmarking is a process which establishes behavioral standards most appropriate for a given position - that is, what behaviors are most effective most of the time in this job. A well-defined Behavioral Job Description acts as a standard in evaluating existing employees as well as a guide in hiring new employees. Today’s benchmarking tools are powerful, but they can cause as much damage as good if they are carelessly applied. With the help of objective tools and targeted guidance, the process has productive results. No matter which quality tools are used in the benchmarking process, more and more companies, because they have experienced misguided application, are turning to professional help. Traditionally, most benchmarking has involved profiling employees in a target position to determine which attributes are most common in your best performers. This imperfect method has several potential dangers. First, it actually assumes you already have the best performers and that you can find none that can perform better. This assumption limits benchmark standards to your current employees only, and does not consider standards outside your current environment. Another common mistake is that guidelines for selecting and ranking the top performers have not been well-defined. For example, sales statistics have been erroneously used to rank performance. As an example, Joe has been selling for us forever. His figures make him look like a top performer, but Joe developed his client base back when all he had to do was take orders as people called in. He was the only salesperson in an easy market with little or no competition. Today, however, is much different. Competition is fierce. If Joe had to start from scratch in today’s market, how would he fare? How long would it take to build that client base now, if he could at all? If you based your sales position’s benchmark on Joe because his statistics look good and hired people with this benchmark as your guide, you may have hired ineffective people with Joe’s traits.

Still another common error is profiling only your top performers. Unless you profile your bottom performers as well, your information is invalid. If, for instance, your bottom performers scored the same as top performers in a certain category, that trait could be an insignificant concern in the hiring process. Yet, testing just the top performers would narrow your field and decrease your chances of successful job matching. The benchmarking process is intended to improve productivity and performance but the opposite can occur if certain variables in the environment are not accounted for in the ranking process. It will not be an effective benchmark if your top ranking performers are in a “flush” market - that is, where almost anyone could do a good job. Other environmental factors such as the consistency of systems and procedures across all employees considered in the benchmarking process may also have a powerful influence. If only half of your team is computerized, the behavioral job description may not be the same at all. Likewise, communication behaviors appropriate for supporting Sales & Marketing staff is probably quite different from doing that same support work for Auditing. A better method is to have those who work, manage and know the position do an objective behavioral job analysis, starting ‘from the beginning’ - that is, don’t look at current people, but evaluate the job itself. Some of the newer tools on the market make this exercise convenient (15 to 20 minutes), accurate and inexpensive. Once the ideal behaviors are prioritized, the job description becomes much easier to define and fulfill. This refinement also accelerates the orientation process, greatly reducing that period of time it takes to “get the feel” of a new job. Turnover is reduced, performance is enhanced.

When you are just starting out playing cricket it’s not always straightforward to know what you must acquire. If you go into a sports high street store & ask them what you require, you will finish up getting a large amount of kit that you don’t need. With this in mind, it is prudent to fathom what you may require prior to you going shopping. That way you are very much more likely to acquire what you want, as opposed to what the shop manager thinks you need.

Below, is essentially a meticulous cricket equipment inventory, you don’t have to get all the gear on this list, as several clubs will lend you kit particularly at youth level:

Cricket whites, cricket bats, balls, helmets, gloves, batting (wicket keeping) inner gloves, wicket keeping gloves, batting pads, wicket keeping pads, box, chest pad, arm guard, inner thigh pad, cricket boots (bowling boots; batting boots), box (groin guard), stumps and bails. Click here to find great deals on cricket equipment and accessories.

For the majority of cricket competitions you participate in you will need your own set of whites. Cricket whites contain white cricket trousers & a cricket shirt. It is therefore important to make sure that you get a high-quality pair of cricket trousers & also a good white cricket shirt & jumper as it can quickly get cold if you are standing out on the pitch for a large amount of time especially if you are going to play in England (the start and end of the cricket season are the coldest).

If you can not rent gear from your club the other most crucial items of equipment are a cricket bat and box. An excellent cricket bat is critical if you wish to score countless of runs and is a very personal piece of equipment, so spend a few hours picking your bat, if possible you would be recommended to go to a sports shop & test drive one before you buy so you know how it feels to play with. (Once you know what you want you can often procure bats on the Internet cheaper). You need a good box to protect your groin from the ball, as getting hit down below’ is particularly painful, so investing in a good box before you start is a must - you can not bat without one.

Related topics of interest include: Formula 1 Merchandise & Discount Toys.

At the forefront of driving revenue is the sales team; however everyone, from the receptionist to the CEO, is vital for accelerated revenue success. No matter what position you hold in your company you can use the many low-to-no cost strategies in this article to accelerate revenue.

# 1 Set Your Goals and Objectives: Members of the sales team usually have a quota assigned to them by management. If you are not part of the sales team you probably do not have a direct quota, however the more value you add to the revenue driving activities of your company, the more valuable you are to the company. If you are not part of sales, make a commitment, even if you don’t tell anyone about it, to do what ever you can to drive revenue up and to costs down.

Make sure that you hold yourself accountable. I have found that one key de-motivator, including self de-motivation, is an imbalance of accountability - even if it is perceived and not real. This imbalance is caused when your actions are not inline with your goals and objectives. Manage yourself and your activity consistently and you will see the results in your top line.

# 2 Know Where You Are Now: Before you start any journey you need a map, a plan in the case of your accelerated revenue driving activities. Before this journey begins it is important to know where you are going (discussed in the previous section) and where you are now. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

- Where are you against your goals?

- Where is your company against its goals?

- Are your goals inline with your company’s?

# 3 Know Your Value: Take an inventory of yourself. Understand what you do well, what you do OK, and what you don’t do well at all. Then leverage what you do well and improve on what you do OK and not well at all. Constantly, review your progress and keep adding new skills to your training regimen.

# 4 Know Your Company’s Value: Look at your company. What does your company do very well? What is the value of that product/service? Value from your customer’s perspective - not yours. How does this product/service increase revenue or decrease cost for your customer? (Not how can you offer the product/service cheaper than your competition.) Or does it increase efficiency or reduce risk (subset of reduced cost). Again, for your customer, not you.

Focus most of your energy on leveraging those things your company does extremely well. Especially, those products/services that add the most value to your customer. This is probably where you can increase revenue the most.

# 5 Increase Key Lead Generation Activities:

- Write newsletters for existing and potential customers;

- Provide Free, or Low Initial Buy-in, offers to drive paid product/service business;

- Write white papers;

- Develop positioning papers;

- Conduct short, value focused, seminars on how you help your clients increase revenue and decrease cost

# 6 Automate all Sales Reporting: Use my simple and short three step process to develop your sales reporting system. Here it is:

1) Define Sales Reporting Needs: be focused on the deal and on the client’s timeline;

2) Establish Sales Reporting Needs: make reporting quick and easy for everyone; and

3) Execute and refine as you gain a better understanding of what information is really useful.

I don’t recommend that your company spends $5M, or even $5/month, on a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution. They take too long to add value anyway - the point of this article is results in 30 days. Look at what you need to report and report it in the most efficient and effective way possible. Leverage information technology, if that makes sense, or just have a process flow for hard copy reports. Define reporting parameters beforehand and make sure that you report in regularly.

# 7 Get Help / Offer Help: Show your management that, by having a sales admin you can increase revenue by X. Or reduce cost of sales by Y. Or …whatever metric you can use that shows increased efficiency, value, to the company that you couldn’t do on your own. This sales admin person/team could also support more than one sales person. Show value in real terms and you might get a favorable response.

For example, if I was going to pitch this I might say ” Mr., or Mrs. Boss, it has been my experience that, in most cases, Sales admin staff keep more expensive, and productive, sales people (like me) in front of, or on the phone with, a customer, prospect, or suspect. In a layered sales force I feel that can contribute even more time to the sales cycle and won’t spend valuable time on areas of the sales process that I am not as efficient, or cost effective, in. The key here is not to hire more sales staff, it is to get more revenue dollars for every hour of my effort.”

If you are not a sales person, then offer to help. Talk to the sales team and determine where you might offer assistance. Working together with sales will give sales a renewed appreciation of you and your department. It will also give you a renewed appreciation of sales. Together you and your partner(s) in sales can revitalize accelerated revenue efforts while being an example for the rest of the company to follow

# 8 Leverage Your Hunter and Farmer Skills: There are two types of sales styles to focus on to accelerate revenue, Hunters and Farmers. These two types apply to inside and outside sales people.

Hunters are those sales people that love the thrill of the kill. As soon as they ‘close’ the deal they are on to the next. And they are very good at it. The main weakness of the hunter is that they typically do not nurture accounts - they lose interest in the account as soon as the ‘deal is closed.

Farmers nurture accounts. They typically don’t penetrate new accounts. They take those accounts first closed by the hunters and expand them. Closing opportunity by opportunity, until they have sold all that they could sell into that account. The weakness of the farmer is that the company that they work for must continue to evolve, adding new products and services, or the value of the farmer drops quickly, for that account, to the company they work for.

The key is for you to understand the two sales styles, understand which role you do best in. Exploit your strengths and find a partner that has complimentary strengths so you can leverage each other.

# 9 Increase Your Number of Cold Calls: If you implement only one idea out of this article THIS IS THE ONE! Don’t waste your time with anything else unless you cold call - a lot. Look at any report that measures correlation of the success of an individual sales person, or sales team, with the number of cold calls. The number just don’t lie. There is an absolute, and direct, correlation to the number of cold calls and the success of a sales person, or team.

Cold calling is just a form of networking. Everyone in the company can support cold calling campaigns, whether you are in sales or not. Cold calling is as simple as calling someone you know, a friend/associate, in a company that is not a current customer, or in a different division in a current customer, and having a conversation about their business - everyone loves to talk about themselves. Keep in mind that you do not need to close the order. You need to initiate the contact and then get a sales person involved. You can continue to follow up with the sales person as the opportunity materializes to an order. Just make sure that, once you have initiated contact, you communicate through the sales person or you just might become the problem.

# 10 Perform and Leverage Win/Loss Reviews: Win/loss reviews are probably the most valuable sales tool to use AT ALL TIMES, and not just in tough times. Unfortunately, since most of the results of the review are view as more of a marketing function, most sales organizations do not do them, or worse, do them incorrectly. Also, many sales people, and their managers, are afraid of what the review will tell them - what they need to do to be successful. (areas of weakness)

What a win/loss review is? A win/loss review is an in depth analysis of all aspects the sales process for a particular deal. You need to look at each and every win, and loss, and ask, sometimes tough, questions. Questions that are very similar to what you learned in college about journalism, the five W’s and one H, sometimes called the ‘Journalist’s Six W’s’ (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How). Why you won the deal (Win Review)? Or Why you lost the deal (Loss Review)?

As you review your wins, and your losses, make sure you continuously scrutinize your pricing policy. If you are losing based on price, make sure that you understand, in detail your sales process. If you sell based on value (realized value to the customer, not what you perceive your value to be) then you don’t need to reduce price, you might just need to work on your approach in establishing, and communicating, value for the customer.

# 11 Visit Your Past Customers: Start with your top ten former customers. Call them, or have them called by an executive. See how they are doing. Ask them why they have not done business with you recently (this is a very valuable method to understand the customer’s perception of your company). If there are any issues, work through them. If not, engage the customer. Get back in there. Work a deal. Get the relationship back on track.

# 12 Commit to Become the Sole Source for Your Key Customers: Just the commitment to your key customers would provide you huge returns. As you make this commitment to yourself, your boss, and your customer, impress upon everyone that you will do this by adding value to everything you do.

Making this commitment will force you to look at all aspects of your customer’s business and understand where you, through your products/services and other capabilities, can enable your customer to increase revenue and/or decrease cost. Focusing on your customer’s business and how you can increase revenue and decrease cost will not only help you grow revenue, but also increase your gross margin on every deal. If you stay committed and honest, this process will be the springboard for a very long and very profitable relationship for you and your customer.

# 13 Determine What Your Customers WILL Want: Don’t just look for what you customers want right now. Figure out what their needs will be in the future. Key note: Your customer probably does not know what she needs now. She knows what she wants, but not what she needs. As well, she probably won’t know what she will need in the future. It should be your mission in your professional life to know the future needs of your customers. - Be ahead of your customers and you will be ahead of the pack.

# 14 Take Your Executive Team Out on Sales Calls: The CEO of any size company is usually the best sales person. If you think that he is not a sales person, you are wrong - dead wrong. How did he get funding? How did he hire his first staff member? How does your CEO get the management team to get what he needs done, done? He sold them, he sold them all.

Your CEO owns the vision, in most cases it is HIS vision! Who else can best sell his own vision?

I do not recommend you take the CEO out on the first, second, or third call. Look at your sales pipeline, take the proposal that is the largest in revenue, or is the most profitable, or you know the most about the customer/buyer. Set up a face-to-face meeting. This meeting should be with someone on your customer’s senior executive team only, preferably with the CEO.

Go and get the order. This process affords you the opportunity to: 1) get to know your executive team, 2) get to know the customer in a new light, 3) understand the issues in closing business today, and 4) gain confidence in what you, and your company is doing, or needs to do. Worst case, you are educating the executive on the sales team and sales process.

# 15 Advertise your success (internally to your organization at first, externally if you feel it is appropriate).

# 16 Reduce Time Spent on Non-Customer Meetings: Unless absolutely necessary and even then, when you can, stop all, or reduce the amount of, time spent on internal meetings. If the meetings MUST happen then make them outside customer’s business hours. Every minute that you are in an internal meeting, you are not in front of, or on the phone with, or supporting the needs of, a customer, prospect, or suspect.

Your company is in the business of making money. Every minute that you are not in front of, or on the phone with, or supporting the needs of, a customer, prospect, or suspect, you are not adding value to the customer. If you are not adding value you are not going to get paid (Revenue). Even if you work for a non-profit you need revenue (donations).

# 17 Go to Training: I bet that there is at least one person in your company that is always in training for one thing or another. I am also confident that if you go to training, unless you are at a very large company, you only go through product/service training and seldom to real sales training.

I was in the information technology business for fourteen years. I have been in back office support roles, I have been a techie, I have been in inside and outside sales, and I have been in sales and marketing management. I have taken so much training it is crazy. However, I have never been in sales training. The companies I have worked for were either distributors or resellers and I went to vendor ’sales’ training countless times. Turns out, they were not sales training. They taught us how to position their products/services. That was product/service training, not sales training.

I was trained OJT (on the job), trial by fire, mentored. Whatever you want to call it - it took too long to translate the training to a closed deal. I was very successful. In retrospect, I believe I could have been much more successful, much more quickly, though, if I would have gone through structured sales training.

# 18 Train Others in Your Company: Leverage your sales skills to help strengthen the relationship between you and the rest of the company. Do a series of ‘lunch and learn’ sessions. Require at least one person from each department, if that make sense. The point is to give everyone the opportunity (requirement) to participate. The focus of the training should be to educate the company on your sales process and to get feedback from all employees on new ideas/approaches.

You will be pleasantly surprised where the best ideas come from. Remember to include ALL employees in the training sessions. The rewards will appear as accelerated revenue very quickly.

# 19 Get Everyone Networking: From the CEO to the sales team, including all marketing, fulfillment, administration, and back office staff. Everyone knows someone. Know who they know and leverage everyone to accelerate revenue. I suggest that you start with a plan and some training that you provide during ‘lunch and learn’ sessions. Set the objectives of the Networking Plan and communicate to the team.

# 20 Energize Alternate Sales/Marketing Channels: Sure you have partners. In today’s networked world EVERYONE partners. Unlike others, make partnerships work for you. I understand that you might not have the authority to execute contractual relationships with partners, however, you can make personal commitments and team with many partners to drive your accelerated revenue.

Determine which partnerships will drive the most revenue for you, then develop and leverage them first.

# 21 Integrate Internal and External Resources in Revenue Driving Activities: As either a product or service based company you value your staff at the top of the list of your assets. However, are you leveraging them to grow your accelerated revenue? You should!

Leverage all resources within your organization and your alternate channel organizations to:

- Perform Presentations at Seminars/Conventions;

- Attend Pre-Sales Calls;

- Attend Post-Sales Calls;

- Run Cross Project Meetings;

- Write Books and Articles;

- Train/mentor you;

- Build Relationships with Your Customers/Prospects; and

- Build a Name for Your Company.

Leverage Your Back Office Staff too. Get everyone in the company involved in customer related activities, including the back office. Many companies follow the ‘Everyone Sells’ approach - you should as well. For example:

- Have Accounts Receivable (A/R) Meet with your Customers to:

o Pull in Credit Terms

o Collect on Slow Players

o Usually Invoicing Issues

o Understand the Customer’s Best Practices

- Process

- Procedures

o Build Relationship with Your Customer’s

- Buyers

- Accounts Payable

- Have Accounts Payable (A/P)

o Shop for Better Pricing and Terms

o Pool Buying Power with Partners

o Build Relationships with Vendors

- Understand the Vendor’s Best Practices

- Process

- Procedures

# 22 Revitalize Your…SELF. Here are some tips I strive to use often:

- Regulate your thoughts - wipe out worry - rid your self of resentment

- Nourish your mind, read

- Act the way you want to feel

- Remember, trouble finds everyone - keep perspective - focus on your response

- Take time to reflect - before reacting - restore your sense of perspective

- Laugh a lot

- Learn from difficulty - seek opportunity in the difficulty

- Recharge relationships - seek solace from family and friends

- Lend a helping hand - helping others has been found to be the best medicine

- Keep going - don’t get ’stuck’ in the difficulty, identify it and move on

- Waste less time

- Exercise regularly

- Contribute to your community

- Do not neglect my family in pursuit of the almighty dollar

- Focus on quality

Now it is time to put together your accelerated revenue plan! Your plan should include many of the areas covered in this article, and many more. Good Selling!

Eric Kerkhoff , an accomplished Certified and Registered Sales Professional Trainer (CRSP-T) with more than 15 years of sales, marketing, and business operations experience, has extensive experience building diverse high-performance sales teams and managing strategic relationships with customers, partners, and vendors.

Recently named as the United Professional Sales Association (UPSA) “Trainer of the Year” for the second year in a row, he co-authored The Compendium of Professional Selling ® - THE international standard for professional sales that is being leveraged in sales organizations in fourteen countries.

Eric leverages his in-depth expertise in informational seminars he leads throughout the United States on the topics of sales, business development, and marketing. While working with George Washington University, Eric created and instructed the Business Development and Sales certificate program at the Center for Professional Development.

Join Eric at Selling Power Training’s Sales Skills Workshops. See http://sellingpower.com/salestraining for details.

1. When you make your first sale, follow-up with the
customer. You could follow-up with a “thank you”
email and include an advertisement for other products
you sell. You could follow-up every few months.

2. You could upsell to your customers. When they’re
at your order page, tell them about a few extra related
products you have for sale. They could just add it to
their original order.

3. Tell your customers if they refer four customers to
your web site, they will receive a full rebate of their
purchase price. This will turn one sale into three sales.

4. When you sell a product, give your customers the
option of joining an affiliate program so they can make
commissions selling your product. This will multiply
the sale you just made.

5. Sell the reprint/reproduction rights to your products.
You could include an ad on or with the product for
other products you sell. You could make sales for the
reproduction rights and sales on the back end product.

6. You could cross promote your product with other
businesses’ products in a package deal. You can
include an ad or flyer for other products you sell and
have other businesses selling for you.

7. When you ship out or deliver your product, include
a coupon for other related products you sell in the
package. This will attract them to buy more products
from you.

8. Send your customers a catalog of add-on products
for the original product they purchased. This could be
upgrades, special services, attachments, etc. If they
enjoy your product they will buy the extra add-ons.

9. Sell gift certificates for your products. You’ll make
sales from the purchase of the gift certificate, when
the recipient cashes it in. They could also buy other
items from your web site.

10. Send your customers free products with their
product package. The freebies should have your ad
printed on them. It could be bumper stickers, ball
caps, t-shirts etc. This will allow other people to see
your ad and order.

About the author:

Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.

Cruising is as old as late 1900s although initially they were all the merchant ships. Vacationing in the middle of the sea surrounded by all the water and with not a worry in the world is definitely a dream come true for many. Now- a-days, an enjoyable cruise vacation would make quite an impression on one’s mind and make them return time and again for the experience. Unlike small boats and houseboats, cruises offer luxury to the galore and all the travelers would have a feeling of living in a star hotel rather than a ship. All the amenities offered in cruises are equivalent to the kind of hospitality offered in grand hotels or resorts of the highest cadre and make the travelers feel at the top of the world for the duration of the vacation.

Cruise ships are huge and have a large crew to cater to every individual traveler’s needs. Hospitality rates high in cruises. Cruise ship travel agencies offer vacation packages that might be high but at the same time offer a luxurious once in a lifetime experience. Most of the cruise liners are offering discounted prices due to the heavy competition in the market for cruise vacations during both peak and off-peak seasons. Also a few other benefits and perks are being thrown in as a bonus by the travel agencies dealing with such cruises. Many consider vacationing in the high seas to be the most romantic kind of vacationing and the cruise liners are striving to prove them true with the elegant and romantic settings in the cruises.

Cruise ships offer excellent packages where in the traveler gets to see not just one but many places on the course of travel. Of course, it all depends on the package and cruise liner chosen by the tourists. Travelers get to visit the places during the day and have an excellent time on the ship during the nights. Most of the cruise liners are equipped with swimming pools, dance and music in the stateroom, casinos, even special parties and entertainment shows at night on board. Tourists not interested in visiting one or few of the places in the itinerary can instead laze around on the deck when the ship is docked and enjoy a pleasant day of sunning.

Cruise ships assign a guide to all those interested in visiting the stops that the ship docks in. The guide would be well versed in the local sight seeing areas of interest and would be able to guide the tourists with zeal to ensure that they are satisfied with the visit to that particular place.

A number of cruise ships are in the market presently to offer the best deals to tourists. Proper planning can allow for the best vacation ever as the tourists would feel that the vacation is indeed the money’s worth. Visiting new sights and new lands by sea is a unique experience and it is further enhanced by all the elegance, sophistication and yet homely ambience in a cruise liner.

Cruise Ships provides detailed information about cruise ships, alaska cruise ships, cruise ship jobs, cruise ship reviews and more. Cruise Ships is the sister site of Cheap Caribbean Cruises.

Note: I wrote this essay regarding the development of Tekkenryu jujutsu. However, I think it is applicable for all methods of self defense. It may also explain why martial arts are the way they are.

Catholic, by definition, means universal or “broad minded”.

I could pull out STACKS of manuals, syllabuses, films, and related research material that cover an ENTIRE range of unarmed combat.

Some methods advocate wrestling as their base, others use boxing or savate. Some jujutsu and judo while others call their systems “rough and tumble” or “all in”, and there is even a system based on American SPORTS. I have an old manual on YOGA for self defense. The material ranges from current to OLD, some very old.

These varied systems have everything! Striking and kicking methods drawn from EVERY method and “nationality”, GRAPPLING methods from Lutte to Judo, from Sambo to All-In Wrestling. They range from standing to the ground; all aspects, all methods.

The guys in our crew have trained in an impressive array of systems and methods. They have a fantastic “pool” of knowledge, SKILL, and TRAINING to draw from.

OKAY, so WHAT?
See if this makes sense…………

Damian, Clint, and I worked out a comprehensive syllabus of instruction. It is based on a catholic approach to combatives. We drew these methods from a number of varied sources and training. The problem as we saw it was in the PROGRESSION of instruction. Here’s how we attempted to solve this fundamental problem:

Very few individuals will start so-called “martial arts” instruction or training and stay with it for any real length of time. Many combative skills are JUST that, SKILLS! They require dedicated time and training to inculcate to the extent that they will be “useful” in a REAL fight or even in a controlled “free sparring” environment.

Japanese Judoka have a saying - “One year for Newaza, TEN years for Tachiwaza”. In other words, proficiency in groundwork can be gained in a year, standing techniques require ten. So, here we see an acknowledgement that “different” SKILLS require varied amounts of TIME, TRAINING, and DEDICATION.

So that was our problem. MOST people will simply NOT invest the time and effort to “master” MANY of the skills involved. MOST people will “train” for a limited amount of time and then move on to the next “thing” that catches their interest.

What then is OUR responsibility as “instructors”? What we did is set a curriculum that takes this into account. The syllabus, for the first three to six months, includes NOTHING but the most BASIC, easily UNDERSTOOD, SIMPLEST METHODS of EFFECTIVE PERSONAL PROTECTION. Someone can train for a limited time AND still get something USEFUL in terms of “SKILL”.
What was our basis on selection of “method”?

“Hence the reason for a simple type of instruction with a great deal of emphasis on the FEW elementary methods which can be easily and instinctively used in combat after practice…..basis of selection was the theory of what the smallest man can do to the largest.”

I’m quoting Applegate from the 1943 edition of Kill Or Get Killed (This DOES NOT, I hope, portray me as a zealot).

Continued training and “dedication” will result in learning more and more “complex” skills. However, if an individual ceases practice after a “limited” amount of time, we feel that we have at LEAST given something of VALUE in terms of personal survival.

Damian is a highly skilled grappler in any venue, i.e., wrestling, judo, and submission. Clint is a walking encyclopedia of “waza”; Ralph is amazing in his knowledge of close combat and weapons. Each of these men could teach to a high level of SKILL and COMPLEXITY with NO PROBLEM. However, they fully understand that you must “walk before you run”. So, they are strong advocates of BASICS. First!

Judokas (like any other combative athletes) have a term called “Tokuiwaza” or “favored” technique. It is that one method that it is worked on incessantly, continually for YEARS in search of “perfection”. Whether it be “Judo” Kimura, Gerry Cooney, “Strangler” Lewis, or Georges Carpentier, this approach holds true. So, realistically, does this apply to MOST PEOPLE? NO. That’s why “champions” are revered. They are the EXCEPTIONS.

Why would anyone “teach” a middle aged businessman or a small petite housewife a technique or method that requires complex skills developed over YEARS and that requires a “set” of physical adjuncts in order to be even somewhat effective?
Well, you wouldn’t, at least NOT initially. Like building a house, you start with a SOLID foundation, and then BUILD from there. So the simplest approach in regards to personal protection is to start with techniques based on what the “smallest can do to the largest”. Is that a guarantee of SUCCESS? NO, that’s not how life works. Is it a LOGICAL place to “start”? I believe so.

Damian, Clint or I could teach DOZENS of different chokeholds and strangleholds. Ralph could teach DOZENS of highly complex drills and methods of stick and knife work. DOZENS! So what! Without the time, training and dedication to master these techniques they are WORSE than useless. The same goes for any “class” of techniques. Training and the DEVELOPMENT of skill is what makes ANYTHING “WORK”.

So ALL we advocate is that simple common sense basic approach. Start with the SIMPLEST methods and build from there.

It has NOTHING to do with “blind” allegiance to any one method or man. It has NOTHING to do with being a “zealot”. It has NOTHING to do with following any “gospel” in ignorance.

It has EVERYTHING to do with a sincere dedication to seeking the best, most rational and logical “solutions” to the multitude of complex problems inherent in real world survival.

This is why on going, dedicated research is SO CRUCIAL. Some question that “validity” of certain methods. DO NOT assume that these “questions” have NOT been asked and answered by others. Only a fool would blindly follow any “doctrine” without questioning and validating the information presented.

Can a skilled grappler apply his craft? Of course. Could a skilled boxer or muay thai fighter ply his trade with success? Of course. That’s NOT the question. The question is “what can YOU do?” What one can do at twenty is different than what one can do at fifty. What one can do after several years of training is different than what one can do after several months of training. What one can do against an opponent of equal strength and weight is different than what one can do against a much larger, stronger adversary, or for that matter, a much smaller, lighter one.

So what’s the point to all of this? Simple. Know who you are. What YOU are capable of. What YOUR abilities are. YOUR strengths, YOUR weaknesses, YOUR goals. Take a hard long realistic appraisal and find the answer to that question.

And then work from there.

Copyright 2003 www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com ©

Carl Cestari began his study of the martial arts with judo at the age of 7 under the direction of Yoshisada Yonezuka. During the past forty plus years Carl has dedicated his life to studying the martial arts, hand to hand combat systems, history and religion. He is continually improving himself through his studies. What makes Carl unique is his combination of martial arts, law enforcement, military and real world experience. Carl has been exposed to a multitude of people with a wide variety experience. The following is a list of some of Carl’s ranks and honors.

Shinan (Founder) Tekkenryu jujutsu

Ryokudan (6th degree) Koshinkai Karate under John Burrelle

Godan (5th degree) Jujutsu under Clarke of the World Jujutsu Fedaration (now defunct)

Sandan (3rd degree) Nippon Kempo under Narabu Sada

Nidan (2nd degree) Judo under Masafumi Suzuki

Shodan (1st degree) Judo under Yoshisada Yonezuka

Shodan (1st degree) Shukokai Karate under Kimura, Kadachi and Yonezuka

Shodan (1st degree) Daitoryu Aikijujutsu

Instructors Certificate- Charles Nelson System of Self Defense under Charlie Nelson

Is it possible to complete 50% of your injury claim in 7 days or less?

It is possible if you follow simple guidelines, but only if you follow these simple steps over the next 7 days will you see results.

Here’s a definite guide to get your personal injury claim kick-started:

Day 1 - Complete an online injury compensation claim form. Fill in your details and submit your application.

The more details you can fill in the better, as this will eliminate some time, probably 24 - 48 hours. However an email address is essential if you want to monitor your progress over the next 7 days. Alternatively even if you make a call you still shouldn’t have a problem to see results.

Within 24 hours excluding weekends or bank holidays, a compensation solicitor will ring to confirm your details. Once theses details are complete, just 20 - 30 minutes of your time, you should receive some paperwork through the post the following day.

Day 2 - You will receive a conditional fee agreement (CFA), with attached medical consent forms. As again fill in the blanks, not much, sign on the pages indicated and post the documents back into the post.

The paperwork might seem too technical, as it will be. However don’t fret if you don’t understand the lingo. Ring the injury solicitor who sent you the documentation and they will explain any line necessary.

Even if it’s a single sentence that is confusing you, give them a call.

Day 3 - If the paperwork is received, then brilliant, you have just completed 50% of your injury compensation claim. If not you may need an extra day or two.

Day 4 to 7 - Paperwork is received and you have completed 50% of your claim.
Now that completes 50% of your accident claim, what about the remaining 50%.

The next 20% is allocated to your medical examination if you require one. This also is made payable by the injury solicitor in-charge.

The remaining 30% is what is called the waiting game. This is where the solicitor will do behind the scene work. Such as make the necessary phone calls, negotiate a compensation figure on your behalf, write letters to the insurance companies involved etc.

But this is something you don’t need to worry about for accident injury claim. The only stages you need to work about is the first 50% which gets completed within 7 days or less as you will see.

Why 7 Days…?

If the post office where up to notch with their service then it can be completed within 4 - 5 days, but the extra days are for them to get their act together and post your personal injury claim documents on time.

The next 20% as mentioned is for your medical attention. Nothing drastic, just an examination to indicate the worth of your injury claim. This doesn’t really last more than 30 minutes.

So in total you require just under an hour of your time for your compensation claim to be on it’s way. You don’t need to worry about the rest, as it is take care of the solicitor in-charge. No need to lose your sleep over it!

Cases can be settled within 3 months, but it all boils down to you. The faster you response, the quicker you will see your money.

The numbers of older women becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS is of growing concern. Learn how you can protect yourself.

HIV infections are on the rise. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of Americans over 50 who are infected with HIV have grown over 5 times (16,300 people in 1995, to 90,600 in 2003). While seniors represent about 14% of people with HIV, senior women represent 18%. The numbers of women with infections are even higher for American women of color, and come in at a staggering 47% when looking at world HIV infection rates. That means that just under half of all HIV infections are found in women worldwide.

One reason for the higher number of older women with HIV was found in a study recently published by Emory University. They surveyed 514 women over the age of 50, and found that their knowledge about transmission was poor. For example, approximately 50% of women believed that vasectomies and diaphragms prevent the spread of HIV.

Other reasons include the fact that many older women, who have sex with men, are also not using condoms, knowing they are past the point of having to worry about pregnancy. Women also erroneously think they can’t get HIV if they are not engaging in behaviors they deem as risky. The truth of the matter is this. HIV is a virus. It’s an opportunist. It does not care if you are male or female. It does not care who you have sex with, nor the numbers of people you have sex with. It certainly does not care about the color of your skin, you bank balance or you age.

HIV is primarily spread in two ways. First is though the sharing of contaminated intravenous drug equipment. Second, and more commonly, HIV is spread by unprotected sexual encounters. Women frequently are the receptive partners, and the receptive partners are more likely to become infected. Women who are post menopausal are at higher risk because of the changes in the vaginal tissue. With less estrogen to nourish the vagina, the tissue atrophies (becomes thin) and there is less lubrication. A woman can easily get tiny tears in her vaginal tissues, thus leaving an opening for virus to gain entry to her blood stream.

What’s a woman to do?

1. Know your own HIV status. Contact your health care provider, or (if you want anonymous testing) the local health department for testing. I do not recommend home testing at this time. First, if you are positive, are you really? And if you are negative, are you really? If positive, confirmatory blood testing is required. Many offices have started using rapid testing in the office where preliminary results can be obtained in 20 minutes. In the meantime you can get the appropriate information on how you need to proceed.

2. Know your partners history (this goes for both male AND female partners ladies!). Do they have a history of multiple partners and unprotected sexual encounters? Have they been tested? When? Did they get a follow up test at 6 months? What were the results?

3. Condoms and lubrication are essential. Use them not only on your partners body parts that may be entering you, but also on any toys you may be utilizing as well There are several online and confidential sources to purchase lubricants, condoms and gloves.

4. Limit your exposure when possible. Think twice if you are engaging in high risk behavior with a casual or new partner.

5. Educate yourself. The information presented here is just a small portion of what you need to know. Each of us bears the responsibility to educate ourselves and our partners.

For many women, sexual activity does not stop just because they reach a certain age. I encourage you to continue to enjoy yourselves, but do so safely.