Should Professional Athletes Be Role Models?

There are many that think and argue that professional athletes should be better role models and that when they engage in unsportsmanlike behavior and criminal activity it just plainly sets a bad example to todays youth.

Many will also argue that athletes are hired by their employer and are paid to do their job and are not paid to be role models. This makes sense and it is true that they are not paid to be a role model but whether they like it or not athletes are role models.

Now, does that mean they will be a good role model? Of course not, there are also bad role models! But yes, they are role models, it is just one of those things that come with their job.

Most athletes do try to conduct themselves in a positive manner when in public view but there are those who just don't care what anyone thinks of them. The minds of those that say "athletics are not role models" are doing some wishful thinking; really they should not be role models but they are and that's a fact that no one can change.

The fact that so many kids look up to site these baseball players, basketball players and football players simply makes them role models. Here is an example, when you become a parent you automatically become a role model whether you like it or not. You can not simply say I am a parent and not a role model. The old saying "Do as I say, not as I do" does not work. Because you are a role model in that childs eyes! Kids look up to parents. Not only parents but also to big brothers and other family members, teachers, doctors, police man and the list goes on.

These professional people are all role models for todays youth whether they like it or not. Even the drug dealer can be a role model, he of course will be a bad role model but when the kids around the neighborhood are looking up to him and wanting to be like him he has become a role model in their mind.

So to ask the question "Should professional athletics be role models?" is not a valid question because they have no choice in the matter - THEY ARE ROLE MODELS!

Hope you enjoyed this information on "Should Professional Athletes Be Role Models." Ron Damon is a sports fanatic of all sports including baseball, basketball, football, soccer, tennis, golf and any other sports you can think of. Check them out at http://www.yoursportspage.blogspot.com

Shaolin Kung Fu For Kids

Shaolin is a 1,500 year-old Chan (Zen) Buddhist temple in China that is famous worldwide for its peaceful-looking monks who perform incredible kung fu stunts.

You might have seen images or performances of Shaolin kids bending their limbs into mind-boggling positions and asked yourself "Now, how did they do that?" What you have just seen is a display of Shaolin Juvenile Kung Fu.

Juvenile Kung Fu? Is it only for kids? Yes, because boys start practicing this art at ages five or six. There's another reason it's called Juvenile Kung Fu.

After practicing this art for years the student stays as young as a child even though his hair may be white as a crane's feathers.

Juvenile Kung Fu makes his body soft as cotton, light as a swallow and hard as steel. What is amazing is that a person who practices it stays as strong and sharp when he's 60 as when he was 16. Hence, to become a great Shaolin Kung Fu master, it is vital to learn Juvenile Kung Fu.

Young boys selected for this unique training must be lean and have good bone structure and flexibility. (Bigger boys are selected for Shaolin hard qigong training.) Basic training involves a lot of leaping and rolling.

At advanced levels, the boys bend and stretch their limbs at impossible angles with soft and powerful qi-controlled movements. Their joints and tendons become strong and flexible. They have excellent blood and qi (chi) flow. And they show precise posture and fantastic power in their kung fu.

An excerpt from the fully illustrated children's book "Shaolin - Legends of Zen and Kung Fu" (0-9733492-3-9) by Kah Joon Liow, 32 pages, includes original 3D-animated story "Enter The Zen" on DVD, published by SilkRoad Networks (Canada), Sept 2006, US$26.95, With the participation of MDA. Copyright 2006, SilkRoad Networks and MDA.

Kah Joon Liow's books allow kids all over the world to experience Asian stories in entertaining ways. Read reviews of "Shaolin" and site more stories about Shaolin Zen and Kung Fu for free at Shaolin Kung Fu.