When you bring up the subject of boxing, the image that comes to people’s minds is of two athletes in a boxing ring, adrenaline pumped and seeking to destroy each other using their fists as weapons. Boxing for fitness is something completely different where entire classes of people can get a great workout from a non-contact version of the sport. Boxing as a way to stay fit is becoming increasingly popular and rightfully so considering its many benefits. Boxing increases strength, coordination, endurance, speed, and dexterity. You will learn the proper way to control your feet and the basic boxing stance. You will learn basic punches such as the hook, the jab, the upper cut, and how to combine them all effectively as you develop your boxing skills. Boxing is not necessarily for self-defence, but you will learn to throw a punch. And it will increase your self-confidence knowing that if anything was to go awry you should be able to take care of yourself.
So how did I get started boxing? I was already going to the gym three or four times every week, but I was only working on weight training. I was not doing any cardio, and even though I was becoming stronger and building my muscle strength, my midsection was still pretty soft. The idea of running had no appeal for me at all, so getting on a treadmill was out of the question. I thought of maybe going with my girlfriend to one of her group fitness classes, but hardly any other guys went so I quickly lost interest in that. After a conversation with my boss at lunch one day he suggested I come along to a boxing session. He is an incredibly fit man in his 40s. He is totally ripped, six pack abs and all, so when someone in that kind of physical shape talks, I listen. He let me know that I could borrow a pair of boxing gloves so all I needed to bring was a towel and a bottle of water.
I felt a bit challenged because I had never tried to box before. The man who would soon become my sparring partner informed me boxing is something anyone can do. So off I went to the gym to give boxing a try. First we went through a 15 minute warm up session, then 30 minutes of sparring, and then a 15 minute cool down. I experienced a whole new world of pain! Not because someone smacked me in the face (it is non-contact after all). My muscles burned, like nothing I had ever experienced before. Muscles I did not even know I was using were hurting. My legs, my shoulders, my core; everything burned like fire. I thought that would be the end of my boxing activity, but I gave myself a couple days to recover and then I went back to the ring to give it another go.
Knowing the moves gave me a better work out, and I was more prepared mentally this time. I continued going to the gym every week. I noticed my body trimming up and my middle section spare tire was getting much less noticeable. Because boxing is a high repetition workout, you will see more body toning than muscle building. Combine that with a healthy diet and you can really see some results quite quickly.
If I’ve learned anything from the experience it is not to be scared to try something new. No matter what your fitness or skill level boxing is good for you because it can be modified to increase or decrease intensity and complexity of the workout. There is simply no legitimate reason for not giving boxing a try. It is an excellent way to de-stress and take out your frustrations on the boxing pads. Boxing is a high intensity program of exercise. It targets numerous large muscle groups, which assures you a program for toning and building strength while you also become more in shape and better fit. The gym is a great place to work out and spend time with a friend. You can even get a little competitive if you want, as long as you keep all the moves above the belt.
Everyone knows what it feels like to be in a rut, trapped in a pattern of circumstances that we cannot escape. Sometimes, those circumstances change by themselves, but more often we need to take action to ensure that we don’t become stuck in a rut.
Written by Jarrod Demeza on February 1st, 2012 with comments disabled.
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Muay Thai is a form of kickboxing martial arts that has developed in Thailand over the centuries. It started as a style of hand to hand combat in warfare and has developed into the exciting sport that attracts thousands of fans around the world.
The Thai people are gentle, kind and fun loving, quite small in stature, but when it came to defending their homeland against invaders, they were fierce combatants. Muay Thai was designed to enable the Thais to fight in the hilly terrain that is their homeland, putting their enemies at a distinct disadvantage. The techniques involve survival skills and fierce attacking moves using feet, elbow and knees.
Thai tradition, heritage and national pride are all embodied in the art of Muay Thai. It is expected that most young Thai men will train diligently in the art as a rite of passage into manhood. During both training and fighting, arm and headbands are worn that have been specially blessed by the monks to bring the fighter courage and success. The young men take great pride in their training, draw inspiration and motivation from the monk’s blessing and consider it an honor to wear such symbols of faith and national pride.
Training and fighting is demanding both physically and mentally; there is much to learn about the history and techniques of the sport, themselves and their spirituality. Training is as much a spiritual journey as one of physical development. The spiritual overtones of Muay Thai carries over into the actual fight; before the fight begins the boxers warm up with a particular form of dance that is symbolic and meaningful to the Thai nation.
All martial arts derived from the need to defend what belonged to the people, and Muay Thai is no exception. It was a dangerous business with no safety or protective gear worn to protect the fighters. All they had, originally, were lengths of cord which they used to protect their hands by winding the cord around their fists. As the need for defending their country diminished and Muay Thai became more of a sport, rules were established for the protection of the fighters.
Muay Thai has become internationally recognized as a popular contact sport. It is taught and competed in many countries and televised into even more. It has become a very popular spectator sport, with the thousands of fans who attend bouts cheering loudly for their favorites. A bout consists of three minute rounds with two minutes between the five rounds that make up a match.
Muay Thai is a hard and dangerous sport but that does not diminish its growing popularity. New students are attracted to the philosophy and art of the sport all the time with many going on to compete in competitions worldwide.
Thai Boxing Site Update: muay thai conditioning
Written by Larisa Rawson on January 22nd, 2012 with comments disabled.
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Many visitors come to Thailand to learn something. Thailand has courses, both certified and otherwise, in many different subjects and most of them are at prices much cheaper than in the west. If you are planning on coming to Thailand and would like to spend some time learning something, what kinds of things can you learn and where?
Thai Language – Learning Thai language is probably the most obvious thing you can learn in Thailand. In Bangkok especially, there are many language schools set up where you can learn Thai for very low fees. Last year, I took several Thai language courses at a local Thai language school. The classes met for three hours a day (9am to 12pm or 1pm to 4pm) for 20 days and the fee, including the text book, was only 5,000 baht (approximately $142). You can also take shorter classes, just a week in length, or even hire a private tutor for one-on-one Thai language lessons.
Thai Cooking – A lot of people come to Thailand to learn Thai cooking. There are hundreds of Thai cooking schools set up all over Thailand that will teach aspiring cooks how to make typical Thai menus. Prices range from $30 a course to more than $500 if you go to some of the top schools, and will teach you basic Thai dishes like som tam, tom ka gai and mango and chicken green curry.
Gemology Classes – Thailand is actually very well-known for gemology and people who are interested in learning more about diamonds and other gems often take courses in Thailand. Courses are certified and non-certified and offer anything from Diamond Grading and Pricing to Gem Identification. An Introduction to Gemology can be as low as $250 and a higher level class as high as $4,000, but these prices are still much cheaper than similar courses in the US or Europe.
Thai Massage Classes – Thailand is world-famous for Thai massage and almost everyone who comes to Thailand has, at one time or another, a Thai massage. Many people also want to learn Thai massage so there are numerous courses set up all over Thailand where you can learn. The most famous place to learn Thai massage is in Bangkok at Wat Pho and here trained masseurs will teach you all about Thai massage in as short a time as a few hours or as long as a few weeks – depending on what you want. Prices at Wat Pho are as low as $150 for a course and as high as $300, depending on what you study and for how long.
TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certification – A lot of would-be English teachers come to Thailand to study for a TEFL certificate, so that they can teach English in a foreign country. Thailand has many TEFL certificate courses on offer, from schools in Bangkok to schools near the beach in Phuket and Rayong. Most courses are six weeks long and include teaching practice with local area Thai schools. Average cost of a course if between $1,000 and $1,500, which is a fraction of the price of a similar TEFL course in a western country. I took my TEFL certificate course in Bangkok and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how to teach EFL (English as a Foreign Language).
Muay Thai (Thai Kickboxing) Classes – Of course, Thailand is the world center for Muay Thai. Since the advent of the TV series ‘The Contender Asia’, Muay Thai has become even more popular and many western men (and some women!) are now interested in learning Muay Thai. You can take a stand alone Muay Thai class, sign up for a week or two’s training, or even work with a Muay Thai gym over a period of a few months if you’re serious about starting a Muay Thai career. Courses start at a couple of hundred dollars for a basic course up to more than $1,300 for a Professional Course.
As you can see, there are many things you can study in Thailand and most of them are available much cheaper than in western countries. If you do decide to learn in Thailand though, just make sure you do a search on the internet first to check out the school you plan on attending. Most schools though are very good and, even if you don’t use whatever you’re learning for a career, you can still leave Thailand knowing more than when you got here.You can take classes in many different subjects in Thailand, and for very cheap prices!
Get the information on thai boxing in Phuket before anyone else.
Written by Robbi Arrez on January 22nd, 2012 with comments disabled.
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The cut kick, delivered to the legs of the opponent, is one of the pillars of muay thai. The jab-cut kick combo is as prevalent in competition as the jab is in boxing. This is an opportune technique that can be used taken advantage of unlike in boxing matches. In fact, it’s a great rule of thumb that every combo in muay thai be ended with a kick. This is especially effective against boxers who were never required to defend against kicks. Practice concluding every combo with a kick to either the legs, the body, or the head of your opponent.
The muay thia clinch, or collar tie, is one of the most devastating techniques to the art and is still underutilized despite this. Controlling the head of your opponent is often a powerful strategy in many martial arts. Grabbing the opponent around the neck and pulling his head downward to deliver the knee strikes to the face will instantly dispose of any opponent who is untrained in the art of muay thai.
Skip knees, the technique of skipping into the knee strike, can deliver much more power when thrown to the body of the opponent. Practice straightening your leg out completely before delivering the knee. This is a very common mistake, and even practitioners of many years forget to straighten out the leg completely and take advantage of the raw power of the strike.
Kicking with both legs is of paramount importance. Since so much of what ties success depends on a high-low concept, that is, mixing up attacks which are thrown at the head with attacks which are thrown at the legs, being able to kick at all three targets from both sides of the body grants many more are possibilities for attacks, many of which your opponents will not expect. Fluidity with both arms and legs, from punches to knees to kicks from both sides, is enough to overwhelm the most experienced strikers, especially boxers and practitioners of traditional martial arts.
The lethal kicks off this art combined with its telltale clinch technique make muay thai an explosive type of offense against any opponent. Using these as a basis any fighter can easily enter MMA competitions and meet success. Muay thai is an incredibly dependable premise in MMA and need only be combined with the essentials of grappling defense, like sprawling and training for full mounts, side mount, and full guard.
Muay Thai Phuket Site Update: Lion Muay Thai kickboxing
Written by Azzie Didier on January 18th, 2012 with comments disabled.
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Are you wondering what exactly is golf? Does the sport seem ridiculous and confusing to you? Let us fill you in on the pertinent facts regarding golf. Read this article to learn about what you should know to make golf a game you can play with confidence.
If you are golfing with new people, be sure to introduce yourself before starting the round. Golf is a pretty social game, as you spend several hours with a group. Find interesting things to talk about and show interest in your fellow players. You will enjoy the social aspect of golf if you make efforts to be sociable.
For maximum contact, accuracy and distance, you need to ensure that your club’s face is hitting the golf ball as squarely as possible. The ball will travel on a straight line if you get this right. If the club isn’t squared with the ball, the ball won’t travel in the direction you intended. Play around with your grip until you can easily hit the ball consistently at 90 degrees.
Become familiar with each new course before taking your first shot. You should always do your homework on the course; if you are knowledgeable about the location of things like bunkers, bends and water hazards, you will be able to judge each shot more accurately.
If there is a divot mark on your golf ball after it lands on the green when travelling a long distance, repair it. A ball that lands from a great height can leave behind a dent in the dirt and damage to the grass, causing problems for anyone who may have to putt the ball over it. Take time to use a divot tool or tee for returning the grass back to its flattened state.
Spice up your next round with the guys by putting a little reward on the line. Having a small prize such as dinner for the winner, livens up your game because the stakes are higher. The cost of the prize need not be a lot, however, just adding a reward can add a little zest to the game.
Don’t get in the habit of hitting from a posture that strains your balance. First, practice your body’s placement with the ball without having a club in hand. Flex your knees, keep the waist slightly bent, and naturally keep your arms dropped. Clap and hold your hands together. This position should feel natural to you, and if it does not, you might be overcompensating it.
Make sure you mark your ball with initials before you start playing so you can distinguish them from other player’s. By ensuring this knowledge is shared, you can avoid racking up your score with penalty shots when your ball lands close to another one because you can verify you are hitting the right ball.
Try out tips like the ones you’ve just read above to help keep your game going as smoothly as possible. Employ what you’ve just learned here and you can continue to get better at golf, no matter how long you’ve been playing the game.
Duncan is an avid golfer in his free time. Most of his time is spent working as a Iowa security guard instructor that prepares people for an excellent career as a security guard.
Written by Duncan Donohue on January 18th, 2012 with comments disabled.
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UFC 127: Penn vs Fitch has what will prove to be an interesting middleweight match in Michael “The Count” Bisping vs Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera. This match is part of the main card and the event goes down Saturday, February 26th at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.
Fighters Profile:
Michael Bisping
Record: 20-3
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 185
Age: 31
Nationality: English
Style: Jujutsu, Muay Thai, Boxing
Strengths: Standup, heart, adapts to any situation, fitness
Jorge Rivera
Record: 19-7
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 185
Age: 38
Nationality: American
Style: Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Strengths: Well rounded
Michael Bisping fought in the light heavyweight division since 2004-2007 and has been fighting in the middleweight division since 2008. He moved to the new weight division when he lost via split decision to Rashad Evans in UFC 78: Validation, it was his very first loss. Since moving to 185lbs he has lost to Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva via decision, both are MMA veterans like Bisping. He is ranked #10 in his division by Sherdog.com.
Michael has never been submitted and has only been KO’d once. It seems Bisping has only been losing to top contenders in his weight division. Bisping is on a two fight winning streak and has a win over Chris Leben, a fighter that has beaten Jorge Rivera. His 20 wins are via 12 KO’s, 4 submissions and 4 decisions.
Jorge Rivera is coming of a three win streak and has wins over Nate Quarry and Kendall Grove. He has also fought Martin Kampmann, Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin, all those fights ended in losses. 13 of hid wins have been via KO, 2 by decision and 4 via submission. He has been KO’d 4 times and has submitted twice.
Both fighters are aggressive, have been champs in two lesser MMA organizations and are coming off dominating wins. You can expect an all-out war.
weight training from Thai Boxing Site
Written by Felton Wist on January 17th, 2012 with comments disabled.
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Do you want to become proficient in the most devastating, deadly martial arts around? Do you want to be feared, respected, and feel the power of knowing that you could kill a man with your bare hands? You should definitely look into these martial arts; they put years upon years of combat experience in your hands.
Krav Maga. This is what the Israeli Special Forces practice. It’s a deadly combination of a variety of different martial arts disciplines and combatives, and it is widely and quickly gaining a reputation as one of the most effective disciplines in existence. It is interesting to note that there are two main varieties of Krav Maga being taught; there is the civilian version, which tends to emphasize hand-to-hand combat, self-defense, and street fighting. There is also the military version, or the police version, which is taught to law enforcement officials for training for engagements with automated weapons, engagements with terrorists, disarming explosives, surveillance, and more.
Muay Thai. The national sport of Thailand, Muay Thai has been around for thousands of years. It was developed in Thailand as a means of quickly disarming and killing the invading legions from such empires as Cambodia and Sri Lanka. Indeed, the native fighting styles of these three countries have deep roots together and have influenced each other. Muay Thai is often referred to as The Science Of The Eight Limbs, referring to both elbows, both shins, both knees, and both fists. A legendary Cambodian king is said to have commented that practicioners of Muay Thai have venom at all points of their body. Muay Thai is quickly becoming one of the preferred and most-often trained-in styles in mixed martial arts.
Pencak Silat. Pencak Silat is an umbrella term for over eight-hundred varieties of martial arts that are most often considered as having originated in Indonesia over the past few hundred years. Pencak Silat involves the use of small knives, blades, and sticks, as well as the fists and feet. It includes aspects of striking as well as aspects of grappling, submissions, and takedowns. There is a particular interest in footwork; various techniques of footwork are involved in the practice of the various forms of Pencak Silat, including quadrangular stepping, triangular stepping, and zig-zag stepping. Pencak Silat is not widely used in mixed martial arts… yet.
Escrima. Escrima is a very deady martial art that originated in the Phillipines as a result of the repeated attempts at subjugating the natives. Escrima was designed to be taught to resistance fighters quickly and with as devastating an effect as possible. It incorporates the use of the fist, feet, various submissions and grappling techniques, as well as the knife and stick. In short: in training in Escrima, one is sure that one can always have a weapon available. With a mere knife or stick, one trained in Escrima can react to a threat with devastating and deadly force. Practicioners of Escrima are called Escrimadors, or Escrimadoras. Escrima, again, is not in use in mixed martial arts, largely because of its emphasis on striking at vulnerable (and thus illegal in competition) parts of the body, often with particularly dangerous techniques or weapons. Escrima, it is said, is better suited for fighting on the street than fighting in a cage or ring.
Muay Thai Webpage Update: muay thai thailand chalong
Written by Shaina Sorrells on January 17th, 2012 with comments disabled.
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Muay Thai gives the competitor an advantage in a fight, in and out of the ring. Let me start you of with a little of my background/ identity in relation to the sport of Muay Thai. Growing up as a kid in the Philippines in the 90′s, I was always glued to the television watching Thai boxing competitions. I liked the sport as a kid, because I thought it was more “realistic” than boxing matches. To my surprise, the competitions that allowed elbows and knees ended quick (usually in the 1st and 2nd rounds). I’ve sparred in the ring and have been in a couple of street fights in high school (in the Philippines), and I can tell you from experience that the most brutal techniques always have an element of muay thai into it. Without further ado, LETS GET TO THE GOOD STUFF!!! (The techniques).
The first technique is the fakes, or feint attacks. This is very useful in the ring and deadly in the streets. In the ring, you don’t have to hit your opponent first to make him react to a feint attack. In street fighting however, you must hit him first. Hit him hard and fast, and if he survived your first attack, your second attack could be a feint followed by a counter. Examples of this would be (from a right stance) feint a left cross and throw a right hook to the body, then clinch and follow with a right knee. Throw a left round house kick, then feint the second round house kick twist your body counter clockwise to load up your left hand, jump up with your right foot and execute a super man punch. Feint a right foot jab and throw a left super man punch. Feint a right hook to the head and do an uppercut. Feint a body shot and do a head shot (either hand). Feint a high kick and do a low leg kick (either leg). The possibilities are endless!
The second technique is the draw in. In a draw in, you make your opponent believe that you forgot all about your defenses and put one of your hands down to chest level or open up your guard. But make sure you are at a right distance relative to his weapons when you’re doing this. You could do this by: Dropping your lead hand and timing your cross before he lands either a jab or a cross (when you do this, make sure you slip to the outside of his jab and to the inside of his cross), dropping your rear hand and timing a lead hook to his temple/jaw, leaning backward and executing timing a front/ rear foot jab (depending on distance), and again the possibilities are endless.
The third one is the clinch-push-attack technique. What is the clinch-push-attack technique? The clinch-push-attack technique is used when your opponent is to strong for your clinch game. At the moment he gets away from your clinch, push him away with either hand (only one hand please) and execute an attack relative to distance. If he is too close, throw a right/ left elbow. If he is too far, load up with the muay thai round kick to the thigh, body, or head. Hint: While he is off balance when he first gets away and is leaning forward, throw a round kick to the head. If he is leaning back throw one on the thigh. If he’s hands are flailing to get his balance, throw a round kick to the body.
This article is in its infancy and I will be posting more techniques as soon as I get back from training. Remember: I only post techniques that work for at least 15-20 different people. If a technique does not work, don’t throw it away like a scratch paper, vary your timing, distance, and positioning to make it work. And most importantly, do what works for you, but set it up to where the opponent does not know its coming.
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Written by Gerald Ramm on January 17th, 2012 with comments disabled.
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Tennis is a sport which can be very difficult to get started with. Other sports in comparison to tennis generally require much less in the way of equipment. If the new player isn’t certain of what they need to get started, it becomes much more difficult to focus on the important skills they should be learning.
In this article I’ll try and help you learn exactly what is necessary to start up in tennis. Some of the requirements like a tennis racquet might look expensive, but ones made specifically for beginners are not.
The idea that tennis is a high class sport for country club players is nothing more than a myth. Public parks are among some of the best and most convenient locations to play tennis. Best of all they are completely free. If you reach a serious level of tennis competition you might consider joining a club, but it’s far from necessary.
Many people are unaware of the great fitness benefits that tennis can offer. Even a beginner who is just learning how to play tennis will be able to enjoy a workout for the arms, legs, and core muscles. An equivalent routine in the gym would be dull, boring, and sometimes complicated to design.
When you’re just starting to learn how to play tennis the most important thing is to get out on the court and hit balls. Formal coaching is nice, but you can develop important hand-eye coordination all on your own. A beginner’s biggest road block is simply the amount of experience and time they need to spend out on the court.
Tennis can be played by almost any age or level of player. Whether you are young or old, new or advanced, it’s very likely that there is a local league catering specifically to you. There are a wide range of leagues and tournament competitions that are available to all players.
Remember that more than anything else, tennis is all about having a good time. You can stay fit and get a healthy amount of competition, but if you aren’t enjoying yourself then what’s the point? In order to make a real commitment to learning how to play tennis it needs to be a positive experience.
If you think you might want to learn more about how to play tennis for beginners, go ahead and take the first step today. You’ll be able to play in no time once you’ve learned the tennis rules.
Written by Jason Greenfield on January 1st, 2012 with comments disabled.
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Make certain you are connecting using the lower part in the golf ball. In case you swing too high, you will deny your shots any loft and end up “topping” the ball. To fix this, you may location some sort of coin underneath the golf ball and practice connecting with it. Overall, be sure to swing for the bottom with the ball.
When obtaining prepared for a shot, make sure that your keeping your chin and head up. Let your arms hang naturally, sustain minimal knee bend and bend your elbows slightly inward. These strategies will allow you to come across the stance that is certainly the most beneficial for you and also the alignment to create the best shot.
A beneficial tip when it comes to golf is to read up on all of the rules and regulations before heading on the course. This will help you to prevent attainable humiliation and uncomfortable situations that may well arise otherwise. There is certainly plenty of information and facts on the net or in books to assist you.
Be sure to keep your hands low throughout all of your follow-throughs. Carrying out this can permit you to lower the ball flight. This will also support the trajectory of each and every shot you take to be lower, and allow you to have superior control over where you desire the ball to go.
Preserve your chin up in the event you tend to under-cut your golf ball. The posture you use for your golf swing has a lot of ramifications. Chief among these may be the interface you achieve between club and ball. If you are leaning into your ball very far, your club will usually under-cut your ball. Remembering to lift your chin will encourage you to lean back and get a much better stance.
A helpful tip in relation to golf is always to see if you can borrow clubs from a friend or course ahead of investing any capital in equipment. This can be essential simply because it’s a solution to find out if golf is appropriate for you without wasting any cash at all.
A valuable tip for each golfer will be to derive swing energy from the entire body, not the arms. By emphasizing this strategy, you will soon find it easier to have the ball airborne. You are going to also most likely boost your potential to turn entirely as a result of the ball as you bring your arms downward.
If you are searching for a greater drive distance, it is important to make positive you grip the club within your fingers. Should you grip the club lower down in your hands, it can easily roll the manage as you swing and otherwise interrupt a smooth motion. This could result in lowered power and an ugly slice inside your drive.
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Written by Mike Nettles on December 30th, 2011 with comments disabled.
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