thin king

Mind the platform gaps 

This is a cautionary warning that SMRT commuters would be very familiar with. This is because the gaps between the trains and the platforms at some of the stations are big enough for commuters legs to slip through. Obviously a mishap like this is very hurtful, resulting in a leg being crushed or even severed. Thus this warning is always sounded whenever the train is arriving at those stations, 

Despite this constant warning, commuters still have their legs slipping through the gaps. Carelessness is always with us and accidents should be expected as long as the gaps exist. Narrowing of the gaps at some of the stations as reported in the press did not totally eliminate such accidents. And no matter how narrow the gaps the chances of legs slipping through remain possible. Commuters do not have standard leg sizes. 

And as prevention may not be totally possible, preparedness for rescue operations must therefore be attended to with the utmost urgency. The image of a commuter with their leg in the gap down to their thigh certainly makes any onlooker cringe. What if the coach sways and tilts. If the coach can remain stationary, rescue can take its time. Otherwise some way must be made to make the coach stay still until rescue personnel arrive. One way to do this is to insert wedges in the gap immediately. These wedges would prevent the gap from narrowing but only remain wider should the coach sways or tilts. By chance the gap may because of the wedges become wider to allow the leg to be freed by itself. 

Wedges can be made for ready use at suitable locations along the platforms.

Martial arts - Kung Fu

Any method of combat against an opponent may be considered a martial art. And there are many forms of martial arts existing today. And martial arts may be practised ​for excellence, ​ for the skill or to kill; for physical health and fitness, ​for ​ self-defense, ​for​ ​ ​ competition ​ and entertainment, or to deliver the lethal contact. And martial arts may be armed or unarmed; the martial art rely on the technique of using the physical powers or incorporate the utilisation of suitable weapons. The style of a martial art is usually quite related to its country of origin. It is likely that every country has its own martial art; it is only the superiority of its art that can make it famous. 

Of the many forms of martial arts, Kung Fu has become one of the most well known style today. The classic features of Kungfu and their awesome effects are often the hallmarks of famous stories, of legends and folklore. This Chinese martial arts popularity spread worldwide following the wushu movies starring the late legendary Bruce Lee in the late 1960s and 1970s, and other actors such as Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Zi Yi and Donnie Yen. 

The display of Kung Fu art often features their ability to leap prodigious height and or distance, the stylish poise and agile stance of the fighters in action. And their harnessing of internal qi against the opponent is incredibly deadly. The flurry of multiple action in mid air and the flowing taufu-knife smoothness of the lethal strikes physically become killing machines. Such was the wondrous effects of Kung Fu wushu movies brought to the world. The lure and allure of Kung Fu are the essence that make even timid characters want to learn Kung. 

Kung Fu is an art that needs to be practised, for physical health and fitness, or to hone it to excel in competition ​, or for defense and for combat​ . When the performers take part in competition the outfits they put on are noteworthy. And watching the experts in competition, their loose silky colourful dress do add to ​the beauty and entertainment, enhancing the image ​ of the ​ Kung Fu art.

 

 

24 Step Simplified Yang Taijiquan

Taijiquan is a very unique form of exercise.
It is a continuous body movement performed according to a set number of steps.
Each subsequent step is a continuing start and it has its own momentary rest. 
The torso maintains its upright central posture while the limbs perform its pull and push or coil and thrust.
The movements are fluid, slow and smooth, calm and purposeful, gentle and yet inherently forceful.
Taijiquan is an art to be performed with discipline, with natural abdominal breathing,
even pace movement and concentration, usually in quiet, open and airy surroundings.

Practioners perform taijiquan for its benefits, for self cultivation, health, agility and longevity.
The movements of the various steps are so designed that they are applicable for fending off attackers;
and those who are skilled practioners are able to use it as a defence martial art.

The practice of taijiquan originated many centuries ago in China,
and there are several forms of taijiquan, with varying number of steps.
The oldest Yang routine, the traditional 81 step Yang Taijiquan, was created by Grand Master Yang Chen Fu. 
This routine is long and complicated and difficult to learn.  

In 1956, the late Grand Master Li Tian Ji structured The 24 Step Simplified Yang Taijiquan,
based on the traditional long Yang Style form.
The creation of this 24 step Yang Taijiquan was a groundbreaking attempt
to make Taijiquan more accessible to the wider public, and it was a massive success.
It not only became the most widely practised standardised Taijiquan routine in China,
but also the most popular form all over the world with over 100 million people practising it daily.

The 24 Step Simplified Yang Taijiquan may be practiced in isolation or in a group as large as space permits.
Each individual requires a space of about six meters long by two meters wide.
Each performer begins from a standing position about the middle along this space,
moves within it, and ends in the same standing position at the same starting spot.
The whole routine takes about five minutes to complete.

In a big group there is usually the standard soothing music to help the performers keep in unison;

Jorge Mario Bergoglio​ is Pope Francis​

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born ​on ​Dec 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  He was one of five children born to an Italian railway worker Mario Jose Bergoglio and his wife Regina Maria Sivori

His religious path is as follows:
Ordination -13 December 1969
Consecration - 27 June 1992
Titular Bishop of Auca (1992–1997)
Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires (1992–1997)
Archbishop of Buenos Aires (1998–2013)
Cardinal - 21 February 2001
Cardinal-Priest of San Roberto Bellarmino (2001–2013)
Papacy -13 March 2013

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.   Saint Francis of Assisi was wealthy, but ​he ​​left this very comfortable life to devote himself to helping the poor and choosing to live in poverty himself. Jorge Mario Bergoglio has named himself after St. Francis of Assisi because of his passion for the poor, whom he was said to have visited often in the slums of Argentina.

Pope Francis is multilingual, speaking Spanish,  ​German and Italian fluently, and understanding French, Portuguese, English, and Ukrainian.  True to the Jesuit affinity for academics, Bergoglio completed a master's degree in chemistry in the University of Buenos Aires.  He also taught literature, philosophy, psychology, and theology.  He is the co-author of "Sobre el Cielo y la Tierra" (On Heaven and Earth),  ​available on Kindle.  His favourite painting is The White Crucifixion by Marc Chagall in 1938.  The painting shows Jesus being crucified on the cross, wearing a prayer shawl as a symbol that he is Jewish.  His favourite film is Babette's Feast, a 1987 Danish drama directed by Gabriel Axel.

​Jorge Mario Bergoglio likes to travel by bus, he uses public transport rather than taxis or a chauffeured car to get around.  ​Pope Francis ​is known to set an example for others. He eschew​s the extravagant robes of his position for the humble robes of a simple priest,  and lives in a small flat with an older priest and made all his own meals, despite having access to the Archbishop's quarters and a chef.

Pope Francis is​ the Bishop of Rome​, the head of state of Vatican City, a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved within the Italian capital city of Rome.  He is the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church,  ​a population of over one billion.  His succession as pope traces the long line back to Saint Peter, ​ to whom Jesus gave the keys to the kingdom of Heaven;  naming him the "rock" upon which the church would be built, and which the gates of Hades will not overpower.

Pope Francis has openly decry the pathetic state of poverty in the world, and has condemned the global financial system.  ​He denounced the global financial system for tyrannizing the poor and turning humans into expendable consumer goods.  He believes that “Money has to serve, not to rule!"

 ​R​ecently he preached  ​"A person can win everything, but in the end become a failure.
You might say, 'But no, they built him a monument, they painted his portrait …'
Perhaps, but he failed because he didn't choose right from wrong."