But remember, this is only a half-rate guide put together by half-rate students. There's a lot in there that won't be touched on and a lot more that won't be explained very well. Don't be afraid to go out and read. The hardest thing in the world is to admit that you might not know something, but the only way we progress is by learning. Learn as much as you can about your subject, your martial art, your religion and even species. Then learn about everything else. There's no way anyone can learn everything, but the more we do learn, the more we can pass on.

A

Apoplexy

Technical term for a 'stroke.' More precisely, apoplexy is a stroke with paralysis, generally the result of a HEAMORRHAGE or THROMBOSIS in the BRAIN.

Atrophy

The condition in which part of the body degenerates. Can be caused by DISEASE or accident. MUSCLEs atrophy simply due to lack of exercise. Atrophy is also caused by restricted BLOOD flow.

B

Blood

Nickname of John.

D

Diet

"Just training isn't enough. You've got to eat well, rest well and live well."

Ornellas Sifu

There is an old saying: 'You are what you eat' and for the longest time I doubted this. But as you get older and (possibly) wiser it becomes apparent that the old adages aren't usually wrong, that's why they're still around today.
All human beings depend on nourishment and the standard is three square meals in 24 hours at set intervals (I don't really need to tell you this do I?) This provides the body with the energy it needs to perform tasks, the protiens needed to build and repair cells and regulates the hormonal and endocrinal systems as well as a myriad of other things that will be covered later.
Athletes (Yes, you.), therefore, benefit from a different regulation of food consumption. Each sport requires a different diet to maximise potential, the same is true of body types. If you watch the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games then it becomes apparent that the different sports cater exclusively for different body types, sprinters are all extremely stocky, long distance runners are wirey, triple jumpers have very flacid muscle whilst shotputters are all about twelve feet tall and thirteen across. This isn't to say there are no cross overs and obviously no two bodies are exactly the same but it's apparent that they are alike. A great deal of this is down to the training the athletes put themselves through but THIS depends on the diet that supplements it.
As students, diet is often substituted for beer. Unfortunately, it is at this time of life when diet is most important. The late teens/early twentys is the last chance the body has to grow and create new cells before simply replacing old ones. I know from first hand experience how difficult it is to keep well fed on a student budget but hopefully the following will give you a few ideas for managing a healthy diet while still enjoying a few tinnies with your mates:

PROTIEN

Proteins are the raw materials of the body. They're needed to build and maintain cells, keep muscles and organs in shape, produce enzymes and hormones, make haemoglobin and maintain the body's immunal response.
They're made up of amino acids, simple acids that are broken down during digestion and then used where they are needed around the body. The body can create most of these acids itself but only in small quantities and there are 8 that the body cannot synthesise. These have to be obtained from outside, in food.
Eggs, dairy products, meats, fish and poultry provide "complete" protein sources, no supplements needed.
Combinations of grain, nuts, seeds and legumes can be used to supplement in a vegetarian diet but getting the same amount of protein from a diet like this takes a lot more energy.
A commonly held misconception is that protein is necessary in large quantities in the body. Actually, only 1 calorie in every 10 needs to be protein as the body provides the rest.

H

Haemorrhage

A discharge of BLOOD from the bloodvessels.

S

Steroids

The common term for steroids is 'anabolic' steroids. The actual medical term is 'anabolic-androgenic' steroids and it relates to the male sex hormones (androgens) and the human skeletal muscle system (anabolism.)
Anabolic steroids were first developed in the 1930s to treat hypergonadism in males. Hypogonadism is an adverse affect whereby males cannot produce enough testosterone for normal masculine functions. The discovery of steroidal compounds led scientists to develop performance enhancers for athletes.
Steroids promote the growth of skeletal muscle tissue. For athletes such as bodybuilders and weightlifters this was an amazing discovery and led to a dramatic rise in performance rates at the time. Steroids also promote an increase in male sexual characteristics.
Steroids are not just used by athletes. 'Occasional users' are people who wish to reduce body fat with minimum effort and those with muscle dysmorphia, a psychological condition whereby the patient believes that he or she is smaller and weaker than they actually are. This has been identified mainly in people who were abused as children.
As far as the law is concerned, both oral and intramuscular (injection) steroids are illegal. America is full of steroid rings where abusers gather to feel secure in taking these drugs and many boxing gyms and other otherwise legitimate organisations encourage their rising stars to take them for quick success. The NIDA (National Institute for Drug Abuse) goes to painstaking efforts to stop this abuse.
But success was never supposed to come easily. Continuing research into steroids discovered that their abuse is detrimental to health in many factors. Because steroids increase testosterone levels in both sexes, sexual functions tend to degenerate and reverse. Males who abuse steroids over long periods of time regulate too much testosterone for their genitals to function, this leads to a degeneration of the penis and testicles; it can also lead to gynecomastia or breast growth and increased levels of male pattern baldness. Women become masculinised, with increase in size of the clitoris and breat shrinking; male pattern baldness is also a symptom. In both sexes, the risk of heart attack is increased, organ tissue is not built at the same rate as skeletal tissue and so the heart is put under increasing strain; other organ damage is also prevalent especially in the liver and risks of APOPLEXY in later life is also increased.

T

TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)

To understand TCM it is first necessary to understand the nature of the Human Condition. As Human beings are no less natural than trees, they cannot be separated from the natural processes of life. With this in mind, practitioners of TCM mapped out the body according to its 'element.' To understand the flow of the body, you must be aware of the flow of the five elements, the same elements used in the Hung Kune system:

Metal melts into liquid (Water)
Water is absorbed by Wood
Wood feeds Fire
Fire turns into ash (Earth)
Earth forms into Metal

This is known as the Shen (Generative) cycle, the natural process of things.

--> --> --> --> -->

There is also a destructive cycle known as the KO cycle which represents the reverse flow of the body:

Metal cuts Wood
Wood covers Earth
Earth dams Water
Water extinguishes Fire
Fire melts Metal

If the meridians of the body are all reversed in 24 hours (The average Human CIRCADIAN rhythm) then the body ceases to function.