Summarize the following:
Spread your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Lower your center of gravity between your legs with the knees bent and the body stable and unmoving. Your weight should be positioned mainly on the balls of your feet. In age uke, the body can be facing the opponent head-on or may be angled slightly to present less of a target. Create a solid base, but stay light on your feet so that you can move at a moment’s notice. To begin the blocking movement, your arms should be in a “chambered” position (fists clenched with fingers facing upward at either hip) or raised defensively in front of the body. This is to have them as close as possible to the anticipated strike in order to effectively protect the head and face. Your fists can be held open or closed, but do not clench them until the moment of impact. Clenching your fist creates unnecessary tension in the arms and shoulders, which can exhaust you and reduce your reactive speed. With the elbow bent at roughly 45 degrees, lift your blocking arm up and outwards in a tight arc until your forearm is held laterally over your forehead. As you begin the block, your forearm will catch your opponent’s strike and redirect their force safely over the top of your head or off to the side. This high blocking technique is known as age uke.  Age uke will stop high punches to the head, as well as downward smashing strikes with the fist or a bludgeoning weapon. Whenever possible, meet your opponent’s striking arm with both large bones of the forearm rather than the edge. This is known as a “double bone block,” and is much more effective at shutting down attacks as well as preventing injury. Now that your opponent’s strike has been deflected, their balance will be compromised and they will be open to a counter strike. Take advantage of the opportunity and strike back with a straight punch to the face or solar plexus. Both the block and the counterattack should be performed with quick, powerful motions, “snapping” the technique upon impact.  Power in the counter punch should come from quick, twisting motion of the hips and shoulders, shooting the arm straight out like a piston. Make contact with the largest knuckles of the pointer and middle fingers to keep from hurting your hand. Your best target for counter attacking is based on your positioning in relation to your attacker. The head and body both make good targets when left exposed. You can also trap the attacker’s punching arm to apply a grappling technique. This will allow you to subdue them without having to hit them in return.

summary: Assume the proper defensive stance. Have the arms poised and ready. Raise the blocking arm to meet the strike. Initiate a counterattack.


Summarize the following:
Do this until you know it like the back of your hand. This will make any addition much more noticeable, as if somebody made a drastic change to own your bedroom. This doesn't take a lot of time: just devote a little time each day to this exercise when your mind is clear (like, during a bus journey or a session at the gym). The room doesn't have to get bigger: just visualize smaller elements in it, and this will give you more things to associate your memory lists with.  For example, furniture can have drawers you can open and put more stuff in. There can be appliances and decorative objects all around, patterned curtains and rugs on the floor. This is another way to extend the mental space and expand the amount of information you can potentially  store in it. This will also give you different rooms that you associate with different items.  In this case, your landlady can be in the kitchen while the dog is playing in the bathroom. The extension can go on indefinitely and make your room as big as a palace or town.

summary: Revisit your Roman Room regularly. Add more details to your room if you want to expand it. Make as many rooms as you want to!


Summarize the following:
When your teacher says a test is coming up, avoid cramming the night before. Plan to study for about 60 minutes each day to brush up for the test. Re-read the book chapters you’ll be tested on and look over your relevant in-class notes to see what mistakes to avoid. If you have time, you could even test yourself with flash cards or form an impromptu study group with your friends. If you find that you’ve forgotten some of the math lessons or are still struggling with a tricky concept, ask for help! The teacher will appreciate your earnestness and won’t mind answering your questions. Study groups are a great way to prepare for a test and a useful method for improving your math abilities in general. They let you and your peers ask each other questions about topics that confuse you and review material that’s going to appear on an upcoming test or exam. Try studying with flash cards, or working difficult problems together.  Keep focused during group study time! If it turns into a social hour, your math skills won’t get any stronger. If people start joking around or lose focus, say something like, “Hey guys, I’m glad we’re having a good time, but let’s keep focused on the math we came here to study.” Many people are anxious or nervous during math tests. Feeling this way can diminish your performance, unfortunately, and can lower your math grade. So, take a deep breath before you go into the classroom to stay calm. If you feel yourself tensing up during the test, stand up, stretch your legs, and take a 2–3 minute break to calm down. Also make sure you get a good night’s sleep and eat a full, healthy meal before going in for a math test.
summary: Plan to study for 3–4 days in advance of an upcoming text or exam. Study in a group of peers to help each other improve at math. Stay calm and focused during tests to do well on them.