A hanamachi (花街) is a Japanese word used to call a neighborhood where courtesans and geisha lived and worked. The word's literal meaning is ""flower town"". These neighborhoods used to have many "okiya" ("geisha houses") and "ochaya" ("tea houses", where geishas entertained guests). The term "hanamachi" is used in modern Japan to call the areas where modern-day geisha are still living and working. Today, "hanamachi" are rare outside of Kyoto.
Japanese traditional dance
There are two types of Japanese traditional dance: "Odori", which was created in the Edo period; and "Mai", which was created in the western part of Japan. Odori came from "Kabuki" drama, where it is danced by men. Mai derives from "Noh" drama, also danced by men. Today it is usually danced by female dancers, and is mostly done in houses, instead of on stage.
A type of the Mai style of Japanese dance is the "Kyomai" or Kyoto style dance. Kyomai was created in the 17th century Tokugawa cultural period. Noh drama, music and dance was heavily influenced by the elegance of the manners of the Japanese Imperial Court. Kabuki drama, and hence Odori, was a more democratic form, but still (viewed with modern eyes) quite traditional.
Parkour
Parkour is an activity in which the goal is to move from one place to another as quickly and efficiently as possible, using the abilities of the human body. Parkour helps to overcome barriers, and is practiced in rural and urban areas. Parkour practitioners are called "traceurs", or "traceuses" for females.
Founded by David Belle in France, practitioners only use efficient movements to develop their bodies and minds, and to be able to overcome barriers in an emergency. It may also be a form of entertainment or a hobby.
Acrobatics (such as flips and wall flips) are not part of parkour, because of inefficiency in a difficult situation (emergency). Freerunning is the branch of parkour, when such flips are used rather than efficient movement.
In 1988, David Belle was 15 years old. His father Raymond Belle was a great fireman. David was influenced by his father. He left school at the age of 16 and his father helped him to make him stronger. David and his classmates began to create new actions to train themselves. They named it parkour.
The basic motion of parkour
1. Landing
2. Roll
3. Rolling
4. Swan dive
5. Balance
6. Cat balance
7. Precision one foot take off
8. Precision 2 footed take off
9. Dismount
10. Turn vault
11. Wall run
12. Tic tac
13. Tic tac to precision
14. Crane
15. Moonstep
16. Catleap
17. 180% cat
18. Running cat
19. Tic tac to cat
20. Monkey vault
21. Kingkong vault
22. Double kingkong
23. Diving kingkong
24. Kong precision
25. Kingkong cat
26. Dash vault
27. Kingkong dash
28. Lazy vault
29. Speed vault
30. Underbar
31. Lache
32. Hand stand
33. Flag
34.Palmspin
35. Wall spin
36. Aerial。
37. Sideflip
38. Backflip
39. Frontflip
40. Star Jumping
Parkour does involve risks and many people get injured every day. Injuries can range from a simple concussion to a broken limb or even worse: death.
Shakuhachi
The is a Japanese flute which is played vertically (up-down) like a recorder, instead of horizontally (from side to side) like the Western transverse flute. Its name means "1.8 foot", its size. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but ones made of wood or plastic exist today. It was used by the monks of Zen Buddhism in the practice of "suizen" (blowing meditation).
Christian movements
Christian movements are different religious, political and philosophical ideas of Christianity that means Christians belonging to one movement have a small difference in beliefs than a person from a different movement. Liberal Christianity and Evangelicalism are examples of different Christian movements.
Li Guang
Li Guang (; ? – 119 BC) was a Chinese general of the Han Dynasty. His father, Li Xin, was a great military leader. Li Guang became a soldier when he was young. As Li Guang fought bravely in the battlefields, he was soon promoted to a general. He killed himself in the year 119 BC.
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a London borough, west of central London. Notting Hill is in North Kensington.
The borough includes several districts in the west of London; before 1965 the two boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea were separately administered.
London Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the northernmost London borough. It is controlled by the Labour party. It is an area with people from many countries and cultures in it.
List of English districts by area
This is a list of districts of England by size. The biggest are first and smallest are at the end.
Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (; 140 BC - 117 BC) was a Chinese general of the Han Dynasty under Emperor Wu. He was very good at shooting with his bow on a horse. When he was 18, he was ordered to attack the Xiongnu with 800 cavalry. Finally, his troops killed about 2,000 enemies and kidnapped the imperial officials.
In the spring of 121 BC, Emperor Wu ordered Huo Qubing to invade the Xiongnu with 10,000 cavalry. He occupied 5 cities within 6 days and finally killed 8,000 enemies. In order to fairly eliminate the main force of the Xiongnu, Huo Qubing and Wei Qing led 100,000 cavalry and fought with their enemies in the desert in the spring of 119 BC. Huo Qubing died in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), the capital of the Han Dynasty, when he was 24.
Kali Yuga
In Hinduism, Kali Yuga (Devanāgarī: , lit. "Age of Kali", "age of vice"), is one of the four stages or yugas that the world goes through. Traditionally, most Hindus believe that the Kali Yuga is 432,000 years long. Kali Yuga is also recognized and stated in Sikhism, in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Squash (plant)
Squashes are a kind of fruit. They originally came from the New World. Gourds are in the same family as squashes. Pumpkins and Zucchini (courgette) are types of squashes. Although squash is a fruit according to its botanical classification, it is generally considered a vegetable in food preparation.
The English word "squash" comes from askutasquash (which means "a green thing eaten raw"). This is a word from the Narragansett language, which was documented by Roger Williams in his 1643 publication "A Key Into the Language of America". There are similar words for squash in related languages of the Algonquian family such as Massachusett.
The squash has been an important crop in the Andes mountains since the pre-Columbian Era. The Moche culture from Northern Peru made ceramics from earth, water, and fire. This pottery was used to represent important themes. Squash are a popular shape in Moche ceramics.
Squash
Squash may refer to:
Nelumbo
Nelumbo is a genus of water plants which are also known as lotus. Lotus flowers are large – up to 20 cm (8 inches) across – and they smell sweet.
The Sacred lotus of Asia has pink flowers. The American lotus has yellow flowers.
In India the lotus is considered a symbol of purity
The lotus flowers grow over the water. Lotus leaves often float on top of the water. The roots of lotus plants are in the mud (wet dirt) under the water. Every part of every plant must have air for respiration (breathing). Air spaces in the stems and roots make the lotus able to live and respire under water.
People can eat lotus roots and seeds. Cattle (cows) like to eat the leaves and flowers.
Lotuses look rather like water lilies from the Nymphaeaceae family. It is the "National flower" of both India and Vietnam and also the "Provincial flower" of Sindh province, Pakistan.
Nymphaeaceae
In botany, Nymphaeaceae is the name of a family of plants which grow in water. The family is also called "water-lily family".
Their flowers suggest they are one of the earliest groups of angiosperms. Modern genetic analyses by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group researchers has confirmed its basal position among flowering plants.