Q: It may seen counterintuitive at first, but a sharp knife is safer than a dull blade. Dull knives not only mash instead of slice into foods, they slip more easily, especially on round, slick foods like onions. But dull knives are still plenty sharp enough to cut you. Many chefs and experienced cooks chop onions in part by making horizontal slices parallel to the cutting board -- and under their hands and towards their wrists. It works quite well when done properly, but can also cause serious injury if you make a mistake. For the home cook, then, especially if you're a little wary about having a sharp knife in your hand, stick to the methods listed below. Onions are built a bit like the earth -- ever-larger spherical layers surrounding a core -- except with the North and South poles (the stem and root ends) holding everything together. The onion wants to come apart once you start cutting into it, so if you attack it in the right way this falling apart will do much of the chopping for you.
A: Use a sharp knife. Do it the easiest and safest way if you're not an expert. Let the onion do some of the work for you.

Q: Hold your hands up to block strikes as instructed, but do not rely on this alone to keep your head protected in a match. In addition to raising your hands and arms for cover, make your head a moving target so that your opponent's strikes are less likely to connect. Stand in front of a mirror. Imagine that you have a marker fixed to the top of your head. Now practice moving your head as though you were writing a specific letter of the alphabet on the ceiling, over and over again. Stick to letters that are simple in design, like T, V, C, S, and L. Be sure to practice their mirror image, as well. Don't bother with more intricately designed letters like A, B, and R, or any other letter that continues to feel awkward in practice, since these head movements have little practicality in a match. Once each movement feels natural after practicing them alone in front of a mirror, incorporate them one by one into sparring sessions to learn which works best as an evasive maneuver against certain strikes. When you pair off with a partner to practice strikes, don't cheat yourself by placing too much emphasis on your turn as striker. Use the role as strike to improve your defense. Since you don't have to worry about getting hit anywhere other than your pads, seize this opportunity to strengthen skills beyond the offense: Take the time to analyze your partner's stances and techniques. Develop your skill at identifying their weaknesses and habits in the moment, so that you will be quicker to recognize the same weaknesses in other opponents during live matches. Since you have fewer things to do with your hands, use this opportunity to concentrate your footwork. Learn how to dictate the fight with your feet alone. Focus on how you can alternate your speed, footing, and direction to disrupt your partner's tempo and back them up in directions they don't want to go. Getting hit can literally be a blow both physically and mentally. Face the reality that this will happen. Don't define "the perfect fighter" as someone who never gets hit. Instead, aim to be the perfect fighter who bounces back from blows instantly. Embrace every strike that sneaks by your defenses in training as an opportunity to grow that much more acquainted with the sensation of being struck. When it is your turn to hold pads when practicing strikes with a partner, focus on your blocks and shields to further normalize the feel of receiving blows so that they are less of a distraction in live matches. Use medicine balls to acquaint your core with being struck. Ask a partner to stand beside you while you lay on the floor and do crunches, sit-ups, ab pikes, or similar exercises in which your back is on the ground in between each rep. Before you begin, agree to the amount of force your partner will use. Then, in between each rep, when your back is flat on the ground, let them drop or even hurl the medicine ball straight at your abs. The closer your opponent is to you, the more likely either one of you can deliver a strike in the blink of an eye. So don't blink! Avoid missing an incoming strike or an opening on their part that you can take advantage of. Keep your eyes peeled as long as possible when you are in close, and blink rapidly to make up for it when you are spread well apart from each other. Keeping your eyes open for as long as you can is a technique that you can easily practice both in and out of the ring.
A: Keep your head mobile. Volunteer to hold pads. Grow accustomed to being struck. Keep your eyes open.

Q: If you can't, ask a teacher or a parent. If there isn't one available, do it on your own. Play with your friends. Read together. Have contests with your friends.
A: Count how many games you play and how long you are playing them. Fix the problem by finding friends or spending more time with the ones you have. Step two could be hard for certain people. Find games to do outside. Go get a book at the library. Do puzzles that could help your mind. Come up with new fun games together and stay healthy.

Q: Soon after you remove the flowers from the tobacco plant, the bottom leaves will start to yellow and deteriorate. Use a pair of pruning shears or scissors to remove the lowest leaves on the plant. You don't want to remove all the leaves from tobacco right away since they will continue to grow and develop. Starting from the bottom, remove leaves as they turn yellow every 2 weeks. Alternatively, you can cut the entire stalk down 3-4 weeks after you remove the flowers, but the lower leaves may be partially deteriorated at this time. Tie a string to the stems of the tobacco leaves and hang them to dry. Leave space in between the leaves so they can dry out. The leaves should stay soft and move around easily without being crinkled or flaky. As they lose moisture, the leaves will start to turn yellow and brown. Aging and curing tobacco helps the leaves get rid of their herby flavor and makes them taste more desirable. Hang the tobacco where the humidity is consistently around 65 percent. The process can take up to 8 weeks, and the longer you wait, the better it may taste. During this time, the leaves will brown and start to feel leathery to the touch. A room where you can control air flow is the best place to hang and cure the tobacco. You can age the tobacco for up to 3 years for the flavor to fully develop. When the leaves aren't sticky to the touch, you can start removing the main stems from the leaves. The leaves should easily pull away from the stem. Once the tobacco is dried and cured to your liking, put the leaves in a blender to shred it finely. This will make it easier for you to roll it into a cigarette or smoke in a pipe. If tobacco loses its moisture, it will lose some of its flavor. Storing tobacco in an airtight jar will help preserve the flavor for the longest amount of time. Add a few drops of vanilla extract or another flavoring to enhance the flavor of your tobacco.
A:
Remove the bottom leaves when they turn slightly yellow. Cut the leaves off the stem in 4-5 harvests at 2-week intervals. Hang the leaves by their stems on a line to dry for 3 weeks. Store the tobacco in a room between 60 to 95F (16 to 35C) to cure it. Remove the stems from the leaves by hand. Shred the leaves with a blender. Store shredded tobacco in airtight jars to keep it moist.