Jesson in the News

Jesson has been practicing a form of martial arts called "Krav Maga" for over 6 months now. They did an article on his gym and though he wasn't quoted in the article, they used a picture of he and his instructor practicing. Below is the picture with the caption and then the full article. Enjoy!

Jesson Bateman, 27, and Steven Faison, 23, warm up with some krav maga techniques as instructor Steve Del Castillo looks on.

Premier Martial Arts of Tampa teaches Israeli fighting system krava maga

By Mike Camunas, Times Staff Writer In Print: Thursday, March 26, 2009

LUTZ
Defense wins games. • That's an old saying in sports. And though in the krav maga classes hosted by Premier Martial Arts of Tampa, there are no games or sport applications, it can, however, win a battle. • In some cases, the battle of life or death.

"Its only purpose is to get home alive at the end of the day," Shihan and instructor of krav maga Steve Del Castillo said. "It really is a practical self defense technique. Everybody needs self defense nowadays, and this is one that keeps you on the defensive."

Krav maga (pronounced krahv magah) is used on a day-to-day basis by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) including their Special Forces Units, Israeli police and Internal Security branches. In the United States, it's used by the NYPD, the FBI and the U.S. Armed Forces. It originated in the 1930s by Imi Lichtenfeld, its primary founder, who fled Czechoslovakia to the British Palestine Mandate, now Israel, where it was further developed by the defense forces.

The form is more of a survival system, considered to be a modern street-fighting system, designed to be used against armed and unarmed attackers. This form uses a variety of punches, kicks, chokes, bear hugs, headlocks, grabs and defenses against multiple attackers and assailants armed with any sort of weapon. During the class, participants will team up on each other, as well as use plastic handguns to simulate situations.

But krav maga isn't about going all Steven Seagal on someone. It's more like going all Jackie Chan.

"My old instructor used to say, 'Not real pretty, but real hard,' " Del Castillo said. "It's not quite as much of an art as it is martial. It's a fighting system used to defend yourself, not beat someone up."

Columbus Blue Jackets?

Buddy and I went to the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets game this past Tuesday. Apparently they are an official NHL team. We had never heard of them. We think they meant to call themselves the Yellow Jackets and just got confused. We didn't care because our seats were 7 rows from the glass! The game was very close but the Lightning managed to pull it off 2-1 in overtime! Buddy and I both had a ton of fun!

On March 20th and 21st my Mom and I went to Time Out for Women in Orlando. It is put on by Deseret Book and has become an annual tradition of ours since the event started back in 2003. There are inspirational speakers and song writers and it truly does feel like a time out from life. For those two days you rememer why we're here and where we're going and what is important in life. You also remember that, no matter how you were feeling when you first got there, we are all daughters of our Heavenly Father and are stronger than we think. There are still a few events left this year and, if you've never been, I can't recommend it enough. Here is a link to their website to see if there are any events in your area: http://deseretbook.com/time-out

This year, there was a new presenter there by the name of Mark Mabry. He is a photographer who did an entire series on the life of Christ. His pictures are amazing, but, the stories that go along with each of them are equally amazing. The presentation he gave was very humbling as was his own personal story. It reminded me that we each have internal work to do and that we each have talents to magnify. Here is a link to his website and more information about his photographs which have been assembled into a book called "Reflections of Christ": www.reflectionsofchrist.org

New Job!

I started a new job about two weeks ago, on March 16th. I work for USAA in their Member Relationship division. I love my new job! Here are a few of the perks:

On Site Gym: This is not just any gym. It is amazing, state of the art! All the treadmills/stair steppers/elipticals have their own flat screen tv's with headphone jacks and DVD players, so you can watch whatever you want while you are working out! They have work out clothes there for you that you just throw down the laundry shoot when you are done. They have a sauna and showers with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hair spray, hair gel, blowdryers, straightners, q-tips, cotton balls...you name it! They said they don't want anyone to have any excuses not to work out! Plus they have group fitness classes before work and a few during the day so you can go on your lunch breaks. Two days last week, during lunch, I took a yoga class. Too cool!

The Cafeteria: Yes, yes, I love food. But this is not regular cafeteria food. This is gourmet, fresh salad and pasta bar made exactly how you want it! The menus change all the time and there are always healthy options. Plus, the healthier you eat, the cheaper it is! For example, there are three fresh soups everyday and the healthy soup is always cheaper than the other two. Even in the vending machines, the water is cheaper than the Diet Coke which is cheaper than the regular Coke. They said they want to encourage people to make healthier eating choices. If you don't feel like eating in the cafeteria, you can eat in one of the two break rooms on each floor that overlook the lake.

Covered Parking: There is a six story garage with plenty of parking for everyone. This may not seem exciting to some people, but for those of us that have walked out to our cars in the middle of July in Florida only to have our skin melt the second we got in, you know how exciting covered parking is! Plus, during the rainy season this summer, I will not need my umbrella! Yay!

Flexible Schedule: Once my training is over I will be moving to a four day work week. I will go from driving over 300 miles per week to only driving about 160 and I get a whole extra day off!

So those are the highlights of my new job. In this economy I am very thankful to be employed, but even more thankful given my new working conditions!