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Contact: Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor
Milifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

This issue:

(Y Five fun outdoor ideas that not everyone thinks of

(¥Y Guide to summer drinks
(¥ #DougLife

And more!

Fighting Fit: Diaz Combat Sports

» Ryan ‘The Lion’ Diaz with a knockout combo

Adam Tatelman
Staff Writer

Wee I first met Ryan “The
Lion” Diaz beneath the

big black awning at Diaz Combat
: of ceremony (bowing in and

: out}, but otherwise, things feel
: fairly informal. There’s always

: a pulsing dance-club beat in

: the background as if I were

: ina public gym—I found it a

: little distracting, and the tone

: of practice is far less stark.

: Everyone there was enthusiastic
? and genial, instructor and

: student alike. Traditionalists

: may dislike this rhythmic

: approach, but it will certainly :
: appeal to those who enjoy a more :
? communal workout experience.

Sports (DCS), I could tell he was
a real fighter. Between his tree-
trunk legs and cauliflower ears
(a condition that occurs with
repeated blows to the cartilage
around the ears), there was no
mistaking his passion. | didn’t
need to know that he was King
of the Cage World Champion
(flyweight) in 2007, or that he’d
studied martial arts in Las Vegas,
Japan, Abu Dhabi, and Thailand.
Diaz’s real credentials are his
experience, and he’s not shy to
say SO.

His website, sparse and
spartan, contained no great
pretensions to mastery or
extravagant claims of lineage. As
he puts it on his page, “I fought
for the love of fighting.” Absent
from any fanfare, his rules of
study are made clear: “All egos
will be left at the door, we are
all equals at DCS is a rule that
will be strictly enforced.” It’s a

: simple philosophy, and one! can :
: certainly get behind

The atmosphere of DCS

: was quite different from any
: other martial arts school I’ve

visited. There’s a small element

DCS is open Monday to

: Saturday, and the early hours

: are the peak if you're looking

: for personalized training and a
: chance to spar on the open mat.
: “DCS Fit” classes are available

: from 1-1:30 p.m. every day,

: designed for the busy urbanite
: looking for a short, intense

: fitness test. Mixed martial

: arts classes are available in the
: mornings, while afternoon

: classes focus on Muay Thai,

: orthodox boxing, or Jiu-Jitsu

: grappling depending on the day.
: Women’s kickboxing takes place
: 6-7 p.m. every day following

: 4730-5115 p.m. children’s training !
: on Mondays, Wednesdays, and
: Fridays.

There’s a wide variety of

: training available. But if you’re
: going, you had better be ready

: to sweat. Inexperienced and

: out-of-shape practitioners will
: struggle from the intensity of the :
: workouts. Be sure to bring your:
: own water bottle as well, unless

you want to buy them on-site for

: a buck each.

I have no option but to give

: DCS a ringing endorsement.
: Diaz himself and all his students
: are fun to work with, and you'll

 

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: get a solid week of free access
: to the gym fora trial period, so

there’s no downside to taking

: the plunge. Even if youre not a

: martial artist, you have nothing

: to lose. DCS can be found at 747
: Gore Avenue. If you can pony up
: $100 a month, you'll find quality
: training under that big black

: awning.

 

Ready for the ultimate public display of affection?

» Electronic emoticon jackets

Brittney MacDonald
4 Life & Style Editor

M lifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

 

but it’s nice to see that
some aspects of it remain the
same—that being the need to
connect. People nowadays get
criticized for being socially
disconnected, but as someone
who is living and loving this
technology revolution, |
encourage people not to see it
as a disconnect, but rather an
evolution in how we establish
and maintain relationships. The

Wear, a company sponsored by
Samsung, obviously think the
same way.

Their line of outerwear
allows people to text emoticons
and messages that will change
the way your jacket looks. From
patterns to colours, your lover
or friend can let you know their
mood or just tell you how much

: they miss you, and have you

: instantly aware of their feelings.
It’s like having your ears ring,

: taken to the next level!

The jacket works via its

: connection to a specialized
echnology is ever-advancing, : @PP- A user can send a message

: to another user and have that

: message interpreted into one

: of many animated emoticons.

: Messages such as “I love you,”

: will result in a beating heart

: you can literally wear on your

: sleeve! While “I miss you,” will

: cause the jacket to animate a

: rainfall of blue tears. For now,

: the technology is limited to the
: sleeve, and so far hasn’t yet been
: adapted to display readable

people over at Rapido Connected messages.

One cool thing that has

: been done with the technology
: is its ability to colour scan: if you :
: see a particular shade that you'd
: like to share with someone,

: simply scan it with your phone

: (or if you have an emoticon

: jacket of your own, you can

: simply touch the sleeve cuff to

: the desired colour) and send the

"=

il

 
    

: colour to your loved one. The

Truth be told, there’s not

: much practical application

: to Rapido’s new brainchild. It
: doesn’t cure any diseases, or

: make life easier in any way we
: seem to think technology is

SWAP K

CONNECTED WEAR

é

: supposed to. But I’m going to
: jacket will then display it on your :
: sleeve.

go out on a limb and say that

: allowing couples, families,

: and friends to share and just

: generally play around and

: entertain each other is probably
: worth alot more than anew

: software program to encrypt

: your emails, or a one-player

   
 

Image via cdn.psfk.com

: game on your iPhone that allows
: you to manage a vault. People

: often forget that sometimes

: technology should just be fun,

: and nothing is more fun than

: turning your friend’s jacket the

: exact shade of barf green that

: you found ina restaurant’s ham
and pea soup.