TENNIS: A Fun Sport

Tennis is quite a fun sport. It can be played by both male and female. It is truly a game for life once you know how to play it, you can continue to enjoy the game by yourself and with others for many years. A little of practice is all that it takes to make a difference of your playing level. Tennis is a mental game almost as much as it is a physical game. Staying positive and focused on the game or during a match can have a huge influence on the way you play the game. Alertness and concentration are also very important in this kind of game. Without these two, you will have a hard time learning tennis.

Tennis courts can either be indoor or outdoor. Usually, the courts are made up of a hard material like cement or concrete, grass or clay. Each tennis court is divided in half by a net and divided further by several painted white lines. The horizontal line bisecting each of the court is called the service line. The two rectangles between the service line and the net are the service boxes. The outer boundary lines, on the other hand, are the baselines.

Knowing the rules in playing tennis is necessary before one can proceed with playing the game. The rules, though, are simple. Like badminton, a coin toss is done. The player who wins the toss has the option to serve or not to serve the first game and can choose a particular side of the court. To begin, a player serves from the right side of the court. The server stands behind the baseline and between the center line and the side line. Serve the ball by throwing it up underhanded and hitting it. The ball should be hit and should land on the service box that is diagonally opposite to where he/she is standing. If the serve is in, the players continue to hit the ball back and forth until one player wins the point. The players may move inside or outside the boundaries of the court as needed just to hit the ball. The ball should only bounce once on one players side. If it bounces more than once, the player loses the point. If a player fails to return the ball over the net or if a player hits the ball over the net but it lands out of bound, that player loses the point. Other faults that could make a player lose a point are: touching the opponents’ ground, the net, posts or any other person or official in the game; if the ball hits or touches carrying the ball or catching it in the racquet; throwing the racquet or any kinds of racquet abuse.

The scoring of tennis is quite different from other games. Instead of using numeric scoring such as 1, 2,3,4,5 right away, the scoring of tennis progresses from love (0) to 15, then 30, then 40, and then the game is won. In case of tie, that is 40-40, it is known as deuce. To win a game that stands at deuce, a player must win two points in a row. The first player to win 6 games wins the set, but must win by at least two sets.

If you are a beginner in playing tennis, it is advisable for you to practice as often as you can. It is also helpful if you will play with an opponent who is already familiar with the rules of tennis and is already skilled with this kind of game. In this way, you will easily improve as a tennis player and can appreciate tennis even better.

Jasmine Flower Other Than Its Sweet-Smelling Scent

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Lamiales

Family: Oleaceae

Genus: Jasminum

Origin: Himalayas in western China

Color: Mostly white, some yellow

Common name: Jasmine, true jasmine, star jasmine, night blooming jasmine, Jessamine

Flower Time: Summer or spring, usually six months after planting

Description: Jasmine is a bushy, climbing, sprawling or scattering shrub that is non-poisonous. Leaves are oval and shiny, dark-green in color with small waxy-white or yellow flowers, which usually grow in clusters followed by small berries. Buds are more fragrant than the flowers.

Unique facts:

* Jasmine shrubs grow 12-24 inches annually and reach a height of up to 10-15 feet.

* Jasmines often have five or six corolla lobes petals unlike most genera in the Oleceae family with only four.

* Jasmine leaves will either remain evergreen or fall off at maturity. Some keep their leaves all year round while some lose them in autumn.

* The Jasmine flower is known in India as the “Queen of the Night” because it liberates its intoxicating perfume at night after the sunshine dies and especially when the moon is shining towards its fullness.

Jasmine flowers are well-known for its sweet, aromatic scent but not many know that it is being used as an herbal cure in some places several thousand years ago. The Chinese, for example, has been using Jasmine as an herbal remedy to treat a lot of diseases and illness.

A jasmine plant never became famous until about one thousand years ago. It was brought to China from Persia sometime in the third century AD. Yellow blossoms like the primrose jasmine and the winter jasmine, come from China. In the traditional Chinese medicine, the Chinese would ferment Jasmine flowers as an herbal remedy tea. This aromatic plant is placed beside a heat-dried green tea to absorb some of the scent of the Jasmine flower. However, nowadays, we can regularly find green tea and Jasmine flowers mixed together and sold in the market. Yin Hao is considered to be the most optimum Jasmine tea. Mo Li Hua Cha is the most popular scented tea around the world. Other versions include Xiang Pian and Dragon Phoenix Pearl. Usually, Jasmine green tea is made initially with a Chinese green tea as a base.

Although they are bitter in taste because they contain several different compounds like salicylic acid, linalool, and other alkaloids, these substances cause their healing properties. Like for example, Jasmine green tea is made by adding the flower to the tea and an infusion of this tea can be used to treat fevers, infections, and urinary inflammation. This tea is also good for relieving the nerves. Simply mix it with skullcap or lemon balm and your anxiety is away. Other health beliefs include blocking the growth of bad bacteria while strengthening the good ones. It fights bacteria causing gastric ulcers like cholera and dysentery.

It can act as a gentle sedative, an analgesic, an astringent which aids in treating inflamed eyes and skin, as a gargle to protect oneself from influenza due to its anti-viral properties, soothe sore throats and even as an aphrodisiac.

Jasmine’s oil serves many purposes such as an antidepressant because it yields a feeling of optimism, confidence, and euphoria. It can also be an antiseptic, antispasmodic and a uterine tonic as well. Jasmine tea flowers can even help to treat cuts and scrapes. Headaches can be relieved through Jasmine’s flower compresses.

Most Jasmine green teas contain a notable amount of polyphenols. These are plant-based substances that have been proven to help prevent certain cancers and slow aging by eliminating free radicals. It has also antioxidant to prevent diabetes, reduce the incidence of high blood pressure and boost the immune system.

Surprisingly, Jasmine helps to treat a medical condition in women called Endometriosis. It prevents endometrial cells from growing somewhere other than the endometrium, treats menstrual cramps and detoxifies the liver to improve liver function. Because it contains sedative properties, it helps minimize nervous system tension. Herbal bathes, soaps, skin creams, and even decorative touch to special dishes can also benefit from Jasmine.

Good news to those wants to lose fat because recent studies show that Jasmine’s tea contains substances known as catechins, which stimulate the body to burn calories thereby decreasing body fat resulting in weight loss.