Archives October 2021

Gymnastics is a sport that was born in Greece somewhere around 146BC which makes it one of the oldest sports in the world. What was once used as a method to train soldiers in war has since then seen many changes.
Gymnastics is a sport that includes physical exercises involving the balance beam, agility, strength, endurance, and coordination. While there are many types of gymnastics one can learn, artistic gymnastics is amongst the most popular.

Various types of gymnastics –
There are 3 main types of gymnastics which kids can learn, they’re –

1. Artistic gymnastics – One of the most popular forms of gymnastics is Artistic gymnastics. It’s divided between men and women and is performed by completing short routines on equipment that are specifically designed for the sport. The game is most popular for its grace and artistry and requires a display of strength, flexibility, and balance.
2. Aerobic gymnastics – Popularly also known as sports aerobics, aerobic gymnastics involves routines that take place in pairs, trios, groups of a max of 6 people. Aerobic gymnastics is a way of testing a performer’s strength, flexibility, and aerobic fitness.
3. Rhythmic gymnastics – Suggestive of the name, rhythmic gymnastics is a combination of gymnastic moves and dancercises to music. This type of gymnastics is only for women and combines elements of gymnastics and ballet in 5 different routines with at least 1 of these 5 apparatuses –
   • Ribbon
   • Hoop
   • Ball
   • Clubs
   • Rope
   These are the 3 various types of gymnastics. Let’s dive in further and see why Artistic gymnastics is the most favored amongst the other 2.
   Artistic Gymnastics –
   The term Artistic gymnastics was coined to distinguish between the freestyle performances done by militants. Artistic gymnastics is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the code of points and also regulates all the aspects of elite international competition.
   Both men and women gymnasts are judged based on –
4. Degree of difficulty
5. Execution
6. Overall presentation
   In competitions that are recognized by the FIG, gymnasts are expected to perform in what is known as the Olympic Order which has changed over time but has stayed consistent for the past few decades. The orders are different for both men and women –
   Female gymnasts Olympic order –
7. Vault
8. Uneven bars
9. Balance beams
10. Floor exercise
    Male gymnasts Olympic Order –
11. Floor exercise
12. Pommel horse
13. Still rings
14. Vault
15. Parallel bars
16. Horizontal bars
    Various benefits of artistic gymnastics –
    There are various benefits of learning rhythmic gymnastics is –
17. Develop their balance and sense of rhythm.
18. Correct any bad body postures.
19. Increase their motor skills: strength, flexibility, coordination, and speed, among others.
20. Improve teamwork, socialization, companionship, and respect for others.
21. Gain confidence in themselves.
22. Encourage concentration.
    In Conclusion –
    Mastering a sport like this takes years of rigorous training and dedication which is why the ideal age to start learning this sport is for kids between the ages of 3-5. At kinersports with our Joy of Gymnastics program, children can learn the basics of gymnastics from home through our online classes. For more information – https://bit.ly/3ztxCLx

Which chess piece are you?

Chess is also known as Buddhi Bal which is a game that requires attention, concentration and planning. If you look at chess as a war on a game board, your whole outlook on the game changes. You start looking at the pieces as soldiers that have waged war on each other and would do literally anything to save their king.

There are 6 different types of soldiers in chess namely –

1.       King

2.       Queen

3.       Rook

4.       Bishop

5.       Knight

6.       Pawn

These different soldiers all have different roles to play, different strategies to build and ways to kill. In this article, we’re going to talk at length about these chess pieces, their character traits and then you can decide which chess piece you resonate and associate with the most!

1.   King – The entire war game is played to kill the opponent’s king. The king surprisingly is one of the most useless pieces of the puzzle. The king can only move one space and if left unprotected can get killed very easily. Here are some important character traits of the king –

·         The controller – The king is lazy because he doesn’t have to do much. He has an entire army that’s prepared to live and die for him. All he has to do is stay safe and control the game because if he moves, his entire defence strategy moves in order to protect him.

·         Wise – If we assume that chess is war and the king is the ruler then invariably he is moving and dominating the entire game. A king chooses to move the pieces he thinks are right and gives the opponent a chance to save or kill someone based on what’s in front of him.

2.   Queen – A queen has the most amount of points on the chessboard. Worth 9 points the queen is brutal and will do anything to protect its king. These are some of the most common or wildly recognized characteristics of a queen –

·         Brutal – The queen is brutal. She knows exactly what she wants and will do everything to achieve it. The queen can’t jump over other players but can imitate all the moves of chess players except for that of the horse.

·         Confidence – A queen is confident in her moves. She knows that she’s the most powerful piece of the puzzle and doesn’t get intimidated by anyone. A queen works hard, she likes sneaking up on her opponents and she’s confident and smart enough to not get killed by other players.

·         Embraces change – A queen will welcome a change even if it means that she has to change her whole game strategy to do so. If the opponent plays an unpredicted move then the queen will move accordingly and change her course of action.

3.   Rook – A rook is the second most powerful piece on the game board. Worth 5 points, the rook comes second to the Queen. The rook moves either horizontally or vertically and doesn’t jump over any players like the knight. A rook is also known as an elephant and has some well-known character traits such as –

·         Formidable – Rook is a piece that can be intimidating to many. If your rook is in direct contact with any chess piece then it has the power to kill because it can move any number of spaces. A rook is feared, respected and a formidable opponent.

·         Attentive – An elephant is extremely varied in its surroundings. He’s an intelligent creature who is shy and a keen observer. Elephants are attentive and this trait reflects onto their game as well.

·         Social – Elephants are social creatures. They’re referred to as social creatures who are mischievous and playful. The rook too is mischievous on the game board. Play it well and you can easily give a check to your opponent.

4.       Knight – The knight is a tricky soldier. It’s the only piece on the chessboard that can jump over another and move three spaces in one go. The knight moves in the shape of an L. The knight is also known as a horse and here are some of its well-known characteristics –

·         Fearful – The knight is to be feared on the chessboard. If you ignore him, he might have the power to kill even the toughest of your players on the board!

·         Social – Knights are social players. While they have the strength to play and win on their own they prefer to work in pairs and in a tendency to provide support to the other players.

·         Aloof – Although social, knights can also be associated with as being aloof or distant. The way a knight behaves will be decided by how the player performs and places the knight on the board.

5.   Bishop – Bishops are worth 3 points on the chessboard and can only move diagonally. A bishop is confined to moving only in the white/black space assigned to him. Also recognized as the camel, here are a few of its most recognizable personality traits.

·         Intelligent – A camel is known to be sneaky when you least expect it! Just like in the game, the bishop or camel can easily kill you if left ignored. Camels have the tendency to hold on to a grudge similar to the bishop on a chessboard. A bishop can change strategies and find multiple ways of killing an opponent that’s in its way.

·         Straight forward – A camel is known for its straightforward nature. Camels will be soft on their players and brutal to their enemies. A camel can stay focused on a particular task until it gets finished.

·         Confidence – Camels exude confidence. Even though bishops are on the same point scale as a horse or knight both of them have different ways to kill and different strategies they can utilize to disarm their opponents.

6.   Pawn – Considered to be the weakest of the soldiers, a pawns strength lies in its numbers. When the game begins 8 pawns are the first line of defence. When they begin they have the option of moving either two spaces straight or making one straight move and only has 1 point. When the pawn kills, the pawn must do so diagonally. Some personality traits of a pawn are –

·         Rebellious – Pawns are rebellious. While their strength lies in their numbers a pawn can sneak up on you! They can kill anyone as long as they’re diagonal to them. A pawn is recognized as a rebel because as it reaches the end of the board towards its opponent’s side, they have the power to bring back any chess piece that was killed making it rebellious.

·         Hard-working – Pawns can only move forward one piece after their first move, they can’t go backwards and can easily get stuck. However, they’re the most hardworking. A pawn will find ways to move forward or will fight with all its strength to block its opponent.

·         Brave – A pawn knows that it’s the least important piece of the war and will be collateral damage and killed the most yet without fear, it charges ahead towards the opponent and manages to kill, block or bring back a dead soldier.

In Conclusion –

Chess is a complicated game, one that can be played in many different ways. It’s often said that who you are is displayed on the board. Based on these personality traits which piece do you think suits your personality?

Isn’t it wonderful when we go on vacations and are sitting by the beach or the pool and just enjoying life? Now wouldn’t it be better if we were well equipped to jump into the pool and have a great time with the people that we’re with?

One of the major problems which Indians face is the unavailability of swimming pools. In urban cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, or Bangalore swimming pools are accessible in five-star hotels, clubs, or very few schools and buildings which would mean that learning swimming becomes difficult for the general public.

When we look at swimming there are many benefits to it as a form of exercise. Some of these benefits are –

1.      Swimming helps build endurance, cardiovascular fitness, and builds muscle strength.

2.      Swimming helps tone muscles and builds strength.

• Swimming gives you an all-body workout as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming.

Now that we have familiarized ourselves with the benefits of swimming, let’s talk about why swimming pools aren’t accessible to people in India –

1.     Space is a huge constraint in cities and urban cities. Building a swimming pool requires a large amount of space and the availability of huge spaces is a problem.

2.     Most swimming clubs or pools are expensive and thus unavailable for the general public.

3.     Requires a huge amount of civil work.

 Kindersports believes that swimming is an essential life skill that must be learned by all. To tackle this problem, we’ve come up with a portable swimming pool with the main aim of making it accessible to all. How are we doing it? Read the entire article to find out!

What are portable swimming pools?

A portable swimming pool is a pool that’s made out of cloth which is so tough that it can even block bullets! The Kevlar sheet is strong, durable, and can hold up to 4-4.5lach liters of water! A portable semi Olympic swimming pool that is 25m in length can be assembled and disassembled within a week!

Where do I install a portable swimming pool?

With the option of a swimming pool being portable, you can now set it up in many places such as –

1.       In your backyard

2.       On rooftops of buildings or school

3.       In house swimming pools

4.       School grounds

5.       Building societies

6.       School basement

How do I maintain my portable swimming pool?

One of the major issues that are faced by institutions that build swimming pools is the cost of its maintenance. To hold any repairs or even cleaning of the pools is a huge task. In a traditional swimming pool setting, one must first drain the water; wait for the water to evaporate before starting on any repair work. Maintaining a portable swimming pool is comparatively easy it’s a pool built above ground so conducting repairs is fairly cheap and an easy task.

Reusing of the space –

India is a seasonal country. The portable swimming pool can be built during the summers and then rolled up during winter. When the pool is rolled up, this space can be utilized for a variety of different reasons. This is a great benefiting factor especially in urban cities where space is already a major problem.

Draining of water –

Once you are done using the swimming pool, draining it is an easy task. The portable swimming pool comes with an inlet and an outlet. You can either insert a pipe into the outlet and drain the water or you can use a water draining pipe to let the water out.

In Conclusion – Nikhil Laddha the director of KinderSports believes that water is the first natural environment and is the mother of all sports making it an essential life skill to learn. We believe that with our portable swimming learning swimming has become easy for anyone to learn.