2012 London Olympics

[GeneChing]

Will wonders never cease?

NBC Networks to Televise Fencing at the Olympic Games
Nicole Jomantas July 26, 2012

(London) – NBC has announced that its networks will televise fencing from London during the Olympic Games beginning on Saturday.

MSNBC will air highlights from the women’s foil preliminary rounds from 9 – 9:30 a.m. Eastern followed by the gold medal finals from 4 – 4:30 p.m.

MSNBC also will air the women’s saber rounds live beginning with the quarter-finals on Aug. 1 with the schedule is as follows as two-time Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.) and two-time Senior World medalist Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.) battle the world in pursuit of gold:

Wednesday, Aug. 1
10:30 – 11 a.m.
Women’s saber quarter-finals

1:45 – 3 p.m.
Women’s saber semifinals and bronze medal bout

3:30 – 3:50 p.m.
Women’s saber gold medal final

[Raipizo]

So yeah will one hannel just air it all? I tried looking to DVD it and it seemed different channels had different stuff on which makes it hard to dvr all the events.

[GeneChing]

So they are aired on several channels. Here in America, MSNBC will be covering it for general broadcast. I usually wind up watching some Telemundo and the Chinese stations (not sure which network yet) because they air different coverage. You can see the broadcast schedule here. You can also stream it.

The price of Gold: Chinese athletes left with huge spots after 'cupping' therapy in quest for Olympic glory
By Katy Hastings
UPDATED: 09:22 EST, 4 August 2008


It might look like a giant case of chicken pox but in fact this Olympic swimmer is hoping her spots will lead her to a place on the medal podium.

Chinese swimmer Wang Qun was doing some last minute training in Beijing with marks left by cupping - a Chinese medicine technique to relieve ailments including back neck and shoulder pain.


Wang Qun's cupping marks are clear to see while she trains at the National Aquatics Centre with just a few days to the games to go.

The procedure is said to move the energy, or 'qi', in the body and is used widely in folk medicine in eastern European and Asia.

It is performed by placing cups onto the skin by way of either heat or suction.


The spots are a tell tale sign of the treatment.


The swimmer limbers up at the pool following her treatment. The technique is said to help shoulder pain which swimmers in particular can be susceptible to.

The technique works by creating a vacuum inside a cup by inserting a flame, removing it and quickly placing the cup on to the body before the vacuum is lost.

The suction anchors the cup to the body and the skin covered is drawn up into it by a few millimetres.

Cupping is an ancient therapy which is said to help back complaints and draw toxins from the skin.

The cups are left on the body while the area beneath is treated and the energy, or qi, is moved.

Mild reddening is common, however this disappears after a few days.


Gwyneth Paltrow includes cupping as one of the many alternative therapies she uses.

A number of celebrities are fans of this form of acupuncture including Geri Haliwell Paris Hilton and Gwyneth Paltrow - who have even been spotted sporting the tell-tale circular marks herself.

Miss Paltrow made no secret of her preference for the remedy when she appeared at a New York premiere several years ago covered in the large circular spots.

[GeneChing]

Just for fun, check out this article...from Borneo no less.

Wushu eyes 2020 Olympic inclusion
by Philip Wong, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 15, 2012, Sunday


SUPPORT FROM THE TOP: Wong (centre) affixes his signature to officiate the opening of the 5th Borneo Cup International Martial Arts Tournament.

SIBU: Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh foresees a bright future for wushu to be eventually included in the 2020 Olympic Games.

He said the sport was gaining worldwide attention in recent years and for it to be included in the 2020 Olympic Games was not an impossible dream.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had short listed eight sports to be included in the 2020 Olympic Games and wushu currently hold the biggest prospect to be considered.

“It will be very meaningful and a great honour to the Chinese community if wushu is eventually given the nod to be included in the 2020 Olympic Games,” he said yesterday at the opening of the 5th Borneo Cup International Martial Arts Tournament held at the Sibu Trade and Exhibition Centre.

About 200 martial art exponents from 18 teams took part in the three-day championship aimed at upgrading the standard of Wushu.

Among those included two from Chinese Macau, one from Indonesia and the rest from the Peninsula with the local exponents making up the bulk.

The competition was divided into several categories namely, sanda, which combined kickboxing and wrestling technique, wushu and taichi and chen style taiqi.

Wong, however, said the promotion of wushu depended very much on the people’s support and cooperation from all parties, especially those from the martial arts fraternity.

He was grateful to those who had helped the game persevere and returned with good results.

“Your persistence and dedication shown towards the promotion of wushu was certainly worth our appreciation and acknowledgement,” he added.

Wong said the government had always been very supportive of wushu and had even included it as one of the school extracurricular activities, effective this year.

Besides, he said wushu was also one of the core sports for the state government.

“That is why we have wushu elite centre set up in Sibu, Kuching, Miri to scout and train potential wushu exponents,” he said.

Wong added that Sarawak also had 12 wushu exponents taking part in the ongoing Pahang Sukma and they returned triumphantly with 7 gold, 7 silver and 3 bronze medals to emerge overall champion in wushu.

Wong concurred that wushu was worth promoting as it was not only martial arts but at the same time, it help to shape and chart the character of an individual into a better person.

[IronFist]

So I'm watching judo on the Olympics. Why do they stop it every 3 seconds? But then sometimes they don't stop it and they grapple for a little bit.

What determines if they're allowed to grapple or if they stop the fight? Do you get points for the throw?

[wushuaddict]

Hi guys,

First post here and not sure if this has already been touched upon in another post, but I was wondering if anyone had heard anything about Sport Sanda (Sanshou) was being included in the 2016 Rio de Jeneiro Olympic games? It kind of sounds like a rumor or a hoped for thing, but if anyone could confirm, I'd be pretty ecstatic about it!

Thanks

[Ben Gash]

There was an announcement last year, but it was quickly retracted.
Although of course...... http://swindonkungfu.blogspot.co.uk/...-olympics.html

[MightyB]

Judo is mainly an art of throwing. The goal is Ippon - or a full point score. You get that by cleanly throwing someone so that they land on the flat of their back, and you have to show control and force during the throw.

An Ippon is an immediate victory. Now sometimes the throws don't go so clean and the person doesn't fall on their back - so you get the partial scores of Yuko and Wazari. A Yuko is a partial point, and a Wazari is a half point. Two Wazari's equals Ippon, but Yuko's do not stack - so you could get a million Yukos and still not equal a point... anyway.

Ground work is encouraged - kind've, and is allowed, and is a means of victory. But it's definitely not what the sport is about. So how does it work and how is it incorporated? Basically if you throw and it's not ippon, you follow into groundwork or newaza. If the ref judges that you are not in a dominant position, and you are not working for a submission or hold down, then it's immediately broken and you are both stood back up. Sometimes the refs will call sono mama, which will halt the competitors, they are supposed to remain motionless while the refs discuss some finer point, like maybe they feel you aren't in a dominant position, or there's lack of an attack, etc. They will call for the action to start again once their discussion is over. In judo, you should be taught to execute all throws with an immediate follow up ground technique that leads to a very quick submission. BJJ like wrestling is not encouraged, and if you are both somewhat neutral on the ground, it will be stopped. So you will not see a long drawn out guard or half guard game.

[Hebrew Hammer]

Wasn't it a demonstration sport in the Beijing games? Or was that Wushu? I was just thinking it would be a great addition meself...you could get K1 and Muay Thai fighters as well...MMA is so huge right now, I wouldn't mind even seeing BJJ as another grappling sport as well.

[Ben Gash]

No, they (in direct violation of IOC rules) held a Wushu tournament at the same time as the Olympics.

[GeneChing]

Sanshou is a division of modern wushu, and we've covered its inclusion in the Olympics at length. In fact, we were the only U.S. media outlet to give this any coverage at all. There's eve references here on this thread. Sanshou has never been part of the Olympic bid, only Taolu. At the time of the bid, Sanshou wasn't open to females, and even though some sex-specific sports still remain in the Games (like rhythmic gymnastics which is women only), at the time of the bid, Sanshou didn't qualify as there weren't enough participants and no women. MMA isn't even in the running at all. There isn't an international governing body that is anywhere near encompassing enough to meet IOC standards, and frankly, despite our adoration of it, MMA is still not accepted that way yet. You don't even see it covered in the sports sections very much.

The Wushu Tournament Beijing was held in the Olympic Park in 2008 in Beijing under the auspices of the IOC. It included both Taolu and Sanshou. Wushu is still recognized as an Olympic International Federation (aka IF) but did not make a bid for this year and it's unlikely that it will do so for Rio.

Here's some of our coverage:
For the most in-depth coverage, read Beijing in their own words: American Athletes Reflect on the Wushu Tournament Beijing By Elly Duchamp from our 2009 January/February. It's a very hard-hitting article from the athletes themselves. The contrast between the reports of the Taolu and Sanshou athletes is very telling.

Here's some background. I wrote this with Andy Ching back right after Beijing was announced as the host country. It's got a lot of Olympic martial history. China Gets the Gold! The Beijing Olympics.

Here's the USAWKF spin: Wushu is Now (Almost) an Olympic Event by Anthony Roberts

It's also mentioned in my cover story: The Wushu Champion from Shaolin

On a related note, I'm so bummed about Jordan Wieber. She is my fav female gymnast now and she was totally cheated out of the All-Around qual. Those deductions were way too harsh in comparison with everyone else's scores.

[Lucas]

whats truly amazing is the amount of condoms the olympic participants go through...

[MightyB]

So the white score marker is a wazari and the gold is the ippon if you're watching the Olympic coverage or highlights. The Yukos are only for the judges and you'll see them calling them but no scores being highlighted. Like I said, Yukos don't stack - but they do help if the judges have to make a decision.

Sometimes a person will play koka-jitsu judo if they want to be competitive. A koka used to be a type of point call that was even lower than a yuko, but they've been dropped... anyway. Koka-jitsu is a master of rules. So what you'd do is you'd try to trip the guy up enough to get a koka, then run the time out by not stalling but stalling. It's a fine art. You have to look aggressive and be busy without being aggressive if you catch my drift. On the ground you can stall more easily because you won't be called for stalling on the ground. You adopt a defensive position that doesn't allow for you to be submitted or held down with any of the core hold down techniques. If you can, you hold a person down in a scarf hold, shoulder hold, north south, side control, etc and you can win if it's a clean hold and you hold them for 30 seconds. This is cumulative, so if I hold you for 20, and then the action is broken, all I have to do is get another hold down and pin you for 10 more seconds for the ippon. An easy way to break a hold down attempt is to wrap your legs around your opponent. If you can wrap your legs (as long as it's not a closed guard because closed guards are now illegal) you are considered to nullify your opponent's dominant position. Then, if nothing happens for a couple of seconds - you are both stood back up.

Again, the throws are what's important and they are what people want to see, so there isn't much room given by the refs for ground work. They will stand you up as soon as they can.

[GeneChing]

...anyone see this and care to comment? I haven't watched any judo yet.

Monday, July 30, 2012


Web of confusion: Masashi Ebinuma (in white) competes against South Korea's Cho Jun Ho in the quarterfinals of the men's 66-kg Olympic judo competition on Sunday. AP

Ebinuma judo quarterfinal ends in controversy
Kyodo

LONDON — Reigning world champion Masashi Ebinuma reached the semifinals of the men's judo 66-kg competition after winning a controversial decision Sunday at the London Games.

There were, however, more tears of despair for Japan's women on the second day after Beijing Olympic bronze medalist Misato Nakamura crashed out in the women's 52-kg class, losing her first match in the second round to Beijing silver medalist An Kum Ae of North Korea.

A roar of boos rained out from a confused crowd when the three judges raised three blue flags in favor of South Korea's Cho Jun Ho following the overtime golden score, where Ebinuma's inner-thigh throw had been disallowed after further video inspection.

In what looked like a parody of "The Three Stooges," the three judges then overturned their initial ruling after a short conference, raising three white flags for Ebinuma.

Ebinuma, who won his first world championship in Paris last year, had too much weaponry for Canada's Sasha Mehmedovic in his first match, rattling off a hip and shoulder throw for yuko and waza-ari points before ending it in dramatic fashion with an inner-thigh sweep.

The 22-year-old Tochigi native outlasted Sergey Lim of Kazakhstan in a lung-busting second match, beating his opponent with a left-handed "seoinage" shoulder throw with 58 seconds remaining in the golden score period.

Ebinuma, a winner of three consecutive titles at the national invitational weight-class championships, was set to face Georgia's Lasha Shavdatuashvili in the semifinals.

Nakamura, the world champion in 2009 and 2011, could find no key openings against An, the same opponent she lost to in the semifinals at the Beijing Games.

An scored a waza-ari on an outer leg trip almost immediately, and Nakamura appeared to have scored waza-ari after 1 minute, 38 seconds, but it was changed to yuko after judges reviewed video. The Japanese judoka came within 10-2 on two shido against the North Korean.

"This has been a big miscalculation," said Japan women's coach Ryuji Sonoda. "Had things gone as planned, we would have had two (gold medals). At least we expected to have one. Having none at this point is a hard pill to swallow."

On Saturday, Hiroaki Hiraoka won the men's 60-kg silver, but tournament favorite Tomoko Fukumi saw her dream of Olympic gold shattered as she finished outside the medals in fifth place in the women's 48-kg class.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Video reply in judo *shakes head*...