難得記者有興趣 - 合氣道討論

早上買報紙看到的
雖然是冷門的報紙，雖然也許有點工商報導的嫌疑，
不過，難得有記者寫這種東西，還寫了一整個版面

大家可以讀讀趣味英文吧
也可看看這些老外對武術的初步想法

from
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2006/08/26/2003324982/print

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Leisure-time warriors grapple with sports

A new wabe of imported combat sports has taken root in Taiwan's fertile martial
arts culture
By Jules Quartly
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Aug 26, 2006,Page 16


Taiwan has long been a repository for martial arts and now there
is another invasion of fighters who are passing on their deadly
skills.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), mixed martial arts (MMA) and capoeira
are three of the latest combat sports spreading around the world
to have taken hold here.

Ancient forms of martial arts were used for self-defense or
offense, but these new techniques are attracting adherents with
different aims.

Historically, martial arts have been an important part of life in
Taiwan since the first Chinese arrived in the 1600s and were
used by militias to fight off Aborigines and protect settlements
from bandits.

After the end of the Qing Dynasty, Japanese colonialists banned
Chinese martial arts and introduced kendo and judo. Following
World War II, many Chinese martial art teachers fled China and
found refuge in Taiwan.

Today those who take up martial arts are more likely to be
interested in keeping fit, becoming more confident, adding or
losing weight and developing a sporting interest with like-minded
people. They are leisure-time warriors.

BJJ was started by a master of Japanese jujitsu who emigrated to
Brazil. It is defined as a combat sport that concentrates on
grappling, especially on the ground, where locks and chokes are
intended to force a submission.

Coaching sessions are sweaty affairs, where the maximum of effort
is expended and no quarter is given. Training often leads to
competitions.

“I would much rather see BJJ practiced as a sport rather than
being promoted as an activity for goons,” said Warren Wang,
a medical doctor and BJJ coach in Taipei.

“There’s often misconceptions about studying martial arts and
a lot of people who do it have a false sense of confidence.

“There are kids with black belts running around thinking they
can defend themselves against anyone and moms allowing their kids
to walk home late at night because they’ve done a few classes,”
said Wang, 30, who is Taiwanese but took up BJJ as a student at
Berkeley, California.

“This is isn’t true. If somebody comes at you by surprise with
a knife, a gun or a bottle there’s not much you can do. There’s
no guarantee you can defend yourself.

“I tell these people that they are involved in a sport. It’s not
about beating people up, it’s about training and bonding,
hosting or traveling to tournaments and competing as a team.”

Scott Sommers, 44, a teacher at Minchuan University, is in many
ways a typical convert to martial arts. Though he did judo and
boxing as a teen in Canada he played team sports after school, s
uch as rugby.

The BJJ student took time out from fighting a younger man at the
Third Asia-Pacific Rim invitational tournament earlier this month,
to explain why he took up the sport.

“Two years ago I looked at myself and saw a wreck. This is a safe
and reliable way of getting in shape. I got more injuries when
I played rugby. I’m 172cm and was over 100kg. I lost 20kg to 25kg,
stopped drinking, went on a diet and developed a liking for
health and fitness.”

“Scott was throwing up after 30 seconds of rolling or grappling
when he started,” Wang said. “Now he can go forever.”

Fellow BBJ grappler and English teacher Vaughn Anderson, 28, is more
serious about fighting and is not only a BJJ instructor, but also
boxes and competes in MMA competitions.

“What I like about martial arts is that it makes me feel that even
in my shoes I can achieve something big and get the cheer of the
crowd. There were 4,000 people watching and it was the first time a
crowd was shouting for me,” Anderson said of a mixed martial arts
fight he entered in Guam.

“It’s the greatest challenge to fight somebody who’s in great
shape and knock them out. ... Doing martial arts has brought out the
best in me.

“Trying to get good grades, a job, nothing else has pushed me so
hard. Fighting motivates me more than anything else to get really fit.”

MMA is said to be the fastest growing extreme sport in the US
and martial arts instructor and doorman Gordon Preston is credited
as the first to introduce it in Taiwan — “because no-one else was
doing it.”

The 41-year-old has been wrestling since the age of 12 and came
here 16 years ago to learn kung fu from Lo Man Kam, a master of wing
chun, which emphasizes short-range combat.

“MMA to me is the most extreme sport because when two guys put
their fighting ability to the test it’s the ultimate. It’s close
to battle, but the rules make it a sport. None of us would be fighting
long if there weren’t rules,” Preston said.

“In MMA, the shift from striking to grappling is grueling because
you pull and push and work both sets of muscle groups. It’s the
most physically and mentally challenging sport out there.”

At his club, Evolution Combat, he teaches boxing, kung fu, MMA,
combat grappling and BJJ. He said most of his members came for
exercise but some progressed to competition.

“Back in the ‘20s everybody learned to box but those days are gone
and now it’s seen as dangerous. Parents don’t want it for their
kids, they would rather them do soccer or something.

“The population is less violent and looks down on fighting sports
as barbaric. The truth is they are not [violent] and they are sports.
It’s natural and history’s very first sport is not going to go away.”

But it will mutate, Preston conceded.

One of the martial arts to benefit from this change in attitude is
capoeira, which originates in Africa but was developed by slaves
in Brazil.

“Capoeira is the hippy kung fu thing. It gets you in great physical
shape, there’s music, acrobatics, culture, and if I was younger I
would do it, but it’s not really fighting,” Preston said.

And this may be one of the reasons why it is becoming so popular,
especially among women, who see it as a kind of yoga/hip hop hybrid
activity.

Capoeira instructor Cristiane Henry said there were two forms of the
Brazilian martial art: one that was aggressive and the other more
like a vigorous dance.

It is the more cultured version of capoeira that she teaches and at
a recent session held at her Taipei studio around 20 students
swayed, twirled and practiced kicks, fell and bounced back onto their
feet.

It was a lively session punctuated by singing, backed by the rhythms
of a long-necked gourd instrument called the berimbau and other
percussive elements.

Henry first learned capoeira in her native Brazil as a six-year-old
over 20 years ago. Before coming to Taiwan three years ago she was
part of the Brazil Tropical Dance Company, which toured around the
world.

“This is a fun activity, with dance and gaming,” Henry said.
“The idea is to look good and show people what we can do with our
bodies. It helps your abs, butt and legs. Your body changes.”

Each capoeira student is given a Brazilian nickname and Ken Lin
is called Relampago or “lightning” because he’s so quick.

The 28-year-old caterer from Tainan previously studied wushu
and taekwondo but likes capoeira because of the music and energy.

“During the sessions you get a high that you just don’t get
from fighting and taekwondo. Its effects are very good and the
moves can be used for fighting,” Lin said.

His friend Allen Hsueh, who has studied for a year-and-a-half,
said he had been inspired by martial arts movies to do kung fu
and Thai boxing.

“For Westerners who just box they see fighting with kicks and go,
‘Wow!’ I guess with capoeira it’s the same for us. We are not
used to fights that start high and then go lower on the floor.
There’s a lot of changes, so it’s exciting for us,” Hsueh said.

“In the future more Taiwanese will like capoeira. It’s kind of
similar to hip hop with the dancing and it’s high energy with a
lot of fighting moves.”




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