Armanda's Home Blog: April 2011

Taekwondo

A WTF taekwondo sparring match

Taekwondo (태권도) is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae (태, 跆) means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon (권, 拳) means "to strike or break with fist"; and do (도, 道) means "way," "method," or "art." Thus, taekwondo may be loosely translated as "the art of the foot and fist" or "the art of kicking and punching."

As many other arts, it combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and in some cases meditation and philosophy. In 1989, Taekwondo was claimed as the world's most popular martial art in terms of number of practitioners. Gyeorugi (겨루기), a type of sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000.

There are two branches of taekwondo development:

Taekwondo in
korean language

"Traditional taekwondo" typically refers to the martial art as it was established in the 1950s and 1960s in the South Korean military; in particular, the names and symbolism of the traditional patterns often refer to elements of Korean history.
"Sport taekwondo" has evolved in the decades since then and has a somewhat different focus, especially in terms of its emphasis on speed and competition (as in Olympic sparring). Sport taekwondo is in turn subdivided into two main styles; One derives from Kukkiwon, the source of the sparring system sihap gyeorugi which is now an event at the summer Olympic Games and which is governed by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The other comes from the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF).

Although there are doctrinal and technical differences between the two main styles and among the various organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance, employing the leg's greater reach and power (compared to the arm). Taekwondo training generally includes a system of blocks, kicks, punches, and open-handed strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws, and joint locks. Some taekwondo instructors also incorporate the use of pressure points, known as jiapsul, as well as grabbing self-defense techniques borrowed from other martial arts, such as hapkido (another Korean martial art) and judo (a Japanese martial art).

History Of SEA Games

The Southeast Asian Games (also known as the SEA Games), is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games is under regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia.

The Southeast Asian Games owes its origins to the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games or SEAP Games. On 22 May 1958, delegates from the countries in Southeast Asian peninsula attending the 3rd Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan had a meeting and agreed to establish a sport organization.

Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar), Malaya (now Malaysia), Laos, South Vietnam and Cambodia (with Singapore included thereafter) were the founding members. These countries agreed to hold the Games biannually. The SEAP Games Federation Committee was formed.

The first SEAP Games were held in Bangkok from 12-17 December 1959 comprising more than 527 athletes and officials from Thailand, Burma, Malaya (now Malaysia), Singapore, South Vietnam and Laos participating in 12 sports.

The last game held was the incident free 2009 Southeast Asian Games (running from 9-18 December) which was the first time Laos has ever held a Southeast Asian Games. It has also commemorated the 50 years of the SEA Games, held in Vientiane, Laos. The next host for the 2011 Southeast Asian Games is Indonesia. The games commenced and progressed largely smoothly, however, praises and commendations were expressed by many athletes, sports officials and the press- Laos now joins the list of countries that have successfully hosted the South East Asian Games.

26th SEA Games Jakarta-Palembang

Poster of 26th SEA Games 2011

Indonesia SEA Games 2011 will be held in 11 days from November 11, 2011 - November 22, 2011 in two host cities, Palembang and Jakarta with 542 gold medals to be competed through 44 sports.

Indonesia is set to host the 2011 SEA Games in the SEA Games Federation Council Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand 6 September 2006. This year is the fourth time for Indonesia to be host country for Southeast Asian countries sports festival after in SEA Games X 1979, SEA Games XV 1987, dan SEA Games XIX 1997.

As the main host, Palembang will concentrate the game in Jaka Baring Sports Complex which covers an area of 45 thousand square meters and also at the sports center Gelora Sriwijaya Palembang.

In Jakarta, competition venues will be centered in Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK). This stadium is the largest and oldest stadium in Indonesia which is very historic for the people of Indonesia which is located in the capital of Jakarta and has seating capacity of about 88 thousand spectators. Currently, Bung Karno Regions stood wide range of facilities for sporting activities in 36 Venues, Politics, Business, Recreation and Tourism.

Logo of 26th SEA Games 2011

SEA Games Organizing Committee or commonly abbreviated as INASOC stated there are four keys of success to be addressed during this Southeast Asia countries sport festival, that are the successful of achievement, successful of management, successful of legacy and that no less important is the successful of democratic economy.

For the SEA Games to be memorable especially for Indonesia and all participating countries, one of the impressions building efforts is done by specifying a logo that depicts Eagle with the philosophy of "Garuda Flight above Indonesia Nature?. As a symbol of the country, Garuda in the global sphere is well known and directly associated with Indonesia.

SEA Games Organizing Committee (INASOC) ensures that they will make the 26th SEA Games memorable also by choosing November 11, 2011 or 11/11/11 to hold the opening ceremony. The opening and closing ceremonies will be spectacularly managed along the banks of the Musi River and historic building, Kuto Besak Fort.