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Sports -- generating interest in Asia

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clay dube
Topic replies: 1894
Topic Posts: 604
Sports -- generating interest in Asia

One topic that may help interest students in Asia is the new and impressive presence of Asian athletes in North American professional leagues such as the NBA and MLB. John Hunter Boyle's Modern Japan: The American Nexus (1997) includes several short pieces on Japanese baseball, including information on Ruth and Gehrig in Japan. Of course, the classic work is Robert Whiting's You Gotta Have Wa (Wa = harmony, 1990).

Here in Los Angeles, we know about Hideo Nomo and Kazuhisa Ishii of the Dodgers, Chan Ho Park, formerly of the Dodgers, and the Lakers' current nemesis Yao Ming, star center of the Houston Rockets.

Let's see if we can list additional players from Asia in sports and come up with ways to leverage student interest in sports into learning about Asia. For example, do our students know that there are Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese leagues? What are the most popular sports in Asia? How long have Asian nations participated in the Olympics? When have Asian cities hosted Olympic Games? Can we compare team names across cultures?

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Message from apeel

I was a competitive gymnast for ten years. I know that the Chinese were infamous for their skill and technique in this sport. The women were known for their unique yet signature uneven bar and beam work. You could always tell the difference between countries. This skill came with a pretty hefty price though. In any competition there were always profiles done on individual gymnasts from around the globe. Often times the Chinese were shown as hard working perfectionists, like any gymnast. The difference was that the girls were taken from their homes at very early ages and sent to these gymnastic training centers. Those that showed promise were trained vigorously and often times had not seen their families at all. Sometimes ABC Sports would show the gymnast reuniting with her family after many years. The families always expressed gratitute and honor that their child was doing something so important. Many of the other eastern block countries like Romania and Russia also were known for this kind of training lifestyle. They were rewarded over the years for many world titles but, the U.S. has also remained strong. This summer's Olympic games will feature Ling Jie, Zhao Sheng and Li Dehzi. They will have tough competition from the U.S. in particular. We are sending the best women's and men's teams since the '84 Olympics.

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Message from jchan

I was watching wrestling with my fiancé tonight and who should I see but . . . Kenzo Suzuki. Kenzo is huge! 6’3” and 250 pounds. He was born in Hekinan City, Aichi (Japan). He started his career in Japan by competing in the New Japan Pro Wrestling and Riki Choshu’s World Japan promotion. He currently wrestles for the WWE. Kenzo is escorted by Hiroko, his geisha, who acts as his translator. I don't always agree with the way the WWE sets up it's story lines. I remember watching Kenzo a few weeks ago. I don't recall exactly what happened but I know Kenzo was looking at one of the "hot" women wrestlers. His geisha, Hiroko, got angry and started yelling at him. Somehow, Hiroko and the "hot" woman wrestler engage in an off the mat wrestling match where they rip each others cloths off so they are left in their undergarments. This worries me if this is the only exposure some students are getting to the Japanese culture. I know a lot of my students enjoy watching wrestling. I'm not sure how we can use Kenzo Suzuki to encourage our students to learn about Asia. Maybe a research project. I know that women wrestling is big in Japan. Maybe we could do something with comparing and contrasting.

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Message from bbrown

It would be good to allow physical education teachers to participate in these workshops. I believe that they could lend ideas about how to generate interest in Asia through lessons in the various physical arts: kendo, judo, tai chi, aikido..... I think we do a disservice by ignoring their contributions. So many times, we say that they just roll out balls and let the students play on their own. Real physical education teachers use their standards incorporating writing, speaking, leading, individual and group activities, and history of sports. Can we open up the spectrum of teachers to include physical educators?

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Message from sperez

It would be great if physical education teachers did teach at least a little about the history, or at least about some of the current developments in sports in Asia. However, from what I've seen, there is little interest among them in doing so. Walking across the fields during my conference, I seldom see instruction in even the currently prescribed activities. Its a shame, since Asian athletes are now becoming well known in Western sports such as basketball and baseball, and because of that there is more interest and appreciation for their countries of origin.

In addition, often the main topic of interest when students are asked about Asia, is the area of martial arts. While their knowledge of this is often limited to the rather spectacular displays of this in movies, I think they would also be interested in hearing the stories of how these techniques were developed, and what the different moves represent. I've also found that I have more students than before who are taking different types of martial arts classes, and many of these are not Asian. I'm hoping to have enough time to get into this, and perhaps have some demonstrations, in my history classes. But, it would be great if this was acknowledged and included, at least as part of sports history, in the PE curriculum as well.[Edit by="sperez on Mar 25, 2:23:20 PM"][/Edit]

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Message from kmilton

I think students would be interested in learning more about sumo wrestling. It is one of the oldest martial arts in Japan. We could teach the history (originating from Shintoism) and also teach throgh the many woodblocks as well as the rules of the game and the rising popularity it has.

Though a japanese sport, I believe students would be quite interested to know that the American, (Hawaiian born) Akebono Tara ws the first non-Japnese ever to reach the highest rank of yokozuna in 1993. He held the rank for 8 years !

It would be interesting to have the students research this athlete. He was born in 1968 with the name of Chad Rowan...

Currently the title of yokozuna is held by a Mongolian, Asayorshu.

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Message from ddandridge

The next couple of years will probably be a good time to look at sports in China, as the Olympics are coming. particularly during the Olympics I think the Chinese will do their best to show off their native as well as preffered sports to the world.
Three years ago China was already heavily promoting the Olympics domestically, we shal have to see what the future brings.

David Dandridge

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Message from kdietrick

Might be nice to investigate this further... do the summer trips to China go to South China Sea? It would be a blast to surf local spots (Qingdao, Hong Kong, Hainan, Shaoguang, Jeshi, Shangchuan Dao or Xi Chong). The breaks look mild and reasonable for beginners if others want to join/learn.

Also, many surf spots around Hualien....East coast of taiwan. there is surf shop in Jici beach,it's about 40 min away from Hualien city.

More info here:

http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Asia/China/South_China_Sea/

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/en/beijing/features/2004_01/Travel_Surf

http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/forumpost1.shtml?pid=344832

And for Zodiac/River surfers:
In 1998, an English expedition went on the Quientang River in China to attempt to ride a six-foot foam wave that they only managed to surf for 11 seconds before the "Silver Dragon" swallowed one of the Zodiacs.


Surfing sounds dangerous in Seoul:
http://store.surfline.com/travel/tripwire/seoul.cfm

Maybe we can hook up a Surfrider Oragnization exchage.

Classroom connection= SCIENCE, Phys. Ed, ulture)

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Message from jluesse

It appears that not only the sport, but the attitudes and sportsmanship of American basketball are being exported. In an article from the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/sports/sports-china-basketball-shame.html?
an incident is describes that strikes a star-spangled chord. A brawl broke out between Chinese and Puerto Rican players and fans resulting in great shame for both the hosts of the 2008 Olympic hosts and international basketball.
One of the great things about international basketball was the notion that it was above the petty materialism and thuggish nature of the American NBA. This notion was proven false, however, as players and fans engaged in the international exchange of punches and projectiles, exhibiting puerile behavior similar to the ego and bravado driven NBA. The article even mentioned that the Chinese arena is being referred to as the Palace of Auburn Hills Arena as a reference to the horrific brawl between players of the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers last NBA season. The event was not one in isolation, as earlier instances of violence further blur the prevailing beliefs of Chinese sportsmanship and behavior.
Yao Ming did not participate in the fighting. Hopefully, international athletes can avoid the shameful behavior that American athletes embrace.

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Message from cwangila

It's without adoubt that all international eyes are on China: Olympics. This has added stature to China and Asia as a whole. I bet China is working it's human rights records and clean up exercise. We are watching you and we are coming, China get ready!

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Message from jyamazaki

Greetings,

The Japanese are nuts about baseball. In the summer of 2000, while visiting Osaka, I was fortunate enough to attend a pro baseball game at Hanshin Stadium, Home of the Tigers. The stadium was packed and there were section leaders with taiko type drums who would lead the crow in cheers. The food was great. Ramen, curry, and my favorite hayashi rice, it was definitely a multi-cultural experience. The game it self was very similar to Baseball in the US, although the fields seemed a bit smaller. The most exciting part of the game was during the 7th inning stretch. Instead of singing "Take me out to the ball game," the Japanese blow up long party type balloons with a whistle on the bottom, which they release simultaneously. It is a sight to see when thousands of these balloons are released into the sky! It was a great experience and if you like baseball, you need to go the A game in Japan.


John Yamazaki

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Message from gjones

When I lived and taught school in South Korea, I used to see the most incredible thing in the morning. I taught in An-Yang, a suburb about 30 minutes from Seoul. My daily walk to school would lead me past the An-Yang Sports Pavillion, and there was a good size contigent of ROK Tigers (an elite military unit) who would play volleyball...but they used their feet!! The first time I saw this I was absolutely flabbergasted. They would serve the ball in with their hands, but from that point on it was all feet. The control they exerted over that standard volleyball was incredible. I would often stop and watch. They must have noticed me, for they waved me down to the field and asked me if I wanted to play. Yeah, right! I would have made a complete idiot of myself. Most of these guys spent years learning Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, Keuk To Gi, and other Korean martial arts, which are notorious for being very kick heavy. These guys could grab some serious air as well..talk about hang time!
Further along the same street, I used to pass an elementary school. What did I see every single day? Soccer, soccer, and more soccer. They even played in the snow! When I watch a group of American kids of the same age play soccer, I usually see a mad mob chasing a ball like a bull chasing a red cape. In Korea, the kids were very positional and really seemed to grasp the elements of team play.
It was a lovely way to start each day.
[Edit by="gjones on Jul 21, 10:33:33 PM"][/Edit]

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Message from dlong

ICHIRO!

ICHIRO!

That is the chant you will hear if you attend or watch a Seattle Mariners game. Ichiro Suzuki changed the major leagues by becoming the first everyday position player from Japan. He is the second person to be named the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same year. Ichiro is known and loved in the Northwest as an incredible batter and fielder. When I taught in Washington I typically saw at least one kid a day wearing a Mariners t-shirt with "Ichiro" proudly dispalyed on the back. Ichiro is definetly someone I would bring up when helping my students generate interest in the topics of sports and Asia.

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Message from ddiaz

I find it interesting how Japan adopted baseball from the United States, while China seems to have adopted basketball as their favorite import sport. I wonder why this is? My hunch is that is has to do with the difference in how the two countries responded to the imperialist powers. Japan, choose not to put up a fight and accepted the terms of the US and other Western powers. With this decision came the adoption of baseball. Its obvious that Europe spread soccer to all the countries they colonized (Brazil, Mexico, all of Africa), but the Japanese had a more American influence, thus the adoption of baseball. I think that because they resisted, the Chinese were able to avoid baseball, soccer, etc. Although those sports are played in China, the Chinese seem to prefer basketball, its almost as if resistance allowed them to choose which sport to adopt. Also, Im sure the success of Yao and others only increased the love and interest in basketball.

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Message from jhenness

One great way to generate interest in Asia through sports might be through the internment camps of World War II. The camps where well know for the competitive games of baseball that were played their under less then idea circumstances. I remember from my visit to the Japanese American Museum in L.A. that they have books written in both Japanese and English that detail these games. The books are intended for children, what a great way to spark interest into the treatment of Japanese during WWII.

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Message from mburditt

O.K Clay, I finally had to add to this thread. Well, first I will start with my favorite team, Manchester United. For those that don't follow soccer, Manchester United won the English Premiership League Cup the last two years, and recently won the 2008 European Champions League, which pretty much places them as the best club soccer team in the world. Two of their players are from Asia. Park Ji-Sung, a Korean, was an important key player during the European Champions League. It was stated in the news that Manchester always won when they started the game with Park. He also played in the 2002 world cup. Dong Fangzhuo, from China, is also on their squad. European soccer clubs have also been spending more time and money these last few years building up their exposer in China, which has an ever increasing viewership.

clay dube
Topic replies: 1894
Topic Posts: 604
Message from Clay Dube

I was stunned when we visited an elite private high school in Kyoto and heard from the principal that among the school's greatest achievements was success in sports, especially in American football. Given the focus on academics, this came as a surprise though I'd been impressed during earlier visits to Japanese high schools by the fervor for sports, arts, and various hobbies. A friend recently explained that since the high school was affiliated with Ritsumeikan University it was natural that it would emphasize American football. It turns out that Ritsumeikan is a Japanese university American football powerhouse. It's chief rivals are Kyoto University and Kwansei Gakuin University.

In baseball, Waseda University and Keio University are terrific rivals. It might be interesting for students to explore this. Waseda, incidentally, renewed its baseball rivalry with the University of Chicago.

clay dube
Topic replies: 1894
Topic Posts: 604
Message from Clay Dube

Thanks, Matthew, for getting this discussion of East Asian players in world football (soccer) launched. Here's a link to a 2005 Time magazine article about Park:

http://www.time.com/time/asia/2005/heroes/park_ji_sung.html

Here's a more recent article (May 2008) from Times Online:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article3977048.ece

Park is quoted as saying:
“I proved my ability with PSV but some people still think Asian players aren’t good enough to play in Europe.... It's always challenging to prove them wrong. When I first came to United I had to prove my ability. Now everyone knows I’m not just here to sell shirts!" [meaning he wasn't signed by United just to boost shirt sales among Koreans]

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Message from mburditt

Dong Fangzhuo, who plays for Barclay's Premiership team Manchester United scored China's first ever Olympic goal in football (soccer). This no doubt was a proud moment for Dong; maybe this season for Manchester United Dong can muster this same magic on the pitch (field). Here's the article http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/wires/08/07/2080.ap.as.oly.soc.china.new.zealand/

Thanks Clay on the articles for Park.

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Message from jlalas

93% of my students are Latino. For many of my male students in particular, soccer and boxing seem to be pretty popular.

Hidetoshi Nakata is one player that might interest students. He started his soccer career at the age of 18, and represented his home country of Japan in the 1996 olympics where the Japanese team upset Brazil!! Also, he eventually became a player for Europe. He played seven seasons for Italy and won several awards while playing for Italy. There are lots of images that can be found of him because he also became a fashion and commercial model in Europe, as well as Japan.

Another athlete that comes to mind is Manny Pacquiao, also known as "the pac-man". Manny is of Filipino descent. He is currently the WBC Lightweight Champion and the WBC Super Featherweight Champion, and was the former world champion at IBF Super Bantamweight, and WBC Flyweight divisions. He is the first Filipino and Asian boxer to win three then later four world titles in different weight divisions. He took over as the Ring Magazine pound for pound number 1 ranked boxer in the world on June 9, 2008 after Floyd Mayweather, Jr. announced his retirement from boxing.

These are some amazing athletes that if given the proper introduction, would really excite students!!

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Message from jlalas

Today, the sport of mixed martial arts or "MMA" is getting more and more popular. Just 10 years, the "Ulimate Fighting Championship" was seen as barbaric and violent. Although today some still see it as such, it has become more mainstreamed as you will see it on DVD's, sports bars, and even on MTV. In fact MTV has had multiple seasons of reality shows in which men train and compete for a chance to fight in the Ultimate Fighting's main arena known as the "Octagon".

In Japan, the UFC's equivalent is PRIDE fighting. Although recently bought out by UFC, PRIDE was a huge deal because of its more international pool of fighters. One of the best fighters to come out of PRIDE was Japan's KAZUSHI SAKURABA. You can teach an entire lesson on Judo and Japanese submissions as a way of introducing students to Japanese martial arts culture. Sakuraba was one of the few fighters to beat Quentin Rampage Jackson, the man who is the UFC's current light heavy weight champion!!

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Message from jlalas

The Japanese Olympic swim team, the 4 man relay race was leading the pack after the first two swimmers, but finished third overall behind the United States and Australia.

One of the swimmers is Kitajima Kosuke, who is a four time GOLD MEDALIST in the 100 and 200 meter breast stroke!

All we hear about is Phelps, because we are in America....when I lived in japan in 2004, Kosuke was the superstar. Not everyone can win 7 gold medals like Phelps, but i mean TWO gold medals in one olympic year sounds like a pretty big thing to me. He is yet another athelete that kids could learn more about!!

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Message from mceballos

To those who feel that sports have come a long way in other parts of the world. We must look at how this has or has not been influenced by the government.
Let's look at Baseball: Takashi Saito (japan)
Basketball: Yao Ming (china)
Track & Field :Liu Xiang (china)
Golf Shi Hyun Ahn (korea)
Etc.: you name it...
These athletes have their own stories to tell. Look at the latest from Yao and Liu from China. They share some interesting details about their country.

clay dube
Topic replies: 1894
Topic Posts: 604
Message from Clay Dube

The 2008 Olympics in Beijing certainly attracted the interest of students. I think we should seize upon this to discuss what the 1964 Tokyo games and the 1988 Seoul games meant for those countries.

Here's a good article on the importance of the 1964 games for Japan. It's part of a Japan Society collection of resources. It was written by Paul Droubie of Manhattan College.

http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/japans_rebirth_at_the_1964_tokyo_summer

clay dube
Topic replies: 1894
Topic Posts: 604
Message from Clay Dube

Visiting night markets in Taipei, one is struck by the number of US major league baseball jerseys for sale.

Over the past decade a number of players from Taiwan have made it to the "big leagues." The first was CHEN Chin-feng 陳 金鋒, an outfielder who played for the Dodgers starting in 2002. Chen is an aborigine, a member of the Siraya group. Another player from Taiwan to join the Dodgers was KUO Hong-chih 郭泓志. Kuo played well enough in 2010 to make it to the all-star game. By far the most successful player from Taiwan thus far, however, is WANG Chien-min 王建民. Wang now pitches for the Washington Nationals, but he anchored the New York Yankees rotation in 2006 and 2007, winning 19 games each season.

You may soon be reading about LIN Tzu-wei 林子偉. Last month Lin signed with the Boston Red Sox for over $2 million. Lin’s 18 and just graduated from high school. The New York Yankees wanted the young shortstop two years ago and offered $350,000. Taiwan’s baseball association blocked the deal, threatening to ban Lin from ever playing or coaching in Taiwan if he signed before graduating from high school.

Much has been written about Japanese baseball (You Gotta Have Wa is a great book) and there’s even a feature film on it (Mr. Baseball, featuring Tom Selleck as the “fish out of water” American playing in Japan). Unfortunately, there’s not much written about the history of baseball in Taiwan.

There are many errors, for example, in the announcer’s opening comments at the 2009 Little League World Series (see YouTube video below). Some are mistakes about Taiwan’s history, but for us here the key one is how baseball came to the island. It was brought to Taiwan by Japanese during the long period (1895-1945) when Taiwan was a Japanese colony (the announcer mistakenly has baseball arriving in Japan after 1945 and then being transmitted to China and finally Taiwan) .

Taiwan, as many teachers know, has enjoyed great success in Little League. Teams from Taiwan has won 17 Little League Championships and a team from Gueishan Elementary School in Taoyuan County has just qualified for the August 2012 World Series in Williamsport, PA.

Taiwan’s government has a useful “100 years of baseball in Taiwan” timeline at: http://www.taiwan.gov.tw/lp.asp?ctNode=1784&CtUnit=516&BaseDSD=7&mp=14. One finds that schools, government departments, and businesses all sponsored teams. At one point during World War II, the top hitter in Japan’s major leagues was WUChang-cheng (1942).

The point of all this is to illustrate how student interest in sports could be exploited to engage them in discussions of Asia, of the intertwining of cultures, and of the business of sports.

For example, what rituals do American players observe before starting a game? You and your students may find this video of how one Taiwanese little league team gets fired up of interest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0C-pC-VMTo

***
2009 Little League World Series opening (ESPN via YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrbPa8HRSpU

With the Olympics again upon us – do your students respond to efforts to use sports to bring up other subjects?

Have students raised questions about "LINsanity" moving away from New York as Jeremy Lin signs with the Houston Rockets. (BTW - Lin is a Californian whose parents are from Taiwan.)

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP86c0073eb3844c83985cffb01068c8ee.html
edited by Clay Dube on 7/20/2012

clay dube
Topic replies: 1894
Topic Posts: 604
asia baseball leagues and seasons

Japanese professional baseball launches 3/29/2019: http://npb.jp/eng/

Taiwan - the leagues streams video from games: http://www.cpblenglish.com/

Korea: http://eng.koreabaseball.com/ 

 

Philippines (amateur and mainly collegiate): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Baseball_League_(2019%E2%80%93present)
Article about the history of baseball in the Philippines: http://www.ethnicgroupsphilippines.com/2016/04/04/reviving-philippine-baseball/

Article about the decline of baseball in the Philippines: https://sports.inquirer.net/324924/breaking-major-league-baseball-a-stranger-in-our-shores
 

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Message from eleyva

Most kids don't realize the long history of sports in nations such as Japan and China. Western sports have usually been spread by American servicemen, trade, and now international media. It's interesting to note, for example, that the world's home run king is not Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, or even Barry Bonds, but Sadaharu Oh, a player from the Japanese baseball league who was the product of a Chinese father and Japanese mother. Mr. Oh played from 1959-1980 and had an amazing career with "[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]868 home runs, 2786 hits, and 2390 walks. He led the league in home runs 15 times and was elected MVP nine times." His 868 career home runs are over 100 more than the questionable totals by Barry Bonds, the recognized (although deserving of an asterisk), MLB leader in HRs.[/font]



http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Sadaharu_Oh




E. Leyva

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Message from lstribling

Ok. THis post is old, but anyone who writes about United is ok by me. Park no longer plays for United. He was playing for QPR, in a rather disappointing season. He was for a long time an engine. He never stopped running. United's newest asian player is a Japanese striker, well actually probably best as a playmaker, Shinji Kagawa. He was probably played out of position last season, but was still pretty great. He was injured for most of the year.
One of the big issues in the soccer world is the role of asian tours as part of the soccer preseason. There are of course giant fan bases throughout all of asia, and team go and play exhibition games against local teams or all star teams. Mostly the teams play their "kids" (young players who are looking to impress). They often sit the stars that people come to see. These games are huge profit centers for the visiting european teams.

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Message from sho

I have an idea for students in my Chinese class: to research on Chinese American athletes whom they know about. For example, Yao Ming, Jeremy Lin, etc. Also, in recent years some NBA players went to China to play for the CBA, a counterpart of the NBA.

clay dube
Topic replies: 1894
Topic Posts: 604
Message from Clay Dube

The Little League championships are upon us. Teams from Taiwan used to dominate the contest. That's no longer the case. What changed?
http://thediplomat.com/asia-life/2013/08/what-happened-to-taiwans-little-league-champs/

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Message from sthroop

I have attended several different sporting events in Asia, including a soccer match in Indoonesia, and a sumo match in Japan. One sporting event that I still would love to see is baseball in Japan. The culture around baseball in Japan is phenomenal and I would love to compare it to American baseball games.

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Can we compare team names across cultures?

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Message from egonzalez

I found a great article that highlights the biggest Asian sports stars. An article in The Diplomat titled 10 Biggest Asian Sports Stars, http://thediplomat.com/2014/08/10-biggest-asian-sports-stars/ makes the case that Asian athletes now span all over the globe playing in different sports. Number one on the list is Manny Pacquiao, boxing icon. Number two on the list is Masahiro Tanaka, who plays for the New York Yankees. Number three on the list is Li Na, the most decorated Asian tennis player. The list is impressive because it spans so many sports, from basketball and cricket.

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Message from lguthrie

Over the last decade, I have used the book: In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson to introduce my students to Asian culture, history as well as to the history of immigration to the United States. This is especially important for the children of immigrants or for new English Learners, it speaks to their experiences and allows a venue for bringing familial ties into the instructional program. The importance of sports, a la, How Baseball Saved Us, has been demonstrated over and over again for the various "minority" groups within the fabric of American society.
Students are placed in cooperative groups of four and are asked to "Think like an anthropologist" in the spirit of Kaplan's gifted and talented techniques. As a class, we cull through all the questions and decided upon the twenty best questions. Then students are charged with interviewing a family member, relative or acquaintance who must be twenty or more years older than they. They then take the information and create a brochure using Pages, they must have pictures, captions and citations. We will then conduct a contest among a different class to select the best product. These publishing their information is the ultimate goal.
Finally, in their cooperative groups, they must go to three different sport websites and find noteworthy events to post to a timeline. They decide upon the theme of the timeline, e.g. Great Moments in Japanese Sports, or Asians Take the Field (examples of past projects) The best timeline is mounted around the classroom in time for Back to School Night. Once again making their work public.
LBGuthrie
King M.S.

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Message from lguthrie

I am posting this via Lguthrie's site since I have once again been kick of the site and can not post anything.

Did you know that it was a Japanese American who broke the color barrier in National Basketball the same year that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in National Baseball. It was in 1947 that Wataru "Wat" Misaka was picked up by the New York Nicks for the 1947-1948 season. He was a 5'7" point guard. Amazing, that he was picked up in 1947 only 2 years after WWII and the incarceration of Japanese and Japanese Americans. You can find a DVD on "Wat" at the Japanese American National Museum gift store.
Jchomori

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Message from rgochez

It seems like Macau is quickly becoming the Las Vegas of China and not just for the casinos but for championship boxing matches! This is in large part to olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming and to Manny Pacquiao who has had a couple of fights there now. Boxing would love to open up the market in China, but then again that's every industry.

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/11931224/pacquiao-algieri-proof-china-growing-boxing-market

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Message from zrichardson

I agree with the concept of integrating martial arts as a viable alternative to aimlessly running around the PE track, and allow the student the opportunity to sample a variety of martial arts to see the one they will chose. Beyond the physical fitness and self discipline benefits. The social skills involved with sportsmanship and self defense rules are a valuable social capital for our students. They engage in age appropriate social interactions with their peers free of misguided animosity. Martial arts in any form allow for release of negative energy and infuses the brain with naturally produce endorphins.

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Message from kventuroso

I teach fifth grade, I think it would be awesome to include, but I am not sure I could teach it. Are there volunteer teachers or organizations that work in schools?

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Message from kventuroso

My students are big fans of basketball and I think this is an awesome idea especially because the stories we presently read about Asian Americans, do not pique the interest of boys. We encourage students to connect with the readings and using biographies to compare the stories of Asian athletes on local teams. [font=merriweatherregular, Baskerville, Garamond, Cambria, Georgia, serif]But the point guard has many believers and will likely pick up more Asian-American fans when he comes to the Lakers, predicted Joz Wang, editor-in-chief of[/font][font=merriweatherregular, Baskerville, Garamond, Cambria, Georgia, serif] [/font]8Asians.com[font=merriweatherregular, Baskerville, Garamond, Cambria, Georgia, serif]. L.A. County, alone, has nearly 1.5 million residents of Asian descent. [/font]“There’s a huge fan base here,” said Wang, who is Taiwanese-American. “Literally people like me — not huge fans of the NBA, or even huge fans of basketball but fans of Jeremy Lin.”
Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak in a statement Sunday called Lin "a solid player who will make us a better team" who would receive a lot of support.
“In addition to what he’ll bring us on the court, we think Jeremy will be warmly embraced by our fans and our community," Kupchak said. http://www.scpr.org/blogs/multiamerican/2014/07/13/17000/linsanity-los-angeles-asian-americans-lakers/

Anonymous (not verified)
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Message from zrichardson

23. I attended this event at USC and I expected an author writing about a foreign country-China without having had the local experience of co-existing with the people, Washburn had written the book about. Instead I was surprised to discover the depth of his research and profound knowledge, the command and respect for the Chinese peoples’ customs. I appreciated the easy to read writing style, fill with honesty, awe of the regions he was able to visit while in China, his candor when I ask him, “what, qualify you to write this book? Or are you another armchair anthropologist with an imperialist perspective?” Washburn related that he had extensive knowledge about the geographic areas he wrote about in his book. He mentioned that, during his travels he befriended everyday people that were friendly and were willing to openly share the routines of their daily lives. The author mention he was constantly moving in the golf circuit and had plenty of opportunities to travel and experience a wide range of regional customs, such as eating and drinking with the locals. I felt satisfy that the author had done his research and I recommend his book about-The Forbidden Game: Golf and the Chinese Dream- it is entertaining worth reading.

Anonymous (not verified)
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Message from rgochez

I thought this would be a good way for history teachers to get their students even more interested in Japanese internments camps by teaching them about the role that baseball played during that awful time period for Nisei. This is one indicator of just how American these young men really were. The irony, they spent their time playing the American pass time while being interned inside of the United States.

http://www.sportscollectorsdigest.com/featured/the-importance-of-nisei-baseball-in-japanese-internment-camps

Anonymous (not verified)
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Message from malvarenga

I am not really familiar with sports outside of country. To be honest, I'm not really familiar with athletes' names. I can sit an enjoy a good baseball, football (American), or basketball game, but I am not able to name most of the players.

This website provides the 15 highest paid Chinese athletes of 2013. I was not able to find a 2014 list, but this list is insightful to the amount of money athletes make. As you can see, the range between the highest paid athletes ranged from $1.77 million to $20.04 million in 2013.

#15 Ding Junhui- Snooker, US $1.77 million
#14 Liang Wenchong, golf, US $2.09 million
#13 Zhang Linpeng, Football (Soccer), US $2.22 million
#12 Sun Xiang, Football (Soccer), US $2.25 million
#11 Feng Shanshan, gold, US $2.38 million
#2 Lin Dan, Badminton, US $4.83 million
#1 Li Na, Tennis, US $ 20.04 million

http://www.china.org.cn/top10/2014-04/02/content_31967142.htm
edited by malvarenga on 5/16/2015

clay dube
Topic replies: 1894
Topic Posts: 604
baseball in Taiwan

NY Times article on baseball in Taiwan: hot and noisy. Our 2018 study your included a fun visit to a game between the Brothers and the Lions.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/world/asia/taiwan-baseball.html?emc=edit_th_180806&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=533918760806

clay dube
Topic replies: 1894
Topic Posts: 604
batter up!

Baseball's opening day is upon us. In 2015, National Geographic assenbled some terrific pictures from the game around the world:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150328-baseball-sports-history-opening-day/

Some of the images are tied to Asia:
#3 Bystanders watch a game in the Philippines.

#6 Game played on the frozen Bering Sea.
#8 A man sells hot dogs at a 1960 baseball game in Japan.
#13 Japanese championship celebration.

Ichiro Suzuki is playing his last major league games in Japan - Watch from MLB:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fngV4oDggRk
 

 

Molly Cowan-Johnson
Topic replies: 22
Topic Posts: 5
Skateboarding

Skateboarding is one that might not seem as popular but it is one that the Japanese have come to dominate recently, especially since it was included in the Tokyo Olympics. I noticed a marked interest in skateboarding after the Olympics with my ‘obviously not skateboarder’ students so it could be an interesting topic for all students too. Japanese skaters won more medals than any other country in both street and park skateboarding during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Yuto Horigome won gold in men’s street skating but it is the Japanese women who swept! That sweep included: Momiji Nishiya (gold in street skating), Funa Nakayama (bronze in street skating), Sakura Yosozumi (gold in park skating), and Cocona Hiraki (silver in park skating). Funa is my favoriting having seen her at the Super Crown competition in Jacksonville but Momiji is also bad ass too.

This discussion of the female skaters is also super interesting since skateboarding isn’t really looked at very favorably in Japan. Also the discussion of breaking gender norms with these women competing in skateboarding which is kind of a double whammy. Another reason why Funa is one of my favorites is because her mom is always with her and that momma is all about it!