Thursday, 13 October 2011

Have you ever played......?

We're going to talk about curious and diffent sports around the world . If you have played or would like to play one of these , please leave a comment . check it out!!!

Curling

Curling is a sport in which players slides stonos across a sheet of ice towards a target area .It's releted to bowls , bout and shuffleboard . Two teams , each of four players , take teams sliding heavy , polished gramite stones , also called “rock” , across the ice curling sheet towards the house , a circular target marked on the ice . Each teams has eight stomes . The purse is to accumulate the highest score for a game ; points are scored for the stomes resting closes to the centre of the houseat the conclusion of each and , which is complete when both teams have thrown all of their stones . A game may consist of ten or eight ends.

 
Tchoukball

Tchoukball is an indoor team sport devoloped in the 1970s by swiss biologist Hermann Brandt who believed that “The adjective of all physical activities is not to make champions but make a contribution to building a harmonious socitey” . His aim was to develop a team sport whic didn't inveloped the horrific infuries which he viewed as playing other sports.






The Pumpkin Regatta
The Pumpkin Regatta is a sport which different teans racers paddle giant hallowed out pumpkins on a lake. The race was found in 1999 by Danny Dill, son of Horward Dill beeder of the Atlantic Giant Pumpkin.
Leo Swinamer of New Ross, Nova Scotia has dominated the competition, winning six out of the ten races held, winning his most recent race at the age of 73.
There are three classes: Motor, experimental and padding. Not all classes attract competitors each year. The paddling class is the best known and most popular in terms of entries.
The race gained a degree of notability in 2005 when Martha Stewart announced her intention to participate. Various other celebrity paricipants have raced, notably local member of parliament Scoot Brison, who has appeared in several of the races. 
 

SEPAKTAKRAW
Existed for 500 years in the southeast Asia. Played in a circle where a player passes the foal to another without dropping it.
The goal is to pass the ball over the met using any part any part of the body except hands and arms.As in volleyball if the ball hits the court is closed to dispeite that point .
Each team has three players, a maximum of three touches before passing the ball to the apponent's court, being that one player alone can run these three rings. It's allowed to block, frow whose hands and arms don't touch the ball and the player doesn't touch the network.


EXTREME IRONING
Extreme Ironing is an extreme sport and a performance art in which people take an ironing board to a remote location and iron items of clothing. According to the official website, extreme ironing is “the lastest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfction of a well-passed shirt”.








Paddle ball is a different sport which is similar to tennis but it's not. For practice this sport is necessary the same ball of tennis and a court with differents characteristics. It has 20 m length per 10 m height with wall around all court . This sport can be played by two, three or four players on a court with three or four walls. And a point are scored when the oponnent(s) can't return the ball. It's like tennis, it has ace, but only three with 21 points, wins who make two aces first.


. Two players of differents teams stay on the court playing and one player musn't stop the oponnents from seeing the ball or make physical contact. In this game to have a point the ball must to hit on the wall and come back behind the short line. It won't be a point if the ball hits the floor before the short line (a short server) or when the ball hits over the end line before hitting the floor (a long server). And if it hits on wall more than two times. Look the picture to understand.



People who practice this sport talk it is more dynamic thn others similars sports, like tennis. Paddle Ball isn't known but it seems to be a interesting sport! What about try it?


 
The American Football is a famous sport in the USA, but isn't practiced so often in the Brazil. This sport is the most important and popular for north americans. Often, the people in Brazil and other countries confused this sport with Rugby because the American Football is as violent as RugbHowever, the players of American Football use safe equipments ,it got a lot of rules for reduct the hurts and are played with a oval ball. This sport reward the agility, tatic and power of players ,this tatics may be for attack and deffense of team. The deffense have the strongest players of team and the attack is compost of a Quaterback( who start the attack) and the receivers.
The objective of American Football is add points in the score and the player can make a goal(3 score points) or if the player arrived in the opponent's endzone that's call Toutchdown(6 score points).
The principal and biggest league of American Football is called NFL(National Football League) and is compost of 32 teams that are founded in 1920. This league have an important final game that decided the winner team.
I reckon this sport is so good to watch but to play isn't good for people don't like suffer hurts eventually and aren't aggressives. This sport have a little audience in Brazil because is only transmited by the channel ESPN and that channel is payed to people watch. Exists projects to formation of American Football in Brazil and have little teams.
And now is your turn, what's your opinion about the American Football?If you have an opinion post here.y and the ball is equal in these sports.

 

B5 - Tue/Thu  08:00 - 9:15 Thiago Barbosa

Monday, 10 October 2011

MMA Mixed Martial Arts


 The Origin
The first events were tournaments with eight or sixteen men produced by the entertainment organization Semaphore Group (SEG) in  association with WOW Promotions (owned by Art Davie and Rorion Gracie), where the contenders had to win  three fights to become the UFC champion. The first event was in 1993.

With the will to find the greatest fighter in the world, it wouldn’t matter the kind of martial art the fighter practiced. It was called a human “dog fight” because it almost didn’t have rules (the only two things not permited were to bite or to finger the opponent’s eyes).


                         Controversy and rebirth

The UFC became a success of pay-per-view. The brutality of the sport soon called the attention  of authorities and the UFC events started being banished from many American states. Too much criticism and protests from the Arizona senator, John McCain, took it out from the most important pay-per-view channels. The UFC continued  on DirecTV, however its audience couldn’t even be compared with the audience before the protests.
After all that, the UFC decided to reform itself. Slowly they created some more restricted rules which started to be approved by the athletic comissions as real sport. Leaving the “no rules politics” behind, and calling itself as Mixed Marcial Arts, UFC was reborn to become more socially acceptable, retaking its position on cable TV.
More about MMA
Already established in the United States as the country's most profitable sport and having made the jump brand value of U.S. $ 2 million to $ 2 billion in less than ten years, Zuffa began to roam the world. After gaining a loyal following in England and Canada, White led the event for Germany, Australia and UAE.

In addition to reaching unprecedented countries, returned to places where the event had been in the phase of the MMA. After debuting in the country in 1998, in Sao Paulo, the UFC returns to Brazil this year, now in Rio de Janeiro.In 2012 it will be Japan where it had taken place from 1997 to 2000.




HOW TO BECOME A UFC FIGHTER
  If you   want to know something about  UFC you should know that the training is intense and so UFC athletes are the most well-conditioned ones in the world.
Watching UFC, I learned that these guys train Jiu-Jitzu, Muay Thay, grappling and boxing. all day long..

Directions
If you intend to be a  UFC fighter you should  start learning the basic skills, such as wrestling  boxing and a martial art most commonly used in UFC fighting - Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ).

. Many cities have local fight clubs that offer a great variety of fighting styles and levels of competitive training where you should train. After that start practicing with other fighters in order to face a UFC competition.It is very important to have a UFC coach who will train and motivate you.Learn UFC rules.Send them a video  so they can see your performance during a fight.Maybe you will join the exclusive UFC club.







TOP 10 - The Best Fighters

No10: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Former Pride superstar Nogueira is a Brazilian jiu jitsu expert and master of submissions. He is the current interim UFC heavyweight champion while Randy Couture continues his ongoing contract dispute with Dana White's promotion. Big Nog holds victories over some of the world's elite heavyweight grapplers including Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, Josh Barnett, Dan Henderson, Fabricio Werdum and Tim Sylvia.



No9: Forrest Griffin
Former police officer Griffin shot to fame by winning the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. He defeated Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision in the final with the bout hailed as one of the best-ever mixed martial arts contests. Griffin's brawling style and never-say-die attitude have made him a firm fan favourite and his win over the much-fancied Mauricio Shogun Rua at UFC 76 earned him a shot at the light-heavyweight title against Quinton Jackson later this year. Is currently filming season seven of The Ultimate Fighter as Jackson's opposing coach.



No8: Wanderlei Silva
The Axe Murderer carved a hugely successful career in Japan's Pride promotion before joining the UFC last year. A student of the famed Brazilian Chute Box academy, Silva earned his nickname for his extremely aggressive fighting style. The majority of his fights have ended via knockout or referee stoppage due to strikes and he uses knees to devastating effect in the Muay Thai clinch. He holds notable wins over Quinton Jackson and Dan Henderson from their days in Pride. His eagerly anticipated UFC debut against Chuck Liddell at UFC 79 was 10 years in the making. Despite losing the three-round war on a decision, it was arguably the best fight of 2007.


No7: Matt Hughes
Welterweight legend Hughes won his first title at UFC 34 in a sensational bout against Carlos Newton. Hughes was caught in a triangle choke but lifted his opponent into the air and powerbombed him to the matt, causing him to lose consciousness just as Hughes was on the verge of blacking out from the hold. He defended the title successfully on five occasions until he lost a war with BJ Penn at UFC 46. Hughes recaptured the title from Georges St Pierre at UFC 50 and successfully defended the title four more times before dropping the belt to St Pierre at UFC 65.


No6: Rich Franklin
Former mathematics teacher Franklin is one of the most successful fighters in the UFC. Amazingly, he learned submission fighting by watching instructional videotapes. The Cincinnati native was given the nickname Ace because of his likeness to Jim Carey, star of the film Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. But the former champion met his match when he faced Anderson Silva at UFC 64. The Brazilian dominated their clash and won the middleweight title via TKO three minutes into the first round. Franklin's rematch with Silva at UFC 77 went the same way, with Silva winning via TKO early in the second round.


No5: Quinton Jackson
Rampage, 29, is the current UFC light-heavyweight champion but made his name in mixed martial arts when he competed for Japan's Pride promotion. Won the title after knocking out fan favourite Chuck Liddell at UFC 71 and successfully defended the belt against Dan Henderson by earning a unanimous decision victory at UFC 75. Jackson, along with Georges St Pierre, is tipped to be the face of the UFC for years to come due to his age and charismatic demeanour. Can currently be seen training a house of hopefuls on The Ultimate Fighter 7 reality show.


No4: Chuck Liddell
The Iceman is the most instantly recognisable figure in the whole of mixed martial arts and played a huge part in helping the sport reach the mainstream. The former light-heavyweight champion holds notable wins over Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort, Randy Couture and Wanderlei Silva. Liddell is a collegiate wrestling champion and has exceptional takedown defence and knockout-punching power. The Iceman is looking to get back into title contention after dropping the belt to Quinton Rampage Jackson at UFC 71. He has not ruled out a career in Hollywood once his MMA reign ends, having already appeared in US TV hit Entourage and the video for Nickelback's Rockstar.


No3: BJ Penn
Arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Penn has incredible flexibility and devastating striking ability. Began training in Brazilian jiu jitsu at the age of 17 and became the first non-Brazilian to win gold at the Mundial World Championships in Rio. Famous wins over welterweight legend Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver and Joe Stevenson have won him an army of loyal fans. Penn is only the second man in UFC history — along with Randy Couture — to hold titles in two different weight classes.


No2: Georges St Pierre
Cemented his position as the UFC's most dominant welterweight after destroying the legendary Matt Hughes at UFC 79. French-Canadian GSP is a huge fan favourite and his poster boy looks make him a marketing dream for the UFC. Won the welterweight title after beating Matt Serra at UFC 83 last month. The 26-year-old looks set to dominate the sport for years to come and a step up to middleweight is a distinct possibility.


No1: Anderson Silva
Brazilian Muay Thai expert Silva hit the MMA big time with a crushing victory over American favourite Rich Franklin to win the middleweight title at UFC 64 in October 2006. Since then, The Spider has been unstoppable, scoring dominant wins over Travis Lutter, Nate Marquardt, Franklin (again) and Dan Henderson. A UFC commentator famously described Silva's fighting style as a 'ballet of violence' — and few would argue.            









C4- Mon/Wed   14:15 -15:30    Sonia Malta

                                                      

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

What does UFC stand for?






It stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship and it’s a competition involving different martial arts such as boxing,  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, karate, etc.
Undoubtedly, people who have cable TV at home are more familiar with the so called Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). However, after the UFC – Rio, we can say that the sport achieved great popularity, since it could be seen on traditional broadcast television by anyone.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship was invented by Arthur Davie, who is an advertising executive, and Rorion Gracie, who is a specialist in jiu-jitsu and who wanted to promote his school of martial arts - which was focused on fighting at close quarters.
In the beginning, Gracie used to invite specialists in any martial arts to face him or any of his learners in a real fight aimed at discovering the most effective techniques. These competitions would then originate what is now known as UFC.
Originally, competitors were pitted against one another with minimal rules (no biting or  putting the finger  in the opponent’s eyes) . Later, fighters employed multiple martial arts into their style while promoters adopted additional rules aimed at increasing safety for competitors and to promote mainstream acceptance of the sport. As a consequence, the sport has gained more and more supporters around the world, from children to old citizens.
 In Brazil, the UFC Rio contributed to the dissemination of MMA. Great Brazilian fighters entered the octagon, including Minotauro, Shogun and the worldwide phenomenon Anderson Silva. The fights were spectacular, and for those who enjoy this sport, the event was like World Cup. Fortunately, the Brazilian fighters had an overwhelming performance.









 Take a look at the trailer:




To conclude, we’d like to point out something that Vitor Belfort highlights: "People think that MMA is brutal and that we're crazy." He also says he wishes MMA was as popular as football.
Extra:
The Ultimate fighting championship has some divisions concerning  the fighters’ weight. These are the divisions:
  • Bantamweight : 55 to 61 kg
  • Featherweight : 62 to 66 kg
  • Lightweight : 67 to  70 kg
  • Welterweight : 71 to 77 kg
  • Middleweight : 78 to 84 kg
  • Light Heavyweight : 85 to 93 kg
  • Heavyweight : 94 to 120 kg

What is your opinion about this ‘new’ sport?
Do you like it?
Do you think it will ever be as popular as football?


B6 Tue / Thu 2:30 p.m. - Camila Pereira