Curling. I don’t know why. By all logic, it should be boring as hell, but – somehow – it’s like a slow-motion train wreck, and I can’t take my eyes off it.
PROMPT: Olympic Sport
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Category Archives: sports
BOOKS: “Swimming: Made Easy” by Terry Laughlin
Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Any Swimmer to Achieve Fluency, Ease, and Speed in Any Stroke by Terry LaughlinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Google Books Page
I learned a lot from this book’s emphasis on how to smooth out and lengthen one’s strokes. The author describes his approach as teaching “fishlike” swimming, and effortlessness is emphasized.
The book covers all four of the strokes one sees in competitive swimming (i.e. crawl [a.k.a. freestyle,] backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.) For each stroke one learns how to improve balance, stroke length, and fluidness, as well as a bit about breath and coordination.
The book is presented in two parts. The first is the more theoretical bit and the second describes drills one can use to improve one’s technique. Part one is longer, more detailed, and written in more readable prose. Part two is shorter, more picture-laden, and tends to stick to bullet points. Photos are monochrome, mostly from above water level, and of varying degrees of clarity / informational value.
My biggest peeve with the book is that it frequently breaks into advertisement for other products (i.e. DVD’s [dates the book, as I’m pretty sure no one has an operational DVD player anymore] and gear.)
I’d recommend this book for readers interested in learning to swim more efficiently. The book is geared toward competitive swimmers interested in shaving time, rather than recreational swimmers who are just interested in a move pleasant experience (e.g. if one swims for fun, one will probably not be running a sequence of drills as that kind of defeats the fun of the activity.)
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PROMPT: Athletes
I generally leave admiration for professional athletes to others, as I feel — like other entertainment celebrities — they get an unhealthy level of adoration as it is.
That said, I have been impressed by grappler Mikey Musumeci for the intensity of his training regime and for finding his own way.
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BOOKS: “Judo Unleashed!” by Neil Ohlenkamp
Judo Unleashed!: The Ultimate Training Bible for Judoka at All Levels by Neil OhlenkampMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amazon.in Page
Release Date: July 9, 2024
This is a new and revised edition of a book that has been on the market for many years. It provides an overview of the sport and martial art of judo, with particular emphasis on the competitive version of the art. It does discuss the self-defense philosophy and approach of judo in broad brushstrokes, but the techniques that are discussed (and shown) individually are the competition-legal ones. The book does take a no-nonsense approach and focuses on a straight-forward delivery of the most crucial information for a general reader.
The book’s organization is as one would expect of a martial arts guide: an introductory overview, a detailed breakdown of the techniques by type (i.e. throwing, grappling, groundwork,) and a brief closing (i.e. “where do we go from here”) section. Among the book’s useful features is that Ohlenkamp often tells the reader which judoka were particularly noted for their adeptness with a given technique as he presents said technique. This gives the reader wanting a little more insight the opportunity to do some internet research for video clips of that particular judoka doing the technique in question.
The book has a large number of color photos that are clear and present the gist of each technique in mid-action. It also has extensive appendices discussing rules and the formally accepted techniques of Kodokan Judo.
I found this book useful and would recommend it for those interested in judo, whether as a potential student or to compare and contrast it with other grappling sports / martial arts.
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PROMPT: Sports
What are your favorite sports to watch and play?
Combatives: i.e. Boxing, Wrestling (real, not acted,) Muay Thai, Judo, etc.
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PROMPT: Sports Team
If you started a sports team, what would the colors and mascot be?
Black & White; the skunk (but one with character, though more bellicose and less French than Pepé Le Pew. Like Yosemite Sam possessing a skunk.)
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BOOK REVIEW: Enter the Dangal by Rudraneil Sengupta
Enter the Dangal: Travels through India’s Wrestling Landscape by Rudraneil SenguptaMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amazon.in Page
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Enter the Dangal offers a fascinating discussion of the sport of wrestling in India, be it the dirt-pit Kushti variety or on the mats in the highest stage the sport has to offer, the Olympics. Sengupta offers a glimpse into the fully formed subculture that exists around akhada, live-in wrestling academies. We see India’s wrestling world through both the tradition- and virtue-oriented training grounds that produced greats like Gama and Sushil Kumar, but the book also takes forthright dips into the darker reaches of the sport.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part both provides background and tells the story of one of the most profound experiences of modern Indian wrestling, Sushil Kumar’s match for the gold medal in the 2012 Olympics [he took silver.] The second part explores the long wave of the rise and fall of Indian wrestling, and the third part takes the reader back to the golden age of wrestling, telling of the international matches of Gama and the movement by some Indian wrestlers into both the legitimate and staged wrestling domains of Europe and America.
There are two discussions that I found particularly intriguing. First, there’s the matter of women entering this all-male domain. Historically, not only did women not wrestle, mothers and sisters didn’t even go to the akhada to see their son’s and brother’s training. Second, the book answers an interesting question: why is India such a non-contender in the Summer Olympic games? [India falls between Uzbekistan and Ireland for total Summer Olympic medals, not even making the top 50 – which, for a country of its size and talent pool across a range of body types, is pretty dismal performance.] The answer is rooted in patriarchy, corruption, and downstream problems resulting from those problems (i.e. lack of best practices vis-à-vis sports science and poor facilities.)
I found this book to be compelling read and would highly recommend it for those wishing to learn more about wrestling in India.
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BOOK REVIEW: Training and Conditioning for MMA ed. by Dias / Oliveira / Brauer & Pashkin
Training and Conditioning for MMA: Programming of Champions by Stéfane Beloni Correa Dielle DiasMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amazon.in Page
Release Date: September 15, 2022 [It may already be out in some formats and markets]
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This book provides an overview of fitness building for Mixed Martial Arts athletes. It covers program design, athletic assessment, nutrition, exercises and conditioning practices, and injury prevention methods. On the positive side, it’s not only comprehensive, but – also – presents some of the best and latest methods in combative sports training based on sound scientific research. On the other hand, the book does assume a certain level of understanding of sports science, and it gets pretty deep in the weeds with respect to technical detail and to scientific and specialty jargon. If one doesn’t have such background, one may find some of the content (particularly the early chapters) a bit daunting. That said, it offers an excellent reference for those who are interested in methods and sports science not just for MMA, but for combative sports, in general.
The book uses color photographs throughout. I found the photos to be clear, well-sized, and well-lit. While there is definitely an attempt to keep the number of photos to a reasonable level, they do offer multiple angles where necessary and – generally – give enough pictures to make the action clear. There are also tables after each of the methods sections to give a handy summary of sets, reps, and scheduling suggestions for various exercises. In the early chapters, the ones that convey more technical content, there’re charts, graphs, and diagrams as needed. There’s an extensive bibliography, though it should be noted many if not most of the references are not in English. (The team of editors and contributors is large and international.)
This book offers an excellent reference for coaches, trainers, and athletes. While it does get quite technical, it’s great that it offers insight into cutting edge science and training methods.
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ESSAY REVIEW: The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved by Hunter S. Thompson
The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved by Hunter S. ThompsonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Online Available Free: Grantland
Available within the collection: The Great Shark Hunt
This story is cited as the first work of gonzo journalism, a highly entertaining style of immersion journalism which takes liberties with objectivity and factual detail for comedic effect or heightened narrative impact. The Kentucky Derby is more setting than subject of the story. It’s Thompson attempting to throw together coverage of the horse race at the last minute for Scanlan’s Monthly, a magazine that existed less than a year. So, the story is as much Thompson racing around trying to con his way into some press passes as he and the graphic artist sent by the magazine go on a booze-fueled junket on and around the race track grounds.
The story is laugh-out-loud funny in places, and features Thompson’s irreverent and fast-paced style throughout. It really was something new. Thompson, apparently, thought he’d failed completely when he sent in the story, but the response indicated that – rather – he’d invented something new, something for which there would be a huge market.
It’s definitely worth reading this story, just don’t expect deep insight into the horse racing tradition of Kentucky.
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DAILY PHOTO: Foot Faults & Fall Foliage
Tiger Riding for Beginners 