Public Zone 公開區 > Travelogues 遊記相薄
Beijing 2008 Olympics 到北京看奧運 (Aug 2008)
chin:
The earlier sessions were all girls' fights. By the time for the men's competitions, my kids had lost interest in the fights already. So my pictures are all girls' fights.
chin:
If it was fun to watch two women fight, wouldn't it be more fun to watch a princess fight?
That's right!
The woman in red gear was Princess Sheikha Maitha al-Maktoum from the United Arab Emirates. Her father is the ruler of Dubai and owner of the biggest race horse stable in the world.
Her Highness fought aggressively, perhaps including some unusual moves in the second picture
chin:
Princess al-Maktoum was definitely not a push over, although she eventually lost to the Korean
chin:
Looked like a whole clan was cheering for Yoriko.
Let's see how she fought...
chin:
There is an old Chinese saying "先禮後兵". And I believe the similar philosophy in this expression was widely adopted by the nearby Asian cultures.
This expression can be roughly translated as:
1. First negotiation then war. OR
2. First rituals then war.
Yoriko was definitely taken the second meaning to heart.
Every time after she got on the stage, the first thing would be to turn around and bow to the coach, as if a general bowing to the lord before leaving for war.
The second bow was a bit of a puzzle to me. I am not sure she was bowing to the opponent out of politeness, or bowing to the arena.
A friend of mine who is highly ranked in Japanese martial arts told me that bowing to and respecting the arena is a deep rooted tradition in Japanese martial arts. Although Taekwondo is Korean, she could be acting out simply being Japanese.
Nonetheless, once the bows were done, the fight was as fierce as it can be.
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