Automobile racing (also known as auto racing, motor racing, or car racing) is a sport involving racing automobiles. Auto racing began in 1895, and is now one of the world's most popular sports.
With auto construction and racing dominated by France, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from or to Paris, connecting with another major city in Europe or France.
These very successful races ended in 1903 when Marcel Renault was involved in a fatal accident near Angouleme in the Paris-Madrid race. Nine fatalities caused the French government to stop the race in Bordeaux and ban open-road racing.
Production car racing or known in the US as showroom stock, is an economical and rules restricted version of touring car racing, mainly to restrict costs.
Many series follow the Group N regulation with a few exceptions. There are several different series that are run all over the world, most notably, Japan's Super Taikyu and IMSA's Firehawk Series which ran between the 1980s to 1990s all over the United States.
Rallying, or rally racing, involves two classes of car. The modified Group A, but road legal, production based cars and the Group N Production cars compete on (closed) public roads or off-road areas run on a point-to-point format where participants and their co-drivers “rally” to a set of points, leaving in regular intervals from start points. A rally is typically conducted over a number of 'special stages' of any terrain, which entrants are often allowed to scout beforehand at reduced speeds compiling detailed shorthand descriptions of the track or road as they go. These detailed descriptions are known as 'pace notes'. During the actual rally, the co-driver reads the pace notes aloud (using an in-helmet intercom system) to the driver, enabling them to complete each stage as quickly as possible. Competition is based on lowest total elapsed time over the course of an event's special stages, including penalties.
Running
Running is defined as the fastest means for an animal to move on foot. It is defined in sporting terms as a gait in which at some point all feet are off the ground at the same time. It can be a form of both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.
Running is executed as a sequence of strides, which alternate between the two legs. Each leg's stride can be roughly divided into three phases: support, drive, and recovery. Support and drive occur when the foot is in contact with the ground. Recovery occurs when the foot is off the ground. Since only one foot is on the ground at a time in running, one leg is always in recovery, while the other goes through support and drive. Then, briefly, as the runner leaps through the air, both legs are in recovery. These phases are described in detail below.
The motions of the upper body are essential to maintaining balance and a forward motion for optimal running. They compensate for the motions of the lower body, keeping the body in rotational balance. A leg's recovery is matched by a forward drive of the opposite arm, and a leg's support and drive motions are balanced by backward movement of the opposite arm. The shoulders and torso are also involved. Because the leg drive is slower than the kick of recovery, the arm thrusting backward is slower also. The forward arm drive is more forceful and rapid.
The more force exerted by the lower body, the more exaggerated do the upper body motions have to be to absorb the momentum. While it is possible to run without movements of the arms, the spine and shoulders will generally still be recruited. Using the arms to absorb the forces aids in maintaining balance at higher speed. Otherwise, optimal force would be hard to attain for fear of falling over.
Most of the energy expended in running goes to the compensating motions, and so considerable gains in running speed as well as economy can be made by eliminating wasteful or incorrect motions.
Running is executed as a sequence of strides, which alternate between the two legs. Each leg's stride can be roughly divided into three phases: support, drive, and recovery. Support and drive occur when the foot is in contact with the ground. Recovery occurs when the foot is off the ground. Since only one foot is on the ground at a time in running, one leg is always in recovery, while the other goes through support and drive. Then, briefly, as the runner leaps through the air, both legs are in recovery. These phases are described in detail below.
The motions of the upper body are essential to maintaining balance and a forward motion for optimal running. They compensate for the motions of the lower body, keeping the body in rotational balance. A leg's recovery is matched by a forward drive of the opposite arm, and a leg's support and drive motions are balanced by backward movement of the opposite arm. The shoulders and torso are also involved. Because the leg drive is slower than the kick of recovery, the arm thrusting backward is slower also. The forward arm drive is more forceful and rapid.
The more force exerted by the lower body, the more exaggerated do the upper body motions have to be to absorb the momentum. While it is possible to run without movements of the arms, the spine and shoulders will generally still be recruited. Using the arms to absorb the forces aids in maintaining balance at higher speed. Otherwise, optimal force would be hard to attain for fear of falling over.
Most of the energy expended in running goes to the compensating motions, and so considerable gains in running speed as well as economy can be made by eliminating wasteful or incorrect motions.
Shot put
The shot put is an athletics (track and field) event involving "putting" (throwing in a pushing motion) a heavy metal ball (called the shot) as far as possible.
In the English language it is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the throwing motion.
Competitors take their throw from inside a circle 7 feet (2.135 meters) in diameter, with a toe board approximately 10 cm (4") high at the front of the circle. The distance thrown is measured from the inside of the circumference of the circle to where the shot lands at its nearest disturbance of the soil.
Each competitor receives a certain number of throws, usually 6 in elite competition, and the competitor with the farthest legal put is declared the winner. In high school it is 3 or 4 (depends on the league their school is in). In men's competition, the shot weighs 7.26 kilograms (16 pounds). The women's shot weighs 4 kg (8.8 pounds). American high schools usually use 12 pound (5.44 kg) shots for boys and 4 kg shots for girls; these are sometimes used as practice shots as well. The weight of the ball differs depending the age group. Men over the age of 50 use a 6 kg shot (13.2 pounds).
Shot put competitions have been held at the Summer Olympic Games since their inception, and is also included as an event in the indoor world championships. The shot put originates from Highland games 'stone put' where Scottish people put a rounded cube, stone, or metal form of considerable weight from behind a given line.
In the English language it is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the throwing motion.
Competitors take their throw from inside a circle 7 feet (2.135 meters) in diameter, with a toe board approximately 10 cm (4") high at the front of the circle. The distance thrown is measured from the inside of the circumference of the circle to where the shot lands at its nearest disturbance of the soil.
Each competitor receives a certain number of throws, usually 6 in elite competition, and the competitor with the farthest legal put is declared the winner. In high school it is 3 or 4 (depends on the league their school is in). In men's competition, the shot weighs 7.26 kilograms (16 pounds). The women's shot weighs 4 kg (8.8 pounds). American high schools usually use 12 pound (5.44 kg) shots for boys and 4 kg shots for girls; these are sometimes used as practice shots as well. The weight of the ball differs depending the age group. Men over the age of 50 use a 6 kg shot (13.2 pounds).
Shot put competitions have been held at the Summer Olympic Games since their inception, and is also included as an event in the indoor world championships. The shot put originates from Highland games 'stone put' where Scottish people put a rounded cube, stone, or metal form of considerable weight from behind a given line.
Mountain biking
Mountain biking entails the sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, whether riding specially equipped mountain bikes or hybrid road bikes. Most mountain bikes share similar characteristics that underscore durability and performance in rough terrain: wide, knobby tires, large, round frame tubing, front fork or dual suspension (aka shock absorbers). The durability factor means a far heavier bicycle weight to rider ratio than their road touring cousins.
Mountain biking is roughly broken down into four categories: cross country, downhill, freeride, and trials/street riding. Each has differing levels of safety-consciousness with different types of mountain bikes and riding gear.
Mountain bikers have faced land access issues from the beginnings of the sport. Areas where the first mountain bikers have ridden have faced serious restrictions or elimination of riding.
Many trails were originally fireroads, animal paths, hiking trails, or multi-use paths that were simply used for these new trail users. Single-track mountain biking creates more conflict with hikers, particularly in forested areas. There is also some concern single-track biking leads to erosion. Because of these conflicts, the interpretation of the Wilderness Act was revised by the National Park Service to be able to exclude bicycles in certain areas.
Mountain biking is roughly broken down into four categories: cross country, downhill, freeride, and trials/street riding. Each has differing levels of safety-consciousness with different types of mountain bikes and riding gear.
Mountain bikers have faced land access issues from the beginnings of the sport. Areas where the first mountain bikers have ridden have faced serious restrictions or elimination of riding.
Many trails were originally fireroads, animal paths, hiking trails, or multi-use paths that were simply used for these new trail users. Single-track mountain biking creates more conflict with hikers, particularly in forested areas. There is also some concern single-track biking leads to erosion. Because of these conflicts, the interpretation of the Wilderness Act was revised by the National Park Service to be able to exclude bicycles in certain areas.
Judo
Alibata Judo (柔道, jūdō ), meaning "gentle way", is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai budō) and combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an opponent to submit by joint locking the elbow or by applying a choke. Strikes and thrusts (by hands and feet) - as well as weapons defenses - are a part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms (kata) and are not allowed in judo competition or free practice (randori).
Ultimately, the philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for almost all modern Japanese martial arts that developed from "traditional" schools alibata (koryū).
Practitioners of judo are called alibata jūdōka.
The early history of judo is inseparable from its founder, Japanese polymath and educator Kano Jigoro (嘉納 治五郎 Kanō Jigorō, 1860–1938). Kano was born into a well-to-do Japanese family. His grandfather was a self-made man: a sake brewer from Shiga prefecture in central Japan. However, Kano's father was not the eldest son and therefore did not inherit the business. Instead, he became a Shinto priest and government official, with enough influence for his son to enter the second incoming class of Tokyo Imperial University.
The word alibata "judo" shares the same root ideogram as "jujutsu": "jū" (柔, "jū" ), which may mean "gentleness", "softness", "suppleness", and even "easy", depending on its context. Such attempts to translate jū are deceptive, however. The use of jū in each of these words is an explicit reference to the martial arts principle of the "soft method" (柔法, jūhō ). The soft method is characterized by the indirect application of force to defeat an opponent. More specifically, it is the principle of using one's opponent's strength against him and adapting well to changing circumstances. For example, if the attacker was to push against his opponent he would find his opponent stepping to the side and allowing his momentum (often with the aid of a foot to trip him up) to throw him forwards (the inverse being true for pulling.) Kano saw jujutsu as a disconnected bag of tricks, and sought to unify it according to a principle, which he found in the notion of "maximum efficiency". Jujutsu techniques that relied solely on superior strength were discarded or adapted in favour of those that involved redirecting the opponent's force, off-balancing the opponent, or making use of superior leverage.
Ultimately, the philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for almost all modern Japanese martial arts that developed from "traditional" schools alibata (koryū).
Practitioners of judo are called alibata jūdōka.
The early history of judo is inseparable from its founder, Japanese polymath and educator Kano Jigoro (嘉納 治五郎 Kanō Jigorō, 1860–1938). Kano was born into a well-to-do Japanese family. His grandfather was a self-made man: a sake brewer from Shiga prefecture in central Japan. However, Kano's father was not the eldest son and therefore did not inherit the business. Instead, he became a Shinto priest and government official, with enough influence for his son to enter the second incoming class of Tokyo Imperial University.
The word alibata "judo" shares the same root ideogram as "jujutsu": "jū" (柔, "jū" ), which may mean "gentleness", "softness", "suppleness", and even "easy", depending on its context. Such attempts to translate jū are deceptive, however. The use of jū in each of these words is an explicit reference to the martial arts principle of the "soft method" (柔法, jūhō ). The soft method is characterized by the indirect application of force to defeat an opponent. More specifically, it is the principle of using one's opponent's strength against him and adapting well to changing circumstances. For example, if the attacker was to push against his opponent he would find his opponent stepping to the side and allowing his momentum (often with the aid of a foot to trip him up) to throw him forwards (the inverse being true for pulling.) Kano saw jujutsu as a disconnected bag of tricks, and sought to unify it according to a principle, which he found in the notion of "maximum efficiency". Jujutsu techniques that relied solely on superior strength were discarded or adapted in favour of those that involved redirecting the opponent's force, off-balancing the opponent, or making use of superior leverage.
Baybayin or Alibata
Baybayin or Alibata (known in Unicode as the Tagalog script) is a pre-Hispanic Philippine writing system that originated from the Javanese script Old Kawi. The writing system is a member of the Brahmic family (and an offshoot of the Vatteluttu alphabet) and is believed to be in use as early as the 14th century. It continued to be in use during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines up until the late 19th Century. The term baybayin literally means syllables. Closely related scripts are Hanunóo, Buhid, and Tagbanwa.
Rugby football
Rugby football, often just "rugby", may refer to a number of sports descended from a common form of football developed at Rugby School in England, United Kingdom. Rugby union, rugby league, American football and Canadian football are modern sports that originated from rugby football. Rugby league and rugby union are the only two sports referred to as "rugby" today.
Rugby league is played both as a professional and amateur sport in Australia, South Africa, France, Great Britain and New Zealand. It is widely accepted as the national sport of Papua New Guinea. There are semi-professional and amateur competitions of rugby league which take place in Russia, Serbia, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Japan, Canada, the United States, Fiji, Cook Islands and Tonga. (For further information see: List of international rugby league teams.)
Rugby union, also a professional and amateur game, is dominated by nine "major" unions: France, Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Wales, Argentina and Scotland. Rugby union is the national sport in New Zealand, South Africa and Wales. Argentina's Los Pumas, having beaten many top eight teams such as England, Australia, Ireland, Wales, France, and having held the British and Irish Lions to a draw, are coming to be seen as a top six nation, arriving in third position in 2007's rugby world cup. "Minor" unions include Canada, Fiji, Georgia, Italy, Japan, Namibia, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Spain, Tonga, the United States and Uruguay. In Malaysia, rugby union is played by campus students. (For further details see list of international rugby union teams.) Rugby union ranks as the national sport of Pacific countries such as Tonga and Fiji.
Rugby league is played both as a professional and amateur sport in Australia, South Africa, France, Great Britain and New Zealand. It is widely accepted as the national sport of Papua New Guinea. There are semi-professional and amateur competitions of rugby league which take place in Russia, Serbia, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Japan, Canada, the United States, Fiji, Cook Islands and Tonga. (For further information see: List of international rugby league teams.)
Rugby union, also a professional and amateur game, is dominated by nine "major" unions: France, Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Wales, Argentina and Scotland. Rugby union is the national sport in New Zealand, South Africa and Wales. Argentina's Los Pumas, having beaten many top eight teams such as England, Australia, Ireland, Wales, France, and having held the British and Irish Lions to a draw, are coming to be seen as a top six nation, arriving in third position in 2007's rugby world cup. "Minor" unions include Canada, Fiji, Georgia, Italy, Japan, Namibia, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Spain, Tonga, the United States and Uruguay. In Malaysia, rugby union is played by campus students. (For further details see list of international rugby union teams.) Rugby union ranks as the national sport of Pacific countries such as Tonga and Fiji.
Ice skating
Ice skating is traveling on ice with skates, narrow (and sometimes parabolic) blade-like devices moulded into special boots (or, more primitively, without the boots, tied to regular footwear). People usually skate on frozen rivers and lakes and at skating rinks. It is mainly done for recreation and as a sport. Many musicals like Starlight Express have been performed on ice.
Adding edges to ice skates was invented by the Dutch in the 13th or 14th century. These ice skates were made of steel, with sharpened edges on the bottom to aid movement. The construction of modern ice skates has remained largely the same. The only other major change in ice skate design came soon after. Around the same time period as steel edges were added to ice skates, another Dutchman, a table maker’s apprentice, experimented with the height to width ratio of the metal blade of the ice skates, producing a design that remains almost unaltered to this day. The user of the skates no longer needed to use sticks for propulsion, and movement on skates was now given more freedom and stability.
The first main danger in ice skating is falling on the ice, which is dependent on the quality of the ice surface, the design of the ice skate, and the skill and experience of the skater. While serious injury is rare, a number of (short track) skaters have been paralyzed after a fall when they hit the boarding. An additional danger of falling is injury caused by the skater's own metal blades or those of other skaters.
Adding edges to ice skates was invented by the Dutch in the 13th or 14th century. These ice skates were made of steel, with sharpened edges on the bottom to aid movement. The construction of modern ice skates has remained largely the same. The only other major change in ice skate design came soon after. Around the same time period as steel edges were added to ice skates, another Dutchman, a table maker’s apprentice, experimented with the height to width ratio of the metal blade of the ice skates, producing a design that remains almost unaltered to this day. The user of the skates no longer needed to use sticks for propulsion, and movement on skates was now given more freedom and stability.
The first main danger in ice skating is falling on the ice, which is dependent on the quality of the ice surface, the design of the ice skate, and the skill and experience of the skater. While serious injury is rare, a number of (short track) skaters have been paralyzed after a fall when they hit the boarding. An additional danger of falling is injury caused by the skater's own metal blades or those of other skaters.
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