Lack of Sportsmanship at the Olympics: Ara Abrahamian

August 18, 2008

I’ moved this here from my PDX weightlifting blog.

I hate this kind of whiny bullshit:

“This will be my last match. I wanted to take gold, so I consider this Olympics a failure,” he said.

Ara Abrahamian, a Swedish 84k wrestler, threw down his bronze medal in protest and says he’s now going to quit the sport.

Wow. It’s just a sport, dude. Seriously. If there is one thing i can’t stand, it’s athletes (and coaches) who take their sport too seriously (remember all those yelling coaches in womens/girls gymnastics). Training hard and competing hard do not preclude smiling, being gracious, and taking it all in stride. It’s a huge naive mistake to not see the possibility of working at full force while still being happy. You don’t have to get angry to win. In fact, it’ll probably hurt you.

The other night, I heard a broadcaster berate one of the Japanese gymnasts for laughing at himself after he didn’t do so hot on one of his events. What did the broadcaster think this was? War? Were lives on the line? Did someone die I didn’t know about?

There are people in serious peril (right now) all over the world who would LOVE to get last place at the Olympics, or even last place at a local contest if it meant they could get the hell out of their current situation.

Life can get WAY worse. If you don’t keep that in mind ALWAYS than you are kidding yourself. The struggles of life are NOT relative. Crying because you are caught in traffic, or because you didn’t do as well as you’d hoped and trained for in the Olympics is WRONG. It’s morally wrong. A bit of disappointment is natural and reasonable, but outright anger and melodramatic antics are signs of ignorance and selfish arrogance.

If you aren’t in control of your emotions enough to be gracious, you have no business competing.

I love sports. I love the Olympics. But, it’s all just a game. That’s it. Period. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be inspiring, no matter how you place. Being a selfish asshole should disqualify you. They should take his medal away.

Swedish coach Leo Myllari said: “It’s all politics.”

Life is politics. Get over it.

No Comments » | Olympics, people, personal | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by saij

Barry Bonds, Steroids, and Baseball

September 9, 2007

See my rant on Good Tithings.

No Comments » | Health, News, people, personal | Permalink
Posted by saij

Jesse Marunde, Great Strongman, Dead

August 6, 2007

Jesse Marunde, a great American Strongman, has died at the early age of 28.  He died on July 25th of a heart attack after a workout. He leaves behind a Wife and children.

No one yet knows what complications existed in his case that led to his death. Unlike so many Strongman competitors, he was fairly lean, and was very fit. Periodically in the world of sports, an athlete dies because of a previously undiagnosed heart condition or other ailment. Only time will tell what happened to Jesse.   An  autopsy  is  scheduled, but it will take potentially months to get the results.  I’ll keep you posted.

I wish his family the best.

Rest in Peace.

Below is aYoutube Tribute to Jesse:

1 Comment | Exercise, Health, Weightlifting, people, personal | Permalink
Posted by saij

Blogging Hiatus, and Getting Back To It

June 2, 2007

Well, I’ve just spend an unexpected week or so away from the blogosphere. Life got hectic, as it often can, and I ended up neglecting my daily posting duties to focus instead on my clients, the end of the term at school, and my fiance who just lost her uncle. It happens, but it brought to mind a certain reality for me. I had been posting “workouts of the day” and had made a commitment to doing that as a way of giving people some incentive to hit the gym and provide some framework for those who can’t afford a fitness coach.

But, rigidly sticking to a daily posting schedule is just not something I can do, as I am not a professional blogger and am loaded with a number of commitments (though I must admit to being addicted to the act of blogging). That said, I don’t want to leave people hanging who felt like the workouts a day were helpful. Instead I will periodically post a whole routine that one can follow for an extended period of time to achieve a certain goal.

And of course, I will blog on all the other topics I have always blogged on. Thank you for reading, and I hope it helps.

No Comments » | Exercise, Health, The Mind, personal | Permalink
Posted by saij

A review of The Dojo

May 8, 2007

Here’s a link to a Sumo Fan site in French where they reviewed this blog. Go Sumo!

Here’s the text … couldn’t tell you what they’re saying, but I hope it’s positive, lol!

Pour citer l’auteur du site, un dojo est un endroit où « l’on cultive sa passion, où l’on travaille dur, où l’on développe son âme ». « The Dojo » est un blog d’un entraîneur d’haltérophilie, dédié à la science et la pratique de l’haltérophilie et des sports de force, à la fois pour le développement physique et personnel. Il soutient que l’haltérophilie est semblable aux arts martiaux, en ce qu’elle demande un investissement énorme, des années d’étude et de travail acharné, d’équilibre, de vitesse et de concentration. Ça vous rappelle quelque chose ?

Ce qui nous amène au sumo. La section sumo du blog se concentre sur le régime alimentaire et d’entraînement des rikishi, qu’ils soient amateurs ou professionnels. Arrêtez vous y un instant pour y voir les nombreuses photos, clips et liens, et explorez le lieu ou le sport rencontre la science.

No Comments » | Sumo, personal | Permalink
Posted by saij