Despite the buzz created to promote the YOG, I have not really been fazed yet. Didn't catch the opening ceremony as well. Frankly speaking even the usual summer Olympics don't interest me. I guess its because the games are already won before it starts. The chinese will dominate table tennis, Americans will win basketball, Koreans will win taekwondo. Its an uneven domination. Probably the only event which excites me is the 100m sprint.
Having said that, I did watch the YOG taekwondo tournament. The Koreans impress me, especially with their back hook kicks. Disappointingly though was to see fighters telling the referee to pause the bout because of an injury. This robs the opponent of momentum and advantage. I remember doing it myself last time which had my instructor fuming and reprimanding me for it, because it shows the weak point to the opponent. As a couch potato watching it on TV now, I totally agree. It doesn't look like a martial art at all. There are too many stoppages and body feinting, rather than actual sparring.
Ok, I know I sound like a big time Charlie who must have made it last time. Well fact is, its true. I was after all the national U-18 middle weight champion. Who knows what might have been if the YOG had arrived 8 years earlier. Haha.
