Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iai

Faculty of Economics and Business Administration

Cultures in Motion: Traditional Sports in

Scotland and China

Team:
Anti Rzvan Ionu
Antohi Aurelian
Dutcovici Constantin
Istrate Paul
Popa-Iscu Andrei
Soceanu Cristian Constantin

- 2017 -
 Benefits of Sports
Physical exercise is good for mind, body and spirit. Furthermore, team
sports are good for learning accountability, dedication, and leadership, among
many other traits. Putting it all together by playing a sport is a winning
combination.
Importance of Sports in our Life
Introduction: A healthy nation is always a wealthy nation. Therefore, it is
necessary to put emphasis on sports.
One can think of a healthy mind only in a healthy body. Both physical and mental
well being are the prerequisites of great achievements in mans life.
History shows that young men who excelled in the field in sports could prove
their worth in the battlefield as valiant soldiers in later life and get the laurels of
victory.
Necessity of sports: Sports have their great utility.

1. Sports are the sources of recreation. They provide relief and a sense
relaxation in a life of monotony of routine marked by miseries, hardships
and hurdles.
2. They instill or infuse a sportive spirit to take up the heavy burden of life in
a lighter vein and not to think of life either as a tragedy or a comedy but as
the ordinary business of living.
3. It is very essential to maintain health and physical fitness.
4. It encourages the growth of team-spirit.
5. Sports and games bring about various methods of diversions.

Educational value of sports: The necessity of sports is felt to be so great in life

that there is ample justification for them to be introduced in the schools
compulsorily.

Sports and games impart a sense of discipline, fellow-feeling and

togetherness.
They teach the value of time and how it is important to note how a minute,
a fraction of a minute and even of second decides the fate of a young
sportsman in the field of competition.
With proper training in sports and games, students become active,
sportive, dashing, daring and adventurous capable of meeting the
challenges in future life.

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 Sports and games are the right avenues to channelize the energy and
vitality of students and make their leisure hours worthwhile.
The spirit of competition is inculcated in most cases by sports and games.
A forum is made available for physical fitness.
The greatest educational value of the sports and games is to provide
stimulation for study and for hard work.

Conclusion: It is not the sound and the fury that counts but effort in the right
direction to make a mark. Keeping this in view, it is high time that we spot out
our sports talents and provide all necessary facilities to train them properly so as
to enable them to compete with world champions with no feelings of diffidence.

The ultimate goal of yoga is, however, to help the individual to transcend the self
and attain enlightenment. As the Bhagavad-Gita says, A person is said to have
achieved yoga, the union with the Self, when the perfectly disciplined mind gets
freedom from all desires, and becomes absorbed in the Self alone.

Importance of Yoga
Yoga is not a religion; it is a way of living that aims towards 'a healthy mind in a
healthy bod.
Man is a physical, mental and spiritual being; yoga helps promote a balanced
development of all the three. Other forms of physical exercises, like aerobics,
assure only physical well-being. They have little to do with the development of
the spiritual or astral body.

Yogic exercises recharge the body with cosmic energy and facilitates:

Attainment of perfect equilibrium and harmony

Promotes self- healing.
Removes negative blocks from the mind and toxins from the body
Enhances personal power
Increases self-awareness
Helps in attention, focus and concentration, especially important for children
Reduces stress and tension in the physical body by activating the
parasympathetic nervous system

The aspirant feels rejuvenated and energized. Thus, yoga bestows upon every
aspirant the powers to control body and mind.

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Benefits of Yoga
The art of practicing yoga helps in controlling an individual's mind, body and soul.
It brings together physical and mental disciplines to achieve a peaceful body and
mind; it helps manage stress and anxiety and keeps you relaxing. It also helps in
increasing flexibility, muscle strength and body tone. It improves respiration,
energy and vitality. Practicing yoga might seem like just stretching, but it can do
much more for your body from the way you feel, look and move.

Yoga asanas build strength, flexibility and confidence. Regular practice of yoga
can help lose weight, relieve stress, improve immunity and maintain a healthier
lifestyle.

In 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested United Nations to

celebrate June 21 as the International Yoga Day as it is the summer solistice; the
longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

"Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. This tradition is 5000 years
old. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and
fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and
well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with
yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating
consciousness, it can help in well being. Let us work towards adopting an
International Yoga Day." Narendra Modi, UN General Assembly, September
2014.

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 Traditional sport in Scotland GOLF

Golf is a traditional sport of Scotland, since from 14th century. The first golf club
was recorded in 1504. This game was a great solution against boredom of the
Scottish Aristocrats. The development of the game in Scotland was increased by
the large number of noble people and by the land and climate that were great
for practicing. (Lower hills, ponds).
The golf game promotes:
Loyalty
Respect towards to the opponent
Movement
Nature
That game today is practiced in all developed countries with a high social class.
Promotes the values of Scotland.

What is it that game

The golf is a game of precision and it practiced on a specially landscaped
terrain, using several types of cross, and the target is to put the golf ball in a
finish hole with fewer hits as possible.
The regulations and the rules for that sport doesnt require a standardized
playing field. The game takes place on a golf course, each one has to had a
particular shape, according to the relief on which it was build. These lands can
have nine or eighteen holes and be stretched over an area of three seven km.

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On that field, there are no trainings because it is exclusively for the game. For
training and instruction there are some special places named driving range.
For the access on the golf field is required a golf ability license which is
called handicap.

How it is played
It begins in the area of ball standing start (tee area) and continues with
the hitting her with a cross until the player enters into the hole from the green
zone. Winner of the game is that player who had fewest touches of the ball.
The choice of the cross is very important and it is done by the number of
the PAR engraved onto all player crosses which is designed for each hole.
PAR represents the distance between the tee area and the green area,
and may be from PAR 3 (100/200 meters) to the PAR 6 (up to 600-800), for
example, par 3: represents the number of strokes, in this case 3, for a player
with handicap 0 to insert the ball into the hole.

The most important crosses are:

Drive: recommended for distances between 200-220 meters, used in
the tee area;
Iron 5: 140-150 meters;
Iron 9: 100-110 meters;
Sand wedge: 70 meters, it is typically used when the ball is in the
sand;
Putter: it is only used on the green area, for inserting the ball into the
hole.

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Rules
The rules of the Golf are updated every four years by the Royal entities &
Ancient Golf Club with headquarters in Scotland for Europe and the United
States Golf Association for the USA.
These rules are very numerous and all the players must know them. The
golf is the only game in which the player is its own referee (arbiter).
For being able to play you have to sign up at a golf club and you have to
pass an examination which is called handicap. Here are some few rules:
The player needs to be honest;
The player cant touch the ball with his hand;
He/she can have a maximum of 15 golf crosses in the bag;
He/she must be silent when a player strikes the ball.
Currently, worldwide there are about 26 million players and a number of
golf clubs around 33700. Also, its an Olympic game.
The major tournaments are:
April: The Masters, played in the city of Augusta in the U.S.
June: U.S. Open, played in different cities across the U.S.
July: The Open Championship (British Open), played in different
cities in the UK and it is the oldest tournament.
August: PGA Championship, played in various U.S. cities

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 Traditional sports in China

Tennis table

China has had a long association to the martial arts. Today China consists
of a variety of competitive sports.
Table Tennis, originally known as ping-pang, was developed in England
as an after-dinner amusement for upper-class Victorians in the 1880s. Mimicking
the game of tennis in an indoor environment, everyday objects were originally
enlisted to act as the equipment. The sport is growing in popularity in Europe
and Asia and for decades the players from Asia and European countries have
been most dominant in the world table tennis, especially the players from China
and Sweden.
What is it that game
Table tennis is an indoor game in which two opposing players or pair of
Players use small rackets to play on a flat table divided into two equal courts by
a net that is fixed across its width at the middle.

How it is played
The objective is to score points by hitting the ball so that it goes over the
net and bounces on the opponents half of the table in such way that the
opponent cannot reach it or return it correctly.
A game is won by the player or pair first scoring 11 points unless the player
or pair scores 10 points, when the game shall be won by the first player or pair
subsequently gaining a lead of 2 points.
Rules

Points are awarded to the opponent for any of several errors in play:

Allowing the ball to bounce on one's own side twice

Double hitting the ball.

Allowing the ball to strike anything other than the

Causing the ball not to bounce on the opponent's half (i.e., not
making a "good" return)

Hitting the net with racket or any body part, or moving the table.

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 Chinese chess ( - XiangQi)

While Chess is widely known and practiced all over the world Xiangqi
(Chinese Chess) is popular only behind the Chinese Wall. Increasing cultural
exchange between China and the western hemisphere advocates for an
introduction of Xianqi to the western public, especially to people interested in
mind sports like Chess.

What is it that game

Chess and Xiangqi are two-player strategy board games with the object of
capturing the opponent's King.
The Xiangqi board is a nine-by-ten unicolored grid. There are special areas called
the palace and river, which restrict the movement of some pieces (but enhance
that of others). The pieces are placed on the intersections of the board lines.

How it is played
The pieces start in their start position. Generally, Red moves first in
most modern tournaments. The two sides are identified as North and South,
whereby Red represents the North and Black the South.
Each player in turn moves one piece from the point it occupies to another point.
Pieces are generally not permitted to move through a point occupied by another
piece. A piece can be moved onto a point occupied by an enemy piece, in which
case the enemy piece is captured and removed from the board. For 'capturing'
also the terms 'eating', 'destroying' or 'killing' a piece are used (no prisoners of
war).
The game ends when one player captures the other's King. When the King is in
danger of being captured by
the enemy player on his next
move, the enemy player has
"delivered a check", and the
King is in check". A check
should be announced. If the
King's player can make no
move to prevent the King's
capture, the situation is
called "checkmate". Unlike
chess, in which a stalemate is
a draw, in Xiangqi, a player
with no legal moves left loses.

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 Cultural analysis

Sport represents a physical activity and may involve the competition.

Sport is an activity that can influence the lifestyle or personality of a person.
Practicing a sport brings huge benefits to health as long as physical motion is
combined with a healthy diet.

Sports can be individual or can be practiced in a team, also them can be

practiced in general, by males or females. The individual sports are: athletics,
golf, boxing, etc.

There are some sports that can be individual and in teams such as table
tennis or camp.

A team sport is a sport that is practiced between two opposing teams,

where the players are participating together in order to achieve the target. For
the example, table tennis, is a sport complex enough as it is played by both
women and men, and can be played individually or in a team as well. This sport
is known in both countries, China and Scotland, where in China was the world
champion at table tennis for many years in a row. Table tennis, even if it is a
sport more static, requires more movement and physical activity.

For a healthy way of life, movement or physical activity must be

combined with a healthy diet.

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 Sports in motion

Olympic sports are those listed in the summer Olympic Games and
winter games. Their number and composition has evolved over time. The list is
drawn up by the International Olympic Committee. Each sport must be
represented by a body recognized by driving it.
Summer Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro have included 28 sports, while
the Winter Olympics at Pyeongchang 2018 will include 7 sports.

1896 The first edition of the Athens, Greece

Olympic Games
Competitions after year 2000
2000 The XXVII Edition of the Sydney, Australia
Olympic Games
2004 The XXVIII Edition of the Athens, Greece
Olympic Games
2008 The XXIX Edition of the Beijing, China
Olympic Games
2012 The XXX Edition of the London, United
Olympic Games Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern
Ireland
2016 The XXXI Edition of the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Olympic Games
2020 The XXXII Edition of the Tokyo, Japan
Olympic Games

The tradition at the start of the Olympic Games:

- A mascot present
- Olympic flame
- An artist to open games with a song
- Fireworks
- Various shows

With half a year before the start of the games a model unique and special will be engraved
for all the medals that will be prepared for the participants.

The official logo for the Olympic Games where China participates in a large number, it was
designed by the Brazilian Agency "Tatil" design.

The participating countries are in the number 201.

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With 4 years before they pick the next place for sports specialists go and check water for
aquatic Olympics games, stadiums, hotels, doctors ... to be in a perfect condition for realizing
the event without the unpleasant events.

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 Conclusion

In Romania, sports like yoga, golf and wushu (Chinese martial arts), are not
so practiced, but because of to the globalization they are becoming more
popular. More and more people started to practice yoga and wushu in their free
time as a way for them to improve their health instead of going to the gym.

The golf game is another sport that is very popular in other countries but
in Romania only for a fewer people who plays that one is known. On the website
of the Romanian federation of golf in 2015 only 37 men were on the national
rankings. One reason for the low popularity of golf here is the cost of owning and
maintaining the golf fields.

At the Olympics, Romania has been participating since 1924 and had
skipped only 2 editions. Our country is ranked 21 on the all-time Summer

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Olympic Games medal winners with 306 medals, and second for the countries
who havent hosted the Olympics
The globalization has helped a lot in spreading these sports in Romania.
Because of it many places where you can practice these sports are opening or
you can even learn them by yourself.
Another way that globalization has helped to develop these sport in our
country is international tournaments. Because there are a small number of
people who practice sports like golf and wushu in Romania, people can now
compete with competitors from the other countries.

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