Essay on Sports Essay Example

Essay on Sports Essay Example Essay on Sports Essay Essay on Sports Essay Sports hold only a physical meaning for many people. Many believe that sports are just meant for physical fitness and fun as well. However, sports have a deeper meaning for me than being a mere physical exercise. I believe that sports are not just about the games, medals won, and the physical activity. Rather, they are more about bringing people together from different places in the world to enjoy a good time away from the daily activities. It binds people together through recreation and creates a better environment. Additionally, through the competitions and rules of a game, people learn to gauge their skills by comparing them with other people, finding out their weaknesses and strengths as well as putting effort to become better. Thus, growth within a person can be achieved both physically and mentally. More so, sports require the use of knowledge and skills at the same time in order to win. Therefore, the mind and the body are engaged towards the same activity holistically. There fore, sports go a far way in the life of a man such as improving their physical and psychological well-being as well as the social aspect. I believe that sport is not only meant for physical activity and physical fitness. Sports are responsible for uniting people from different parts of the world. For instance, during a game between two teams, people are drawn from different places to come and watch, either as fans of their teams or just usual spectators. My sport is wrestling, which draws many people from different places to watch. Whichever way, they are brought together by the sport, which fosters interaction between people that could have probably never met each other. Through wrestling, I have met several people, some who were spectators and others who were my rival. I have made friends with many of them and they play a big part in my both sport and future. This creates a better environment for everyone through its entertaining ability ensuring that all are happy. Despite there being a winner and a loser, people remain united and get closer. Additionally, through sports people, especially the players in a team, lea rn how to work together in order to win the game. Players in a team have to work together towards the same goal. One experience that I never forget is the number of friends I have made through sports, which is bigger than any other place. This makes sports a particularly special place for me to unite with friends. In another way, people at home and friends come together to enjoy watching a game together, which is yet another way of uniting people. Therefore, one of the biggest purposes of sports in my life is bringing people together. The other meaning of sports in my life comes from the competition between teams in games. Competition means displaying better skills under given rules that both teams follow. This helps one in understanding their abilities. It is only through competition that one can gauge themselves with others to understand their position. It is also the one way that people are able to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Through sports, one realizes what they need to do to improve their skills. This leads to personal growth since one keeps growing more and more through training every day as well as practicing tactics until they become skills. In wrestling, I used to practice my tactics daily in order to become better than my rivals were. This helped me to increase my tactics as well as gauge my skills against those of my rivals. This did not only improve me mentally, but also physically. It also increased my physical fitness, which science proves can keep one away from medical conditions in the future. To me, through sports one can improve their life from all aspects, both mentally and physically, leading to a better life. With the capability of building one’s physical and mental status, sports ensure having a peaceful life. Sports are the best way of ensuring a harmonious relationship between the body and mind. To engage in sports, full concentration and body while playing are required. Wrestling involves physical energy to win. This required me to concentrate on my body as well as the tactics of the rival in order to win. Being calm before a game was one way of ensuring a harmony between the body and the mind. Thus, under the rules of wrestling, the body has to be controlled by the mind to attain optimum performance. Thus, with the ability of engaging both the body and the mind, one can have peace of mind while playing and achieve a mind-body holism, which influences professional practice. This improves the life of a person in both mental and physical status. Other things such as studying will engage the mental aspect without much regard to the physical. Thus, this is not as fulfilling as spor ts. Sports again manage to ensure people recreate their feelings. Through sports, people are able to recreate their inner feelings and moods. The only time that I am able to forget about everything else in life is while I am engaged in a wrestling match. Even after the match, my spirit is uplifted and inner emotions lightened. Physical activities require full concentration of the mind and body. Thus, at this moment especially in a competitive game, one cannot think of anything else. The same way as players, spectators who come to watch a game forget about their lives for that moment in order to enjoy the game. Therefore, sports are one way of drawing a person away from his daily stresses in life to enjoy another inner self that is created when one forgets all their trouble. During sports, I never have time to think of anything else. Thus, with concentration in a game, everything else is lost for that moment, and our spirits are renewed. We come off a pitch, ring or court feeling better both mentally and physically. This allows one to face other iss ues in life with ease. Sports provide an inner drive on the pitch as well as away from the playing fields. The thirst for excellence and perfection in an art is exemplified when they push for a step ahead against an opposing team or rival. Many of the young athletes and sport champions who have built a successful career often lead inspirational lives after retirement. It is suffice to say that, just as any other ambition in life, a fulfilled sporting activity gives any person a boost forward, a yearning for better days. It builds up a momentum to be superior with every opportunity given, to rectify the previous mistakes made. As an athlete runs head on towards the finish line or wrestling hard until the last minute, so do people who engage actively in sports forge ahead to complete their purpose. Any risk taken on a sporting arena is a final decision made by the participant. After months and years of training and listening to advice from different places, it narrows down to the players themselves. A decision made by a wrestler, on which tactic to use, defense to use or decision to make while tackled is a result of weighing various options. It is a risk taken and when it pays off, the returns are worthwhile. This constant replay of taking risks after constant evaluation extends to choices made outside the court. It builds up a common sense of sorts and analysis of options. As the mind grows, so does an ability to make rational decisions. A coach who can handle a team effectively and push them forward can also manage a big family and accomplish their dreams. The same concept applies. Every player faces a challenge to go on when all the odds seem against him/her. A penalty shoot-out, a final lap and you are not in the lead, a three-point shot on the final buzzer and a last tackle in wrestling before the buzzer go off. The desire to quit is so alive, but so is the passion to win. A win-win attitude no matter what forces lies against us, regardless of the waves that threaten to capsize any ship. We do not go down without a fight, until the dying breath. In any case, when a loss happens, there is always a better day, another opportunity to display our relentless efforts. Sports are meant to build a person in all aspects of life, spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally. With such experience from wrestling, I have learnt that one can build their life with sports in a fulfilling way. It is through such experience that I chose a career in kinesiology so that I will inspire other people to embrace sports. I have lived a fulfilling life as an athlete and learnt that it can lead to an enjoyable life as well as interesting at the same time. Sports improve one’s well-being holistically to enjoy life. For one to enjoy life, all aspects of life have to be in harmony. This will make one to enjoy a fulfilling life. The main aspects in a human life are the body, mind and soul. Sports have an ability to improve the three of them since they are engaged at the same time during play. Thus, I believe that sports are the best way of improving a man’s life from all aspects due to their ability of achieving mind-body holism.

Biography of Sun Yat-sen, Chinese Revolutionary Leader

Biography of Sun Yat-sen, Chinese Revolutionary Leader Sun Yat-sen (November 12, 1866–March 12, 1925) holds a unique position in the Chinese-speaking world today. He is the only figure from the early revolutionary period who is honored as the Father of the Nation by people in both the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan). Fast Facts: Sun Yat-sen Known For:  Chinese Revolutionary figure, Father of the NationBorn:  November 12, 1866 in Cuiheng village, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, ChinaParents: Sun Dacheng and Madame YangDied: March 12, 1925 in Peking (Beijing), ChinaEducation: Cuiheng elementary school, Iolani high school, Oahu College (Hawaii), Government Central School (Queens College), Hong Kong College of MedicineSpouse(s): Lu Muzhen (m. 1885–1915), Kaoru Otsuki (m. 1903–1906), Soong Ching-ling (m. 1915–1925); Chen Cuifen (concubine,  1892–1912)Children: Son Sun Fo (b. 1891), daughter Sun Jinyuan (b. 1895), daughter Sun Jinwan (b. 1896) with Lu; Daughter Fumiko (b. 1906) with Kaoru Early Life Sun Yat-sen was born Sun Wen in Cuiheng village, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province on November 12, 1866, one of six children born to tailor and peasant farmer Sun Dacheng and his wife Madame Yang. Sun Yat-sen attended elementary school in China, but he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii at the age of 13 where his elder brother Sun Mei had lived since 1871. In Hawaii, Sun Wen lived with his brother Sun Mei and studied at the Iolani School, earning his high school diploma in 1882, and then spent a single semester at Oahu College before his older brother abruptly sent him back to China at the age of 17. Sun Mei feared that his brother was going to convert to Christianity if he stayed longer in Hawaii. Christianity and Revolution Sun Wen had already absorbed too many Christian ideas, however. In 1883, he and a friend broke the Beiji Emperor-God statue in front of his home villages temple. In 1884, his parents arranged for his first marriage to Lu Muzhen (1867–1952), the daughter of a local merchant. In 1887, Sun Wen left for Hong Kong to enroll in the college of medicine and left his wife behind. They would have three children together: son Sun Fo (b. 1891), daughter Sun Jinyuan (b. 1895), daughter Sun Jinwan (b. 1896). He would go on to marry twice more and take a long-term mistress, all without divorcing Lu. In Hong Kong, Sun received a medical degree from the Hong Kong College of Medicine (now the University of Hong Kong). During his time in Hong Kong, the young man converted to Christianity (to his familys chagrin). When he was baptized, he received a new name: Sun Yat-sen. For Sun Yat-sen, becoming Christian was a symbol of his embrace of modern, or Western, knowledge and ideas. It was a revolutionary statement at a time when the Qing Dynasty was trying desperately to fend off westernization. By 1891, Sun had given up his medical practice and was working with the Furen Literary Society, which advocated the overthrow of the Qing. He also began a 20-year relationship with a Hong Kong woman named Chen Cuifen. He went back to Hawaii in 1894 to recruit Chinese ex-patriots there to the revolutionary cause in the name of the Revive China Society. The 1894–1895 Sino-Japanese War was a disastrous defeat for the Qing government, feeding into calls for reform. Some reformers sought a gradual modernization of imperial China, but Sun Yat-sen called for the end of the empire and the establishment of a modern republic. In October 1895, the Revive China Society staged the First Guangzhou Uprising in an attempt to overthrow the Qing; their plans leaked, however, and the government arrested more than 70 society members. Sun Yat-sen escaped into exile in Japan. Exile During his exile in Japan, Sun Yat-sen met Kaoru Otsuki and asked for her hand in marriage in 1901. Since she was only 13 at the time, her father forbade their marriage until 1903. They had a daughter named Fumiko who, after Sun Yat-sen abandoned them in 1906, was adopted by a family named Miyagawa. It was also during his exile in Japan and elsewhere that Sun Yat-sen made contacts with Japanese modernizers and advocates of pan-Asian unity against Western imperialism. He also helped supply weapons to the Filipino Resistance, which had fought its way free from Spanish imperialism only to have the new Republic of the Philippines crushed by the Americans in 1902. Sun had been hoping to use the Philippines as a base for a Chinese revolution  but had to give up that plan. From Japan, Sun also launched a second attempted uprising against the government of Guangdong. Despite help from the organized crime triads, on October 22, 1900, the Huizhou Uprising also failed. Throughout the first decade of the 20th century, Sun Yat-sen called for China to expel the Tatar barbarians- meaning the ethnic-Manchu Qing Dynasty- while gathering support from overseas Chinese in the US, Malaysia, and Singapore. He launched seven more attempted uprisings, including an invasion of southern China from Vietnam in December 1907, called the Zhennanguan Uprising. His most impressive effort to date, Zhennanguan ended in failure after seven days of bitter fighting. The Republic of China Sun Yat-sen was in the United States when the Xinhai Revolution broke out at Wuchang on October 10, 1911. Caught off guard, Sun missed the rebellion that brought down the child emperor, Puyi, and ended the imperial period of Chinese history. As soon as he heard that the Qing Dynasty had fallen, Sun raced back to China. A council of delegates from the provinces elected Sun Yat-sen to be the provisional president of the new Republic of China on December 29, 1911. Sun was chosen in recognition of his unflagging work raising funds and sponsoring uprisings over the previous decade. However, the northern warlord Yuan Shi-kai had been promised the presidency if he could pressure Puyi into formally abdicating the throne. Puyi abdicated on February 12, 1912, so on March 10, Sun Yat-sen stepped aside and Yuan Shi-kai became the next provisional president. It soon became clear that Yuan hoped to establish a new imperial dynasty, rather than a modern republic. Sun began to rally his own supporters, calling them to a legislative assembly in Beijing in May of 1912. The assembly was evenly divided between supporters of Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shi-kai. At the assembly, Suns ally Song Jiao-ren renamed their party the Guomindang (KMT). The KMT took many legislative seats in the election, but not a majority; it had 269/596 in the lower house, and 123/274 in the senate. Yuan Shi-kai ordered the assassination of KMT leader Song Jiao-ren in March of 1913. Unable to prevail at the ballot box and fearful of Yuan Shi-kais ruthless ambition, Sun organized a KMT force to challenge Yuans army in July 1913. Yuans 80,000 troops prevailed, however, and Sun Yat-sen once more had to flee to Japan in exile. Chaos In 1915, Yuan Shi-kai briefly realized his ambitions when he proclaimed himself the Emperor of China (r. 1915–16). His proclamation as emperor sparked a violent backlash from other warlords- such as Bai Lang- as well as a political reaction from the KMT. Sun Yat-sen and the KMT fought the new emperor in the Anti-Monarchy War, even as Bai Lang led the Bai Lang Rebellion, touching off Chinas Warlord Era. In the chaos that followed, the opposition at one point declared both Sun Yat-sen and Xu Shi-chang as the President of the Republic of China. In the midst of the chaos, Sun Yat-sen married his third wife, Soong Ching-ling (m. 1915–1925), whose sister May-ling would later marry Chiang Kai-shek. To bolster the KMTs chances of overthrowing Yuan Shi-kai, Sun Yat-sen reached out to local and international communists. He wrote to the Second Communist International (Comintern) in Paris for support, and also approached the Communist Party of China (CPC). Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin praised Sun for his work  and sent advisers to help establish a military academy. Sun appointed a young officer named Chiang Kai-shek as the commandant of the new National Revolutionary Army and its training academy. The Whampoa Academy officially opened on May 1, 1924. Preparations for the Northern Expedition Although Chiang Kai-shek was skeptical about the alliance with the communists, he went along with his mentor Sun Yat-sens plans. With Soviet aid, they trained an army of 250,000, which would march through northern China in a three-pronged attack, aimed at wiping out the warlords Sun Chuan-fang in the northeast, Wu Pei-fu in the Central Plains, and Zhang Zuo-lin in Manchuria. This massive military campaign would take place between 1926 and 1928, but would simply realign power among the warlords rather than consolidating power behind the Nationalist government. The longest-lasting effect was probably the enhancement of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-sheks reputation- but Sun Yat-sen would not live to see it. Death On March 12, 1925, Sun Yat-sen died at the Peking Union Medical College from liver cancer. He was just 58 years old. Although he was a baptized Christian, he was first buried at a Buddhist shrine near Beijing called the Temple of Azure Clouds. In a sense, Suns early death ensured that his legacy lives on in both mainland China and Taiwan. Because he brought together the Nationalist KMT and the Communist CPC, and they were still allies at the time of his death, both sides honor his memory. Sources Bergere, Marie-Clare. Sun Yat-sen. Trans. Lloyd, Janet. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1998.Lee, Lai To, and Hock Guan Lee. Sun Yat-sen, Nanyang and the 1911 Revolution. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011.Lum, Yansheng Ma, and Raymond Mun Kong Lum. Sun Yat-sen in Hawaii: Activities and Supporters. Honolulu: Hawaii Chinese History Center, 1999.  Schriffin, Harold. Sun Yat-sen and the Origins of the Chinese Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970.