178Sports
Sports are good for health, but,
perhaps more importantly, many
sports are team events and bring people
together for competitive fun. After all,
everyone likes to win!
CONTACT SPORTS
■ Kung Fu Taolu is China’s
national sport, where it is
known as “wushu.”■ Fencing contestants use
lightweight blunt-tipped
swords to hit target areas
on their opponent’s body.■ Judo first appeared in Japan
in the 1800s, but developed
from far earlier techniques.BALL GAMES
■ Football is different from European
“football” (aka soccer). It uses a ball
with pointed ends, players wear
protective padding and are allowed to
carry the ball to make passes.■ Tennis matches are played either
as singles, between two players, or
doubles, between four players.
■ Cricket is played by people in more
than 100 countries. The best teams
play in international test matches.
■ Table tennis, or ping-pong, became
an Olympic sport in 1988. It is popular
around the world, with an estimated
300 million players.u SOCCER is arguably the most popular sport
in the world. People all over the world play it in
schools and parks, on the streets, or wherever they
can. Billions of people watch the Football World
Cup, held every four years, and for many
countries soccer has become part of their culture.
Soccer fans are fiercely loyal to their local or
national teams.u GOLF is played using a club to
knock a small ball into a hole in as
few shots as possible.u VOLLEYBALL is played
between two teams of six players over
a net. It was invented in the 1890s.■ Rugby is played with
an oval ball between
teams of 15 players.Soccer is a typical team
sport where 11 players
try to kick the ball into
their opponents’ goal.. SUMO WRESTLING
was once part of the ancient
Samurai warriors training and
is the traditional and ritualistic
combat sport of Japan. Each
contestant tries to wrestle
the other to the ground
or out of a 15 ft
(4.55 m)
diameter
circle.
. KARATE is a
Japanese martial
art. It uses moves
such as punching,
kicking, and knee
and elbow strikes.
, BOXING
is a tough
sport,
demanding
huge upper-
body strength.
Boxers wear
padded gloves.■ Wrestling dates back
thousands of years. It is a form
of hand-to-hand combat.CULTURE