MIDDLEBURGH

Middleburgh - Martian Tarts

Recent posts have been predicated on the proposition that someone visiting Hong Kong may wish to watch, learn or participate in some sporting activity whilst here - certainly none of my immediate family who are self declared sports phobics.(in fact they would only read these posts ,if at all, to catch the embedded subtle family in jokes, or marvel at the awesome deep research and inovative spellings that goes into each post!!)

Now you would have thought that a trip to HK , home of Bruce Lee and Jacky Chan would be an opportunity (NB not a joke !) for Martial Arts.... think again !! Both were exponents of chinese martial arts which is a diverse family of syles unlike those more unified martial arts adopted from Japan and Korea for the Olympics such as Judo, Karate and Tae-Kwon_Do and parcticed in the West.

Of course if you are/were or traveling with a member of the Rising Sun Karate Club of Chapel Square, Monkstown, Co Cork (or one of the other 5 nearby locations) or similarly a member etc of the Passage West Tae-Kwon-Do Club you could either contact the International Taekwondo Federation of HK or Judo Association of HK to see if a match could be set up with a member club or contact a club on the CLS List directly .

On the other hand if you were traveling with a member of either the Carrigaline , Cobh or Fermoy Boxing Clubs you could contact the HK Boxing Association but this is where things get complicated. In Asia "boxing" encompasses a broader spectrum of 'sports' than that covered by the Marquis of Queensbury Rules. There is for example Muay Thai Kick Boxing and Tiger Boxing.Coincidently RTE owns the rights to a recent multi-award winning documentary called Flight or Fight concerning Muay Kick Boxing which was directed by Patrick McCarthy Shane Sutton.(NB deep research).

Key point is this;It takes commitment and time to learn these niche "sports" so the best a casual visitor with an unsatisfied blood lust can hope for is to go and watch some matches. The same really applies to chinese martial Arts. Apart from the sheer diversity in styles and the overwhelming number of "masters" tranining aspiring "Bruce Lees" all over Hong Kong unless you speak cantonese (the typical medium of instruction) you are stuffed. However assuming you have the will it is perhaps worth reading this article before consulting the different Martial Arts organisations

• HK Chines Martial Arts, Dragon and Lion Dance Association
• HK Wushu Union
• HK Martial Arts Games Committee

It is also worth reading this wikopedia article on Shaolin Kung Fu to get a feel for the different styles practiced by Shaolin monks Frequently in HK Kung Fu movies someone is a master of the "Drunken Fist" form and on You Tube there are comparisons of Drunkan fist v Wushu . Stictly speaking Wushu is a generic term for all martial arts ie Kung Fu of which Shaolin stsyles are a subset. However the sports version of Wushu which has been water downed and stylized is basically a Nancified version. Having said that we do have a friend who is a "real" Wushu practicioner.She is very nice, attractive, unmarried and very useful with various sharp pointy things.

So if you have come to HK with the dream of learning more about a chinese martial art, what CAN you learn!!. Well the HK Tourist Board is dead serious about it's mission and organises free Tai Chi sessions focussing on core moves. This is a form of martial art frequently practiced for health reasons (see here. When done seriously it can be physically demanding depending on how out of shape you are).

If you are not really up for that maybe you should consider simply coming to HK, and either buy a season ticket at the cinema, or bulk buy kung Fu DVDs and lock yourself in your hotel room to watch them or the cable TV. Personally I rate Jet Liover both Jacky and Bruce (you should go visit his museum when its is open!!) and for cultural orientation the film Ip Man is mandatory viewing.

Hong Kong | Middleburgh| Kung Fu| Wushu | Shaolin | Kick Boxing

Labels: BOXING, BRUCE LEE, CORK, JET LI, JUDO, KICK BOXING, MIDDLEBURGH, TAEKWONDO, TAI CHI, WUSHU

Posted at 8/23/2009 03:51:00 pm by David Middleburgh   Permalink

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MIDDLEBURGH WHACKS BALLS(Part 2)

A follow up post to Whacking (part 1) covering opportunities for visitors to HK who want to play (or watch) one or more of the following

Tennis

HK was knocked out of the 2009 Davis Cup (Asian and Oceanian Zone: Group II) by the Philipines 4-1 although we did beat Oman 5-1. So the only thing we have to look forward to until the 2010 Davis Cup is the annual HK Tennis Classic sponsored by the JB Group, 7-10 January 2010 featuring some of the biggest names in the women's game. (I am covinced they only come for the post Xmass sales!!)

The weather is January is good for Tennis so if you were a member of either the Carrigaline Tennis Club or even the Monkstown LTC & Croquet Club (LTC may be a misnomer since I understand it only has surfaced courts ??) looking for club privleges and a game you might want to consider checking out theHong Kong Tennis Association, the other one or one of the local Foums The HKTA and the HK clearly want to dissassociate themselves from one another.(obviously a doctrinal schism of catholic/protestant proportions - I am so glad I am Jewish)

Badminton

Can't wait for the tennis ? Ok come for Hong Kong Open Badminton Super Series 2009 - 9-15 November 2009 Apparently some of the world's top badminton players will be in town for this Super Series event but as yet the venue is yet to be announced ?? This is actually 1 of 2 major badminton events held here in Hong Kong organised by the HK Badminton Association(No schisms here!!)The other is sponsered by Yondex

So if you were a member of the Carrigaline Badminton Club or Pfizer Badminton Club etc planning to visit HK with intent you should check out the Association and the badminton formums.Its worth noting that there are a lot of walk in players taking advantage of clus and some are reviewing their policies . It is worth checking out the public badminton courts listed in the CLD site

Squash

Can't wait for the badminton either ? Ok come to Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Squash Open 2009 - 12-18 October 2009 This is one of the must-attend international events on the squash calendar for both men and women competitors. Many of the world's top-ranked pros from the men's and women's divisions will be in town for the competition (and yes the venues are known!!

So if you were a member of a Cork Squash Club planning a team or personal trip to HK you should check out the HK Squash Association and the local squash Geopats It goes without saying that there are public faciliies available for booking. In fact we have a very grand new Squash centreThe courts on this housing estate aren't bad either!

Table Tennis

Table Tennis has special significance in China and Hong Kong. In the 1970's Ping Pong diplomacylead to the re-opening of Sino-U.S. relations and China rejoining the world after years of isolation and dominating the game which is now an Olympic Sport. (FYI being a pedant I checked the accuracy of the statement in this article (dated 2004) to "...people in England played a small plastic ball on a table with round wooden bats a hundred years ago". Originally it was a vellum ball but in 1901 James Gibb, an English enthusiast of table tennis,discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the U.S and found them to be ideal for the game.). Hong Kong also does well in the Olympics but this is partly due to Chinese national Players moving to Hong Kong in order to get a chance to play at the top table. There is a HK Table Tennis AssociationIf you want to arrange games etc but if you don't think you can match this competative level and alternative would be to contact to the principal housing estate Clubs eg south Horizon estate. There are table tennis 'tables' under most blocks of flats in HK.

Gateball

In a previous post I refered to the elistist nature of croquet. What I didn't realise is that in Asia the game has been reinvented as Gateball and imported into HK as such from Japan. In fact HK is the host of the "4th Asian Cities Gateball Invitation Championship 2009" on 14 & 15 November 2009 in Tuan Wan, New territories. The write up on the HK associations website waxes lyrical about the virtue of this OAPS and people recovering from serious surgery - 'nuff said !! .

Snooker/Billiards

No piece on ball whacking and sports tourism to HK would be complete without a mention of billiards, snooker or pool although strickly speaking these invlove "poking" or 'prodding" rather that "whacking". In the same way that China seeks world domination in many other sports it is on the way to being a force in snooker - dare I mention "Ding Junhui". Look here to find list of venues and clubs.

2009 East Asian Games

Every 4 years the East Asian Games are convened. This year Hong Kong is privleged to be the host. Many of the spports mentioned in this, previous and following posts will be represented. The 5th East Asian Games will be held in Hong Kong from 5 - 13 December 2009. Over 3,000 elite athletes will compete for gold medals of 262 competition events under 22 sports, making it the largest international multi-sport event ever held in Hong Kong. Definately Worth a visit I think !!!

Hong Kong| Middleburgh| Tennis| Squash| Badminton| Ping Pong

Labels: BADMINTON, BILLIARDS, CORK, MIDDLEBURGH, PING PONG, POOL, SNOOKER, SQUASH, TABLE TENNIS, TENNIS

Posted at 8/17/2009 02:18:00 pm by David Middleburgh   Permalink

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MIDDLEBURGH HANDLES BALL

Little did I realise that writing posts extolling the virtues of Sports Tourism to HK, targeted at potential visitors from Cork would result in helpful content suggestions and questions from elsewhere....Where can I play "Ozzie Rules" in HK ....what about "Basketball"..... Does the NHS treat "American Football" injuries .... (For what its worth my American and Australian colleagues send their kids to play rugby at the weekend rather than their respective national brand of pointed ball "footie".)

So reverting to my original agenda. You were a member of a GAA club such as Passage West GAA and Camogie Club craving to visit HK to catch a few games of Gaelic Football. You should consider contacting our local GAA club. They have an email group and do the best St Patrick's Day Dinner in HK. (Interesting article in Irish News about game played in the HK Statium on St Patricks Day 1956). If however you prefer to play ozzie rules or american footie you should perhaps check out the HK Dragons or one of the expat forums repectively.

Essentially if you want to play with, handle or caresss balls "au naturel' in HK we are primarily talking RUGBY.

Envisage - you are a member of the Carrigaline RFC. The secretary arranges games through either Hong Kong RFU or through the less formal HK Touch Tag Rugby Association My local club is the HKCC Aberdeen Rugby Club. Not quite as glam as the HK Football club but functional.

Every year HK hosts the world famous and prestigious HK Rugby sevens . For couple of days the town fills with rugby fans from all over the world all intent on being in the South stand and consuming copious quantities of beer. The atmosphere is a cross between the last night at the proms, the superbowl and the Championship Playoff between Arsenal and Celtic. Read the tourist board speil here.

And so to soccer which of course doesn't involve ball handling except for throw in's unless your name is Maradonna. The HK League frankly (as a spectator) leaves much to be desired, although I do regret not going to the Spurs game last week, I would have offered support to South China. Of course it might have been different if Shamrock Rovers had been playing. If you or the Passage West Football Club were visiting HK and wanted a kick about you should check out the HK Football Association or soccer forums There are also lots of supporters clubs in HK following european teams. So if you were a member of the Passage West Celtic Supporters Club (based at the Ferry Arms pub) you might be minded to contact the HK Rangers suporters Club to arrange a kick about.

Oh yes .. did someone mention basketball? : There are basketball courts all over HK which can be booked by the public. If you want a game you should check out the forums and the HK Amateur Basketball Association The HK Culture and Leisure Department also maintains a list of clubs and venues for various sports including basketball(12), Handball (15) and Volleyball(9). There are HK Associations for both Handball and Volleyball and of course we have our own beach volley ball club fittingly on Lamma Island and another up in Golden Beach

Of course my favourite ball sport in HK is the poor mans version of bowls. No for me traditional Lawn Bowls or indeed Ten Pin Bowling

Give me Petanque!!. Yes its true - I have my own set of Steel Balls (bought in Belgium!!). The wonderful thing about Petanque in HK is that it is supported by the French Consulate Such class !!!

Labels: Basketball, CORK, Football, GAA, Hing Kong, MIDDLEBURGH, Petanque, Rugby, Soccer, Volleyball

Posted at 8/15/2009 01:03:00 pm by David Middleburgh   Permalink

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