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IT'S GOOD FOR YOUR GAME

Olazabal's Piston Stroke Is Pitch PerfectJose Maria Olazabal uses a piston-type pitching motion where the right elbow straightens as it applies force to the ball. This is a very accurate way to pitch because it satisfies two basic requirements of good pitching: (1) It produces an accelerated stroke, and (2) it keeps the face of the club on the swing arc.Note in the photograph how square the face of Olazabal's club is to the ball. If you use your imagination, you can visualize the ball reversing its flight and returning to the clubface, where it would sit directly in the middle of the face just as it did at both impact and address.Because Olazabal keeps his left arm and chest rotating, the piston stroke delivered by the right side does not collapse his left wrist, a move that would send the clubface flipping past his hands. The last thing you want in a pitch shot like this is to allow any kind of forearm rotation that would change the loft of your clubface. That's why I encourage my students to keep their right forearm pointing toward the sky during the downswing. This prevents the cl

Dec 2, 2015
IT'S GOOD FOR YOUR GAME
Sports

Taekwondo humanitarian foundation launches 1st pilot program

World Taekwondo Federation President Choue Chung-won, center in back row, poses with children, demonstration team members and other participants at the opening ceremony of a taekwondo academy in Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp on Tuesday.  / Courtesy World Taekwondo FederationBy Nam Hyun-wooThe World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) launched a new humanitarian program to assist refugees in Jordan’s Zaatari camp, Tuesday (local time). The program is the first of two pilot programs initiated by the federation’s Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation, which aims to help refugees around the world as well as instruct them in the combat sport. At the camp, some 70 kilometers northeast of the Jordanian capital of Amman, the WTF held an opening ceremony for a taekwondo academy, with a performance from its demonstration team to celebrate the launch. Attending the ceremony were WTF President Choue Chung-won, Mafraq Governor Ahmad Samara Al-Zu`bei, Zaatari camp head Col. Abdelrahman Al-Amoush and South Korean Ambassador to Jordan Choi Hong-ki.A member of the demonstration team, H

Dec 2, 2015
Taekwondo humanitarian foundation launches 1st pilot program
Sports

Tips to enjoy golf in winter

By Kim Jeong-kyooThe cold days of winter are drawing nearer. It’s time to give up going out to play golf and stay inside to avoid shivering in the cold. Still, you are brimming with your unrequited love for golf. The cold weather can’t stop you from leaving your home. You are ready to venture out for more golf. You prefer swinging your club outside to having hot coffee at home.The cold weather can invite varied troubles, to say nothing of inflicting bad shots on you. You need to be well aware that winter golf is different from summer golf. First, you are freezing cold. Your hands are cold. Your feet are cold. Your ears are cold. Your nose runs. Put differently, your whole body tightens up. Your muscles in the cold do not stay as loose as they would be in the summer.  Your golf ball is also cold and feels harder. You need to bring an extra club. If you’d normally use your 8-iron for a 135-yard shot, for instance, use your 7-iron instead. Cold, hard balls don't fly as far as warm balls.Warm up two golf balls before you leave for the first tee. Keep them in your p

Dec 2, 2015
Tips to enjoy golf in winter
Sports

Slugger Park signs $12 mil. deal with Twins

By Nam Hyun-wooPark Byung-hoKorean slugger Park Byung-ho, 29, has signed a four-year, $12 million contract with Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Minnesota Twins, the team announced Wednesday.The Twins will retain a $6.5 million option for 2020 with a $500,000 buyout, according to MLB.com.Should he make an at bat for the Twins, Park will become the 15th Korean to play in the big league.Park will receive a salary of $2.75 million in 2016 and 2017 and $3 million in 2018 and 2019. Should the Twins want Park to play for the club in 2020, they will have to pay him $6.5 million.Though the deal is deemed less lucrative for Park than expected, the Twins’ $12.85 million bid to Park’s former club, the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), marked the second highest posting fee for an Asian player, following a $13.12 million from the Seattle Mariners for Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki in 2000.Park is often compared to his former teammate and compatriot Kang Jung-ho, who landed in the MLB last year.Kang signed a four-year, $11 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pir

Dec 2, 2015
Slugger Park signs $12 mil. deal with Twins
Sports

Park Byung-ho signs MLB deal with Minnesota Twins

Park Byung-ho after officially becoming a member of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins / Courtesy of FacebookKorean slugger Park Byung-ho from the Nexen Heroes has signed a four-year contract with the Major League Baseball (MLB) team, the Minnesota Twins, the club announced Wednesday on its website.The contract offers a guaranteed salary of $12 million, which includes a $500,000 buyout and a club option for 2020 worth $6.5 million.With the deal, the Twins will give the Korean first baseman two payments of $2.75 million each in 2016 and 2017 and $3 million in 2018 and 2019.Park, 29, is the second Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) position player to sign a contract with MLB via posting. He was preceded by his teammate Kang Jung-ho, who signed a four-year contract worth $11 million with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Dec 2, 2015
Park Byung-ho signs MLB deal with Minnesota Twins
Sports

Turtle Marathon set for Dec. 5

The 454th Turtle Marathon on Mt. Namsan will be held as part of a no-smoking campaign, Saturday, and participants will get to enjoy a clear city view and cool mountain air. The event, co-hosted by the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Promotion Foundation, will start at 8:30 a.m. at Baekbeom Square in Namsan Park's Hoehyeon area. Jang Seok-il, chairman of the Korea Health Promotion Foundation, will lead the event.The marathon has drawn more than 1.2 million people since 1978. The six-kilometer course will head from Baekbeom Square towards the National Theater of Korea, and then back to the square along the Namsan walking trail.All participants will be provided with refreshments from Nongshim, and at the walk's end emcee Jimin will host a draw for prizes that include tickets to the percussion show "Drum Cat: The Festival" and ISOI cosmetics, among others. The three-man band Maensami will provide a lively performance  Students who participate in the cleanup will receive certification for completion of three h

Dec 1, 2015
Turtle Marathon set for Dec. 5
Sports

코비 브라이언트, 2015-16 '마지막 시즌'

Kobe Bryant / Korea Times fileNBA 스타 코비 브라이언트(Kobe Bryant, 37)가 이번 시즌을 끝으로 농구코트를 떠난다.코비는 29일 운동선수들의 자작시를 소개하는 웹사이트 The Players’ Tribune에 “Dear Basketball”이라는 제목으로 시를 소개하면서 자신의 은퇴를 명시했다.뉴욕 양키스 유격수 데릭 지터(Derek Jeter)가 만든 사이트에서 코비는“넌(농구) 6살이던 나에게 레이커스의 꿈을 주었고/난 앞으로도 널 여전히 사랑할꺼야/하지만 더 이상 널 열정적으로 사랑할 수 없어/이번 시즌이 너에게 줄 수 있는 전부야/심장의 요동도 견딜 수 있고/마음이 아파도 견딜 수 있어/하지만 내 체력은 이제 한계가 왔어”라고 전했다.코비는 시를 통해 농구와의 작별을 묘사하며 그의 은퇴를 예고했다. 코비는 현재 20번째 NBA 시즌을 소화하고 있다.17살이던 1996년 NBA 드래프트에서 샬롯 호네츠로부터 13번째 지정을 받은 코비는 곧바로 로스엔젤레스 레이커스에 새 둥지를 튼 뒤 단 한번의 이적도 없이 팀의 에이스로 군림해왔다. 그는 레이커스와 함께 다섯 번의 NBA 우승, 두 번의 올림픽 금메달, 17번의 올스타 선정, 2008년 MVP 선정 등 화려한 이력을 기록했다. 카림 압둘자바와 칼 말론에 이어 NBA 역대 득점통산 3위이기도 하다.하지만 코비는 팀 동료로써 “상대하기 어렵다”는 평을 듣거나 2003년 성폭행 혐의 조사 등으로 코트 밖에서 물의를 빚기도 했었다.레이커스와의 2년 계약의 마지막 년도인 이번 시즌을 뒤로 코비는 2천5백만달러를 챙기면서 현재 NBA 수입랭킹의 정점에 있다.디지털뉴스부@

Nov 30, 2015
코비 브라이언트, 2015-16 '마지막 시즌'
Sports

Choo Sung-hoon's grit touches UFC Seoul event

Kim Dong-hyun celebrates his first-round TKO victory over Dominic Waters during the UFC Fight Night Seoul at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in southern Seoul, Saturday. / YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooBen Henderson was smooth, Kim Dong-hyun was dominant and Choi Doo-ho was flashy. But “sexier” was Choo Sung-hoon, whose gritty scrapping at the first live Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night Seoul on Saturday outshone all other victories.The UFC, one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, has brought its Fight Night event to the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in southern Seoul and sent Korea’s homegrown stars into the Octagon to rile up 12,156 spectators.The event earlier drew fears that its popularity was deflated following an abrupt change in its card, but the local fighters were full of action during the show to prove Korea is home to quality fighters and fervent crowds.Of eight out of 11 bouts that night, five victories went to Korean fighters, but the most impressive was Choo, who suffered a 1-2 split decision loss against Alberto Mina.The UFC nicknamed him &ldqu

Nov 29, 2015
Choo Sung-hoon's grit touches UFC Seoul event
Sports

New start, or ending, for 2002 generation

By John DuerdenIt's all happening with the heroes of 2002. No sooner did former national team forward and Incheon United player Lee Chun-soo announce his retirement, but now his teammates from that glorious summer are also on the move.Defender Choi Jin-cheul was part of that famed 2002 World Cup performance and has been recognized recently for taking the national U-17 team to the knockout stage of the recent World Cup while serving as their coach, famously defeating Brazil along the way. He’s being appointed as coach of the Pohang Steelers, one of the K-League's most successful clubs.The Steelers are the most successful club in Asian football history with three continental championships to their name, more than any other club.Part of the club's identity lies in its short and attractive passing game and development of young players. Choi's exploits with the teenagers in Chile last month will have done his chances no harm at all. This is the former defender's first club job and he has much to prove. Pohang has a record of success but lacks the resources enjoyed by title-chasing r

Nov 29, 2015
New start, or ending, for 2002 generation
Sports

Henderson takes the split-decision over Masvidal in UFC Fight Night Seoul

By Nam Hyun-woo Benson Henderson overcame Jorge Masvidal in a 2-1 split-decision in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night Seoul, Saturday, after hard fought fight full of grappling.It was the main event of the evening and the two fighters put on a technical battle, while Henderson was more successful in the first-ever live UFC event in Korea, which is his mother’s country.“It was a great pleasure to fight in Korea,” said Henderson. “Was it impressive enough?” he asked the crowd.Both fighters were careful in the first three rounds, feeling each other out. Checking angles and distances, each fighter tested the other, trying to land two and three punch combinations.First to take control was Henderson. With two minutes left in the round, he knocked Masvidal down, but couldn’t finish the combination as Masvidal escaped the punches.After wrestling back-and-forth in the second and third rounds, each fighter looked for the other’s weaknesses. Still, it was anybody’s fight.Neither fighter could break the stalemate in the fourth r

Nov 29, 2015
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