Pinoy Traditional Games

'Filipinos like to play game,' and this is observed true. In our society, playing games is important part of growing up. Games are physically challenging and somewhat intellectually stimulating.  We play this games as a group or team and this teach us sportsmanship at our young age. If you think about it we enjoyed playing these games for many years without a referee or umpires, however as kids we made rules and regulation of our own and we abide by these rules. This what we call 'honor system' or 'sa diyosan'.

When one is overpowered by the opponent, the winner makes you suffer for some type of  consequences like losing your turn or being punished by doing some certain task. Some of the games, when you win you get prizes, but we all know that win or loose we get enjoyment and it satisfies us as child playing these games.

Studies shows that playing these games are essential part in the learning process of a child. The educational influence of games on the physical, mental and moral vitality of our children are the factors why these traditional games in the country are still being practiced and observed by the general public.

In our country; traditional, high-tech games and innovative toys  are played simultaneously, and as part of the Filipino past time specially in the rural areas like Provinces during moonlit nights, all neighborhood gathers and shares games in plazas, open areas or just in a road. They play different sets of games as part of their interaction, recreation, socialization and somewhat relaxation after a hard days work in the field.

Best and Exciting Water Sports

The Earth's surface is covered mostly by water which is 70.9% and the remaining is covered by land. From these there are numerous of water sports are created and invented. I bet that the only sport in the water that most of us are familiar with is swimming. You know that there are a lot of water sports that are fun and exciting such as sports played 'in the water', 'under the water' and 'on the water'.

To name a few here are some of the best water sports that are played for competition  and probably that are played in the Olympic games in no particular order:

Swimming

This water sport is one of the famous and the most popular recreational sports that can be enjoyed by all ages. The ability to swim allow people to join and participate other varieties water sports such as snorkeling, water skiing, jet skiing and many other, without the fear of getting into trouble and it reduces the risk of drowning. Men like Michael Phelps and beautiful women like Shane Gould and Kristin Otto are very famous in this sport.


Best Swimmer: MICHAEL FRED PHELPS II (American)

Water polo

Is a team water sport also called as "water ball." This sport is played in a swimming pool consist of six field players and one goalkeeper with a buoyant ball encompassing features of soccer, football, basket ball and hockey. The game play involves swimming, treading water and using a sort of kicking motion called as "eggbeater kick"

Best Water Polo Player: GERARD BLITZ (Belgian)

Water Skiing

Is a sport riding on skis along the water surface while being pulled behind a motorboat or a cable ski installation. It is originated on the French Riviera in 1922 and was became famous in the United State by the year 1927. In the year 1939 "The American Water Ski Association" was founded and held the first national water ski championship in that same year.

Water Ski Champion 2010:DARIN SHAPIRO, Orlando, FL

Diving

Is a sport of jumping or plunging freely into water from a platform or springboard often while performing one or more acrobatic maneuvers. Diving  emerged in the late 19th century and became part of the Olympic Games in 1904. Competitors of this sport possess the same characteristics as gymnasts and dancers which include the strength, flexibility, kinaesthetic judgment and air awareness.

Oldest competitor in Masters' Diving Championship: VIOLA KRAHN aged 101 years old.

Scuba Diving

SCUBA is an acronym for self contained underwater breathing apparatus, and now it is widely considered a word in its own right. This sport is a form of diving under the water in which a diver uses a scuba set for breathing. This sport has become very popular, in the America alone there are more than 5 millions of SCUBA divers that are certified.

First Certified Diver in the World: JEAN MICHAEL COUSTEAU 1938

Snorkeling

This sport is a practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask. This diving is like a shaped of a tube called snorkel, and usually swim fins. Use of this snorkel allows the snorkeler to observe underwater life and attractions for extended periods of time with relatively little effort. This sport is very popular recreational activity in tropical resort and scuba diving locations.

One of the Best Snorkeling Spot in the World: KEALAKEKUA BAY–HAWAII

Rafting

This sport also know as white water rafting is a very challenging recreational outdoor activity.  In rafting players use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or some other bodies of water. This sports usually played on white water or different degrees of rough water for some thrill and excitement for the raft passengers. This activity as a leisure sport became popular since the mid-1970's. Rafting is acknowledge as an extreme sport because it can be dangerous for people who are not experienced.

Costa Rica 2011 World Rafting Championship- JAPAN

Rowing

Rowing in a boat with a sliding seat is  known to be one of the best forms of aerobic exercise. This sport uses the muscles in the arms, legs and torso providing all your body to move and workout.  It is the art of propelling a boat by means of oars which is operated by the hands. Rowing also increases bone density in the spine which help you prevent osteoporosis.

Famous Rowers: CAMERON  & TYLER WINKLEVOSS (rowed Harvard/2008 US Olympic Team/2010 Boat Race)

Kayaking

Players are using a kayak and moves across the water that why it is called kayaking. Kayaking is similar to canoeing and they are also known as paddling. This activity, kayaking is differentiated from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddlers and the number of blades on the paddle.

8 Primary Classifications of Kayaking

• Polo
• Slalom
• Whitewater
• Surf
• Touring/expedition
• Light touring / Day tripping
• Sprint/Racing
• General Recreation

World Famous Kayaker: TAO BERMAN (three-time world record holder)

 Surfing

It is a surface water sports riding on a crest or in a surfboard breaking waves toward the shore. Places that have huge waves are perfect for surfers. Primarily surfing is done in the ocean and also sometimes in lakes and rivers or man made wave pools.

3 Major Subdivision within Stand-up Surfing
Long boarding
Short boarding
Stand-up paddle surfing

11x  ASP World Surfing Champion: KELLY SLATER

Those are just some of activities that are played in the water. If you some suggestions and additions for other recreational water sports feel free to comment and discuss.

All-time Favorite Pinoy Sports Icons

Philippines like other countries love sports. Athletics, basketball, billiards, boxing, chess and swimming are just some of the sports that gave the country international fame all over the world. Here's a list of Pinoy icons in sports that put the country on top rank and brought great pride in it.

10. BILLIARDS: Francisco Bustamante

Francis Lopez Bustamante also known as Django, is a professional pocket billiards-pool. Born and raised in Tarlac Philippines and became the 2010 World 9-ball champion. He started playing his profession when he was at the age of 10,he has won different titles such as; the Munich Master, The German 9-ball Championship and the Japan 9-ball Championship who has made him one of the billiard's greatest international stars.

9. SWIMMING: Eric Buhain

Before becoming a champion Eric had a Primary Lung Complex, which is a serious lung disease. His doctor advised him that he must engage into a sport that would help his lungs. So Eric decided to enroll in a swimming class and that is the start of Eric's dream to be a swimming champion. He became a member of the Philippine swimming team at the age of 11. In 1985 when he was 15 he gained his first medals in the Southeast Asian Games and Thailand is the host country. In 1991 he contributed 90 gold haul in the RP's team in Manila where in the SEA games event was held.

8. CHESS: Eugene Torre

Chess master Eugene Torre was born to play chess and give the countries honor in that field. At the age of 22 he is the first Filipino and the first Asian to have title of International Grandmaster. He earns a lot of medals at the World Chess Olympiad where he has representing the Philippines for three decades. He led the Philippine chess team to a 7th place finish in the year 1988 Chess Olympiad which was held in Greece. But maybe the biggest achievement of Torre was beating Anatoli Karpov a chess legend in 1976.

7. BOXING: Gabriel Elorde

Another boxing fighter, Gabriel Flash Elorde was born and raised in the town of Bogo, Cebu.  HE was very talented and very popular left-handed boxer who has a career record of 88-27-2 with 33 knockouts; during his popularity in the field of boxing he takes the titles Super Featherweight Champion of the World, WBC Super Featherweight Champion of the World, WBA Super Featherweight Champion of the World, OPBF Lightweight Championship, GABG Lightweight Championship of the Philippines, GAB Super featherweight of the Philippines, OPBF Bantamweight Championship, and the Gab Bantamweight Championship of the Philippines.

6. BASKETBALL: Robert Jaworski Sr.

Robert Jaworski Sr. also known as "The Big J" reigns the Philippine Basketball Association for 23 years playing for Toyota and the all time favorite team in the PBA, Ginebra. He became part of the national team that represented the Philippines in the Asian Game which was held in Bangkok, Thailand in the year 1966. By the following year he became part of the ABC or Asian Basketball Confederation team that played in Seoul, South Korea. And in the year 1973 this gentleman together with his team won the 1973 ABC games in the Philippines being the host country that year. When he finally hung up his jersey he was aged 52 and run for the country's senator and fortunately he won.

5. ATHLETICS: Lydia De Vega

Lydia Devega-Mercado a beautiful woman who was born and raised in Bulacan, Philppines got the title "Asia’s Sprint Queen" in the 1980's because he is the first Filipina and the 1st woman to win back-to-back gold medals in the 100-meter dash in Asian competition in 1982 and 1984. She holds the Philippine best record with her personal best 11.28 seconds. She was also a two-time Olympia, having won a gold medal in 1984 (Los Angeles) and 1988 (Seoul) Olympic games.

4. BILLIARDS: Efren "Bata" Reyes

This 55 yrs old billiard master nicknamed "The Magician” because he makes even the toughest shot in billiards. Reyes was born and raised in Pampanga, Philippines. He has taken titles in the World Cup, International 9-Ball Tournament and World 9-ball Open, and also he led his team Philippines to victory in the World Team Billiards and internationally took the gold medal in the Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games. This gentlemen also is a champion in Pro-Tour Championship and PBT World 8-Ball in the year 1995, he won ESPN Ultimate Challenge and the WPA World 9-Ball Championship in 1999, Masters 9-Ball in 2001, Challenge of the Champions winner in 2002. Reyes remains the best when it comes to billiards and the most lethal weapon in pool today.

3. BOWLING: Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno

Philippine is very proud of Paeng Nepomuceno because he was the 1st Filipino Bowler to receive the Worlds 1st prestigious International Olympic Committee President's Trophy in 1993 and also the 1st bowler enshrined in the International Bowling Hall of Fame in St. Louis , Missouri in that same year. This Filipino guy also was the  1st  Filipino bowler listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having won the Bowling World Cup four times (1976, 1980, 1992, and 1996) in 1994. By the year 1999 according to FIQ Federation Internationale des Quilleurs, Paeng Nepomuceno is the 1st Filipino and the worlds “International Bowling Athlete of the Millennium".

2. BOXING: Nonito Donaire

Another Professional Filipino American boxer Nonito Donaire was known to his remarkable speed of his hand and foot-work and earned the nickname "The Filipino Flash."  This gentleman is a 4 division world champion and he is currently the reigning WBO Super Bantamweight Champion.He earns also the title WBC Bantamweight Champion, WBO Bantamweight Champion, Interim WBA Super Flyweight Champion and the IBF Flyweight Champion.Nonito is in rank 4 pound for pound boxer.
 

1. BOXING: Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao

Who doesn't know "Pacman" for his speed and his greatness when it comes to field of boxing? The pride of General Santos City, Mindanao . This gentleman is famous and well-known internationally, for having a wonderful career in boxing. He is the first Filipino and the only boxer in the world who won the seven world titles in different division on his sports (flyweight, super bantamweight, featherweight, super featherweight, light welterweight and welterweight).  Now Manny is not just famous when it comes to boxing, he is now also serving the country as a Congressman in Saranggani. He has now the title of "A Fighting Congressman." Why not?

Top 10 Most Favorite Sports in The World

Maybe most of us are asking what are the most popular and favorite sports of the world since all individuals are unique and we have our own favorite sports. When you search online for listings of world favorite and most played sports you may probably see that soccer or football is always on the top of the list.

Soccer (the Father of All Sports)
Most of the listing that I searched and seen in the internet whether it is based on a lot of fans that talk about it or most participants or whatever the meaning of popular sports, World Soccer is always on the top of the list. Soccer or football is very popular all over the world this team sport maybe is the most watched, the most played and the most talked about. Of course it also depends on what criteria you use for popularity.

After Soccer the next sports in the list are:

Tennis (the Queen of all sports)
Contemporary this sport was first known in 19th century in the country of United Kingdom and it was first called Lawn Tennis. From that time tennis gained popularity all over the world. Places like USA, Europe, Australia, India and some other part of the Asia love this sports in fact it has 0.33 billion followers. This sport apparently offers the most watched sporting career for beautiful women like Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova who is known to be the 'TEEN TENNIS PRINCESS'.

Cricket

This sport is the second most popular sports in the world followed by soccer .It was played first in Southern England and it had developed to be the national sport of the country. It is a bat and ball game played between two teams of 11 players. In India subcontinent this is the most popular sport which has a 1.5 billion population. A lot of crazy fans are following this sport like in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. This sport is always on the top three listings of most popular sports in countries like Australia, England, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Mauritius.

Basketball

This is always been the favorite and most popular sport in the USA, China, Russia, in the Philippines, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Puerto Rico. The famous National Basketball Association in America with 30 teams playing is the richest and probably the most watch basketball league in American Sporting action all over the world. It is said that NBA action attracts audiences in excess of a billion.

Volleyball

This game is very famous in the USA and almost 100 countries play this game professionally. The sport may not be the most played and most popular sport in any countries but still it certainly enjoys a popularity ranking in almost all nations. This game is always on the list of favorite sports all over the world. Today the ruling country in volleyball is Brazil.

Baseball

Is a bat and ball sports which is played by two teams of nine members each. This sport originates is US and it is invented by Alexander Cartwright of New York. The sport is the richest pastime of the American. Baseball becomes very popular in countries like Japan, Korea, Cuba, Taiwan and many other countries. The researcher said that the total baseball population is 600 million.

Rugby Union

This game is very popular in New Zealand and many other places. This team sport often referred to as Rugby, it is a game of full contact which originates in England in the early 19th Century. A tournament called "Rugby World Cup is held every four years and the team who wins the tournament will receive the "Webb Ellis Cup".

American Football

One of the most popular sports in the United States it is close to English Soccer and Rugby Football. Half of the nation’s populations of 306 million really like to play this game. A huge bunch of fans in US, Canada, Japan, The Caribbean and Europe is being crazy about the sport. National Football League is the richest amongst the world sporting league netting $6.2 billion annually.

Ice Hockey

In its name Ice Hockey, is a team sport played on ice, it is always on the top list of the sports played in the US, Russia, Canada, Norway and other country with winter season. Ice Hockey is very popular throughout the season. NHL or the National Hockey League is the most popular league among all other hockey leagues.

Table Tennis

Table tennis is just another world’s favorite sports. This is first called ping-pong. This sport is the second most famous sport in China but internationally it has limited audience. One of the advantages of this game is, it requires only a little space not like the other sports and almost schools clubs and recreational center have a table-tennis court.