Paralympics

The opening ceremony for the Beijing Paralympics is just 1 day away.....already over 7000 athletes from 148 countries have arrived in Beijing to take part in the Paralympic Games.......the Olympic Village required a little modification to get it ready for the handicapped athletes.....one very encouraging aspect of the construction of the Village was that it followed the building codes and handicapped requirements of the State of California...making it eathquake safe and handicapped friendly.  Early arriving athletes have already begun training to get use to the various sites and visiting Beijing.  China itself has the largest handicapped Team of over 500 athletes......that is so encouraging as usually China has not paid much attention to the handicapped.........interviews with atrhletes in China said that having an opportunity to take part has made a big difference in their lives and given them hope that they can be successful and play a  part in modern China. 

Early arriving Paralympic athletes have begun training for the upcoming Games.

Everywhere the Torch Ceremony has been well receieved thru out China....hopefully will bring new awareness to China for the need to provide access for the handicapped to facilities and services.

Response from the people of China and the athletes has been very positive.

For those of you interested the Paralympics.TV will stream about 8 hours of competition per day for the next 11 days............not bad at all........probably might get a little coverage from major media like CNN.............make no mistake China very much interested in showing it is aware that it needs to improve it's treatment of the handicapped.....and want to show they are willing and ready to make big changes. 

Liu Zhengwei was the last Torch Bearer in the Ancient City Route of the Paralympic Relay. lights the Urn in Luoyang.

Well gotta get ready for my Taiji Class at City and the YMCA...............looks like a very exciting semester...we will cover the basics of  SunTaiji...and work on core development.........learn Taiji Qigong.....to teach relaxation and meditation........Taoist Yoga.........and get ready for October when my  Bagua Classmate Yang Shi Ming will again come from Beijing to lead seminars on the techniques and forms of Baguazhang.  Cya all........jiayo Beijing Paralympics!!