Definition of athlete ?

[Bart]

What is meant by the word athlete? We usually associate the word with running and jumping ability.Is that why blacks have the image of being athletical? After watching this past olympics I have come to the conclusion gymnasts may be the best athletes on the planet Their routines are so difficult and precise requiring enormous strength, skill, flexibility and timing. And the all- around participants are totally fabulous at everything.


Asians are very good too being that gymnasts are smaller thanmost people. Who is a better athlete, Jordan cause he can dunk and jump high with his tongue hanging out or some olympic caliber gymnast competing in anydiscipline?


Imean, my mother can shoot a free throw better than Shaq and may hit a few 3 pointers but she couldn't even hang on to a bar much less fly around in the air. How many good black gymnasts have there been?


Dictionary definition: A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts.

 

[Bear-Arms]

<div style="text-align: left;">Asians are some amazing athletes they
are very limber, and have some jaw dropping agility. Asian's are also
stereotyped, but they can do just as much as anyother race. I think a
Chinese guy won gold in hurdles in the Olympics. I bet if you put a
Japanese guy at half back he would do just as good as anyone else. It's
all about being given a chance to prove you're abilities, and no one is
given more chances in sports to succeed than a black person.



America has based athletism purely on our pro sports even though
baseball requires very little of that. Sure it is very hard to hit 100
mph fastball, but it doesn't require holding your entire body up like
gymnast do with the rings. Men in America dont even
want their sons in gymanastics because they see it as a woman
sports. I think athletism is seen now through a cultural view on
what we expect athletes to be. 1000 years ago throwing a spear the
farthest would of been seen as very athletic, and someone jumping
wouldn't of been.


</div>

 

[JD074]

Good points, guys. I've mentioned this before, but it really
does seem like everything that blacks do well (run and jump) is
overrated, and everything that whites do well (intelligence, skill,
strength, work ethic, passion, being coachable, being a good
teammate, etc.) are underrated.

As far as who are the best athletes, you can look at it from a
few perspectives:

1) You have to start with the mental components: passion, skill,
work ethic, intelligence, teamwork, etc. It doesn't matter how
much athleticism you have if you don't work hard and have
passion for your sport. Even "purely athletic" sports like
sprinting and the long jump require technique and hard work.

And how about self-control? Mental and emotional health?
How many athletes ruin their careers because they don't have
enough of those things? They start smoking crack and they
get "washed up" over night. I saw a documentary on NBA TV
about a black "streetballer" who was 5-9 and could jump over a
car. What happenen to him? Jail.

2) Ultimately, the best athletes are the ones who are the most
exceptional in their chosen sport, above and beyond the
specific athletic attributes that they possess (or don't possess.)
When asked if Lance Armstrong is the best athlete in the world,
a lot of people would say no because "he's no good at ball
sports. All he has to do is peddle." Who cares? He doesn't
have to be good at ball sports. He's as dominant in his sport
as anybody else is in their respective sport. That's what's most
important. I would say that Armstrong is a much better athlete
than Michael Vick, for example, because he is so much more
effective in his chosen sport.

3) If we're talking about all around skill and athletic ability,
gymnasts are definitely up there, along with wrestlers, MMA
fighters, decathletes, etc. No coincidence that these are all
individual sports, where you have to do everything yourself. If
you don't have all around excellence in an individual sport,
you're going to get in trouble.

Unfortunately, many team sports don't produce a lot of all
around athletes. This is probably for two reasons: one,
because each role is so specialized. You can be fast but weak
(centerfielder, cornerback,) big and strong but slow (offensive
lineman, power hitters,) very skilled but not particularly athletic
in a physical sense (pitchers, quarterbacks), etc. And two,
because of the Caste System that overlooks the finer points of
being a good athlete so that blacks have free reign to not be
very good but still dominate. There should be good all
around athletes in football- fast yet powerful guys like running
backs, linebackers, and safeties- but they're so overrated.
Who knows how many great all around athletes we would see
in the American team sports if they were open to white men.
Perhaps they would be just as awe-inspiring as white
gymnasts....

 

[JD074]

I wanted to put this in a separate thread because my first one
is getting a little long. It's too bad that men's gymnastics has
gotten a reputation for being effeminate. There's nothing
effeminate about those rings routines! It doesn't help that
they're small (America has an odd fascination with height,) but
then again many boxers are tiny and they're respected. Pound
for pound they're stronger than a lot of the "tough guys" in
football, basketball, and many other sports. They have great
strength relative to their bodyweight. In other words they
don't have to be 250 pounds in order to be strong. Christopher
Sommer, a gymnastics expert, has written that many gymnasts
can deadlift twice their bodyweight or more, and do weighted
chins very easily, on their first attempts and/or without
practicing them that much.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I agree with ya'll that the meaning of athletic has changed as well as what is considered athletic. It's too bad that the Caste System has ignored the white athletic traits and accomplishments. They are hurting themselves and society in the long run by doing that, but I don't think most of them will ever learn.

 

[Bart]

There are benefits and disadvantages to every somatype and group. Generally, a six foot tall black will have longer legs and arms than a white of equal height, this helps in running, jumping, hurdling and rebounding. However the longer limbs can be a liability in strength sports such as olympic lifting and strongman competitions.


Longer arms are very beneficial in boxing, blacks have denser bones, skulls and thicker skin. Many talented white fighters lose fights on cuts, a glancing blowor head butt can cause gaping wounds.


Most Africans have very small calf muscles which is an asset for running. When I was younger Iperformed an experiment on myself. Istrapped a 1/2 lb. weighted velcro belt onto my calves to see if the slight weight would make a difference... it surely did for the worse. Some of those Kenyans have lower llegsresembling a broom stick with a walnutsized calf muscle. Many whites and Asians have huge calves. African Americans have a percentage of mixed blood so their calves can vary but are smaller on average.


Funny thing I noticed with The Super Star competitions years ago. The faster black sprinters lost theiradvantage while riding a bike, I'm not sure why.It wasn't unusual to see a white lineman beat a black sprinter while riding a bike. Very interesting though.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Good point Bart, I bet watching that was pretty funny!

 

[Bear-Arms]

Bart, good point on the cuts,black's have tougher skin, and I think that has been overlooked.

 

[okra63]

The meaning of athlete has changed over time. Would there be anyone out there who would agree with me that there are black sports and white sports? Everything seems to have a racial dynamic to it these days!

 

[Don Wassall]

If there are "black sports" and "white sports," then there are about one hundred white sports for every black sport. Let's pretend the caste system doesn't exist and cede football and basketball as black sports. Then add short sprints and heavyweight boxing, again without caste system considerations. What are the other black sports out of the hundreds contested both in America and internationally?

 

[Bart]

Don, blacks have always been good at broad jumping.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

The only reason there are "black sports" is because of ignorant and cowardly whites who bought into the lie about athletic superiority and changed it all.