I don’t know that much about figure skating or how it is judged, but I do know what I see, and what I saw today was a Kim Yuna who made it look as if a beautiful young girl flying, twisting, and turning gracefully through the air is the most natural thing in the world. Her expression as she pulled off one amazing athletic move after another was one of pleasure, as if she was totally enjoying herself and doing exactly what she always wanted to do. And yes, she made it all look very sexy as well.

Japanese skaters, on the other hand, go through their routines looking as if they are in pain, assuming a demeanor that makes it appear that there are a million other places they would rather be. Especially difficult moves and jumps in particular are preceded by a facial expression that can best be described as frowning, lip-biting determination.

As with so many other things over here, Japanese people need to learn that doryoku (exertion, effort) and ganbaru (persistance)　are great for practice and training. When the lights go down and the music starts, however, it’s time to just loosen up and let it flow.

Star 7 Group, a golf planning company from Australia, is holding a pro-am golf tournament at Biwaike Golf Club in Tochigi Prefecture on June 7 (Sunday).

The purpose of the tournament is to provide a venue where amateurs from various countries can enjoy playing together with professionals and other amateurs, while vying for a collection of valuable prizes. The New Peoria System will be applied for amateur scoring, which means that everyone has a chance to win.

Date: June 7 (Sunday)
Location: Biwaike Golf Club (yaitabiwaike.com)
Fee: 17,000 yen for amateurs (includes cart, lunch, party, entry fee)

Prizes include: stay at a hot springs resort, stay at a luxury hotel in Tokyo, dinner at a luxury restaurant in Tokyo, dinner cruise, golf goods, golf range ball cards, and more

Entries must be received by May 29 Friday.

I plan on being there, so if you are interested in joining me for a round of golf, send an e-mail to contact[at]japundit[dot]com for details and an entry form.

It seems as if golfer Michelle Wie is finally growing up.

To try to earn her 2009 LPGA Tour card, Wie has entered the first stage of tour qualifying next week at Mission Hills Country Club.

Score this as a first step in the direction Wie should have been following all along.

Time will tell whether this is a genuine epiphany or just another one of those phony self-discovery stunts that are so popular these days.

In any event, let’s just hope we don’t get any more of this:

After turning pro the week of her 16th birthday, Wie has stuck to a game plan that she said was always her design, even though her parents appeared to be behind the wheel far more often than she was. And along the way, Wie drove very far off track.

In her first full year as a pro, she held at least a share of the lead in three majors in 2006. Then after she injured her wrists, Wie’s fortunes changed, her game faltered, her missteps increased and her image started taking hits.

And the fact remains that Wie hasn’t won any kind of tournament since the U.S. Women’s Public Links Championship, when she was all of 13.

Almost from that moment, her peers and others have suggested that Wie learn how to win against female players, instead of constantly loading up her playing schedule against the male pros, experiences that gained her almost nothing except more notoriety. Most of that negative, by the way.

Good luck, Michelle.

Via The Marmot’s Hole

Japan has a new Prince of Tennis, by the name of Kei Nishikori, who is kicking butt in the U.S. open right now after his big win against David Ferrer over the weekend, making him the first Japanese tennis player to advance to the 4th round since 1937.

Born in in rural Shimane Prefecture in 1989, he took up a racket at the age of five and would hit balls against the side of his house for many hours, showing a remarkable aptitude for the sport.

He took the incredible step of leaving Japan behind, crossing over to the U.S. at the age of 13 to be trained at the IMG Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, which caused quite a lot of buzz at the time. As usual, Japanese who compete in the world stage and raise the image of Japan in the eyes of foreigners become overnight sensations in here, and suddenly his name is on everyone’s lips.

I certainly hope that Nishikori-kun can follow stars like Ichiro, Hideki Matsui and soccer player Hidetoshi Nakata in redefining the international image of Japan through sports.

Note: Nishikori finally was defeated and did not make it to the best 8.

The U.S. Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has announced a new policy that will require its golfers to learn and speak English for face suspension of their membership.

“Why now? Athletes now have more responsibilities and we want to help their professional development,” deputy commissioner Libba Galloway told The Associated Press. “There are more fans, more media and more sponsors. We want to help our athletes as best we can succeed off the golf course as well as on it.”

Players were told by LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens that by the end of 2009, all players who have been on the tour for two years must pass an oral evaluation of their English skills or face a membership suspension. A written explanation of the policy was not given to players, according to the report.

Though the new rule applies to all players regardless of national origin, Korean players on the LPGA feel as if the new rule is aimed squarely at them.

“The LPGA could come out and say they only want 10 Koreans, but they’re not,” [said Angela Park, a Korean-American who was born in Brazil], according to Golfweek. “A lot of Korean players think they are being targeted, but it’s just because there are so many of them.”

Though I have been really critical of Michelle Wie in the past (here and here), I must admit that I ended feeling pretty sorry for the young girl after her most recent mishap on the golf course when she was disqualified from a golf tournament for signing her scorecard “too late.”

Wie said that after she finished her round on Friday, she left the tent where players sign their scorecards and was chased down by some of the volunteers working in the tent who pointed out she hadn’t signed.

Wie returned to the tent and signed the card.

“I thought it would be OK,” she said.

But Wie, according to Witters, had already walked outside the roped-off area around the tent. At that point, the mistake was final.

Witters said she and other tour officials didn’t learn about the error from volunteers until well after Wie teed off Saturday. They let her finish the round, then took her to the office where she and her caddy, Tim Vickers, were informed of the ruling.

Wie was in second place, only one shot back, when she was disqualified.

I used to be pretty amazed to see golfers in Japan imbibing beer, sake, shochu, and whiskey early in the morning before venturing out onto the golf course, but at least the tipplers were getting some exercise in the open air.

But now the latest thing in Tokyo seems to be golf bars, which let you enjoy bashing golf balls without all of the troublesome stuff like walking and going outside.

My swing is so bad I look like a caveman killing his lunch.
– Lee Trevino

Fellow JAPUNDIT contributor Brian Engel kindly alerted me to a great piece in The Washington Post about how golf has changed in Japan, thanks mostly to U.S. investment companies like Goldman Sachs, which manages hundreds of golf courses through a company named Accordia Golf.
Then. . .

A weekend round of golf was slow, boozy, expensive and strictly regimented, Asami said. The day began around 8 a.m. with breakfast at the club, followed by nine holes of golf (always with caddies), followed by a lunch with lots of wine, beer and sake, followed by nine more holes and coffee or tea to finish up before a long drive home.

The round cost between $350 and $400 for nonmembers, and it kept a golfer away from home and family for at least 12 hours. “That was how you played,” Asami said. “We did not know another way.”

Now. . .

To make the course attractive to a potentially huge market in nearby Tokyo, Aqualine has halved the cost of a game for nonmembers. It is now about $135 for 18 holes. At the same time, course maintenance has improved markedly, members say. The food has improved. Out on the fairways, Asami said, there has been an American-style revolution in etiquette.

Golfers no longer must hire caddies. They can drive carts onto fairways. They can start play early in the morning or late in the afternoon. They don’t have to stop play to have lunch. A time marshal scolds dawdlers.

Groundskeepers are cutting the fairway rough so it plays easier, according to Accordia’s management. Greens, too, are mowed in a way that slow putts and improves scores.

“Japanese golf has changed drastically,” said Shinobu Haruna, a well-known golf journalist and author. “The merits of being a club member have declined for sure, but nonmembers can play at reasonable prices almost everywhere.”

Up here in Tochigi Prefecture, we are surrounded by a very large selection of golf courses that we can play on weekdays for 5,000 yen or less. In fact, by the time you read this, Mr. Pink and I will be out on an Accordia course named Higashi Nasu Country Club enjoying a round of golf in what is predicted to be perfect pre-rainy season weather. . . Fore!

Former sumo champion Konishiki arrived back in Japan recently for the first time after undergoing gastric bypass surgery in February.

Since the operation Konishiki has shed 70 kilograms (144 pounds), from a high of 300 kilograms (660 pounds).

Though we would like to congratulate Konishiki on his weight loss and wish him the best in the future, we must admit that he still looks pretty hefty in the above “after” photo.

Sankei Sports via Tokyo Graph

NPR’s news show, Day to Day, has a story (audio, 4:30 min.) on a sumo tournament held in Los Angeles.  The coverage of the tournament covers old ground (very basic), but it was interesting that the tournament took place abroad, even if it was just an exhibition.

For the first time in 27 years, 40 top-ranked athletes traveled to Los Angeles for an exhibition tournament. Most people have seen sumo wrestlers only in photographs, but pictures of these barely-clothed behemoths can’t capture the live spectacle as the wrestlers gracefully lumber into the sumo ring, or dohyo.

Most of the wrestlers who competed at the Los Angeles Sports Arena were more than 6 feet [183 cm] tall and well over 300 pounds [136 kg]. And though they all take Japanese sumo names like Takamisakari or Wakanosato, many hail from places like Bulgaria, Estonia and Mongolia.