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BMX, fencing, rugby... these seemingly unpopular events have suddenly become popular on the Internet due to the popularity of the Paris Olympics.

Since the opening of the Olympic Games, the overall search index for "BMX" has increased by 1136% year-on-year and 1013% month-on-month. Following the data, the reporter visited several sports clubs and found that the enthusiasm of Beijing people to develop unpopular sports has actually continued. There are also stable fans of unpopular sports in Beijing. Project practitioners told reporters,Beijing is one of the best cities in the country for developing unpopular projects.Under the influence of Olympic fever, the age of enthusiasts is getting younger and younger, and the popularity is getting better and better.

BMX: From playing, to being afraid, to breaking through

At 6pm on Tuesday, at the Xindong Base BMX Balance Bike Cycling Center next to the World Park, 2-year-old boy Doudou was riding a balance bike on the pump track, accelerating, sprinting, and turning. "Okay, Doudou, great, this lap is better than the last one!" Coach Mi Jiaqi applauded and encouraged loudly.

After the training session, Doudou, who had just ridden the bike with ease, got off the bike and walked with a swaying gait. "Look at the kids nowadays, they are exposed to extreme sports at such an early age, which is completely different from us back then."

BMX is an extreme sport included in the Paris Olympics. It has two events, freestyle park race and mud racing. Deng Yawen won the women's freestyle park race, achieving a historic breakthrough for China in this event. The balance bike that Doudou is playing is an introduction to BMX, and pump track is also one of the BMX events, but it was not included in the Paris Olympics this time.

At 6:15, the older children also came to participate in the BMX pump track training. Miaomiao, a 4-year-old girl, has been practicing BMX for a year. On June 1, she won the championship in the pump track competition in the same age group at the 4th Beijing BMX Open. Miaomiao's mother said: "As for the effect of the training, I feel that she has a very good willpower now and can persist."

"It's fun, for sure. I've been practicing for several months." Tuantuan, a 7-year-old boy, had traces of bumps and bruises on his protective gear. "I fell before, but it's okay. I can just get up."

Tuantuan's mother said that her child's interest in BMX has completely "covered" the pain, "this little bump is really nothing."

Some older children can already ride at high speed on the pump track, flying up and down. "I was already 13 years old when I entered the sports school, and then I switched from road bikes to BMX, which was considered very early at the time." Looking at the children in front of him, Mi Jiaqi recalled his past. In 2004, he participated in the national championship and won the youth group championship. In 2008, BMX entered the Olympic Games for the first time in Beijing, and he participated in the Olympic preliminaries."At that time, there were only a dozen teams and more than 200 athletes in the national BMX competition. Now, our club alone has more than 200 stable and active members."

Mi Jiaqi said that Beijing is one of the best cities in China for BMX development. BMX is also very suitable for young people to participate in, and it has outstanding effects in training body balance, agility, and tempering willpower. "Look at these children, they all went through a process, from loving to play, driven by interest. Then they bumped into things, and they were afraid of pain and a little scared. Then they broke through the fear, saw progress, and reached a new level."

Fencing: 4,000 places were snapped up in seconds

"Ding Ding Ding" "Ta Ta Ta"... At 7 pm on Wednesday, the sounds of weapons clashing and footsteps moving could be heard one after another in the training ground of Wanguo Fencing Beijing Haidian Store. The reporter roughly counted that there were 70 to 80 students practicing fencing here, most of whom were children.

"Usually there are a lot of people between 6 and 8 p.m., because people are bringing their kids here after get off work." said a parent sitting on the sidelines. Her child has just started fencing and is now learning the steps and postures of fencing from the coach.

Among the many "fencing teenagers", the reporter noticed a child who was playing a training match with an opponent who was half a head taller than him. Despite the difference in size, he was not afraid of the stage and attacked forward with quick and precise movements.

"My name is Li Ziting, I'm 9 years old this year, and I practice foil." Although he is young, Ziting has been practicing fencing for 3 years. At first, his parents thought he was not active, so they enrolled him in a fencing class. As he practiced, Ziting found that fencing was quite interesting. "I especially like the 'back swing' movement in foil," he said, and demonstrated it to the reporter.

Because he practices foil, Zi Ting's idol is Hong Kong foil champion Zhang Jialang, and he usually watches the latter's game videos to learn skills. This time, Zhang Jialang successfully defended the gold medal in men's foil at the Paris Olympics, and the child was very happy.

Ziting's coach Sun Haibo was also watching the students' training. "In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Zhong Man won China's first Olympic men's sabre gold medal, which created a wave of popularity." After that, the Chinese fencing team achieved great results in the Olympics, which made the public more familiar with fencing and more and more people wanted to participate in it.

Coach Sun introduced that fencing is divided into three types of swords: epee, sabre and foil, and the rules are different. "In epee, you score points by stabbing, so you are required to keep your eyes on the opponent and stay focused; in sabre, you need to take the initiative to attack, and you have to shout out each sword to add momentum; the effective hitting area of ​​foil is the smallest, so you need to control the sword more accurately, and the tactics must be more varied..." In terms of improving children's abilities, fencing can be "practiced in reverse". For example, if a child is more introverted and you want him to be braver and more outspoken, you can practice sabre. But if you want to achieve good results in the competition, it is best to practice the sword type that best matches your personality. "Ziting is a child with a quick comprehension and a sharp mind, so practicing foil is very suitable for him."

The popularity of fencing among the people can be seen from the difficulty of registering for various amateur competitions. Coach Sun said,Some competitions have as many as 4,000 places available, but grabbing a place is as hard as grabbing a concert ticket for a big-name singer."It was sold out in seconds! Some of our students' parents even set up a group to remind each other of the registration time for the competition and share tips on grabbing spots, otherwise you really won't be able to get one."

Rugby: Learn to cooperate and contribute to the team

"Okay, Corey, focus and look at me." On Thursday afternoon, 7-year-old Corey was practicing the quarterback passing technique of flag football under the guidance of coach Qiao Yong.

This is a football field in the sports center of the Economic and Technological Development Zone, and also the training ground of the Brave Rugby Academy. The Chinese team won the sixth place in the women's sevens rugby competition at the Paris Olympics, setting a new record in Olympic history.

"The rugby at the Paris Olympics is English rugby, and flag football will become an official event at the next Los Angeles Olympics." Qiao Yong said that American football was derived from English rugby, while flag football is a non-contact American football, named after the two flags worn by the players around their waists. In flag football games, hugging and pushing are not allowed. The defense pulls down a flag on the belt of the offensive player holding the ball, and the attack is stopped. It is a safe "non-collision" sport.

Corey has been practicing flag football for five years. He is the core quarterback in a team of five players. "Well, I think this sport is very interesting. It feels great to score a touchdown." Despite his young age, Corey has participated in dozens of games, big and small, and "I won most of them."

Corey's mother, who was watching her child's training on the sidelines, said: "I chose flag football mainly because it is an outdoor sport and can get some sun, and it is also a team sport, which helps with cooperation and social skills."

Qiao Yong agreed with Corey's mother's consideration. "Communication is very important in this sport. Each team has at least 20 to 30 sets of tactics. Before each attack, the five teammates must gather together for a 'conference', that is, to arrange tactics."

Flag football is not like soccer or basketball, where players on the field pass the ball back and forth and have many opportunities to touch the ball. In each offensive play of flag football, the quarterback often only has one chance to handle the ball and only one chance to pass the ball forward. The player who receives the ball from the quarterback cannot pass the ball again and can only move forward. "So except for the quarterback and the receiver, the executor of this tactic, the other three players are all faking runs, attracting the defense, and 'sacrificing.' In a game, it is common for a player to run ten or twenty times before catching the ball once."

The unique charm of this sport is created by both clever tactics and sacrifice. "Nowadays, when organizing competitions, the number of participating teams must be limited, otherwise there will be easily 40 or 50 teams," said Qiao Yong.At present, the cities with the best development of rugby in China include Beijing and Shanghai. "Although it is a niche sport and unpopular, there are still a lot of opportunities to participate in Beijing."

Under the setting sun, Corey was sweating profusely. His technical moves were already quite good. He was looking forward to playing for the team again.

Source: Beijing Daily Client

Reporter: Sun Yi, Mo Fan

Process Editor: u070