A zipper has three parts

Thai Boxing

Boxing is popular in many countries. Two fighters wear boxing gloves on their hands. The boxers hit each other until one is knocked out or until the final bell rings. Each part of the fight is three minutes long. It is called a round.

Thai boxing is different.The boxing match begins with music. Then the two fighters kneel and pray to God. Next, they do a slow dance that copies the movements of Thai boxing. During this dance, each fighter tries to show the other that he is best.

Then the fight begins. In Thai boxing, the fighters can kick with their feet and hit each other with their elbows and knees. Of course, they hit with their hands, too. Each round is three minutes long. Then the boxers have a two-minute rest. Most boxers can fight only five rounds because this kind of fighting is very difficult.

Thai boxing began over 500 years ago. If a soldier lost his weapons in a battle, he needed to fight with just his body. The soldiers learned how to use all the parts of their bodies. In 1560, the Burmese army captured Naresuen, the King of Thailand, in a war. King Naresuen was a very good boxer. He won his freedom from Burma by defeating all the best Burmese fighters. When he returned to Thailand, his people were very proud of him. Thai boxing became a popular sport.

Sumo Wrestling

Sumo wrestling is a national sport in Japan. Every year there are six tournaments, and millions of Japanese watch them on television. A tournament is a series of matches.

Sumo is almost as old as the nation of Japan itself. Stories say that there was sumo wrestling over 2,000 ( years ago. There are written records of national sumo tournaments in the 8th century.

In many sports, athletes are thin and can move very quickly. However, sumo wrestlers weigh from 100 to 160 kilos (kilograms). One famous wrestler weighed 195. kilos. Sumo wrestlers do not move quickly, and sumo wrestling is a very slow sport.

Sumo wrestlers start training when they are boys. They exercise to make their bodies strong. They also eat a lot.

They wrestle in a round ring with a sand floor. A wrestler loses the match if he leaves the ring. He is also the loser if any part of his body except his feet touches the floor. Each wrestler tries to push the other down on the floor or out of the ring. Sometimes one wrestler just steps aside when the other wrestler rushes toward him. Then, the wrestler who is rushing falls down or moves out of the ring. Sumo is not very popular in other countries, but the Japanese think that it is a very exciting sport.