Weighty lessons. (The Roving Eye).IT figures that in L.A. even sumo wrestling is for the thin. A UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX class that teaches the Japanese martial art martial art Any of several arts of combat and self-defense that are widely practiced as sport. There are armed and unarmed varieties, most based on traditional fighting methods used in East Asia. includes people of all sizes and ages -- from teen-agers to 60-year-olds. One of its teachers, Andrew Freund, is president of the California Sumo Association, a four-year group that wrestles weekly at the John Wooden Center at the school. It's the officially recognized college sumo club in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , said Freund, who taught martial arts This is a list of martial arts, broken down by region and style. African martial arts Eritrea
He stresses that the sport is not just for big guys. "Sumo needs to be open to both genders and people of all sizes' Freund said. The 20 to 30 members of the California Sumo Association vary in age, weight and skill level, from 105 to 500 pounds. The UCLA class teaches strength, speed, stretching and other techniques. The course is headed by lightweight two-time European champion and two-time World Champion Svetoslav Binev of Bulgaria. In amateur sumo wrestling, competitions come in weight classes: Lightweight (up to 187 pounds), middleweight (up to 253 pounds) and heavyweight (more than 253 pounds). "I want people to see sumo as good exercise," says Binev on the California Sumo Association's Web site. The class is open to full-time UCLA students and recreational facility Noun 1. recreational facility - a public facility for recreation recreation facility facility, installation - a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry; "the assembly plant is an enormous facility" cardholders. And as the unofficial sumo capital of California, UCLA will be the site of the annual California Sumo Open Tournament on August 25 featuring sumo wrestlers See
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