Balletfanp

I'm probably biased, but I have been so impressed with the sportsmanlike behaviour demonstrated by the Taekwondo contenders, winners and losers, Team GB and others - proud to be a Taekwondo martial artist. They are all winners ✊.

He is my local Olympian here in Plymouth (or he was) so he will be splashed over the local paper headlines - poor Tom. Of all the times to have a bad day - I feel terrible for him. Used so see him and his dad doing the weekly shop in our local supermarket quite often.

Yes, our classes are mixed adults and juniors - only under 7s have their own class.

Whereabouts do you live Sunrise? PM me if you prefer and I can check to see if there are any classes with instructors I know about in your area.

I do the ITF style of Taekwondo (the original form), which also have a series of movement (patterns, or tul in Korean) which I really enjoy - having done ballet in my youth I can see a lot of similarities in the need for precise and graceful movements that have to be performed perfectly. In fact the WTF (World Taekwondo Federation) is about to rebrand itself as just World Taekwondo, the acronym WTF having a rather unfortunate meaning in terms of abbreviated text speak...☺

By all means do - I didn't take it up until I was 44 and I love it! Usually most clubs allow you to try a class or two for free to see if you think you will enjoy it. I stayed up to watch Lutalo Muhammad's final and can't begin to imagine how he must have felt having the gold snatched away from him in the LAST SECOND... Just goes to show that you can't relax for a moment. I can't watch the replay, too painful. A rather dubious decision earlier in the match when Muhammed scored 4 points with a head shot, only to have it appealed and taken from him due to "no contact". I'm afraid I don't see how it was no contact when he kicked off the other guy's helmet and sent it flying across the arena! But hey, that was the ref's decision, and it's too late now. And although he was understably devastated, his gracious behaviour on the podium when he must have felt terrible was exemplary, and a perfect example of the Taekwondo tenet of Courtesy. Well done Lutalo.

Darn it - I usually love to watch that. That's the trouble with the Olympics - so much is going on that you are bound to miss something. I have had the last fortnight off work and have been able to watch far more than would usually be possible (including a lot that I thought would be boring or "not my thing", and which turned out to be gripping. My 18 year old son and I ended up watching the hockey final tonight and found it riveting, despite both our expectations - although my son was highly amused by my explosion of "Yesssss!" when we won, and told me to "get a grip"! Am staying up to watch Lutalo Muhammed's final tonight. Just a word to anyone who has kids/grandchildren who may be interested in Taekwondo as a result of the Olympics - Olympic Taekwondo is not traditional Taekwondo - it's a sport form that was developed to get it into the Olympics a few years ago.

I used to watch him on the showjumping in the 70s, and saw him live somewhere once - I think I may even have his autograph lurking somewhere, now I come to think of it! Brilliant achievement, so happy for him.

And well done to Jade Jones on retaining her Olympic title. Some brilliant fighting from her. She's like a striking snake.

Just had a look and Rhapsody/The Two Pigeons is available for pre-order on the ROH site ???? DVD:- http://www.roh.org.uk/products/rhapsody-the-two-pigeons-dvd-the-royal-ballet Or Blu-ray:- http://www.roh.org.uk/products/rhapsody-the-two-pigeons-blu-ray-the-royal-ballet Out on 3rd Oct!

I swear the Brownlees are superhuman! The triathlon has got to be harder than a marathon.

God, I saw the video - made me feel sick! ????

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds the cycling races deeply mysterious, albeit exciting! Totally agree, Alison, and they were booing him as he took his last jump too - OK, their man was in the lead and they didn't want him to be overtaken, but that's disgraceful behaviour by any standards.

Well done to Jack Laugher - silver in the diving!

I must say that, phenomenal gymnasts though they are, Simone Biles and her ilk leave me cold. I hanker after the days when gymnastics (particularly the floor exercises) were something pleasurable to watch and not just a display of athletics. Last night I looked up Olga Korbut's floor exercises on YouTube, and what a delight they were to see again. Such a performer! And what a contrast to the floor exercises now. The exercises now are undoubtedly incredible in terms of what they can achieve, but I know what I would rather watch...

I do Taekwondo, and have also had to teach the class on occasion - we would never take an attitude like that. Mutual respect, praise and positive reinforcement are our watchwords, and we have excellent results from that. Absolutely no need for bullying or shouting or pushing people beyond their limits. We expect them to work hard, yes - but it has to be tempered with common sense and compassion.

I have trouble with the dreaded "throat tickle from nowhere" which is pretty much impossible to suppress. However I have found that if I can really force myself to relax (not easy as one's instinct is to tense up in panic!) I can get control of the coughing much more easily - and water or a cough sweet also helps.

Max and Louis were both amazing! So happy for Max in particular.

I had to leave the room - couldn't watch!

Just watched it - how lovely!

God, stressful, yes - that following the diving made a nervous wreck of me last night. Fantastic performances all round. And very impressed by how cool and composed Max Whitlock was, given that awful situation of having to watch his rivals compete after him and just having to wait for their scores! Needed a glass of wine after all that (my excuse, anyway! ????)

Thank you Dormouse - it sounds as though there is hope for me yet! If I can do as well as you are obviously doing I will have no regrets. Congratulations again.

That is brilliant - well done! I'm interested in your comment about knee replacement as I have been told that is my next step, but they won't do it yet as I'm "too young" (and at 50 it's about the only occasion I am likely to be described as "too young" these days!). Just wondering how much it has affected you - are you able to do what you would have been able to do before having knee problems, would you say? I'm trying to hold off as long as possible, but if I have it done I would like to be able to continue doing Taekwondo, and I don't know if that's possible, or encouraged.

I do know what you mean - I'll still be watching though! Happily it all coincides with my two weeks off work! ☺

Thanks Capybara!