This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on November 30, 2006. It features Hong Rongshao, a professor at the Taipei Education University and the founder of Taiwan's first Toy Research Institute. Hong is confident about the future of the toy industry. He often says to his students: "Kids, adults, old people, sick people, and even pets love toys. This is one career path that has a great future, and you can be your own boss and make good money, too."
In Hong's view, there is a lack of design professionals in Taiwan's toy industry. As part of his quest to educate new toy designers, he plans to open up cooperation with the Taipei Teachers University on integrated electronics and IC design for toys. A special curriculum will also be offered to train international digital toy designers.
According to Hong, Taiwan has never been particularly outstanding in the international toy market, because the major players in its toy industry did not invest in research and development. Since there was a lack of professional designers, the products were neither innovative nor creative. In Hong's words: "I believe that the domestic market's current difficulties are due to an inability to design good toys, and not because there is no money to be made in toys."
Hong's view is supported by experts from the Taiwan Toy and Children's Articles Research and Development Center, who believe that about 80 percent of such items now come from factories in China. According to these experts, Taiwan's focus in developing toys should be placed on professionals who can conduct research and development, instead of competing with China on price. Indeed, there is an urgent need for Taiwan's universities and graduate programs to train professionals in this area.
According to Hong, at present, only a handful of institutions in Taiwan provide courses that focus on toy design. The Taipei Education University (which operates the aforementioned Toy Research Institute) and the Taipei University of Technology are two good examples. While the China Medical University plans to establish a department of toy design, the Taipei Teachers' University has also proposed a degree program in the subject.
Hong believes that with more and more schools coming on board, toy departments will become more popular in Taiwan. In his words: "Right now, lots of industrial product design or art products use elements of toy design, such as the integration of IC technology design. So many art design students go abroad to finally get exposure to the IC side of things. Taiwan has the strongest computer and IC design fields in the world, but has never developed toys using these strengths, which is a great pity." In order to help the nation usurp China's leadership in the toy field, Hong is now calling on schools in Taiwan to set up PhD programs in design.
To maintain development in Taiwan's toy industry, Hong has also made cooperative arrangements with more than a dozen elementary schools and communities to train elderly people to repair children's toys in "toy workshops". In his words: "This not only engenders great goodwill between elders and youth, but also lets the kids get the idea that toy resources are valuable, as they see their elders dressed in white coats doing repair work."
Showing posts with label toys and games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toys and games. Show all posts
Muai Thai
Thai boxing originated as a self defence and developed to become a sport. It is well-known for its various types of forward and backward elbow strikes, Knee strikes, swing and reversing kicks, foot jabbing and all types of fist blows. A great deal of training and coaching is required to develop this skill.
In the old days, Thai traditional boxers "had their fists and the lower arms wrapped in strings and then soaked in a starchy liquid, granulated glassy material was sprinkled on to lend additional devastating effects. When dry and hard, the pair of dress fists becomes a deadly lethal weapon." (Chaleo Manilerd 1980 : 23)
Thai boxers of today wear regular gloves and rattan headbands entering a ring with much ceremony - typical of Thai folk beliefs associated with martial sports. At every event of Thai boxing, there is a traditional musical band to provide traditional martial music for the fight. The band consists of Javanese pipe, a pair of two face drums and cymbals. Any tune can be played and varies with the phases of the fights. There is a tune for the ritual, for shadow boxing. During the fighting the piper can change the tune or the tempo to suit the action of the fighting.
For physical protection, a Thai boxer wears boxing trunks with a protective cup sewn on inside to prevent injury from kicks and kneeing. As for spiritual protection, Thai boxers believe in all kinds of charms and talismans. That is the reason for wearing lustral thread around the head and rings of charms around the biceps. No woman is allowed to go into the canvas ring for fear that her influence should destroy the strength and skill of the boxers.
Thai boxers are graded from fly weight to heavy weight, but welter, middle and heavy weight fights are rare. As with other styles of boxing, a referee controls the fight inside the ring and there are two judges who keep score outside the ring. At the opening sound of music, the two boxers in the ring will perform a short ritual of "Wai Khru" (paying homage to the teachers) and this quite often proceeds to a staging of the Four-faced Brahman dance which symbolizes four virtues: compassion, temperance, prudence and justice. Upon the completion of the prefight rites, boxers return to their respective corners to have their ceremonial headband removed and receive the last prefight instruction from their trainers. At the signal from the ring referee to fight, both boxers go into action. They fight 3 minutes rounds alternated by 2 minutes rest periods.
In the old days, Thai traditional boxers "had their fists and the lower arms wrapped in strings and then soaked in a starchy liquid, granulated glassy material was sprinkled on to lend additional devastating effects. When dry and hard, the pair of dress fists becomes a deadly lethal weapon." (Chaleo Manilerd 1980 : 23)
Thai boxers of today wear regular gloves and rattan headbands entering a ring with much ceremony - typical of Thai folk beliefs associated with martial sports. At every event of Thai boxing, there is a traditional musical band to provide traditional martial music for the fight. The band consists of Javanese pipe, a pair of two face drums and cymbals. Any tune can be played and varies with the phases of the fights. There is a tune for the ritual, for shadow boxing. During the fighting the piper can change the tune or the tempo to suit the action of the fighting.
For physical protection, a Thai boxer wears boxing trunks with a protective cup sewn on inside to prevent injury from kicks and kneeing. As for spiritual protection, Thai boxers believe in all kinds of charms and talismans. That is the reason for wearing lustral thread around the head and rings of charms around the biceps. No woman is allowed to go into the canvas ring for fear that her influence should destroy the strength and skill of the boxers.
Thai boxers are graded from fly weight to heavy weight, but welter, middle and heavy weight fights are rare. As with other styles of boxing, a referee controls the fight inside the ring and there are two judges who keep score outside the ring. At the opening sound of music, the two boxers in the ring will perform a short ritual of "Wai Khru" (paying homage to the teachers) and this quite often proceeds to a staging of the Four-faced Brahman dance which symbolizes four virtues: compassion, temperance, prudence and justice. Upon the completion of the prefight rites, boxers return to their respective corners to have their ceremonial headband removed and receive the last prefight instruction from their trainers. At the signal from the ring referee to fight, both boxers go into action. They fight 3 minutes rounds alternated by 2 minutes rest periods.
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