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Kim Jang-Mi credits Buddhist mindfulness training for Olympic gold
by Emi Hailey Hayakawa, BTN, Aug 7, 2012
London, UK -- In Buddhism it is said that athletic activities pull you into a natural state of mindfulness. Sport becomes a form of meditation when you engage it with your full attention.
For those Buddhists who do participate in the Zen Way of Shooting Sport, most tend to prefer the pistol / handgun target shooting events and competitions due to the fact that the barrel lengths are shorter, typically there is a greater emphasis on body control, for which meditation is a great aid for better performances.
Therefore, most Buddhists who participate in shooting sport tend to focus on the pistol events.
Born in 1992, Kim Jang-mi of South Korea won the gold medal in the women’s 25-meter pistol Wednesday after setting an Olympic record for the best qualification score.
In an interview with Reuters, Kim stated that "The men are really good but the last time the women won a gold was 20 years ago so before I came to London I wanted to show that the Korean men and women were equally competitive,"
Kim finished with 792.4 points, beating defending champion Chen Ying of China by one point.
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