- Venue: Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium
- Location: Beijing Science and Technology University
- Type: New
- Use during Olympic Games: Judo, Taekwondo
- Use during Paralympic Games: Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby
- Floor area (sq m): 24,662
- Permanent seats: 4,000
- Temporary seats: 4,000
- Groundbreaking date: October 18, 2005
- Planned completion date: The Gym will serve as a comprehensive indoor center for various sports activities, aquatics and fitness training, and will also be suitable for indoor athletic competitions.
Judo
Judo means "the gentle way" in Japanese. Of course, it is derived in part from jujitsu, the hand-to-hand combat technique of ancient samurai warriors, and everything is relative. While throwing opponents to the floor wins most matches, it is the only Olympic sport where submission holds allow choking an opponent or breaking an arm.
Developed by Dr Jigoro Kano in the 1880s, the sport broke into the Olympic Games in 1964 at Tokyo. The host country could add one sport, and Japan chose judo. Four weight classes were established, and Japanese entries promptly won three.
However, in the fourth, the open class, a 1.98-metre Dutchman named Anton Geesink defeated three-time Japanese national champion Kaminaga Akio before 15,000 people at Nippon Budokan Hall. And then he beat him again. It followed victories earlier in the year over other top Japanese opponents, deeply bruising the theory that a skilled judoka could defeat any opponent of any size.The judo event of the 29th Olympic Games will be held at the University of Science and Technology Beijing Gymnasium from August 9-15, 2008.
Taekwondo
Various Korean forms of martial arts have existed but in the early 20th century, taekwondo became the dominant form. In 1955 a group of Korean martial arts leaders chose taekwondo as the definitive Korean martial art in an attempt to promote its development internationally.
In 1973, the Korean government recognised the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) as the legitimate governing body of the sport, and the first World Championships were held in that year.The taekwondo event of the 29th Olympic Games will be held at University of Science and Technology Beijing Gymnasium from August 20-23, 2008.