New UFC Champ to Visit Ancestral Home with Korean Mom

Benson Henderson is the new lightweight champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He beat defending champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 on Sunday with a unanimous decision at the Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. This caps a heady climb to the top of the sport for Henderson, who only made his debut nine months ago. With the champion's belt around his waist, Henderson ran to the audience and hugged his Korean mother Kim Sung-hwa to share the joyous moment. Henderson wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the Korean national flag on its right shoulder, and the U.S. star spangled banner on its left shoulder. A tattoo on his left arm showed his name written in Korean characters, which he said shows his family background. Henderson was born in the U.S. but had a Korean-style upbringing, which included learning Korean language and etiquette, eating Korean dishes and learning the country's national martial art, taekwondo.

Henderson's family history resembles that of NFL star Hines Ward in many respects. His mother was working on the bus commuting to and from the Demilitarized Zone in Korea when she met and later married an African-American soldier stationed in the country in 1980. The couple had their first son, Julius, and spent the early years of their marriage in Yongsan. While pregnant with Benson, Kim left for the U.S. with her husband. But the marriage proved to be short-lived as Henderson's father turned to drink and drugs, and eventually found himself in jail. Kim got divorced in 1992, and worked 16 to 17 hours a day to raise her two boys. With the title, Henderson will get a hefty bonus in addition to an undisclosed match fee that is estimated to be worth more than US$100,000. As the match was named "fight of the night," he made an additional $65,000 as well as a champion’s bonus based on broadcasting profits. Henderson was ecstatic, saying the victory brought him one step closer to his dream of buying a new home for his mother. Henderson and Kim will visit Korea for two days from Tuesday.

Kim Yu-na Featured in U.S. Math Textbook

Figure queen, Yuna Kim's performance scene appeared at a US math textbook. A photo of Yuna Kim's performance was included in the 5th chapter. Angle measurement part of a high school math textbook, "Application of Trigonometry, and graphics." The textbook, published by a US textbook publishing company used Yuna Kim's photo to explain jump angle measurement in figure skating. Sports athlete and math may seen unrelated. However, US mathematicians applied Yuna Kim's jump to basic trigonometry conceptual problems to increase interests and concentration. In fact, Yuna Kim did not only appear in US textbooks. Yuna Kim's photos, caricatures, and name is used world wide. In a French textbook used in Japan, Yuna Kim is identified as the reresentative of the country, along with John Lennon, Madonna, Angelina Jolie, etc. Due to Yuna Kim's appearance in textbooks, we are afraid students world-wide may become more enthusiastic towards learning.