Santiago Bilinkis l Risk and Reward - Trying to live a life out of the comfort zone

Almost every person I know complains about having a too sedentary life and not having enough time for practicing sports. Here I bring you an idea that solves this issue: A sport that can be practiced anywhere, without any accessories, with very simple rules and that can be played by two or more players.

This is the story:

A while ago I was having lunch with Leo Piccioli at a Japanese restaurant. There was only one niguiri left and it was not clear who should eat it. So I said: “Let’s leave it at random. Let’s play ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors’”. To which he replied: “That is not random! In fact there are even books written on strategy”.

Absurd as it sounded, as soon as I got back to my desk i googled “Rock Paper Scissors” and I still cannot believe what I found.

“Rock-Paper-Scissors” or, as it is commonly called, RPS, is a full fledged sport! In the US there is a professional league whose Annual Championship was played last week, sponsored by Bud Light and aired on Fox Sports.

But this craziness does not end in the US. There is also a World RPS Society. And they organize the World Championship, which will take place by the end of the month in Ontario, Canada, sponsored by Yahoo.

Needless to say, games have referees, and you may hire trainers and coaches. as an example, C. Urbanus, who boasts about being one of the 8 best RPS strategists in the World and the author of the “wildly popular” Urbanus Defense Strategy.

Since the World Championship is still a few weeks away, you still have a chance to enter. A good way to start may be to buy at Amazon the Official Strategy Guide or using this online guide.

Regarding the style of profession play, let me just mention that plays are grouped in three and called gambits, and many of the most common gambits have truly cool names and descriptions:

Avalanche (RRR): “A subtle, yet aggressive Gambit. It was the first of the Triple Gambits developed in the early 1890s. The Avalanche is a relentless and devastating offensive maneuver, which requires bravado bordering on recklessness to execute.” (Taken from the World RPS Society Guide)

Bureaucrat (PPP): “Formerly known as Confetti, the deadpan delivery of three successive Papers is the ultimate in passive-aggressive play.”

Fistful of Dollars (RPP): “This move took the 1967 RPS World Championships by surprise and is arguably still one of the great surprise offensive moves. The rapid switch from offensive to defensive play can force an opponent into a vulnerable spot.”

For those who want to know some more on the mathematical and biological bases of RPS, you may want to read this.

And as with all absurd things, there is always an Argentinean involved! Martín “Chingo” Ingolotti plays soccer with friends all Thursday nights, then they eat an ‘asado’. Whatever is left after paying the bill, they give to the winner of an RPS tournament. Now Martin has declared himself Champion of Argentina and all his friends gathered some cash to turn “Chingo”’s dream into reality and send him to the World Championship in Canada! You may listen to the audio (in Spanish) of an interview made by Sebastián Wainraich here. Go Martín!

To close, a few words from the leader of the World RPS Society Graham Walker: “Not many people have the opportunities to compete at the highest levels in a sport. You have to work all your life to get in the Olympics or on a football team. What we offer is the chance for anyone who wants to declare themselves a professional athlete to compete at the highest levels and be able to walk away a world champion”.

So now you know: if you don’t devote enough time to practicing sports and you are not a professional athlete is because you want it that way. There are no more excuses. But just imagine the face of your Doctor on your next check up when she says your Cholesterol is too high and you should do more exercise and you reply: “What are you talking about?! I am a professional athlete!”.

Photo: javbuffr