Schwarzenegger arrives in Hong Kong to promote sports festival

Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived in Hong Kong Friday ahead of the first Arnold Classic Asia MultiSport Festival, an epa journalist reports.

The AustrianAmerican bodybuilder, actor and former governor of California, is promoting the sports festival that he cofounded 40 years ago and which is taking place in Asia for the first time this weekend.

“I am extremely excited because I have been doing this for the last 40 years and to me it was not only important to be a bodybuilding champion and to do movies and to be the governor but also to use my power of influence to promote health and fitness all over the world,” Schwarzenegger said at a press conference today.

The festival features contests in 28 sports including martial arts, weightlifting, cycling and yoga, as well as health and fitness workshops and a seminar given by the star.

When asked by the press what could be done to initiate a shift in the mindsets of local Chinese parents traditionally known for wanting their children to study hard and achieve excellent grades to allow their children to get more involved in sports, Schwarzenegger said: “It is extremely important to find a good balance between training your mind and training your body. You should be able to look in the mirror at night and say today I learned a whole bunch of new things that I did not know yesterday.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re doing bodybuilding, weightlifting, wrestling, soccer, badminton, ping pong whatever it is, as long as you get off the couch and do something, and to do something as a family. This is what this celebration here in Hong Kong is all about,” Schwarzenegger added.