How long will Taekwondo stay in Olympic games?

[Markku P]

This is one question many people are asking right now. If I think of all the problems and challenges in the last 5 years, I think there is a real possibility they will drop Taekwondo from the Olympics in 2120. Right now, the WTF (World Taekwondo federation) is having problems with LaJust and many other national organizations having their own problems.

I have gotten many mails from people all over the world and it’s alarming how many countries have problems with different issues.

In the US, it seems that their national federation is in trouble and many people have actually taken steps to make things right. It looks like all the power and control are in the hands of a small group of people. I also heard that their athletes’ development program is not working at all and that the federation has lost many members, thereby affecting their financial situation negatively.

It also seems that many other countries are having similar problems…
In England, there’s a huge dissatisfaction about the way things are and I predict that something big will happen in the next 2 years.

I think our “product” is great but we should educate people more on what Taekwondo competition is and try to create some big stars. Those can be good role models to represent Taekwondo to a big audience
In Sweden, our problems are pretty much the same: not enough money, lack of organizational skills, and no media coverage. Perhaps we need to do some changes.

So what does this all mean for the Olympic games?

Well, of course people in the IOC (International Olympic Committee) will hear things and it will have negative impact. I also heard that IOC really “hates Taekwondo” according to Dr. Kim.
So what are the solutions?

Here’s my list:

1. Better leadership in the WTF ( more professional ).
2. A referee training program, which should be number one priority so we will have fair judging in competitions. We should also stop the constant changes in our competition rules.
3. More effort in marketing Taekwondo which includes hiring a professional and allotting a good budget for this.
I know this is quite a complex issue but if we don’t start to do something soon, then we will be out of the Olympic games by 2021!

Yours,

Markku P.

 

[troubleenuf]

I think the constant rule changes are the number one reason. These new rules are a killer. More complex than ever, almost impossible to implement at local tournaments let alone at international tournaments without problems.
I also think its time that the leadership becomes global rather than from Korea. Yes, everyone acknowledges that it is a Korean martial art. But it is NO LONGER just a Korean Martial art. It is now a world sport and that means the WOLRD should get a hand in making the decisions that regulate it. If that doesn't happen, and I think its probably to late for it, I think TKD is out after the next Olympics.

 

[Manny]

Maybe I am wrong but I really don't care about olimpic TKD, yes it's nice to see two competitors at internationallevel or olimpic games but quite frankly as long as I am not a competitor and more a martial artist if TKD goes back and out of olimpic don't make me loose sleep.

However I want to ask some things,this thing about droping TKD from the olimpics is nothing new,I've been hearing this for the last 10 years,and make me wonder,if judo and box are olimpic sports why they have endure solong without serius problems inside IOC?if I remember juod is an olimpic disipline since 1964 without serius problems so why TKD is having so much troubles? politics?I think is all politics and nothing else.

Manny

 

[troubleenuf]

Dont know about Judo but Boxing has had some major problems in the past as well and has come close to the chopping block for the Olympics as well.

 

[Master Dan]

Maybe I am wrong but I really don't care about olimpic TKD, yes it's nice to see two competitors at internationallevel or olimpic games but quite frankly as long as I am not a competitor and more a martial artist if TKD goes back and out of olimpic don't make me loose sleep.

However I want to ask some things,this thing about droping TKD from the olimpics is nothing new,I've been hearing this for the last 10 years,and make me wonder,if judo and box are olimpic sports why they have endure solong without serius problems inside IOC?if I remember juod is an olimpic disipline since 1964 without serius problems so why TKD is having so much troubles? politics?I think is all politics and nothing else.


Manny

The largest growth in TKD was prior to and the effort to make it an Olympic sport and the lie that every qaulified person would have a shot at competiting not just a very few from each country which was the largest revenue builder for membership and all the exspense being builked to the hopefull parents. TKD was never properly marketed on the Networks members could not watch on national networks equal to people swishing brooms on ice or other stuff frankly the fighting was so borring bouncing around hand down that announcers ran out of anything to say? The largest historical growth of TKD in Korea was when it was standardized to be taught in all the public schools for children. As far as OTC when we hosted the nationals in 1990 there team train at our studio I thought the yells and some drills were interesting but at the end of the tournament the Korean masters lined them up in the stands and asked how many 1st place no hands, how many 2nd place no hands, how many 3rd place no hands the masters looked at them shook thier heads in discust and walked away.

TKD largest value is in the KKW and its traditional values and the effects that it could have on our nation the US on behavior, health and education which could bring hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to TKD which the paper I intend on submitting to the KKW this month will take notice of 16 years of detailed research related to that.

The elite TKD fighters may for thier fix after the Olympics are gone cross train to fight in MMA why not? Its my hope the qualifed masters will turn to non profit instructions expanding into the schools and health related train which is a market basse 100 times that of just sport TKD.

 

[Cyriacus]

Theres only One Reason itd be bad if TKD went out of the Olympics.

Alot of the already Sport Happy Dojangs would become even more Sport Happy, to try and "get back in".

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I think it will get dropped eventually. I am a tkdist, I understand tkd and its techniques and yet I find watching olympic tkd about the most boring sport I have ever witnessed, I seriously struggle not to fall asleep. If a tkdist can find it that boring then I fully understand why non tkdists just dont 'get it'. I must say, its a real shame as I honestly believe that tkd, with the correct 'rules' has the potential to be an amazing spectator sport, far more appealing than boxing or mma. It is fast, energetic, unpredictable, uses punches and kicks and is very dynamic under the correct ruleset. Unfortuantely what we see in the olympics is not even close to demonstrating what tkd is all about and because of this we hear far more negative comments than positive regarding tkd since it became an olympic sport.

 

[oftheherd1]

How about a rules change to reflect actual testing for belts? Many dojangs require forms (in Olympics must be quick so non-MA don't get bored, and announcers must know what is going on), and breaking. Who can break the most boards or bricks? Just like we want to know which weight lifter can lift the most. Put some drama in the sparing, not to kill anyone, but some knockdowns wouldn't hurt.

Mind you all, I am not a TKDist, having only studied it for a while some 40 odd years ago. It was different then. There were competitions, but that wasn't the focus. The MA was.

Just my two cents.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

How about a rules change to reflect actual testing for belts? Many dojangs require forms (in Olympics must be quick so non-MA don't get bored, and announcers must know what is going on), and breaking. Who can break the most boards or bricks? Just like we want to know which weight lifter can lift the most. Put some drama in the sparing, not to kill anyone, but some knockdowns wouldn't hurt.

Mind you all, I am not a TKDist, having only studied it for a while some 40 odd years ago. It was different then. There were competitions, but that wasn't the focus. The MA was.

Just my two cents.

I remember my original instructor had issues with olympic tkd because he believed tkd encompassed a combination of sparring, timber breaking, self defence and form. He believed that all should be included in the olympics and find the best all-round tkdist. Its probably not possible but I can see his point.

 

[d1jinx]

This is one question many people are asking right now. If I think of all the problems and challenges in the last 5 years, I think there is a real possibility they will drop Taekwondo from the Olympics in 2120. Right now, the WTF (World Taekwondo federation) is having problems with LaJust and many other national organizations having their own problems.

.

I dont think I'll be around in 2120 to care!!!!!

 

[Tez3]

Dont know about Judo but Boxing has had some major problems in the past as well and has come close to the chopping block for the Olympics as well.

Boxing has a major problem right now with allegations of money being given for boxing medals in the London Olympics. I think this may exercise the IOC more than TKD at the moment. I can see them wanting a big shake up of all the sports after the next Olympics though.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15020658

 

[Manny]

I think olimpic taekwondo format is boring too, bouncing around, holding in big embraces,waiting...just waiting till the other competitor make his move to do acounter that never lands,last year I saw in you tube something called PRO taekwondo something like this

or or something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwBHkpC5KJs&feature=related formethis is a good sport tkdnot the olimpic one,maybe a change of rules can make sport tkd more apealing don't you think?

But then again,my sambonimwill be one of the ones who will suffer if TKD is droped form olimpics because he has been part of the international competitions and olimpics too,my sambo is one of the top 5 international referees he has traveled around the world going tointernational tournaments,his wife maybe will go to London 2012 as a referee,but.... I think most of the kids that are part of the dojang will not complain cause they are not competitors,they will go tkd classes nomatter tkd is on or off olimpics.

And I really don't care if tkd is droped OIC or Olimpic games.

Manny

Manny

 

[puunui]

As far as OTC when we hosted the nationals in 1990 there team train at our studio I thought the yells and some drills were interesting but at the end of the tournament the Korean masters lined them up in the stands and asked how many 1st place no hands, how many 2nd place no hands, how many 3rd place no hands the masters looked at them shook thier heads in discust and walked away.

I asked the person who was OTC coach at the time of 1991 Nationals in Portland (not 1990) and he says the above never happened. He also said that if it did happen, then if someone asked who took gold, Juan Moreno, Scott Fujii, Mayumi Pejo, and Sharon Jewell would have raised their hands. For silver, Daniel Miranda would have raised his hand, and for bronze, Kim Dotson Peck would have raised her hand. That's six hands. Two additional OTC resident athletes who did not compete at 91 nationals would have raised their hands if you asked them who made Team that year, Sammy Pejo and Tim Connolly. And this does not include all of the players who would spend time training at OTC, people like Eui Lee, who got bronze that year.

 

[msmitht]

I asked the person who was OTC coach at the time of 1991 Nationals in Portland (not 1990) and he says the above never happened. He also said that if it did happen, then if someone asked who took gold, Juan Moreno, Scott Fujii, Mayumi Pejo, and Sharon Jewell would have raised their hands. For silver, Daniel Miranda would have raised his hand, and for bronze, Kim Dotson Peck would have raised her hand. That's six hands. Two additional OTC resident athletes who did not compete at 91 nationals would have raised their hands if you asked them who made Team that year, Sammy Pejo and Tim Connolly. And this does not include all of the players who would spend time training at OTC, people like Eui Lee, who got bronze that year.

wasn't hyon lee there too? Didn't he lose to juan for team trials that year? Might be confusing with 1992 but he wazs resident athlete in 1991.

 

[puunui]

wasn't hyon lee there too? Didn't he lose to juan for team trials that year? Might be confusing with 1992 but he wazs resident athlete in 1991.

Yes, hyon lee was a otc resident athlete for about three years I think. I believe he and scott fujii left otc right after nationals and went home to california, to your neck of the woods actually.

 

[sopraisso]

Honestly and personally, I don't care and I even wish TKD went off the Olympic gamers. I don't enjoy WTF sparring rules, and as someone who practices under a kukkiwon-oriented dojang, I think most of our practice there is badly affected by WTF-oriented sparring trainings, removing most of what we call there "martial taekwondo" and leaving instead something I just wasn't looking for when I decided to practice taekwondo. As for where I live, there's just NO option, coz all schools are kukkiwon/WTF oriented. As are most schools in my country. I'm sure there are more countries with same issues.
I don't care if people wanna practice TKD as a sport -- given a sparring sport can be practiced in many ways. I even enjoy that. But WTF has just made the sport become unrecognizable when compared to the martial art.

 

[IcemanSK]

Honestly and personally, I don't care and I even wish TKD went off the Olympic gamers. I don't enjoy WTF sparring rules, and as someone who practices under a kukkiwon-oriented dojang, I think most of our practice there is badly affected by WTF-oriented sparring trainings, removing most of what we call there "martial taekwondo" and leaving instead something I just wasn't looking for when I decided to practice taekwondo. As for where I live, there's just NO option, coz all schools are kukkiwon/WTF oriented. As are most schools in my country. I'm sure there are more countries with same issues.I don't care if people wanna practice TKD as a sport -- given a sparring sport can be practiced in many ways. I even enjoy that. But WTF has just made the sport become unrecognizable when compared to the martial art.

I agree with you on this. I've been training in Kukki-tkd dojang since 1982 & I've seen a change that I don't care for. Sparring has become so specialized that training for it takes much more training time. Less & less training time is available for SD training in most schools. Olympic sparring, IMO, has become less interesting to watch over the years. I found it so much more exciting to watch in 1988 than I did in 2008. In fact, I found myself watching Olympic Judo in 2008 because the TKD was that uninteresting to watch.I don't see TKD being an Olympic sport past 2016 (or 2020, whatever the last year planned is currently).

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I agree with you on this. I've been training in Kukki-tkd dojang since 1982 & I've seen a change that I don't care for. Sparring has become so specialized that training for it takes much more training time. Less & less training time is available for SD training in most schools. Olympic sparring, IMO, has become less interesting to watch over the years. I found it so much more exciting to watch in 1988 than I did in 2008. In fact, I found myself watching Olympic Judo in 2008 because the TKD was that uninteresting to watch.I don't see TKD being an Olympic sport past 2016 (or 2020, whatever the last year planned is currently).

As Ive mentioned before, I was watching the 2008 olympics with my daughter, who was 7 at the time with about 3 years of tkd training (nonsport) under her belt. I was sitting there watching and she came over and started watching it with me. After a few minutes she said "this looks pretty cool dad, what martial art is this?". To her it was completely unrecognisable compared to what she does. The 'sport' side of tkd has slowly morphed into something very different to martial tkd. At least when it loses olympic status I wont have to constantly say to people "no, I dont do that funny kicking thing you see on the olympics".

 

[msmitht]

Interesting responses. If you don't like tkd as a sport then don't do it anymore. Join an itf or ata(lol) school and be happy and content. Personally I hope the sport continues in the olympics. The main problem is masters and gms who do not teach proper, up to date, kukki tkd.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

Interesting responses. If you don't like tkd as a sport then don't do it anymore. Join an itf or ata(lol) school and be happy and content. Personally I hope the sport continues in the olympics. The main problem is masters and gms who do not teach proper, up to date, kukki tkd.

I was fortunate in that when I started tkd I joined a club in our local area that had a very good reputataion. At the time I didnt realise there was a 'sport' side and was just fortunate enough that the club I joined was very removed from the sport side. I have known people who havent been that lucky and realise after a couple of years training that what they are learning is very sport orientated not knowing there is a difference. It is hard for them after that period of time when they have forged good relationships and learnt a lot of curriculum and dont necessarilly want to go elsewhere and start from scratch. I also feel for people who train at clubs where the sport side has slowly become dominant over a long period of time and may have 10 years or more of training under their belt before they realise the school is going in a different direction than what they may have liked.