FearlessFreep
Senior Master
One thing to keep in mind about Olympic level TKDists is that they are that level in Olympic rules TKD, which has very specific rules in terms of scoring and legal shots which leads to a very specific set of tactics designed against those rules. That's not "TKD", that's "Olympic TKD", which does not really represent the highest level of TKD combat.
To turn the question around how many UFC fighters would do well in a high level olympic rules TKD sparring match? None, I would think, because the rules are different and you learn to compete within those rules. How many UFC fighters would do well in an environment where you cannot trap or clinch and connot punch to the head or face and cannot take down your opponent? On the other hand, most people who train to be really good at Olympic TKD do not train in those aspects so... It would take a very concentrated effort by a Olympic TKDist to train to be good in other techniques...but why bother. By just a guess at observation, even in my mid-size city there are several TKD events a year, giving more opportunitues to compete. How many UFC-style events can the average UFC fighter compete in in his own city per-year?
One thing my instructor has been harping on a lot recently is that what you train the most for is what you naturally react with. He's big on TKD as self-defense and not big on sparring. When we spar we do olympic rules sparring, but we dont spar as much as many other schools. We train a lot in all those things that are not allowed by sparring rules, hand strikes to the head/neck, traps and blocks, joint manipulations and takedowns, kicks to break knees and arm bars to break arms, etc....the full range of TKD as a fighting art. I probably spent more time last week working on takedown techniques than I did working on sparring techniques. We train for scenarios of an attacker punching to the head or trying to bull-rush us, etc...someone attacking in ways that are not legal sparring but are likely to be seen in..well..real life. I spar, and I do it pretty well for a guy of my experience, but I try to focus on using sparring to teach me to keep my focus and to react quickly to an aggressive and skilled opponent doing what I don't expect. Stay alert and aware, strike hard (really hard) and fast, don't get hit, stay balanced and in control, etc.. My instructor gets on me when I do things in sparring that are ok, but would get me hurt if I was fighting someone not following sparring rules. I think that as I continue and put most of my focus into fighting TKD, that my sparring finess and technique will not keep up with my peers. My hope, or my experiment, is to be good at fighting/self-defense TKD and then to apply that in sparring. I won't be as good at some of the sparring-only tactics, but I hope to hold my own just by being faster, stronger, and more skilled in proper technique than my opponent (and I think I'm a long way from doing it).
Anyway, sorry for going astray. The point is that olympic-style TKD has certain rules of engagement that promote certain tactics that are not the same as TKD as a fighting art. So someone who trains a lot to be really good at olympic rules TKD is probably not going to be very good at UFC, and vice versa. Someone who trains a more 'traditional' or 'fighting/self-defense' of TKD would probably do much better, but...I don't see how someone who trains like that would end up in a UFC-style match anyway. UFC is itself just a sport with a different set of rules that encourages a certain style of interaction and certain tactics.
I don't think that's specific to TKD, I think a lot of MAists train for self-defense/fighting and would do very well in a UFC-style match but have no interest, reason, or opportunity to do it.
To turn the question around how many UFC fighters would do well in a high level olympic rules TKD sparring match? None, I would think, because the rules are different and you learn to compete within those rules. How many UFC fighters would do well in an environment where you cannot trap or clinch and connot punch to the head or face and cannot take down your opponent? On the other hand, most people who train to be really good at Olympic TKD do not train in those aspects so... It would take a very concentrated effort by a Olympic TKDist to train to be good in other techniques...but why bother. By just a guess at observation, even in my mid-size city there are several TKD events a year, giving more opportunitues to compete. How many UFC-style events can the average UFC fighter compete in in his own city per-year?
One thing my instructor has been harping on a lot recently is that what you train the most for is what you naturally react with. He's big on TKD as self-defense and not big on sparring. When we spar we do olympic rules sparring, but we dont spar as much as many other schools. We train a lot in all those things that are not allowed by sparring rules, hand strikes to the head/neck, traps and blocks, joint manipulations and takedowns, kicks to break knees and arm bars to break arms, etc....the full range of TKD as a fighting art. I probably spent more time last week working on takedown techniques than I did working on sparring techniques. We train for scenarios of an attacker punching to the head or trying to bull-rush us, etc...someone attacking in ways that are not legal sparring but are likely to be seen in..well..real life. I spar, and I do it pretty well for a guy of my experience, but I try to focus on using sparring to teach me to keep my focus and to react quickly to an aggressive and skilled opponent doing what I don't expect. Stay alert and aware, strike hard (really hard) and fast, don't get hit, stay balanced and in control, etc.. My instructor gets on me when I do things in sparring that are ok, but would get me hurt if I was fighting someone not following sparring rules. I think that as I continue and put most of my focus into fighting TKD, that my sparring finess and technique will not keep up with my peers. My hope, or my experiment, is to be good at fighting/self-defense TKD and then to apply that in sparring. I won't be as good at some of the sparring-only tactics, but I hope to hold my own just by being faster, stronger, and more skilled in proper technique than my opponent (and I think I'm a long way from doing it).
Anyway, sorry for going astray. The point is that olympic-style TKD has certain rules of engagement that promote certain tactics that are not the same as TKD as a fighting art. So someone who trains a lot to be really good at olympic rules TKD is probably not going to be very good at UFC, and vice versa. Someone who trains a more 'traditional' or 'fighting/self-defense' of TKD would probably do much better, but...I don't see how someone who trains like that would end up in a UFC-style match anyway. UFC is itself just a sport with a different set of rules that encourages a certain style of interaction and certain tactics.
I don't think that's specific to TKD, I think a lot of MAists train for self-defense/fighting and would do very well in a UFC-style match but have no interest, reason, or opportunity to do it.
