Help get Karate in the Olympics!!!

[trekmann]

The WKF and ITKF working together for Olympic Karate. Isn't the fact that their are so many Karate organisations in Japan/USA/Europe that are off shoots of one another because of arguments and bickering a cause for concern.

 

How can this possibly work now when it has not for the last 50 years or so?

 

 

I would like to know more about how Karate will be preserved at the coal face of Olympic events before I make my mind up on this one.

[trekmann]

Karate is scheduled to make its entry in the 2008 games all you need to do is google the olympics and you will find it on there main site..

Hey Sig,

 

I could not find the reference to Karate being introduced in 2008 games, Can you be more specific about the site and section.

[Rich_2k3]

To help you make up ur mind please read this, its an article I found on karate in the olympics, I think u'll find it quite interesting:

 

Our long and painful dispute with the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF) over the IOC recognition has finally been settled. Now it is time to make peace and work together to move karate-do forward into the 21st century.

 

Participation in the Olympics will certainly transform karate. Our next mission is to make sure that karate maintains its honor, technical integrity and traditional values so that our ancient art will be accepted and respected as a constructive member within the greater family of sports. Karate is a sport cultivated by the Eastern culture and tradition, and has much to offer the youth of the world in building strong bodies, minds and spirits, as well as developing character, compassion and humanity.

 

Joining the Olympic family means that karate accepts Olympism as its guiding philosophy. Such thought might upset some “traditionalists.” However, believe it or not, this had already occurred in the early 1900s. Let me explain…

 

The Origin of Karate as a Sport

 

Soon after the revival of the Modern Olympic Games in 1896, Baron Pierre de Coubertin extended his invitation to Japan. The Japanese government chose Dr. Jigoro Kano, best known as the founder of judo, to represent the country. Dr. Kano, a life-long educator and university president as well as renowned martial artist, became the first Japanese representative to the IOC in 1909; he also participated in the 5th Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1912 as the head of the first-ever Japanese delegation. This was 10 years prior to the famous demonstration of karate by Gichin Funakoshi and Shinkin Gima that took place at Dr. Kano’s Kodokan Dojo in 1922.

 

Dr. Kano became the Baron Pierre de Coubertin of Japan. He founded the Japan Athletic Union, which still governs all sports in Japan to this day, and dedicated his life to promoting sports and physical education among Japanese youth. Judo, which he created, was without doubt a combination of the traditional Japanese martial art of jujitsu and the ideal of Olympism outlined by Coubertin. It was Dr. Kano’s effort to support the Olympic movement as a proud citizen of Japan in response to Coubertin’s call for support: “Every act of support for the Olympic movement promotes peace, friendship and solidarity throughout the world.”

 

When Dr. Kano invited Funakoshi from Okinawa and encouraged him to teach karate in Tokyo, Dr. Kano envisioned a universal sport that could be practiced by the youth of the world. The transformation of karate-jitsu to karate-do signified karate’s acceptance as a sport, rather than as a tool of war. Funakoshi’s dojo kun (motto) includes “Seek perfection of character!” This philosophy actually originated in ancient Greece and was handed down to him by Dr. Kano, a life-long mentor to Funakoshi and a friend of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

 

Olympism and Budo

 

Ancient Greece and Japan may seem a world away. However, these two countries share somewhat similar philosophies and religions. For example, the Kojiki, Japan’s first book on history (written in 712 AD), describes the day-to-day interactions among mortals and immortals, and resembles the work of Homer. And a Zen master, instead of Socrates, might easily have said “His chief and proper concern: knowledge of himself and the right way to live.”

 

The Olympic Charter states that “Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. The goal of Olympism is to place everywhere sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to encouraging the establishment of a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.”

 

I believe that these goals are consistent with the objectives of Budo as defined by the Budo Charter: “to cultivate character, enrich the ability to make value judgments, and foster a well-disciplined and capable individual through participation in physical and mental training utilizing martial techniques.” Students of Budo are required to “constantly follow decorum, adhere to the fundamentals, and resist the temptation to pursue mere technical skill rather than the unity of mind and technique.” Instructors must also “always strive to cultivate his or her character, and further his or her own skill and discipline of mind and body.”

 

This is where the East meets the West. The global culture lies upon the universal truth and understanding. Olympic Karate must represent both Olympism and the Budo Spirit.

 

Rules of Karate Competition

 

With these in mind, our next task is to shape the future of karate-do as a sport. This is an important but also a risky job. Much as the mighty Roman Empire caused the decline of the ancient Olympic Games, narrow visions can lead karate into ruin.

 

The Romans lost sight of the ancient Greek ideals. Athletes were replaced by gladiators, and the interest in striving for perfection was ignored in favor of spectacular actions which pleased the Emperor and the Coliseum audience. As the original purpose of the Games was forgotten, Olympism itself began to decline. Karate must not follow that path.

 

Baron Pierre de Coubertin wrote, “First of all, it is necessary to maintain in sport the noble and chivalrous character which distinguished it in the past, so that it shall continue to be part of the education of present day peoples in the same way that sport served so wonderfully in the times of ancient Greece. The public has a tendency to transform the Olympic athlete into the paid gladiator. These two attitudes are not compatible.”

 

In the recent years, karate has enjoyed a rapid growth in popularity, thanks to the current WKF Kumite and Kata Rules which made karate competition fair, fun, exciting and, above all, safe. Although drastic changes in these rules have been proposed by some, we must be very careful when attempting to modify the rules that have brought karate such success, including IOC recognition. Temptations are always there to make the sport more spectacular, appealing and exciting; this, however, would result in fundamentally altering the nature of the sport and losing sight of its original purposes, thus causing the sport to decline due to a smaller number of participants, and the audience to lose respect for the sport.

 

There are many sports that have successfully avoided such a trap: golf, tennis and fencing (European), among others, enjoy their popularity without having had to modify their rules to be more appealing to the mass audience. They accomplished this by educating the public about their sports, rules and traditions, and by inviting the public to join.

 

Karate must remain a participation sport and therefore, the rules must first consider the safety of the athletes: not only of those who compete in the World Championships or the Olympic Games, but also of athletes of all ages and skill levels in local, regional and national competitions, and even of those who do not compete at all. I oppose any attempt to make gladiators out of karate athletes, sacrificing their safety. Professional wrestling and kick boxing may be fun to watch but they do not belong in the Olympics.

 

Promoting karate the right way will take many years of work. We need to provide better training for the referees and judges so that the competition will be fair. We must improve the rules to make it even safer so that more people (including younger children) can participate. And we must educate the general public through a better public relations effort. The stories about the history, tradition, honor, dignity and indomitable spirit of the sport and its athletes must be told so that everyone can understand and share the virtues that karate provides and the traditional wisdom it represents.

 

Traditional karate is like classical music or ballet. The music of Mozart, Beethoven or Bach may be arranged to some degree, depending on the individual musician’s interpretation of the music. However, if it changes the basic nature of the music, it is no longer “classical.” It is tradition that provides the depth in art. Such tradition must remain and stay alive in the sport of karate.

 

Karate must also maintain its own identity as an independent sport. Changing the rules to render karate more similar to tae kwon do, judo or boxing would have a negative effect on karate for many years to come, and will eventually kill it.

 

Conclusion

 

The Olympic Karate Movement has already brought us a democratic structure that governs the international and national federations. As in any other democratic entity, all members must actively participate in the decision-making process. If we fail to act promptly, we all must share the responsibility of failure. I ask the world karate community to resist the temptation to make radical rule changes, and to choose the right way to promote the sport while preserving its traditional honor, spirit and ideals.

 

Baron Pierre de Coubertin also said, “Olympism is not a system, it is a state of mind. It can permeate a wide variety of modes of expression and no single race or era can claim to have a monopoly on it.” It is my sincere hope that karate will become a productive member of the world sport community, and that future generations of the world’s youth will be able to share in its virtues, developed throughout ancient India, China, Okinawa and Japan, uniting the communities of the world in peace.

Edited April 14, 2004 by Rich_2k3

[Rich_2k3]

Dont worry benkendrick, I do understand the angle your coming from, but remember TKD is TKD and Karate is Karate.

 

I'll keep my stones holstered for now ...

[returning_wave]

no thanks. olympics = standardisation + loss of martial application in favour of sporting tournaments (which is happeign enough already). with most sports, olympic status would be the best thing that ever happened to them, but i think it would be karate's death blow.

[aefibird]

Well, the thing that summed it all up for me today was when I was talking about karate today with one of my non-martial art friends and I said that there's a campaign going to get karate in the Olympics and he said to me "it's already in, isn't it?"

 

I replied that, no, that's TKD and he turned to me and said "well, it's all the same sort of thing, innit? lots of flashy kicking?"

 

If a non martial artist already thinks of karate as flashy kicking even before it's in the Olympics then what's the public view of it all going to be after it's been dumbed down into an Olympic sport?

 

Now, I like small competitions and occasionally competing and I think that small and carefully regulated competitions that preserve the traditional aspect of karate are a good thing. The Olympics, on the other hand, would be the exact opposite of this and would do more to destroy traditional karate than anything else in its history IMO.

 

Just my £0.02...!

[Rich_2k3]

Unfortunatly guys its too late. Karate is to be entered into the 2008 olympics, the board is set for karates downfall, lets hope that it turns out OK, u never know.

Edited June 17, 2004 by Rich_2k3

[returning_wave]

'Welcome to McDojo, do you want a black belt with that?'

 

hopefully karate can survive this, but at least a sizeable chunk will go under into tournament-range point-scoring karate. such a pity.

[aefibird]

I can see McDojo-ism happening in a lot of martial arts the way things are going.

 

There's thousands of McDojang TKD clubs since TKD became an Olympic sport, to the detriment of the genuine and respectable TKD clubs out there. Many people now consider Judo just to be a sport and not a martial art any more. The Chinese government is pushing for WuShu to become an Olympic sport (cue dumbing down of a once-effective system) and I read last week that one of Roger Gracies goals is to see BJJ as an Olympic event. I've even heard that quite a 'high-up' Traditional JuJitsu-er is wanting TJJ to enter the Olympics too.

 

What next?

[FlailingLimbs]

Olympic vide games.

 

If chess is recognized, then why not nintendo?