Should full-contact Karate be an oylmpic sport?

[CloudDragon]

DLopez, you are right, but where I was going is that like TKD it is difficult to find quality instruction and those who have little MA experience have been lured into thinking they were learning one thing (traditional MA) but are taking another.

 

I must disagree about the overwhelming majority demanding the finer cuisine. Not because they want something cheap and fast, but because they don't know any better.

 

This is what concerns me, it's like paying for a buffet, but not getting the prime rib because you live too far away from the carving station or you dont know how to get there, so you just fill up on mac and cheese instead.

[DLopez]

Well, you're basically saying that hamburgers should be outlawed so that folks will only develop a taste for steak. (Okay, I'll stop with the food metaphors!)

 

I don't think that's appropriate. In fact, I see nothing wrong with someone watching the Olympics, and deciding that's the kind of TKD they want to participate in. They may not care about the other aspects of a traditional martial art. Is that any different than someone deciding to take Muay Thai, or some other fighting skill like kickboxing that doesn't focus on the traditional aspects like Karate?

 

Who knows, someone who takes up Olympic TKD may develop an appreciation for the more traditional aspects of TKD later on.

[CloudDragon]

Thanks for stipping with the food metaphors, I was getting too hungry!

 

My point was that I don't think people are wanting the better martial arts instruction, because it isn't convienient for them, and they don't realize that an extra 10 or 20 minutes of drive time could give them a better choice of instruction. Many people will watch the olympics and think that what they see is automatically the best there is and take it as that.

[unknown]

kickboxing, karate and muay thai will never become olympic sports. give it up folks

[unknown]

kickboxing, karate and muay thai will never become olympic sports. give it up folks

[aefibird]

kickboxing, karate and muay thai will never become olympic sports.

 

Why do you think that?

[Hudson]

Not sure if it's true, but I heard Wushu will become an official event come 2008. Anyone else hear this?

[supacoopatroopa]

Here where I was going with this: seeing a tkd fighter in the oylmpics with his hands down leads me to think that, if he or she gets put in the ring at a full-contact tourny, a good fighter will be able to pick a dozen differant spots to attack. Every single tkd fighter that i have met in the ring has either a) tenses up and can't move or b) keeps kicking and gets side-stepped with a foot to the face. Now maybe I haven't met a polished tkd fighter, but i am just going off of experance. And for markusan, ever been to a World Oyama dojo? Probably not. At my the dojo we have kids ages 5 to 10 fighting in semi-knockdowns. There mums and dads have no problem sending them to our dojo.

[DLopez]

Supa, so you've fought medal winning TKD fighters in the ring, have you? That's awesome!

 

You sound very experienced. Maybe you should try out for the Olympics and win a gold medal or two?

 

[supacoopatroopa]

You missed what I was saying, or I just didn't make it clear. I was going on pervoius experiance. And seeing what i saw in the oylmpics, just makes me wonder about tkd fighters. Like I said before maybe I haven't fought any polished tkd fighters, but baised on those who I have fought it makes me wonder.