Was the Olympics the right direction for TKD?

[bushido_man96]

Karate- Definitely not going to the Olympics. There are so many different styles and groups that I would be very surprised if it ever happened.

Well, the WKF (World Karate Federation) has been formed, and is the Governing Body for Karate, as the IOC sees it. The groundwork is laid, so it may become a possibility. The standards for the katas are already laid out. And aside from that, if it does go Olympic, it may just be the fighting, like with TKD.

As for boxing- Olympic boxing is a very different rule set then normal. If you are looking to go pro athlete in boxing, you aren't going to be training Olympic style. Most likely your goal isn't even the Olympics, however even if you wanted to go Olympian your prior training probably would have consisted almost 100% of normal boxing training and fighting.

Here is a list of former [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Olympic_boxers_of_the_United_Stateshttp://Olympic gold medalist Boxers. You will find several recognizable names, like Roy Jones, Jr., Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, Joe Frazier, and Oscar de la Hoya.

The mindset of Kodokan is a bit different than the WTF- from the very beginning they were sending out judoka to take on and challenge all sorts, and to this day they still have a lot of pride in keeping judo in high regard even verses other martial arts.

I didn't think that Kano condoned challenge matches or the like. Perhaps these took place after his death?

[DWx]

Karate- Definitely not going to the Olympics. There are so many different styles and groups that I would be very surprised if it ever happened.

Well, the WKF (World Karate Federation) has been formed, and is the Governing Body for Karate, as the IOC sees it. The groundwork is laid, so it may become a possibility. The standards for the katas are already laid out. And aside from that, if it does go Olympic, it may just be the fighting, like with TKD.

Would Karate at the Olympics be representative of only a section of the art then? If you look at TKD it is only Kukkiwon TKD which is represented and the other groups such as ITF, ATA, Moo Duk Kwan etc. aren't shown unless those practitioners learn to fight the WTF way.

As for boxing- Olympic boxing is a very different rule set then normal. If you are looking to go pro athlete in boxing, you aren't going to be training Olympic style. Most likely your goal isn't even the Olympics, however even if you wanted to go Olympian your prior training probably would have consisted almost 100% of normal boxing training and fighting.

Here is a list of former [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Olympic_boxers_of_the_United_Stateshttp://Olympic gold medalist Boxers. You will find several recognizable names, like Roy Jones, Jr., Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, Joe Frazier, and Oscar de la Hoya.

These guys would have been competing amateur ie. Olympic style and then moved into professional boxing. Obviously I don't know for sure but they probably trained for the Olympics and then adpated and changed their training to compete as pros. Similar to TKD? Do people train for the Olympics and then adapt their training to suit their needs if they decide to focus on some other competition level or the self defense

[bushido_man96]

I am not sure how much difference there is between Olympic Boxing and professional Boxing. However, I imagine that many of those fighters were Golden Gloves Boxers before being Olympians, so I imagine the transition wasn't that much of a problem. I do know that Olympic Boxing uses a point system, with white patches on the gloves the have to hit target areas to score. However, the target areas remain the same.

As for your WKF question, I would say yes. If you want to compete, then it will be by their rules. Just like any tournament that you enter.

[NightOwl]

The WKF represents what style though? Shotokan? Kyokushin? Goju-ryu? Each has their own kata and philosophy. Add that in with the Olympic committee probably not taking in another kickboxing event (Sambo is a no go because it is too similar to judo for example), and you have a group which wants to be in charge but probably will just be another offshoot group of karate. Boxing in the Olympics uses a point system. Either way though, none of these are TKD whoose participation in the Olympics is the matter at hand, not karate's chances of getting in (China made a big push to get in wushu).

I still stand by my original opinion that the major governing bodies of TKD have the highest goal of getting in numbers and increasing its popularity as a world sport, and aren't so much concerned with it as a 'combative' sport.

[bushido_man96]

Well, I suppose you would have to ask them to find out for sure.

Many of the WTF schools have their training based specifically on the Olympic style of competition. However, the ITF is not the same way, and has a different method of sparring. They allow hand contact to the head, if I understand correct.

There are more TKD styles out there than you might think there are. My school does not focus on the Olympic training as much. We focus a lot on basics and forms. We do spar, in the Olympic style.

Although the WKF is not the topic of this discussion, it does present a good example, because what they are doing now is what the WTF did to get into the Olympics. It is true that they may not get in, but if TKD ever gets dropped, it opens the door for someone else to move in.

You could look up the rules and regulations for WKF competition; I have seen a link somewhere before. There was also a thread in the Karate Forum discussing it, and some of the posts addressed the differences in the way the forms are done. It could be done.

[GOM]

If I may wade into the convo about karate in the Olympics -

The WKF is the only IOC recognised karate body. About 15 years ago there was a tussle between WKF (then called WUKO) and IFTK, but in the end, the WKF had the majority of numbers.

There are no "styles" within the WKF, but the kata list represent Shoto, Goju, Shito, and Wado.

I heard this will be the last year TKD is in the Olympics, and I am happy about that!

[NightOwl]

Last year for a Taekwondo event? I highly doubt that. It is getting more and more popular, not less. As for the WKF...I at least hope that it doesn't gain too much power.

[GOM]

Last year for a Taekwondo event? I highly doubt that. It is getting more and more popular, not less. As for the WKF...I at least hope that it doesn't gain too much power.

I had a bit of search, and TKD is included in the 2012 games, so obviously not gong to be the last one!

Karate was so close to becoming an Olympic sport in 2012. Karate beat 4 other sports to get through to the final voting round, but the committee agreed not to include any additional sports. And in fact culled Baseball and Softball.

[IcemanSK]

My take on whether the Olympics is good for TKD is mixed feelings. I go back to the pre-Olympic days of TKD. I thought it was a good thing then & had no reservations about it. I figured that it would draw folks to the whole of TKD & not just sparring. Naive as I was, I didn't think of the enormous amount of $$ that Olympic-style sparring would bring. Many schools dropped their entire curiculum to focus on training lil Johnny & Suzy to dream of Olympic Gold. Now, there are many folks (both inside & outside of TKD) who think Olympic-style sparring is all there is to TKD.

It's sad to see BB's who have never learn forms of any kind, let alone real SD & other great thing about the ART of Taekwondo. But yet, the notarity the Olympics have brought to TKD brings people into my school. I teach a broader spectrum of the Art than some.

I can't say it's all bad, but I wish there would have been more of a focus on the whole Art.

[DWx]

I can't say it's all bad, but I wish there would have been more of a focus on the whole Art.

This may change in the future. One of the ITFs is in discussions with the WTF looking to bring some sort of form event to the Olympics. Its a long way off but maybe it could happen.