TKD No Longer an Olympic Sport?

Do you think of boxing as a martial art? I don’t know that I do. Now don’t miss-understand me here, I have studied boxing, I love boxing. My question here though is just, do you think of boxing as a martial art?

I see it more as a vessel. And no matter where you learned your punching skills, if you were to follow the rules, you can try your skills in the ring. Kickboxing is the same way and MMA too. I really ask this question because of the idea that TKD is potentially going about it the wrong way. 

Here in the USA , in order to get into the Olympics you have to play along with the AAU. The AAU only plays along with WTF stylists so karate and ITF, ATA and any other fighters have no chance. Well unless they conform. I don’t like conforming. With the question of TKD in the Olympics, or if it even should be, I would almost like to see it go.

ATHLETE ELIGIBILITY
All athletes must comply with the provisions of the Olympic Charter currently in force and only those athletes who have complied with the Olympic Charter may participate in the Olympic Games.
1. An athlete must be a Kukkiwon Dan certificate holder, and must be at least 15 years of age during the year of the 2012 Olympic Games.
2. All athletes who have not qualified through any of qualification tournaments must meet at least any of following requirements in order to compete at the London 2012 Olympic Games:
a. Medal winners (1st or 2nd or 3rd places) at any of the competitions enlisted on the WTF event calendar on between May 2010 and April 2012.
b. The athletes ranked within 20th place at least once in the WTF World Ranking on between May 2010 and April 2012
c. The athletes who advanced to round of 16 or higher at either WTF World Taekwondo Championships ( 2011) or World Taekwondo Qualification Tournament
d. The athletes who advanced to quarter-finals or higher at either Continental Taekwondo Championships held on between May 2010 and April 2012 or Continental Taekwondo Qualification Tournament
e. Winner of national taekwondo championships held on between May 2010 and April 2012

Sure it’s trying to make a dramatic last stance but think about it like this; I turn on the on demand channel on my Comcast. They have a sports section and in that sports section they have an Olympics trial section, but guess what sport is not on that list? All I want to do, as an American, is watch the TKD Olympic trials, except…oh yeah the AAU is still controlling it. So it’s not on there and I really think this is stupid. 

The truth is Olympic Boxing and TKD should go, and Olympic Kickboxing, with K-1 style rules, should surface. Just as boxing is just a vessel for punching skills kickboxing is just a vessel for the way of the hands and the feet. I would embrace knees and elbows too, as the hands and feet are merely extensions of the elbow and the knees. 

This is only, of course, if the Olympics want these kinds of contests to remain relevant. This may just be my opinion but the vision I have is so much bigger. I imagine a world competition where the kicking art leagues and boxing leagues come together and fight for the true world champion, and this is not a new idea.

ISAK, when it was the PKA thought this same thing, I wish they would have vied for the Olympics spot. 

TKD has pleanty of room in Olympic Kickboxing, Machida was TKD and Semmy Schilt is totally Karate. I think TKD camps and seeing TKD fighters grow would help the popularity of TKD as a whole.

These guys get it; www.kickboxingwales.com/#

Read the history of ISKA, there are other options.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Sport_Karate_Association

And quite frankly this was TKD’s hay-day.

Explore the videos on the side bar of YouTube here. They are great displays of what TKD really is, whereas the WTF style and the AAU are not. They are merely a vessel for one; I feel that is fear based.

Time to grow past the fear and embrace the indomitable sprit.

Peace.