Now that the Olympics have come and gone, not to return for four more years and taekwondo goes back to being 'Ka-RAH-tay' to the general public, one thing is different this year: thanks to a Cuban athlete's temper tantrum, the word, Taekwondo, appeared on the front page of the papers, for all to see. Not Judo, not Karate, not kickboxing, but Taekwondo. Putting aside the negative aspect of the story, Taekwondo made the front page of probably every major paper in the country, at least every major paper in my area.
Now, everyone knows, and will remember for probably a month, that Taekwondo is an olympic event and a martial art. Some of that everyone either already was considering a martial art or was sparked to consider one upon hearing about it. Since the TKD events weren't televised, nobody is going to be asking about why they spar with their hands down or why nobody punches at the Olympics. They'll be curious about the martial art. Most will not do exhaustive web searches to get their info. They'll do what everyone else does and head to the local TKD school to check it out.
While I'm not anticipating a huge windfall of customers, I do see any increased exposure and interest to be potentiall beneficial. Potential students coming in the door this month will have it in the back of their mind that taekwondo exists and is in the olympics. For those who's schools don't say 'taekwondo' on the door, when we tell them that it isn't karate, but taekwondo, they won't say, 'never heard of it.'
So here's my question: How can we take that relatively instant and quickly fading exposure from the Olympics and put it to work to benefit both our schools and our art? Doesn't matter if you're an Olympic school or not, I'd like to hear all points of view.
Daniel
Now, everyone knows, and will remember for probably a month, that Taekwondo is an olympic event and a martial art. Some of that everyone either already was considering a martial art or was sparked to consider one upon hearing about it. Since the TKD events weren't televised, nobody is going to be asking about why they spar with their hands down or why nobody punches at the Olympics. They'll be curious about the martial art. Most will not do exhaustive web searches to get their info. They'll do what everyone else does and head to the local TKD school to check it out.
While I'm not anticipating a huge windfall of customers, I do see any increased exposure and interest to be potentiall beneficial. Potential students coming in the door this month will have it in the back of their mind that taekwondo exists and is in the olympics. For those who's schools don't say 'taekwondo' on the door, when we tell them that it isn't karate, but taekwondo, they won't say, 'never heard of it.'
So here's my question: How can we take that relatively instant and quickly fading exposure from the Olympics and put it to work to benefit both our schools and our art? Doesn't matter if you're an Olympic school or not, I'd like to hear all points of view.
Daniel
