Is Tae Kwon Do a Collage Sport?

[Cobra]

I know that Judo is a collage sport but is Tae Kwon Do one as well?

 

[Miles]

Yes, Taekwondo is a college sport-there is the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) which administers the sport.


Miles

 

[Kane]

Yes it is a college sport. Contrary to popular belief martial arts have quite a big place in college sports.

 

[celtic bhoy]

TKD, ITF and WTF are both sports.....period.

 

[XxTKDPenguinxX]

Does anyone know of any major collages that has TKD as a sport?
I am currently studying for my Bachlor's degree in Physical Education. My goal is to bring TKD to a higher level than collage.... or should I say lower level? My hope is to one day bring TKD to a high school level. It may be in certain areas of the country now but, there are none anywhere around here within a 100 mile radius. It would be interesting to study the cirriculum of schools vs. dojangs.

 

[rcw23]

A few years ago Cornell, Harvard, UPenn, Princeton, Columbia, MIT, West Point, Penn State, Temple, Howard, University of Iowa, Berkely, Ithaca College, Rutgers, University of Buffalo and several other schools all had programs that participated in intercollegiate competitions and/or collegiate nationals (there might be a link regarding collegiate nationals on the USTU website, I think there used to be). Most of those programs were large and run by full time masters, so they are probably still around.

 

[MichiganTKD]

Many Universities offer Tae Kwon Do classes as part of their curriculum, including two near me (University of Michigan, Eatern Michigan University). Unfortunately, many of these courses are watered down versions of TKD, filled with students just looking for a phys ed credit or two. The two above are no exception. You are better off not wasting your time with them.
Years ago, our Grandmaster's son was attending Harvard University, and asked his father about attending the Harvard TKD club. Grandmaster told him to not bother. University TKD clubs were a waste of time regardless of where they were. Doesn't matter whether it's Harvard, U of M, or Eastern Michigan. His solution to his son? Start his own.

 

[bignick]

MichiganTKD is pretty much dead on with his statement. I train at my university and the majority of the students in the beginner's class are exactly as he described. We offer a TKD I and a TKD II class..the TKD I is basically what he described, bunch of people that need an extra credit or want some excersize. Which is perfectly fine. The second, class however, is serious training. Remember, you can take your training seriously even if no one else around does.

 

[rcw23]

Like Bignick, the college I trained at (Cornell) had beginners classes that were mostly filled by people looking for college PE credits (not necessarily a bad thing) and advanced classes (populated by people that already fulfilled their PE requirements). The beginners classes were taught like any other beginners' class that I have attended. I can't see any reason that a serious martial artist would have trouble learning in that environment, even with all of the students who are just there for PE credit. Workouts for beginners were Tuesday through Saturday and the serious students were easy to identify, they were there four or five times evey week. I don't know, but I suspect that the situation is the same at most colleges and any interested beginner could find the other serious beginners and train with them.

The advanced classes were, in my opinion, the most positive martial arts experience I have ever had. They were entirely populated by 18-22 year old Tae Kwon Do fanatics. In fact, since I left college I have never found another TKD environment like it (probably because the people that I have trained with since college have jobs and families and therefore cannot eat and breathe TKD).

I guess that for anyone considering whether or not to join a college program I would recommned stopping by and meeting the people involved before making up your mind. Many, but by no means all, of the college programs are WTF schools or non-WTF schools that spar Olympic style. But if you are interested in competition it could be a blast and save a lot of money over membership at the local dojang in whatever town your college is located.

 

[Miles]

TKD, ITF and WTF are both sports.....period.

Taekwondo is a martial art with a sport element within it. The WTF is a sports body-the international federation for Taekwondo. Individuals are not members of the WTF-national governing bodies for sport Taekwondo (i.e. USA Taekwondo, Korea Taekwondo Association) are members.

Miles

 

[Miles]

My hope is to one day bring TKD to a high school level. It may be in certain areas of the country now but, there are none anywhere around here within a 100 mile radius. It would be interesting to study the cirriculum of schools vs. dojangs.

Good luck! Years ago, I inquired of the Michigan High School Athletic Association about getting Taekwondo as a recognized sport but it was not promising.

Miles

 

[MichiganTKD]

My theory for that is that Tae Kwon Do and other Oriental martial arts are simply not considered part of American culture enough to merit inclusion in most schools' curriculum. They are just that: Oriental martial arts. In Korea, Tae Kwon Do is the national martial art and part of the culture. As a result, it is a part of the school curriculum. Everyone does it, though few reach the professional level.
Over here, the minority of students who might actually be interested in Tae Kwon Do have to attend private schools. Soccer is just now being accepted, after being secondary to baseball, footbal, and basketball for decades. Other than a few districts, you probably will not see Tae Kwon Do accepted in high schools at the same level as other sports for a long time.

 

[Miles]

My theory for that is that Tae Kwon Do and other Oriental martial arts are simply not considered part of American culture enough to merit inclusion in most schools' curriculum. They are just that: Oriental martial arts. In Korea, Tae Kwon Do is the national martial art and part of the culture. As a result, it is a part of the school curriculum. Everyone does it, though few reach the professional level.
Over here, the minority of students who might actually be interested in Tae Kwon Do have to attend private schools. Soccer is just now being accepted, after being secondary to baseball, footbal, and basketball for decades. Other than a few districts, you probably will not see Tae Kwon Do accepted in high schools at the same level as other sports for a long time.

I agree. It is easier to get accepted into private schools than in the public schools.

Miles

 

[Disco]

There is another element involved with bringing or attempting to bring TKD or anything else for that matter into high schools. I can't speak for all areas of the country, but I'm pretty sure the general public educational system works the same thru-out. To bring any instructional curriculum into the high schools, it has to be approved by the board of education and it has to be taught by a certified state board of Ed teacher. Most TKD instructors don't meet that criteria. When I instructed at the college level, I had to have a degree in something to be admitted to the teaching field at that level. As was pointed out, it was a credit class under PE. College/University setting allows for a more liberal on campus policy for these activities. If it's not a credit course, then it can be set up as a club and a non-degreed instructor can teach, this is not considered a part of the schools regents requirements. But at the high school level it's all controled by the Board of Ed and also to a large degree the teachers union. They (teachers) don't want to see non-academic personal making inroads into their domain.

 

[MichiganTKD]

Good point.

Even at the high school level, campus-affiliated coaches of school sports are members of the teaching faculty, not individuals just brought in to coach a team. Same way at the college level. In order to teach a University or college TKD class for credit, you have to be hired in as a faculty member, usually with the PE department. At the college level you are talking, at minimum, a Bachelor's Degree and usually higher. How many Instructors really have that much education? No offense, but a University will not hire a martial arts Instructor simply because he teaches martial arts. He must also qualify at the University level. I know Instructors personally who would fail that criteria. Doesn't mean they are bad Instructors.
Our Instructor used to teach at the college level in Korea and the United States, but he was a University graduate (Sung Kyung Kwan University BTW). Rather unusual for a Korean TKD Instructor of his generation.

 

[bignick]

The PE teacher at a high school about 12 miles from my hometown taught Taekwondo as part of the gym class....obviously not as a normal TKD class would be run. But there was a "TKD unit" in their gym curriculum. I doubt you would learn much that would stick with you in that type of setting. But I'm sure it would pique the interest of some that may not have known what TKD was about.