Olympic style sparring vs. traditional TKD: why all the fuss??

[mango.man]

It seems there was more fuss in 2004 on TKD being perceived by the world at large as an overly stylized fighting system without the practical applications of the other Olympic combat sports- boxing, judo, wrestling, ~shooting~
Unfortunately the lasting legacy involving "practicality" this time round is the action of one man against a referee.

Are you suggesting that had Matos killed the referee, that people would have more respect for TKD and see it as more "practical"?

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Are you suggesting that had Matos killed the referee, that people would have more respect for TKD and see it as more "practical"?

Believe it or not, if he had KO'd the ref, yes there is an element of people who would be checking out TKD.

Nobody thinks that TKD is full of people like the Cuban athlete who kicked the ref, but a lot of people (wrongly) think that Olympic style taewondoin do not kick all that hard; they kind of see it as (again wrongly) being like foil, where you really need only touch your opponent to score.

Daniel

 

[mango.man]

Believe it or not, if he had KO'd the ref, yes there are a lot of people who would be checking out TKD.

Nobody thinks that TKD is full of people like the Cuban athlete who kicked the ref, but a lot of people (wrongly) think that Olympic style taewondoin do not kick all that hard; they kind of see it as (again wrongly) being like foil, where you really need only touch your opponent to score.

Daniel

Well, granted I was not in Matos' head, so I really don't know what he was thinking or what his intention was in kicking the ref as in, I don't know what outcome he wanted to see.

Was he trying to kill him? If so he demonstrated an ineffective technique and gave TKD a bad rep.

Was he trying to KO him? If so he demonstrated an ineffective technique and gave TKD a bad rep.

Was he trying to miss him but make a point? If so he demonstrated an ineffective technique and gave TKD a bad rep.

Was he trying to split his lip to make a point? If so he demonstrated an excellent technique with great skill and control but still gave TKD a bad rep as it demonstrated a complete lack of self control violating one of the tenets of the art.

Other than Matos, nobody really knows what his intention was and therefore nobody can truly say if he kicked hard enough, used an appropriate weapon or chose an appropriate target. I do admit though that it is great fun to speculate.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I think that he was just bullying people around and throwing a general temper tantrum because he was mad that he was counted out. I doubt that he had any intent other than to biarch 'slap' the ref with a kick.

Daniel

 

[roymark]

I think that he was just bullying people around and throwing a general temper tantrum because he was mad that he was counted out. I doubt that he had any intent other than to biarch 'slap' the ref with a kick.

Daniel

True, his rage got the best of Matos driving him towards the ref, maybe a culmination of frustration with the injury, a perceived slight, and the lost hope of fulfilling glories through training many hours a day for years.

It was just a little jib including riflery with the combat sports without intent to counterbalance the public perception of practicality towards those sports. MM, I did like your breakdowns of effectiveness behind the hypothetical outcomes of his motivation.
Olympic players are at the forefront of representing the sport to the world every 4 years. Those that hardly follow martial arts might only have heard of this action from the combat sports of the 2008 games. Dedicated martial artists who practice tae kwon do (inclusive of traditional form and Olympic style sparring) will continue thriving to express the tenets of the art showing that the action of one man was really an anomaly.

 

[Flynn_]

Well, granted I was not in Matos' head, so I really don't know what he was thinking or what his intention was in kicking the ref as in, I don't know what outcome he wanted to see.

Was he trying to kill him? If so he demonstrated an ineffective technique and gave TKD a bad rep.

Was he trying to KO him? If so he demonstrated an ineffective technique and gave TKD a bad rep.

Was he trying to miss him but make a point? If so he demonstrated an ineffective technique and gave TKD a bad rep.

Was he trying to split his lip to make a point? If so he demonstrated an excellent technique with great skill and control but still gave TKD a bad rep as it demonstrated a complete lack of self control violating one of the tenets of the art.

Other than Matos, nobody really knows what his intention was and therefore nobody can truly say if he kicked hard enough, used an appropriate weapon or chose an appropriate target. I do admit though that it is great fun to speculate.

That analysis was very amusing :roflmao: