Olympic Martial Arts

Should Taekwondo and Judo be martial arts in the olympics?

OK, before I get shot, let me expand slightly.

Is it right that these arts can compete at this level, when other arts, Kung Fu, Karate, etc are not included? Should all arts be included separatly, or should there be a 'semi-contact open fighting' section, a 'full contact fighting' section etc that every martial art is entitled to enter?

I personally strongly favour the latter - it would be far more interesting to see a mix of different styles. What about a Kata section as well - surely more interesting than rhythm gymnastics?

Also, olympic boxing is the only amateur sport left - why not make it open to professionals as well? Would the current world champions enter the olympics, or would they have too much face to lose by doing so?

answers on a postcard .....

 

I like the amatuer boxing myself it gives me a chance to see the young talent that you just don't get in the i want to watch a big star world of today. There are some damn fine fighters in the Olympics.

As for the other debate i think its partly to do with the mindset of some a lot of the CMA origins aren't really about competing this has meant that although some like Lau Gar for instance have become very successful at point sparring type events otheres remain untested and therefore are reluctant to enter. I would quite like to see an open competition to accomodate everyone however whether anyone has got the brains to put it together remains to be seen

 

so you think the young talents would lose to the old professionals?

 

They are so different in the rules and scoring they are a very different versions of the same sport. Pros would have a very hard time going back to amateur rules. The same as some very good amateurs do not make it in the pros. They never adjust to the rules and mindset of the pros.

 

I think it’s up to the individual martial art controlling bodies. It was decided a number of years ago that Shorinji Kempo would never be an Olympic sport. This is because although it is a physical activity, it is not a sport. As a generalisation we don’t have competitions against other people, only ourselves. Even when we randori, despite it being full contact and open targets, we are not trying to defeat the other person. Our aim is to challenge the other person, but not dominate; as this stops experimentation and the practice of less developed techniques. It is all about a learning experience, not winning.

So if the governing body of your style believes it is a sport that’s fine, they can then enter the negations of becoming an Olympic sport. Not all sports are represented in the Olympics, and there are a number of prerequisites to becoming a member. I think it would be impractical to include a number of arts as stand alone competitions, and difficult to get them all to agree on a single format of competition.

 

this came up in my karate class one night. this was my sensei's respone on the matter:

"the TKD people sure pulled a fast one with the olympics. but i gotta say, i think the TKD olympic competition is some of the most well done and well organized competing i've seen. they maintain it very well."

i think there should be other styles accepted, but if it becomes too merged between styles (such as a lot of the open ideas ppl mention), some of the well done organizing and managing could be lost.

 

olympic boxing is crap. MMA should be olympic sport. heh

 

i think wu shu is being introduced as a demo thing at bejing?

 

No i meant if it was big names then you wouldn't see the amir kahn's of the world because they probably wouldn't get places in the team everything is commercial

 

As a TKD guy, this sounds strange, but other than it being the most practiced MA, I don't know how it got into the Olympics. I mean its okay to watch. But what makes it differently than any of the other MA's.

 

I think it fits that TKD and Judo should be Olympic sports. They're the least prone to bloodletting, as the rules for TKD are now, and it seems to me that they complete the full spectrum of fighting areas. You've got TKD and boxing, which is all stand-up striking, then Judo which seems to be close to clinch/takedowns, then you've got Greco-Roman, which is all groundwork.

Sure, kung-fu, karate, bjj, etc. are all really cool martial arts, but in regards to getting into the Olympics, TKD and Judo were first in line

And whoever said rhythmic gymnastics isn't that interesting: Hush, you!

 

unless you have a technicall appreciation, I think that most MAs make for a poor spectacle. Generally speaking, more the more effective the art the "uglier" it is.

 

That's true. It wouldn't hurt to have a forms section, like they do in regular tournaments. TKD's the only one with actual forms, though, but the others could choreograph cool-looking demonstrations.

 

Korea and Japan have hosted the Olympics. That's how TKD and Judo got in.

 

Really? So that's why I've heard Wushu's gonna be demoed in Beijing? Japan has a lot of martial arts, though..I wonder why they picked Judo?

 

Unfortunately, chances are the kata/forms/patterns section would probably turn into rhythm gymnastics

 

it looks like WuShu will be the next MA in the Olympics.
more info on the latest report here:
http://www.chenwukuan.com/Olympic_Reporx.html

I agree with an earlier comment about the current olympic MAs are least bloodletting. the Olympics could be seen as a family event, so I guess you're least likely to get full contact MMA in the olympics.

I really think they should take out a lot of the professional sports,
it should be open to ametuers only.
It seemed like a lot of the professionals playing didn't give put much into the olympics as there was no money in it.

 

If you have a bit if a search you find that there are a limited number of sports that are allowed for a particular Olympics. If they want to add wushu, then something else will need to be cut. The question then is what gets cut?

Modern pentathlon was one that is hanging on in there, but it might go.

It is all a question of viewing figures. Everyone can understand a judo bout, and it is easy enough to follow tkd. But how is your 'average joe' going to be able to tell what a good form/kata is? would it make good viewing? Remember also that the olympics is a sporting event so it is going to be more the sporting ability than the martial ability that gets the medals.

As another poster said, "Generally speaking, more the more effective the art the "uglier" it is."

Will enough countries be able to take part? It would be pretty naff if wushu got in and china won ALL the medals.

 

They would limit the amount of participants per country that enter like they do for TKD.

Mev.

 

There are enough countries taking part in the Internation WuShu championships, approximately 75 different countries.

The Russians are pretty good with the WuShu as well as Chinese and most other countries from Asia. We have a lot of potential in the UK, but we don't have much in the way of support from UK sports federation, it's proven very hard to get some support for potential olympic atheletes.

I think whether Martial artists like it or not (and I know I'd prefer SanDa/SanShou in their) most Olympic sports, especially newer ones, are geared towards the spectators, and WuShu is a spectacular event, so it's most likely able to get in to the olympics.