"In the end, it’s extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes
a lot more that that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it
takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice.
And finally, it takes a great deal
of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you
don’t win, how can you lose?"
-Jesse Owens
a lot more that that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it
takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice.
And finally, it takes a great deal
of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you
don’t win, how can you lose?"
-Jesse Owens
I brought my competition team to their third tournament for the season. It was their first TRADITIONAL Taekwondo tournament. The first two we went to were Olympic style. Olympic Taekwondo sparring is more physically demanding than traditional Taekwondo sparring. In Olympic Taekwondo sparring, you are sparring for several minutes at a time, a lot of kicks and leg work, a lot more endurance required, and the skill of your technique balanced with your speed and agility. Traditional Taekwondo is a lot more controlled, and you are allowed to use punches and they stop at every point they think they see. It is very much like the Japanese style of Karate and Korean art of Tang Soo Do.
Just like Daniel Larusso in The Karate Kid the first person to score three points wins, where in Olympic sparing, you get as many point as you can by hitting the chest protector (hogu). Traditional you don't need to where a chest protector. So in the opinion of many, almost down to a fact, Olympic sparring is better than traditional sparring.
HOWEVER, the traditional forms are MUCH better than the Olympic forms. The traditional forms, which I teach, have great detail and impressive movements. The patterns are challenging and the techniques are deep and graceful. The Olympic style forms are very choppy and robotic, and don't have as much style in them. So I teach the better of both styles and keep the not so great for extra. So the first two competitions I brought my students to were Olympic style Taekwondo and they are good to first time competitors to get the experience. The competition is very challenging for the ones who do sparring. Forms team did amazing and always placed.
But the forms team needed to be challenged. So I remember this traditional Taekwondo (ITF) tournament I used to go to when I was a kid. I knew the forms competition was going to be really tough, and it was just what the forms team people needed. And yet, the sparring team would get a little shell shocked because the sparring is TOTALLY different! None of them have ever done this before and it would be a great experience to get under their belts, no pun intended.
When we got there, they could see exactly how it was different already. No mats, hard wood floor with red tape to create rings, five judges using hand gestures, writing out the scores, and very VERY picky with the forms. But not only traditional Taekwondo was competing, but Tang Soo Do, another Korean art, and a few Japanese Karate forms. They were surprised to see other schools doing low stances, loud kias, sharp kick and movements; they really had to step up their game if they wanted to place. Some of the kids didn't place, and some first place students got third place this time. It's good for them! They need to know that they can't expect to do what they keep doing and expect the rewards to fall into their lap. They mus continue to work hard and raise their standards in their training, as these judges were VERY picky.
I was not allowed to coach my students at all this time. That is being traditional for you. But then something happened that I noticed when they began the Black Belt divisions. The judging and standards were conveniently changing. Of course all the instructors knew each other here, and they of course wanted their Black Belts to win. I was asked to judge in a ring for one of the Black Belt divisions, and two of my students happened to be in the ring I was judging for, which they did not mind. I made them aware right away, but they thought I'd judge fairly. Which I did.
But that is not how I felt about them. Usually if a Black Belt does a lower belt form, and I mean several ranks lower, I don't care how strong the form is, several points are taken away from that. One student I judged did a form four levels down from his rank, his stances weren't that low, and NO kias at all. They are there for a reason. Then another boy went, and his technique was not as strong as the other one, but he did a much higher ranking form, did the stances, and did the kias. He should have obviously received more points. Now I have been doing this for 15 years and am a certified coach and know all the rules of both styles of Taekwondo. I called out my score first, then the other two called theirs. I was shocked to hear how high they would score.
At first I felt I was being too hard, then I noticed how much their scores varied. I was not pleased. But unlike Olympic Taekwondo, there is NO challenging of the center referee and judge's call and final say, let alone I am not allowed to coach. I then watched the adult divisions, and one master who was refereeing came all the way up from south Jersey, quite a long ways. The other masters were praising him earlier in the day for a well run competition he does down south. Right away, favoritism was being shown for his students, and you saw it. But even more so, when this master was judging himself, he was barely watching the sparring matches himself unless it was his own people. So MANY points that could have been scored were not because he just claimed he saw a clash, or no point at all!
That was a shame to witness. Robert said that this school reminded him of the Cobra Kai from The Karate Kid. I chuckled because the way they carried themselves and the black uniforms (although mine is Black too lol) did remind me a great deal of the Cobra Kai. My 18 year old Black Belt made it to the Grand Championship for her form and did phenomenal. But the defending champion, from this same school performed the same form, and made four mistakes. She did the low block before the high block, same hand for the backfist twice which you're not supposed to do, she did not start and end on the same point which they were very picky about for the traditional forms, and the diagram of a straight line (which was fr this form) was not followed. Yet they scored her much higher.
Nepotism. Oh well. It happens. It's part of the experience. I am glad the students got challenging forms competition, and the sparring team experienced a completely new style that could help them in different ways on Olympic sparring. But I am also glad they got the life experience that sometimes things are done unfairly and we must always show great sportsmanship no matter what, which each and every one of my students did, and I am so proud of them. They always represent so well, and I do not care about the awards, but the experience they get, how they represent, and them doing their best is what makes it all rewarding in the end!
Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO
But the forms team needed to be challenged. So I remember this traditional Taekwondo (ITF) tournament I used to go to when I was a kid. I knew the forms competition was going to be really tough, and it was just what the forms team people needed. And yet, the sparring team would get a little shell shocked because the sparring is TOTALLY different! None of them have ever done this before and it would be a great experience to get under their belts, no pun intended.
When we got there, they could see exactly how it was different already. No mats, hard wood floor with red tape to create rings, five judges using hand gestures, writing out the scores, and very VERY picky with the forms. But not only traditional Taekwondo was competing, but Tang Soo Do, another Korean art, and a few Japanese Karate forms. They were surprised to see other schools doing low stances, loud kias, sharp kick and movements; they really had to step up their game if they wanted to place. Some of the kids didn't place, and some first place students got third place this time. It's good for them! They need to know that they can't expect to do what they keep doing and expect the rewards to fall into their lap. They mus continue to work hard and raise their standards in their training, as these judges were VERY picky.
I was not allowed to coach my students at all this time. That is being traditional for you. But then something happened that I noticed when they began the Black Belt divisions. The judging and standards were conveniently changing. Of course all the instructors knew each other here, and they of course wanted their Black Belts to win. I was asked to judge in a ring for one of the Black Belt divisions, and two of my students happened to be in the ring I was judging for, which they did not mind. I made them aware right away, but they thought I'd judge fairly. Which I did.
But that is not how I felt about them. Usually if a Black Belt does a lower belt form, and I mean several ranks lower, I don't care how strong the form is, several points are taken away from that. One student I judged did a form four levels down from his rank, his stances weren't that low, and NO kias at all. They are there for a reason. Then another boy went, and his technique was not as strong as the other one, but he did a much higher ranking form, did the stances, and did the kias. He should have obviously received more points. Now I have been doing this for 15 years and am a certified coach and know all the rules of both styles of Taekwondo. I called out my score first, then the other two called theirs. I was shocked to hear how high they would score.
At first I felt I was being too hard, then I noticed how much their scores varied. I was not pleased. But unlike Olympic Taekwondo, there is NO challenging of the center referee and judge's call and final say, let alone I am not allowed to coach. I then watched the adult divisions, and one master who was refereeing came all the way up from south Jersey, quite a long ways. The other masters were praising him earlier in the day for a well run competition he does down south. Right away, favoritism was being shown for his students, and you saw it. But even more so, when this master was judging himself, he was barely watching the sparring matches himself unless it was his own people. So MANY points that could have been scored were not because he just claimed he saw a clash, or no point at all!
That was a shame to witness. Robert said that this school reminded him of the Cobra Kai from The Karate Kid. I chuckled because the way they carried themselves and the black uniforms (although mine is Black too lol) did remind me a great deal of the Cobra Kai. My 18 year old Black Belt made it to the Grand Championship for her form and did phenomenal. But the defending champion, from this same school performed the same form, and made four mistakes. She did the low block before the high block, same hand for the backfist twice which you're not supposed to do, she did not start and end on the same point which they were very picky about for the traditional forms, and the diagram of a straight line (which was fr this form) was not followed. Yet they scored her much higher.
Nepotism. Oh well. It happens. It's part of the experience. I am glad the students got challenging forms competition, and the sparring team experienced a completely new style that could help them in different ways on Olympic sparring. But I am also glad they got the life experience that sometimes things are done unfairly and we must always show great sportsmanship no matter what, which each and every one of my students did, and I am so proud of them. They always represent so well, and I do not care about the awards, but the experience they get, how they represent, and them doing their best is what makes it all rewarding in the end!
Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO
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