Why dont the Thais 'fake' Tae Kwon Do

[gobbledonk]

Hi All,

 

I'm not sure how much actual *contact* is allowed in Olympic Tae Kwon Do, but surely some of the best Muay Thai exponents would put a lot of the try-hards from other countries on their butts in competition (particularly in the lighter classes) ?. I suspect that the invite list is as much about politics as anything - I believe that you have to belong to one particular TKD organisation to even be in contention for a spot on the team. You might be a great TKD exponent, but belong to the wrong club and its game over. As soon as the governing body got wind of 'ring-ins' from Thailand, Japan or wherever, I suspect that the 'offenders' would be escorted from the building .....

 

It has to rank as Thailand's best hope for a 1-2-3 result, though

[New Petchburi Pete]

I think it's too abd they don't have a separte competition for kick boxing or Muay Thai.

[SUZIBANDIT]

Thailand is supposed to have some pretty good female tae kwon do fighters this year.

 

I know that there is also a Thai female Tae Kwon Do referee who will be working the Games.

[gobbledonk]

Hi SB,

 

I'm afraid my faith in female TKD was severely dented when I saw our own Lauren Burns 'fighting' her way to a gold medal in Sydney four years ago. I know that it looks a lot easier from a lounge chair than it does when you are out there, but all I saw was a lot of bouncing up and down followed by the occasional darting attack aimed purely at scoring that all important 'point'.

 

Contrast that with something like Muay Thai, boxing or a contact karate style such as Kyokushin - there may be an initial 'sizing up' period, but once they get serious there are continual blows to the head and body, with the result often being clear to the layman (ie one guy 'lays' the other out !).

 

All that aside, I hope that the Thai girls do well - it *is* a sport after all, and I need to remember that these people want to be able to walk and talk after their brief time in the Olympic spotlight.