Tae Kwon Do: Martial Art, Sport, or Circus?

Tae Kwon Do was my first style. Park Jong Soo ITF Tae Kwon Do, to be exact.

We worked on deep stances, hip rotation, self-defense, and living with indomitable spirit. When I moved to California, I looked for a new school and discovered WTF Tae Kwon Do.

Walking stances? No head punches? Olympic sport? How could a style with the same name be so different?

Now comes an article in the Korea Times: “Taekwondo Should Be More Spectator Friendly.” In it, WTF President Choue Chung-won and the heads of the WTF Demonstration Team all agree that Tae Kwon Do needs more fans. Millions more. And if that means putting together a demo team of women only, or members who are not Tae Kwon Do competitors, or making everyone wear eyeliner to look “cooler”, so be it.

Uh…is anyone else squirming in their dobok yet?

Look–I love martial arts. I preach the glories of martial arts everywhere I go. I want them to be more popular, too. But eyeliner is not the way to do it.

Yes, the Demo Team will put on a spectacular show. Yes, the Demo Team will look sexy and cool. Yes, Cirque du Soleil will take notice and create a new Las Vegas show called, “Koryo.” But will any of that popularity really help the martial arts?

No. Because martial arts is a way of life, not a special event.

Even if millions of people cheer the Demo Team as they backflip over tigers and kick flaming boards, does that mean all those fans will go running to their local Tae Kwon Do school and sign up? Nope. Here’s why–

Spectator sports are for spectators. Consider this–the Super Bowl is the most popular sports event in the United States, but the last time I checked, there aren’t millions of men lining up to play football.

And even if fans of the new, sexy-cool Tae Kwon Do rush to their local Tae Kwon Do schools, how many schools are set up to teach the moves demonstrated on TV? Where are the flashing lights? The acrobats? The fire-eaters? Just imagine all the disappointed fans as they line up to do their first set of basic blocks!

This problem of popularity isn’t new. Martial arts has transformed drastically over the last 100 years to attract students. Change after change has been made to transform the fighting arts into “life arts”. Ju-Jitsu became Ju-Do. Okinawan Te became Karate-Do. Don’t forget–even the term “Tae Kwon Do” has only been around since the 1950’s!

Ta da! Which brings us to the solution to the WTF’s problem. The name needs to change! Again.

If you want to put on a spectacular kicking show, call your art Tae Kwon Show. Or Kickapalooza. Call it whatever you want. Just don’t call it Tae Kwon Do. That name is already taken.

While we’re at it, let’s also create a different name for the sport of Tae Kwon Do. Let the life art of Tae Kwon Do–the art of punching, kicking, and self-defense–keep its original name. Let the Olympic sport be called Tae Kwon Gold. Or Tae Kwon Go For It. But please–stop pretending they’re all the same. They’re not.

Water polo and synchronized swimming both take place in a pool, but they’re not the same. Olympic fencing and the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, both feature swordplay, but they’re not the same. That’s why it makes no sense to keep calling a martial art, a martial sport, and a martial extravaganza all by the same name.

By the way–someone has already figured this out. His name is Michael Chaturantabut or “Mike Chat”.

Mike Chat took the spectacular side of martial arts and proudly put it front and center. He turned up the music and gave his demo team cool uniforms. Most importantly, he had the decency to give his style a new name–XMA. Extreme Martial Arts. And he developed a system to teach exactly that.

Well done, sir!

So, if you’re listening, WTF, I applaud your efforts to make the martial arts more popular. But look to the past and remember how Tae Kwon Do became Tae Kwon Do in the first place. By creating a new art and a new name.

That’s also the key to your future.