Taekwon Do is a fractionated world. On one hand, you have the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and on the other there is the International Taekwondo Federation. Differences in technique and sparring styles distinguish the two, although, to be honest, taekwondo is still taekwondo.
I must admit that I've received weird looks from people when I tell them that I practice taekwondo. There is still this old perception that martial arts are for nutcases and overly-aggressive types. In my experience nothing could be further from the truth. Most TKD organisations are well run, well managed, responsible and actively encourage the participation of children in the sport. Some of the black belts I've met have been the most level-headed, calmest people I've ever met.
The variety of taekwondo featured at the Olympics is of the WTF-kind (Boo to that as I'm an ITF practioner myself). Still though, it's great to know that the sport you're passionate about is part of the of the most fantastic sporting event in the world. While I might not like the type of sparring used in the Olympics, I would be optimistic about the Olympics as a platform to promote the sport and get more people involved.
However, this year's Olympics was marred by several events. First, we had the overturning of a result in the women's +67 kg event between Sarah Stevenson of Great Britain and China's Chen Zhong. Following an unprecedented use of video footage after the result was declared, the Chinese victory was overturned and the British athlete went through to the next round, which she subsequently lost.
The prize for controversy has to go to Cuban 80+kg fighter Angel Matos, who kicked the referee Chakir Chelbat in the mouth following a decision to award the match to the Kazakhstani opponent, Arman Chilmanov. Matos was deemed to have exceeded the one minute injury time permitted to fighters and the bout was awarded to his oponent. Matos and his coach returned to the ring, protesting the decision, resulting in the awful incident shown in the picture above.
These events clearly go against both the spirit of taekwondo and the Olympics. It is an honour to represent your country at the highest level in your sport. Watching and reading about these events embarasses me, even though I'll never have the chance to compete at this level.
Oh, and by the way, if you're still interested in TKD following all this, check out the Irish National Taekwondo Association based in Exchequer Street, Dublin 2, with many clubs located around the country.
We love a good tryer here in Ireland. The bar for Olympic performance isn't the highest here and we have a tendency to consider it a good day if someone doesn't disgrace themselves or fall flat on their faces. Bearing that in mind, the performances so far from the Irish team at the Olympics have been OK. No medals yet, and let's be honest, it might well stay that way. But on the whole, we have had respectable performances.
We did have the embarassing incident where Irish swimmer Melanie Nocher had to stop dead in the water in her 200m freestyle heat in order to adjust her goggles. Later, the incident was blamed on the fact that the swimmer could not wear the hat supplied to her and to had to wear a different cap. The question needs to be asked why she didn't perform some trial runs with her new gear and make sure that all would be OK. It shows a lack of professionalism. Debacle aside, she did actually swim well, so here's hoping that a valuable lesson has been learned.
The finals of the men's K1 kayak have just finished with heart-breaking news for Ireland. Eoin Rheinisch had struggled to qualify for the semi-finals and then the final, but put in a fantastic paddle in the final. He was in gold position for quite a while, falling to silver and then bronze. However, he lost the bronze on the last paddle of the day. Although we may say that a 4th place finish in an Olympic final is undoubtedly a good showing, it's probably going to feel quite bitter to Eoin right now.
Well done Eoin, you did us proud. You held on in there, despite being 15th in the qualifiers and 10th in the semis. You kept your head, displayed your professionalism and came home 4th in the final. Congratulations!
The official uniform of the 2008 Irish Olympic Squad was recently unveiled by the Irish Olympic Comittee. It's designed by John Rocha in conjunction with Irish team sponsor Penneys, and "marries elements of his Chinese heritage with his desire to present a positive , uplifting image for his adopted home, Ireland."
The uniform combines silk from the Far East, which has been handpainted by an Irish craftswoman with celtic motifs and superfine cool wools and cotton. It all sounds good. There should be an image in your head right now of something elegant and classy, sleek and smooth. Well, here's a picture of the uniforms as modelled by the athletes Fionnula Britton (24) from Wicklow who will represent Ireland in the 3000m Steeplechase and Letterkenny cyclist Philip Deignan (25) who will compete in the Olympic road race. Both are first time Olympians.
In fairness, the men's suit looks very well.But what is up with the women's outfit? It has the amazing effect of making the female athlete look like a 50 year old woman dressed to go to mass. It's stunningly unfeminine and old-fashioned. JOhn Rocha would have done well to remember that most of the women wearing this uniform will be in the peak physical condition of their lives. Why not dress them in something sleeker, fitted and sharper.
It's a pity that a great Irish designer couldn't use this opportunity to promote a more modern image of Irish female fashion.
