DRAWN & QUARTERED

As a martial art/combat sport, taekwondo has gone through several transformations. Each generation of practitioners is plagued by critics who express disdain for anything new. That’s to be expected. However, I must say that I agree to a certain extent with those who are unhappy with the current state of the art. As practiced in some locations, taekwondo has devolved from a wonderful martial art into an ineffective sport. If this continues, it may result in the marginalization of taekwondo.

THE SLIDE

The majority of what’s written about the martial arts falls into the how-to category. Most authors are practitioners and therefore focus on the technical aspects of their style. They laud its self-defense potential while promoting its benefits for self-development.

For much of history, these claims went unchallenged. Each art existed in a vacuum, and little was done to shine a light into the darkness that surrounded any of them. Then in 1993, the world as we know it changed. That’s when the UFC was born.

In this new format of competition, all martial artists were welcome. The bouts were full contact, and very few techniques were illegal. Any athlete had the opportunity to bring his best game and let the winner be determined through the process of elimination.

What followed in the octagon is of little importance to the discussion at hand. The purpose of this article is not to determine whether one martial art is superior to another. It’s to examine what the goals of a modern martial art — specifically, taekwondo — should be.

Historically, both sports and martial arts have been