Taekwondo - New rules set for Olympic 2012

Taekwondo made it's first appearance at the Summer Olympic Games as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul when Korea was the host country. It later became a full medal sport at the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney Australia and has been a sport in the Olympics since then. China demonstrated their vast number of Taichi practitioners during the opening ceremony, I wonder if we will expect to see some sort of Taichi competition in the Olympic one day?

According to some sources, Taekwondo is on the verge of being eliminated from the official Olympic Games, due to lack of popularity. (I personally disagree coz TKD community is larger than ever) but it raised concern to the WTF (World Taekwondo Federation)

What a low blow that was

Concerned sources & rumors states the reason being the lack of fairness in judging during the match. Often judges are criticized as vague and confusing. Olympics Taekwondo match are judged by one referee and 4 judges.....sitting pretty far from the action, BUT with the help of 2 cameras. Points & penalties are given when 2 judges recognize them. However due to flashy and fast movement & angles can cause ambiguous judgement.


So the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)  addresses the issue with a total of five cameras around the court!

The community have growing concerns that TDK has lost its dynamic appeal and the games are not fun to watch....(really?) I personally find it to be the flashiest game to watch on TV, next to lightweight boxing and Judo. So for London games of 2012, the size of the court will be reduced to 8x8 meters.
The rules also been changed where a super flashy kicks & advanced attack moves will be awarded up to 4 points, making the sport more exciting to watch. That sounds like an excellent idea to me! this will change the fighters game and strategy completely. We might even see unexpected new stars coz now it allows for new moves we often don't see in the games. 


Better yet, we might even get to see some rare knockouts in the London Olympic games this year!

Now here's a thought. Do you think London will feature Baritsu/Bartitsu in their opening ceremony? How cool would can it be to see a sport where the sports attire is to wear victorian attire with a top hat and fake mustaches? I sure wish to see that!


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Russian Martial Arts - Systema

Russian Martial Arts seems to derive its roots from it's Soviet Military Hand to Hand Combat

To follow up my previous knowledge about Russian Martial Arts, I've done a little bit of research to find out what are the martial arts scenes from Russia. Aside from the mainstream Olympics of wrestling & boxing, Martial Arts in Russia are gaining more and more popularity and exposure thanks to the internet.

From what I gather mostly in popular culture and references from the internet there are 3 main styles that keeps coming up every time I google "Russian Martial Arts" This probably explains how I begin to see more unique readers from Russia as well.

Systema (the system)

Systema are trained in hand to hand combat, grappling, knife fighting and fire arms training. Training involves drills and sparring although without the set kata like traditional martial arts. It's an art focuses mainly on controlling the six body levers (elbows, neck, knees, waist, ankles & shoulders) through pressure point application, striking & weapons applications. Systema is often advertised and mainstream as a martial art trained by their special forces, the Russian Spetsnaz. Check out the rare Video below.

With the booming threat of street safety, self protection & self defense, Systema have been incorporated to be trained by normal civilian for Self Defense purposes. And the video below are examples of Systema being implemented to be trained to civilians safety.

Some notable names of Systema Masters responsible for its global exposure includes Mikhail Ryabko & Vladamier Vasiliev. (apologize if i got the spelling wrong) As I noticed during my research i found that their concepts for punching, kicking and stance seems different than conventional martial arts. Traditionally the fundamental of power comes from the hip motion and its present in Systema as well, however their anatomy of punching are unfamiliar territory for a traditionalist like myself. As explained in videos below

Mikhael Ryabko

Vladimir Vasiliev

Notice how the people taking the impact of the punch moves when getting hit. From the looks of it apparently a way to absorb the impact or deflect the force away from the body. It's very unique and unfamiliar...which also excites me :D

Another thing that I come across in my research are the criticism towards the demonstrations of Systema. There are those critics out there believe some of their concept shows in the videos are fraud and some even calls it as "Soviet Propaganda".

Courtesy of Martial Arts Haters & non-believers who contributed their point of view of Systema below

I have much respect for all forms of Martial Arts, I'm not here to provoke heated discussions with the internet people wether the video above is real or not, an open-minded Martial Artist are mature enough not to be phased by criticism of those who barks at cats. My intention is to merely put up observations from my research and for people to expand their knowledge in the aspect of Martial Arts.

Criticism are everywhere and in every Martial Art. It is up to the Martial Artist to form a constructive opinion of the criticism and take inner peace in their decisions.

Coming up on more comprehensive study of other Russian Martial Arts
(Sambo & Voin system)

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Like Martial Arts? check out WingChunBear official Website. It's a page for Martial Arts Enthusiast to view, learn & share ideas in regards to Anything Martial Arts. Feel free to drop by from time to time and "Like" the fan page to support its growth to gather more Enthusiast :) they are websites for YOU. Click the links below and Subscirbe in the "contact" page to receive future goodies :D

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