The
Future of Taekwondo
Overview
Introductory
Remarks
This essay is a
small part of the requirements for my grading to 3rd Dan.
My home dojo is
the DeSantos
Martial Arts Studio run by Kwan Jae Nym Veronica DeSantos for the
last 14 years in the Danforth and Dawes Road area of Toronto, Ontario,
Canada.
Ms. DeSantos, most
often referred to as Kwan Jae Nym, came from Guyana (on the north east
coast of South America) to Toronto as a young woman and started studying
taekwondo in the early seventies with Park Jong Soo in Toronto.
After recieving
her black belt she studied under Cezar
Borkowski , founder of Northern Karate Schools, Shotokan stylist
and prominent tournament promoter in the middle to late 80's. She pursued
an astonishly successful career as a fighter in the late 80's culminating
in a string of eight consecutive victories in top tornaments throughout
North America and achieved the rank of Renshi in the Shotokan system.
While pursuing a career in the financial sector.
She started small
- juggling teaching, competing and her 'day job' until 1988 when she
opened full time in her current location.
Her deep and abiding
interests include a strong sense of service to her community, a commitment
to self-defense and empowerment of women and marginalized members of
society, and a vital sense of curiosity as she continues to train and
explore the richly textured world of the martial arts both for herself
and her students.
On the coaching
side she has produced a number of top level fighters over the years,
and is especially proud of Tuan Tran who recently made the Ontario TaeKwonDo
Team.
DeSantos Martial
Arts Studio teaches a blend of martial arts echoing KJN's rich background.
ITF forms with Shotokan stances, kobudo, both WTF and points fighting
systems, and self-defense are stressed. Character development is emphasized
for the strong children's program and KJN takes a very personal pride
in the successes of her kids.
Essay
Overview
This essay is presented
in HTML format. This is not primarily so that it can be web-based, but
rather because the story, footnotes, and reference material flow best
this way.
I make no assumptions
about the orientation or experience of my reader except to assume a
wider readership than perhaps was the intial intent of this assignment.
I am, to the extent
possible, aware of my assumptions and presumptions. All statements are
my humble opinion -- what else could they be? I bring to this the weight
of my experience, for all its benefits and shortcomings. I am not 17,
do not believe in my own personal immortality (at least in the sense
of not dying), do not believe that injury is something that happens
to others, that by selective and appropriate training I will turn into
the ultimate kick-ass fighter of all time. But I consider excessive
use of the phrase, 'in my opinion', or going to excessive lengths to
avoid injuring the sensibilities of those with differing opinions to
be disingenuous at best. After all, if I really was so bloody humble,
I wouldn't be writing this at all. Things I am vastly uninterested in
discussing can be found here.
This section
is for those of you who just don't want to read the whole thing.
In looking at the
future of taekwondo we will consider -
What is the history
of taekwondo, both ancient and modern?
How has this influenenced
the development of taekwondo?
How popular are
the martial arts and taekwondo in particular?
How does the split
between the ITF and the WTF affect this discussion?
Is taekwondo a sport
or an art? Does this matter?
What are the current
or potential problems facing the sport?
How could the governing
bodies move to address these problems?
Our intrepid reporter
peers bravely into the future.
Submitted with
thanks and appreciaton to Kwan Jae Nym Veronica DeSantos by Winston
Stableford, candidate for 3rd Dan on May 11, 2002
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