sports management

THE HURDLES TO TAEKWONDO

Martial Arts has a history dating back 5000 years to the religious philosophies of India. It spread to China, the Shaolin Temple, over 2000 years ago with the Great Buddha. From there it spread all over the East and developed into the various styles prominent today. Taekwondo is a style of Kung Fu which has been an olympic sport since 2000. Taekwondo is a dangerous martial art, however in the right refereed setting with experienced black belt practitioners, it is a healthy sport. The acceptance of Taekwondo sparring into the olympics has done wonders to promote Martial Arts, as it is not just about fancy kicks; there is philosophy and religion attached to it. As the crusaders went about killing millions with the goal of spreading Christiainity, the Olympics has proved to be a great platform to spread the rich culture of the East to the rest of the world.

I chose to discuss the problems facing the Taekwondo community in Australia as I am entrenched as a martial arts practitioner, 'potential' competitor and 'potential' instructor. I was unable to find any media upon the sport of Taekwondo as there really is no public / promotion relations department within the non-existant Taekwondo Federation, however I am personally aware of all the issues facing the sport. I was lucky enough to find a good club in the neighborhood, however as Taekwondo is a relatively new sport, there really isn't enough clubs around Australia, with good quality coaches to be able to train olympic competitors. As there is a lack of leadership within the sport, a lack of management initiative, I was unable to continue training. I am a heavyweight olympic contender. I was unable to compete in the past three olympics due to a lack of sponsorship. The media giants, foxtel, nine, seven and ten, make billions out of the sport industry, yet the most valued player sleeps on the street and begs for handouts at the homeless shelter across Australia. The problems of high stakes and greed. Haggle too much and everyone loses.

There simply isn't enough good martial art masters to go around in this world. As Taekwondo is a Korean sport and there has been little immigration from Korea, the sport is spreading very slowly. Then there's the problem of the language barrier with good quality instructors. There are an extremely small number of caucasian coaches, who speak English fluently, that are able to train an athlete to the olympic level. As Australia is a large continent, it is difficult to spread the limited amount of coaches available to the whole continent. It is infuriating to go to a club, pay cash fees upfront and find out that the coach, a fifth dan black belt, caucasian, cannot even demonstrate a butterfly kick. If a master is not able to demonstrate a competition kick, the students will never be able to learn the kicks from watching Jet Li videos. And you wonder why the amateurs at the olympics are doing body roundhouse kicks?

There is no united body managing the whole of the Taekwondo community. There is a lack of leadership. A lack of management initiative. Basketball players make millions because the sport is well organised. When there is a male heavyweight olympic contender who is charismatic, well spoken and displays the wow factor that Ali had, there is no one to step in and provide the leadership that is required. No one to take the star out of the ghetto and place into the hands of the Olympic coach. Is there an Olympic coach? Is there an Olympic team? Or is it just a group of individuals who meet once in four years? Do they train as a team? How could that be possible when the continent is so large and there are no scouts to head hunt.

Money makes the world go round. Tyson gets $30 million for one fight. Advertisers make money. Media giants make money. Hospitality industry across the globe profit from one televised fight. The Taekwondo heavyweight gets the dole check. The Taekwondo heavyweight doesn't get a mercedes with chauffeur; he has to walk in the rain. There's no penthouse in Toorak; only the Talbot. Tyson had a left and a right. Martial Artists have flying spinning kicks in their arsenal. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, without choreography, camera tricks or stunt doubles. The real Mckoy. People remember Ali. People remember Tyson. People remember star personalities. The wow factor pays everyones' salaries. You only need one Jordan to revolutionize the industry. Haggle Haggle.

The main issue is money. There needs to be a considerable amount of sponsorship to cover the costs of developing a world class olympic team. A professional athlete trains 40 hours a week, while recuperating the rest of the week. Most of the present olympic contenders have bills to pay; Mortgages, wives, kids, etc., etc. Not to mention the costs of club membership, gym membership, nutrition supplements, travel to and from training, medical and dental. Nothing for nothing. A gold medal does not come cheap. Don't forget the hours of blood, sweat and tears the athletes have to endure. For a Gold medal that goes in the bin? The seven network makes billions in telecasting the Olympics ... do they scout for talent? No, the heavyweight eats at a soup kitchen. Haggle Haggle.

While the media giants play coy, sting on a few million out of the billions you make, the whole industry suffers. How many billions in revenue is generated from pay per view for one fight? How much is a chauffeured Mercedes. How much could a penthouse cost? Sting on a few million and lose a whole new market. What have you got in fight sports? Have you got another Tyson? Another Ali? You have Mundane! Congratulations! Billions there! Wrestling? K1? Coegraphy and amateurs. How much Tiger Woods make? How much do the stars at the IPL make? The key players make the millions because they are the most valued players, drawing the largest crowds. Without them, the sport is dead. No one wins by being too stingy. Haggle Haggle.

Professional athletes don't travel coach. First class air travel is not too much to ask for. The demand is not for daily blow jobs. It is difficult for athletes to deal with walking in the rain ... to training. It is difficult to ride a worn pushbike to training ... 40 kilometers away. It is difficult. How is a professional athlete meant to budget in rent, food, gym, taekwondo instructors and taxis on $330 a fortnight. Cheap bastards! The athletes' training is of crucial importance. The conversion of athletes to instructors is also crucial in the development of future athletes. However, if athletes are disheartened by the issues of stingy greedy moguls, the sport is bound to suffer.

THE FUTURE OF TAEKWONDO

I would like to see the following steps be taken to develop our team into a world class competitive team, which will participate not only at the regular meets around the world, but develop an offshoot local competition to be broadcasted around the globe:

• sponsorship: the team needs money to function.

• federation: the team needs a national body to be able to work in harmony

• masters: the team needs to have instructors recruited from Korea

• training: there needs to be an olympic team, with sparring partners and reserves, that train together

• media: there needs to be media coverage on the ongoing training and competitions

There has to be a crystal clear understanding; without sponsorship, there is no taekwondo team! We need big sponsors. Global sponsors. The events are to be televised globally, hence global commodities. What the team needs also has to be taken into consideration. The team will in return wear the logos of sponsors at all times, appear in advertisements, and display the brands during media telecasts. As a team to be associated with excellence, it would be preferred to advertise only brands that adhere to excellence and have a lot of money to spend. We need transport; BENTLEY, a brand renown for quality, excellence, prestige and luxury. We need communication systems; APPLE, a brand renowned for pioneering and innovation of world class calibre. I would like to see contracts with these two global companies within the next few months to enable the olympic team to train as a team before the 2012 London Olympics.

The sport needs a national body to be able to work in harmony. There has to be regular communication with the national federated body and the local clubs. The national body has to know about the progress of athletes. Even when juniors are coming through the ranks, the national body has to know about the development of these young stars. As young children train in clubs and register in competitions, the federation has to intervene and provide the essentials to enhance the opportunity of developing a star personality. It is only possible through a central co-ordinated effort, that we could possibly build a world class sporting event down under to be televised world wide. The Australian Taekwondo Federation can be held responsible for handling all the finances of the sport. As state trustees, they are able to manage all the sponsor revenue and distribute as they see fit.

Without quality coaching, which costs a lot of money, athletes are unable to gain the knowledge required from world class masters. Without sponsorship, masters who hold the key to the knowledge from the Shaolin Temple will never be able to pass their knowledge on. Most of the masters who are able to teach, have a considerable amount of expenses that need to be covered as well. We cannot put a price on the knowledge some masters hold, however we need to pay for the relocation costs and operating expenses that grand masters have. There are some clubs in Australia who are registering their members into competition, while the only kick they hold in their arsenal is a body roundhouse kick. This is because the instructor of the club did not know any better. Some clubs use butterfly head kicks in their daily sparring. Most club members around Australia have never seen a butterfly kick, except in the movies ... if it is a movie kick, it can't be done in real life. We need real masters desperately.

If the team are unable to train together as a team with quality coaches, training in sparring together, there can be no team sport. If individuals are registering and sparring in the national championships without sponsorship or team comradery, they are not fighting for Australia; they are fighting for themselves, for their own club. Without sponsorship, it is virtually impossible to for athletes to be able to reach a level where they are training with the best. The best athletes in Australia are scattered around the continent and rarely train, due to family and work commitments. If the burden of financial expenses of family requirements are covered, athletes will be able to train on a daily basis. Relocation costs will also have to be covered to house the athletes and their families in a suitable location where the whole team can train together as a team. A team needs to train and play together to form essential bonds crucial to sparring.

The media play a major role in the development and spread of any sport. The reason so many Americans enjoy basketball so much and the reason so many Australians enjoy Aussie rules so much is thanks to the media. Without the media, a lot of children do not get exposed to much sport. It is through the media telecasts that children get thrust into sport. It is through the live telecasts, talk shows, news commentary, the internet and the newspapers that sport is engulfed into the community. It is with the help of the media that star personalities are built into mentors for children. It is through the media, that the local community start talking about and barracking for their teams. The media stand to gain a lot through the promotion of our sport. The media have to get involved in Taekwondo as an investment for future markets.

CONCLUSION

I am the undisputed Australian heavyweight Taekwondo champion. As captain coach of the Australian Taekwondo Olympic Team, I need to get paid. I have expenses. The Grand Masters of the sport also have to be paid. The grand masters are able to supervise the training, however they are unable to provide the sparring expertise to young competitors as they are aged. This is where the captain coach comes in. It is not just my Gold medal that is at stake here; there are four weight divisions for each gender. Eight gold medals do not come cheap. To aspire to gold medal calibre, there needs to full time training by the athletes and their sparring partners, hence the sponsorship needs. As our sport is a global televised event, we need sponsors with global commodities. A local Australian company will not be sufficient. We are not able to take small sponsorships from several companies. Our uniforms can only display two logos at most, if not just the one, as it stands out more. Hence large corporations with a considerable amount of money to spend. From an in depth analysis of the industry, Bentley and Apple are the perfect sponsors for our team. As our team are in a league of our own, unmatched in skill and technique, Bentley and Apple have demonstrated over the past decades to be a class above the rest; our motto: A CLASS ABOVE THE REST!! It would be an honor to wear their logos. Anything less ... there is no team.