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Taekwondo is supposedly a martial art and yet I hear complaints from parents that telling students to assume a "fighting stance" is too aggressive, that saying "sparring position" is more politically correct.

Korean Taekwondo fighters are the undisputed champions of international Taekwondo competition. Since Taekwondo is the most popular martial art in the United States, why are Americans not winning? Some say it is because Taekwondo originated in Korea and is more popular there. Some say it is because certain high schools and colleges in Korea have special Taekwondo curricula and scholarships that furnish students with the best possible training and coaching, that these educated fighters are better than the uneducated street fighters of yesteryear. Some say American Taekwondo instructors have either lost touch with modern Taekwondo techniques or simply cannot meet their rigorous physical demands. Are these statements true?

Many traditional Taekwondo instructors think sport Taekwondo stances are too high, the new kicks lack power, and the new forms are not pleasing to watch. Sport Taekwondo practitioners say that if this were true, Americans would be winning international competitions in greater numbers. If this logic was true, then American football players should win in international football competition. However, international football is different than American football. We know the international football game as soccer.

In any sport, the winners are determined by those who perform the best under the given rules. In international Taekwondo competition, the rules are determined by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The WTF is controlled by the Koreans. Therefore, international Taekwondo rules are determined by the Koreans. If you do not play by the rules they set, you will not win.

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