Hello, I am a Red belt 3rd stripe in Taekwondo, My instructor says I am one of the best people at sparring there..I would like to go to the olympics some day but dont have a clue on how to get there?? what do i do to get there??|||The qualification process for the Olympics is LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!





For starters, you must qualify for your national tournament by competing in a World Qualifier (sounds backwards, huh?). Then, you must win your National qualifier and National Championships. Then, your selection depends on how many competitors your country is allowed to enter (the USA and Korea and a few others have 4 selection spots, but Iraq and Iran have only one spot - China gets 4 this year simply because they are the host. Normally, they have 0). That is determined by how well your country has done in the previous World Qualifiers.





Then, once selected, you must compete in the World Championships and the Olympic Test Event. Only previous gold medalists are exempt from this step (though they still must compete in one or the other - usually Worlds because of the timing of the Test event). If you are in the bottom tier in both events (meaning loose in the first round) you loose your selection spot and your country cannot replace you.





In the US, you must be a member of the USTU (US Taekwondo Union) and compete in their tournaments. These qualify you to compete in a World Qualifier.... which sets you up on this cycle.





One last note - forget about it at London in 2012. 2016, maybe. The process takes 3 years to complete (and you must be constantly active the entire time...), and is usually only completed by 3rd-5th Dan Black Belts.





Oh, and if you%26#039;re ITF, forget about it entirely. The USTU won%26#039;t let you in.|||Well, as for what style to take next I would personally recommend both a grappling and a hand based style. Judo (or it%26#039;s Caribbean counterpart Jujitsu) and karate would be good methinks, but I have only taken Taekwondo so I would not be able to tell you from personal experience (though my teacher is also a Jujitsu master and has taught us the basics of that as well)





Perhaps you might also consider Cuong Nhu, which is a style that is based off of karate, Aikido, Judo, Wing Chun, Vovinam, Tai Chi Chuan, and Boxing.|||no offense but tkd would get owned in a MMA fight . You need muay thai experience and you also need ground game .|||If your TWD club is affiliated to an international organisation which takes part in the olympic games, then I%26#039;m sure your instructor will guide you through.





As for mma events, its a whole new world. I suggest you try some brazilian jujitsu and muay thai or kickboxing before venturing with this one.|||Man where did you learn is there any training in Chennai man|||no clue.


maybe start doing some regional competitions first and work your way up.





I got my 1st stripe BB in TKD. Other good arts to train in are goju, kenpo, BJJ, boxing.|||you need some mad skills first off, and you%26#039;ll need to be able to sparr for at least 4 to 5 minutes non-stop which is much more difficult than it sounds. Then i would reccommend finding a special instructor.|||Talk to your teacher about Olympics selection trials would probably be the best way to get started and then take it from there but I think that you need to be a black belt to even get a foot in the door (so to speak). There might also be a age requirement to enter as well.





But talk to your instructor about Olympics selection trials for the next Olympics as the spots for the Beijing Olympics would be filled I reckon.|||well consult your teacher about olympic competition. Of course it helps if you are young, under 30... But as for MMA you really need grappling skills, like wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Start sparring without the gi%26#039;s and see what happens.|||Talk to your instructor and tell him to inquire you in as many competitions as possible. Then, with time, you%26#039;ll make it to the Olympics.|||!


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ANNOYING ISNT IT?|||CapitalC said it best. It%26#039;s a very long road and there are a lot of %26quot;political%26quot; hurdles with the various organizarions; the USTU being the most important. It%26#039;s great that you%26#039;re the best sparring student in your school, but you made no mention of any other tournament experience that you%26#039;ve had and no mention of whether you%26#039;re actually training in WTF Olympic style TKD. Have you competed before and are you training in WTF Olympic style TKD? Olympic style is completely different from the more commercialized TKD that you%26#039;ll find at most local schools; so if you%26#039;re not already training Olympic style then that could be a big detriment. My recommendation would be to start sparring at some regional tournaments, however, if you have never actually competed before then you may be in for a shock because most other red belts and brown belts will most likely have two to three years of solid competition experience under their belts (no pun intended). Even though two students may be equivalent in rank and years of training, there%26#039;s a big difference between training experience and competition experience.|||I hear so many misconceptions about what a black belt means. Please understand that a black belt is the beginning of the higher understanding of a martial art. It should not be thought of as the end of learning in a particular art. Unfortunately with many schools being run by probationary black belts and 1st dan black belts this has lead to the idea that a black belt is the end of learning in a particular art. and too many students have no wear to go after that except to another art. Not the students fault!!!! This is the fault of the head instructor not continuing to train himself and advance.


My advice is to go to the Olympics and avoid MMA. Go to college and continue to train We desperately need good high rank instructors in Tae Kwan DO.


I apologize if it sounds like a rant. I just see my favorite art year to year degrading before my eyes. If your instructor has faith in you he should find out how to get you on track for the Olympics.