What I know about karate and the Olympics

Recently, a martial artist wrote several erroneous statements about why TKD was an Olympic sport and karate was not. As a result, I decided I should probably pass on what I know about this issue before I’m no longer around and the uninformed are the only voices out there.

Much of what I know about the subject came directly from two of the most knowledgeable sources, Jacques Delcourt, President of WUKO (now called WKF) and George Anderson, first VP of WUKO and President of the USAKF (the official national governing body for karate under the U.S. Olympic Committee at the time). Soke Patrick Hickey, an old and trusted friend and Hanshi Anderson’s uchi deshi and chosen heir to his organization and system, also supplied a great deal of valuable insights and information.

Me, Jacques Delcourt, Hanshi Anderson on Guadeloupe

Delcourt, as head of WUKO, then the official world governing body for karate under the International Olympic Committee (IOC), dealt directly with the IOC on karate’s entrance into the Olympics for over 30 years.

Hanshi Anderson, in addition to high rank, title, and positions in traditional karate (Kanken Toyama lineage), also trained under legendary TKD instructors Chull Hee Park and Ki Whang Kim of the SongMooKwan. And he was also friends with General Hong Hi Choi. Hanshi Anderson headed both the Central Taekwondo Association and the USA Karate Federation. So he had a unique perspective on this issue and TKD friends in very high places. He was also directly involved in securing Class C IOC status for karate, which allowed our athletes to train at the Olympic Training Center, among other perks. We also have Hanshi Anderson to thank for getting karate into the Pan Am Games.

I was extremely fortunate to have had Hanshi Anderson as a friend and mentor. It was through him that I met and was allowed to spend a fair amount of time with WUKO President Delcourt. While on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe for a friendly competition between our national team and local karate competitors, which included world champions and members of the French National Team, I was allowed to speak privately with President Delcourt for several hours about many things, including karate’s application for Olympic acceptance. Afterwards, he would occasionally send me cards and letters over the years to keep me informed.

In addition to his top position in world karate, Delcourt also headed the French Olympic Committee. The heads of all of the French national teams reported directly to him, including TKD. He told me in Guadeloupe that senior French TKD officials had just returned from some major world meeting. (I forget where.) They reported that the World Taekwondo Federation (world governing body for TKD under the IOC) had paid Samaranch (long-time head of the IOC) a half-million dollars in hopes of greasing the wheels for TKD’s entrance into the games. He said he wasn’t positive it was true, as he wasn’t at the meeting himself, but added, “Where there is smoke, there is usually fire.” I asked him what WUKO had given Samaranch. He said they gave him a fine leather wallet with the WUKO logo on it – but no cash inside.

If you look at later accusations lodged against Un Yong Kim, then head of WTF, it would seem to give credence to the French TKD seniors’ bribery charge. The New York Times, among many other publications, wrote several articles about Un Yong Kim and the charges of bribery and embezzlement later leveled against him. http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/k/kim_un_yong/index.html. (Although the charges that got him expelled from his position with the IOC had nothing to do with the incident reported to me by Delcourt, it does “go to character,” as attorneys say.)

According to both Delcourt and Hanshi Anderson, a variety of factors (not just liberally applied “grease”) enabled Un Yong Kim to get his sport included as a demo sport for the Seoul and Barcelona Olympics and a full sport for the Sydney Games.

President Un Yong Kim (right)

Kim was a very astute and resourceful leader. He was reportedly former Assistant Director of the Korean CIA. His skills enabled him to become heads of both the WTK and the GAISF, General Association of International Sports Federations, a multi-sport organization that was deemed in competition with the Olympics, although surely to a lesser degree. The IOC reportedly didn’t want the competition posed by GAISF. Kim may have known this beforehand and secured the position in order to give him leverage over the IOC. Or it may have merely been an excuse the IOC head used to justify delivering on some payoff, if there ever was such a payoff. But, in any event, Kim was asked to merge the GAISF with the IOC, or dismantle it (I forget which). In return, the Olympic Games would be held in Korea in ’88 and Kim would be named a senior IOC VP.

At the time, the host country could name two demonstration sports. So for Korea to be named host was a guarantee that TKD would compete on one of the world’s biggest stages and get its foot in the door. Kim took it from there and was able to parlay that into a second demo appearance in the Barcelona Games and compete as a full Olympic sport in the 2000 Games in Sydney.

When Samaranch retired, Kim ran for IOC President. However, his legal problems overtook him and he was expelled.

There are estimates that Kim spent as much as 5 million dollars to gain full Olympic status for TKD. (There are rumors that the money came from the KCIA, which in turn was supposedly money diverted from funds given them by our CIA. I have no idea if it is true or not but the theory is out there. As Kim was supposedly a former Assistant Director of the KCIA, it isn’t hard to see how such a rumor could arise or possibly even be true. If you read the Kido Kwan article listed below, it spells out the argument that Korea saw TKD as far more than just a sport.)

In the West, we tend to look at things from a moral/ethical position different than other parts of the world. And most here would judge Kim’s behavior as wrong. But things often work quite differently in the real world, where bribes are often a normal part of doing business. As a leader, Un Yong Kim did what he thought was necessary to achieve his organization’s goals – Olympic recognition for his sport. And they proved successful in that regard, even though they didn’t serve him so well.

If you’re interested in reading a very insightful and revealing article about all this, and much more (including the fixing of match results), read “The Shocking Confession from Taekwondo’s Past by Chong Woo Lee, The Vice-President of Kukiwon” – http://www.tkdreform.com/yook_article.pdf.

Also see the section entitled “Politics, Nationalism, and the Olympics” in Kido Kwan Martial Art International, http://www.kidokwan.org/?page_id=1535.

Karate’s approach was far from ideal either. Next time, I’ll look at what I know about karate’s long efforts to gain Olympic recognition and why it has failed so far.