Page 16 - IssueNo101
P. 16
16 Issue #101 June 2021 www.sportsenergynews.com
Brought to you by Ming & Associates KARATE KOMMENTS
Athlete of the Month
Athlete of the Month
Colby Lauzon By Jim Riddell,
Age: 14 Seaway Karate Club
Hometown: Williamstown Ontario
School: Char-Lan District High School
Grade: 9 Karate at the Olympics
June’s Athlete of the Month is Williamstown’s
arate will be a demonstration sport at the 2021 Olympics later this
own Colby Lauzon. Colby has been playing Ksummer in Tokyo. It was slated to make its debut last year, but as we
hockey since the age of four. “The things all know, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a one-year postponement. Bar-
I like about the sport is showing up at the ring another cancellation, the karate events are now scheduled to take place
over a three-day period, from August 5th - 7th at Nippon Budokan located
arena every day with my friends and meeting new people,” he says. “My
at Kitanoma Park in central Tokyo.
goal is to play as high a level of hockey as I can.”
The inclusion of karate in the Olympics will provide a considerable amount
This right winger’s most notable accomplishment is winning the league of positive exposure to what is already the world’s most popular martial art;
and the Tournament of Champions. “I was recently drafted by the Cornwall but, if the results of the inclusion of the Olympics’ other two martial arts,
Colts junior A hockey club,” Colby says. He also feels that hockey plays an Judo and Taekwondo, have set a precedent, this exposure may come at a bit
of a cost to karate.
important role in keeping the community active.
In 2016, an estimated 3.6 billion viewers from across the world tuned in
to watch the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. The governing bodies of
each sport make adaptations to ensure that events are as appealing as pos-
sible to these television viewers, as well as to the spectators at the venue
itself. Judo, which first appeared in the 1964 Olympics, has undergone sev-
eral rule changes over the years, eliminating certain techniques and placing
Max Ming, P. Eng more emphasis on throws and less on grappling. Judo was designed by Jiga-
Financial Planning • Investments • Insurance ro Kano as a means for a smaller individual to neutralize the size, strength,
and weight advantage of a larger person. With the inclusion of seven differ-
613-932-7526 • Max@mingassociates.com
ent weight classes, competitors now tend to maximize their strength within
each class, relying less on technique.
Taekwondo has only had an Olympic presence since 1988 but has seen
many changes made for the benefit of the spectator. Scoring is now done
by PSS (Protector Scoring System) where a system of electronic impact
sensors built into the protective equipment of each competitor are remotely
linked to the electronic scoreboard. When a targeted area of an opponent’s
body or head is struck, points will flash on the electronic scoreboard. More
points are awarded for flashier techniques, such as head kicks. The days
of full contact body kicks (in the Olympic version) seem to be a thing of
the past with athletes instead trying to light up the scoreboard in a lead leg
game of tag.
The only other Olympic combat striking sport is boxing which has defi-
nitely benefited from Olympic exposure. Although winning Olympic Gold
is no guarantee of success, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman,
Michael Spinks, Sugar Ray Leonard, and many others have used it as a
stepping-stone to very lucrative professional careers.
The inclusion of karate into the 2021 Olympics will bring both positives
and negatives to the sport. Positive aspects include the exposure to all styles
and types of karate and providing recognition to traditional and self-defense
factions as well, even though they have no interest in training or developing
sport karate athletes. Negative aspects include the adapted rules that will
be standardized for participants of both Kumite and kata events. The WKF
rules are focusing on safety with only “very light contact” allowed, thus
prohibiting leg kicks and open hand strikes. In the kata division, only forms
from four styles will be recognized: Shotokan, Goju-ryu, Shito-ryu, and
Wado-ryu. As a result, some exceptional athletes from Shorin-ryu, Chito-
ryu, Isshin-ryu, Kyokushin, and a few other recognized styles will be ex-
cluded.
To any martial artist reading this, what do you think? Would the inclusion
of karate in the Olympics as a full- time sport be good or bad? How will it
Photo by Robert Lefebvre, icelevel photography affect karate in the future? Have Judo or TKD been affected? Should karate
and TKD fighters compete as one sport with full contact using the 10 point
To view or purchase photos go to www.icelevel.com per round scoring system used in boxing and kickboxing? Send your opin-
ion to jimriddell@cogeco.ca . I look forward to your comments.
