Question 121: Problems in TKD

I have a shiba inu dog. The shiba is an ancient Japanese breed known in Japan for its toughness and being a keen hunter, aloof, powerful, independent, protective, and dominant. The breed was considered being just one-step above feral. When I got my shiba 14 years ago, the breed had not been in the U.S. long and it still had these attributes, he was peaceable, but not afraid of anything. Now that the breed has become popular in the United States, breeders have changed the breed to make it more marketable. There are now new colors and new standards, and the temperament has been mellowed to that of a common housedog.This is what has happened to TKD. 

As it became more popular, the leaders saw an opportunity to gain control of its promulgation and to make themselves rich and powerful in the process. To do this, they changed it into a more marketable, watered-down sport.To find true TKD, you have to go back to its roots and find instructors who teach it out of love for the martial art and not for money, power, and adulation. As for changing sport TKD, that is a waste of time. It would be similar to trying to change party politicians into public officials who serve the will of the people instead of themselves their parties, and their benefactors. Instead of trying to change something that does not want to be changed, such as sport TKD, it is better to start grassroots movement to resurrect and promote TDK as a martial art.