OLYMPIC OBSERVATIONS
The 2020 Olympiad, held in 2021 because of COVID-19, marked the debut of the third martial art in the Games. (We know — boxing, wrestling, shooting, fencing and so on are also martial arts, but we’re limiting this discussion to sports derived from Asian arts of self-defense.) If you’re a fan of the Olympics, you probably watched the judo, taekwondo and karate competition already. For that reason, we’re not going to cover it here. Instead, we’re serving up commentary from three experts who have strong opinions on what took place in Tokyo.
OLYMPIC MARTIAL ARTS: KARATE AND JUDO
EXPERT: BILL WALLACE
QUALIFICATIONS: UNDEFEATED FULL-CONTACT KARATE CHAMPION, JUDOKA, THREE-TIME BLACK BELT HALL OF FAMER
AUTHOR: FLOYD BURK
Unbeknownst to many, Bill Wallace has a black belt in judo in addition to karate. His judo roots stretch back to the 1960s when he served in the U.S. Air Force — which happens to be around the same time judo debuted as an Olympic event. At one point in his life, Wallace had hopes of making it into the Games. “I was thinking maybe I could be on America’s Olympic judo team because I’m pretty good at it,” he recalled. “I made the middleweight finals at the Air Force Team Championship in 1964. I was chosen to be on the team. Those hopes ended when I tore up my knee.”
So what did Wallace think of the judo competition that the world witnessed at the 2020 Olympics? “In my opinion, they’ve made it way too technical,” he said. “Back when I was competing, we bowed in, then took our grip. Although you didn’t let him have it, you might be tussled around for 15 to 30 seconds to get it, then you went at it, doing throws and takedowns and mat work. Now, these guys in the five-minute matches spend four and a half of
