Chinese Taekwondo and Karate Association chief calls for adjustments to Tokyo 2020 prep

BEIJING - Chinese Taekwondo and Karate Association president Guan Jianmin says prompt adjustments to changes in competitions will be crucial in assisting preparations for the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games.

"A key point is to adjust to all changes taking place in matches as soon as possible, including new rules, changes and refereeing in international competitions," Guan told Xinhua on Monday.

Guan revealed that China's taekwondo and karate national teams had transferred their training site from Taiyuan, Shanxi province to Wuzhishan, Hainan province at the end of 2020.

According to Guan, the training of both teams in southern China's Hainan includes five stages, with the first two focusing on drilling on fundamental and specific capabilities, the third on reinforcing the application of technique, the fourth on attaching importance to personal characteristics, and the fifth advocating the effectiveness of technique.

The two teams turned their attention to streamlining the team construction and personnel allocation before departing for training to ensure its effectiveness, especially in terms of choosing suitable training mates for key athletes. Athletes and coaches made joint decisions on choosing their training mates, allowing for more freedom.

"At this phase, we focus on addressing three issues. First, we need to discover personal characteristics while ensuring progress in athletes' technique and capabilities. Second, we need to concentrate on athletes' physical advantage over the past year in applying their technique. Third, we need to analyze our opponents and improve our attacking and combating capabilities," Guan noted.

Guan, also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), called for an events-oriented approach in developing school sports nationwide to bring the fun of sports to students.

Noticing a common phenomenon that youngsters enjoy sports but dislike taking physical education classes, Guan said the low level of an events-oriented approach is an obvious weakness in developing school sports.

"Top-level matches serve as a main channel for attracting teenagers' attention on and love for sports, and fun sport events are a main path for youngsters to incorporate sports into life and exhibit personalities," commented Guan, who proposed the advancement of high-quality development of school sports through such events.

His proposed measures include enhancing the cultivation of teachers specializing in sport events in primary and junior middle schools, as well as strengthening communication between education departments and national sports associations.