MR LIM Teong Chin, general manager of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF), argued in his letter on Monday, 'Taekwondo tragedy could have been avoided if only...', that the unfortunate accident could have been avoided if the People's Association (PA) continued to engage instructors from the STF only. However, he seems more interested in preaching non-safety-related merits of being a member of the STF.
At no point in his letter did Mr Lim point out any specific lapses in safety or procedures that led to the tragedy specifically because of the absence of STF instructors. Instead, he dwells on the importance of being a member of the STF in getting recognised grades and having the opportunity to represent Singapore in high-profile tournaments, and takes the PA to task for engaging non-STF instructors.
Liew Chin WenST forum online, 4 Sep 2009
I sent my son for taekwondo training when he started Primary 1 because, being a boy, I wanted him to grow up tough and fit and have some knowledge of self-defence, not only that, but also to instill discipline and train his reflexes.
Recently, the papers reported about the death of a participant in a competition after his opponent kicked him in or near his head. As usual, after such incidences, the relevant authorities will talk about the guidelines and safety rules and stressed on adherence to these rules.
When my son saw the article, he said, "b.s., when we went for competition, our instructor told us to aim for the head as that would help us to score points". There was no such thing as matching opponents with same belts or same age groups. In one competition, he was up against an opponent, who was not only several belts higher than him, but was also older and bigger than him. My son was kicked in the mouth and they only stopped the match when they saw that he was bleeding.
Every so often, we come across situations where guidelines, safety rules and regulations were put in place without much foresight. When things go wrong, sometimes these rule setters not only do not admit to their lack of foresight, but also turned round and started shifting the blame.
Sometimes, I wonder how much does it take to admit to a mistake. Do saving dollars and reputation (face) matter more than having a clear conscience?
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