Taekwondo And Doping

Taekwondo is the most practiced form of martial arts around the world. It is basically Korean in origin. It is a very good sport but unfortunately, like most of the other forms of sports, it is also can being ruined by doping. In sports, doping is the use of drugs to enhance an athlete's performance. These drugs are banned throughout the world and any athlete using these drugs is not allowed to participate in a world level competition.

I think doping is a problem because many countries are not really working against doping. It is so because although they want to satisfy the world organizations that they are working satisfactorily against doping, but they also want to enhance their players' performance with the help of these drugs. This is so because people either don't know about the risks of doping or they just ignore them.

Taekwondo is a complete sport as it involves almost all parts of the body. People should understand that doping does more harm than good and it kills the main theme of this sport. Our sport problem is with Anabolic steroids (recovery) and Diuretics (for weight loss).

Androgenic steroids are closely related to male sex hormone; testosterone and they are one of the most commonly used doping substances. It is also said that more research is being done to hide the presence of steroids in a human body than to detect them. There are many adverse effects of these steroids in males such as acne, mainly on the face, reduction in the size of the testicles which consequently leads to low sperm count. Impotence, infertility and enlarged prostate gland is also found in some patients. Prolonged use of steroids leads to failure of liver and kidney functions.

In females, various adverse effects of steroids are acne, development of male secondary characters owing to the chemical nature of these androgens, excessive growth of hairs on the body and disturbance in menstrual cycles. Moreover, steroids cause weakening of immune system, increased risks of cardiovascular system and the liver. All these effects are very dangerous as compared to their utility.

Diuretics are usually used for the purpose of weight loss but they can cause severe electrolyte imbalance.

Taekwondo training is hard and an amateur needs a coach to learn this wonderful form of martial arts. It is the duty of the coach to train his students well and educate them about the harmful effects of using steroids. There are several alternatives for steroids, such as nutrition, correct training and recovery. A person who maintains a proper balance in his diet doesn't have to use "shortcuts" such as steroids.

Markku Parviainen
Taekwondo coach

By: Markku Parviainen

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Markku Parviainen has studied Taekwondo (WTF) over 30 years and was member of Finnish national team for 10 years. He has a Coaching degree from the Finnish sport institute and has coached the Finnish junior national team. He competed in over 100 tournaments and his best results were a Bronze medal in the European championship and numerous national and Nordic titles. His students have received medals in World championships and European championship games.