1999 World Tae Kwon Do Championships

The name of this set of tapes really says it all, people: it truly is footage from the semi-final and final bouts of the 14th Men's and 7th Women's Tae Kwon Do competition held June 2-6, 1999, in Edmonton, Alberta. Tape A covers the fin, fly, and men's bantam events; Tape B covers the feather, light, and women's bantam events; Tape C covers the welter, middle, and heavy events. Beginning with a brief discussion of the scheduling, scoring/judging, and rules of competition, and ending with an interview with an International Olympic Committee member about tae kwon do's maiden official Olympic inclusion at the 2000 summer games in Australia, the bulk of the tape consists of the one-on-one rounds that make up the sport. The production values are fine; in point of fact, the event was broadcast on ESPN 2 in late 1999. I do wonder about the interest-level with these types of tapes; much as I enjoy Olympic figure skating and the Final 4, I don't think I'd ever consider watching them on video after I'd seen them on TV, especially if I knew the outcome, unless, perhaps, I was active in the sport myself. But maybe that's just my "non-sportsperson" bias, and there really is a market for replays of sporting events. If so, I can recommend this set where interest in the topic warrants. Aud: P. (K. Glaser)