Green Stamps For Kicks And Double Secret Probation

The sport isn’t just fought on the mat anymore, it’s fought in rankings, calendars, email lists, and who gets invited to the table. Tonight at Warehouse 15, we talk candidly about the points culture spreading through Taekwondo and why “more tournaments” doesn’t automatically mean better athlete development when families are paying for every step of the so-called pathway. 

We dig into USA Taekwondo and AAU Taekwondo realities that coaches see up close: monthly rankings that feel performative, memorandums of understanding that look like leftover paper from the printer, and a growing sense that governance is being run like PR instead of high-performance sport. We also address serious trust issues, including ongoing suspensions without clear explanations and the kind of rumor mill that can smear coaches for things as absurd as “hacking a Zoom call.” 

On the competition side, we preview the Pan American Championships in Brazil, talk travel logistics, and break down what a points reset to zero could mean for the new cycle. We also debate World Taekwondo policies like junior points carrying into senior Grand Prix access, plus scheduling conflicts that make a two-year cycle even messier. 

If you care about Taekwondo coaching, athlete funding, competitive fairness, and how leadership decisions ripple into real matches, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a coach or parent, and leave a review so more people can find it. Where do you think the system breaks first: money, transparency, or trust?

Transcript

Finger To The Moon Cold Open

SPEAKER_05 0:04

Sorry, that's sorry, such sorry, such it's like a fingerboard.

SPEAKER_04 0:28

Don't look at a finger. Oh, you want the heavenly glory? Don't eat the flower. Look at the sea. Don't eat the dog because you want the mustard.

Travel Updates And Training Clinic

herb 2:07

Today's podcast is brought to you by sorry, not sorry. Or as we say in the hood, sorry, not sorry. We are back. It is the warehouse 15. We've been out around back and forth two times. All of us have been traveling somewhere. I was in LA, then I was in Sacramento, then finally I'm back in the good old SFO area. And we have the good fortune to have with us joining us as always, the second Grand Masters of Disasters. The who, the what, the why. We all matter. Gentlemen, how are you today?

SPEAKER_10 2:47

I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. I actually didn't travel this week and I got to stay home. I had um one of my first events at my school, kind of training clinic. Had a bunch of good athletes in there working out all weekend. Two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon. So it's pretty good turnout. Um, a lot of good work this weekend.

herb 3:04

With the Lord, doing the Lord's work in the names of Mr. Sphinx. So yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, let's have that idea for a while. Coach Moraner, what do you got?

Chicago Seminar And Old Friends

Juan 3:15

Yo, man, I've been, as you know, I've been a whirlwind tour just all over the place. But I was in Chicago, man. I was in my old stomping grounds and actually in a uh northern suburb. Really, really nice place. Gentleman has uh you know, Roger Park. I knew him since he's a little kid. I knew his father. Very, very successful school, great staff. I love his school, it's beautiful. Like, really. I for me, it's like an ideal school because I love like long schools, and so it's just long, it's everything is put away nice and neat. He's got a great office in the back, he's got a great storage. I mean, just really like I walked in on Friday, and I walked in the door, and everyone stood up, started cheering. I was like, I was like, okay, Saturday morning coming in my coffee. Like, yo, man, I don't know. You guys, I need this entrepreneurs everywhere I go. Like, they were legit standing up and cheering for me. It was so funny, but nice kids. His kids are beautiful. He's got a two-year-old and a six-year-old, a little girl, a little boy. Oh my gosh, so cute, just a great looking family. And it was fun for me to see uh, you know, a couple of my Chicago friends. We had dinner, I had Korean food twice. I had deep dish pizza, I had Mexican food, just uh great, great trip, great trip. Oh, Italian beef, you didn't get the Chicago Chi Town beef. No, I didn't. I mean, I wasn't in the city, so that was a little bit harder. That's why, to be honest with you. Matter of fact, I'll tell you how I was not in the city. I got two Ubers canceled on me on Sunday morning. I had to call the dude to come pick me, bro. I was out there. I was like, this is crazy. This is crazy. But I I had this one girl and dad come up to me at the end of the training on Saturday, and uh dad's like, uh, he's like, oh, so we we just really wanted to come by, you know, we're not from here, we're from another school. I was oh okay, cool. And then he's like, he's like, you know, um, you know her her her mother, and I was like, I was just like, I was this guy like, where's this going? I'm like, oh boy, because you know, it's my whole stopping grounds.

herb 5:24

Anyway, he's like, he's like we'd like you, we'd like you to meet your son.

Juan 5:29

I was just like, uh, no, but then it was so funny because then he's like, he says, La Vessa, whatever the last name was, and I'm like, and he's like, used to be Levessa Corcorant. I'm like, what? This is a girl that I started I did taekwondo with when I was like a kid, when I was like 13, 14, 15. Now she's married, has a couple kids, lives in the suburbs too, and her her daughter does taekwondo. She she didn't come because she had something going on, but I was like, that's that was crazy, man. What a blast from the past. So it's always fun to go out there and do that. So it was a new coup for me, too. So there's you know, it's always a little bit of a challenge, but fun, fun, fun, fun. Can't complain.

Testing E-Sparring Match Technology

SPEAKER_10 6:08

Yeah, before I forget, before I forget, uh, we did have um e-sparring at the seminar, so it's kind of cool to get do a little electronics on a new system. The system, um, you can run up to like I think it was like 16 matches that should show on one screen, so it's pretty cool. I think it'd be cool if you had like a bunch of little kids training at the same time and they just needed something to see if they were touching. But it was pretty cool. It's called eSparring. ESPRING. Yeah, eSparm. Yeah, he he came out, uh Mr. Matos came out, set it all up for us, just uh airdropped it to the TV and it kind of ran flawlessly. So it was pretty cool. Kind of got everybody a little excited at the end. We did a couple single matches as well, so it's it was interesting, definitely interesting.

herb 6:44

It's I know I know we got a lot to get to, and you know, it's uh it's getting late back in North Carolina where people have to brush their tooth. Notice I say forever tooth, not teeth. We're waiting on you. Gummy bears out there. Gummy bears is the name of uh most fathers. So tell us a little bit more about tell us a little bit.

North Carolina Loss And New Memoir

herb 7:07

You know, I you realize I can never go back to North Carolina. I don't like North Carolina, period. Nothing personal, but I have my own reasons for not liking it. I had a very traumatic event happen to me.

Juan 7:18

That boy took that L.

herb 7:20

Dude, I took the L. That's one of my worst. You realize I have won a lot more than I've lost because when you lose, you stop fighting, right? Like you, the gay day's over. So, you know, you win a lot more than you lose, but the losses have been. I that's why I hate Raleigh, North Carolina. That's why I love Raleigh. I I you should Coach Moreno, best time of his life, me, worst time of my life. I wrote, I my book is out, my my new memoirs are out. I finished my memoir. It's called Lessons from the Arena, and it's anecdotes. And I have, I actually think I put the North Carolina story in there. Um, and it's things I've learned about life, but it's out there on uh Amazon. I have kept, don't worry, coach, I didn't put anything in there about you, but there is going to be a story about you and me and Big Wally in Korea and that big sissy who disappeared when we needed him. So I'm gonna add that to the memoirs because I it's like about learning. What did I learn? I learned don't depend on big wallies. That's what I learned. But anyway, enough of that. Uh I got something to pick. I got a pick.

Ranking Points And Tournament Costs

Juan 8:30

I got a bone to pick to start. I don't I don't know, man. I was looking at something the other day, and I think some one one coach from Texas kind of put up some things about how much everything is costing and stuff like that. And you know, people are chiming in. And I, you know, I think I chimed in a couple different things, but uh I started looking at all this different stuff, and I'm like, it because uh an organization put out that they're going to start posting their points and their the rankings, and I started looking at it and then seeing the couple new events and all the different stuff, and I'm like, yo, this sounds like the NGB, you know, when they first started. And they it was it was everything was points, points, points, ranking, ranking, ranking. You guys gotta fight more. And first of all, that didn't last too long, you know, because everybody was like, This is ridiculous. But I'm gonna say, and I'm gonna say this outside of my mouth, it kind of made sense because you're the NGB and you're you're the you're the what do you call it, the platform to get to the national team, both on cadet, junior and senior on and all three of them. But for the other organization, like it it makes no sense to have a ranking, I guess, oh for for nationals or for team trials. Like it's it's it's it's not that important. So I I just started thinking about it. I'm like, and then again, knowing the collaboration that supposedly has happened. We haven't heard anything about the collaboration, right? After all that, you know, talk and this and that and kumbaya, everyone's basically been, you know, kind of doing their own thing. But I just started thinking about I'm like, why would you do a point ranking? Why would you do all these tournaments? Why would you try to, you know, hide behind, you know, we're trying to give you more matches, trying to give you more experience. It's it's a money, it's a money grab. I mean, and that's what we've been complaining about, you know, from an NGB standpoint for a while, and now these guys are doing the exact same thing. I mean, unless I'm wrong.

SPEAKER_10 10:29

But it's like it's it's a mirroring, it's the it's mirroring. I mean, again, what did you say they said they're gonna put their points out every week? Every month. Every month. But like I just got two months, you're gonna man ju duh.

Juan 10:44

Yeah, but nobody knows what they're at. They don't really have another website, they're gonna do it on on their registration platform. It's just it's it's messy, of course.

herb 10:55

Yeah, I just I just don't get the point. We've talked about it before. You know, you have the organization being run by a PR guy, and I I just want I forgot to tell you guys, I was busy last week. I was going around um the country and my house and Zoom, and I was signing memorandums of understanding. So I I figured I'm gonna go out and join the party. So I now have a memorandum of understanding with the my guy at Starbucks, where we mutually agree he's gonna make my drinks, and then I have a memorandum with my butt that when I go to the bathroom, I'm gonna use Charman toilet paper. So um, because that's about as useful as the memorandums of understanding. And this is this is you know the WT, this is the Kookie One, you know, and I got a easy right now. I got a good friend of mine, and I'm not even talking about the clown, oh, whatever his name is. This guy, a friend of mine, I'm sitting at this event this week, and he's like, Oh, Herb, will you come, will you come down with me? And the Kookie One president is coming, and I want you to come and meet him. And I go, I'm not coming. I said, if I come, I'm gonna tell him what I think. And he goes, I want you to. I go, No, no, no, you don't want me to. You don't you don't want me to tell him what I think. You know, I'm gonna go down because he's coming down, and this is another guy, he's out there signing memorandums of understanding with everybody and their brother, and a guy that you know that you came out here to do a seminar with, he was there, he's there with his wife, going to church and doing this other thing, and then he's gonna go sign a memorandum. So a memorandum of understanding is basically a piece of paper that was left over in the printer, and you needed something to do with it, and you agree to agree that you understand each other. And this is this is what these guys do. So the point system is designed by a PR guy. He thinks that back in the day they had this thing called green stamps. So when you bought stuff, you got these things called green stamps, and you'd save them up, and then you go to a stamps. Oh, yeah. I remember that stuff. Yeah, you go get a bunch of dishes or you get a toaster or something. And when you went to a bathroom, like stamps. Yeah, like stamps. That's what the USAT is doing. You are now gonna get points so that you can go home and tell your grandparents, guess what, grandma? I am now the best person on my block in my school, right? It's student of it's student of the month time.

Juan 13:17

But see, you know what's crazy? It's crazy because these same people hated that. They hated that from before, and now they're just recycling.

herb 13:24

Well, you you know, they got when you have so there's a saying in the law when you go to law school, they teach you this. When you have the law, pound on the law. When you have the facts, pound on the facts. If you don't have the facts in your favor or the law, pound on the table. Right now, the USAT is pounding. Do you see my hand motion? They're pounding. This is what they're pounding, just so you're clear.

SPEAKER_10 13:51

He was talking about I think he was talking about more about leaving like the AU side because they're the developers.

herb 13:56

Yeah, but the AAU is a clown show, too. They've been how long? They've been a clown show, they're the original clown show.

SPEAKER_10 14:01

So, I mean, you know, I know, but why can't they just be a developmental organization like they should be? Like, I you're you're you're creating all these extra tournaments and all these extra things that people are going to have, like you said, hiding it behind. We're giving you more. We're giving you more.

SPEAKER_13 14:14

I didn't do the research.

SPEAKER_09 14:18

Oh god.

SPEAKER_13 14:19

Again, you are looking at the flower, not the seed. Don't look at the seed, look at the flower. How many times I have to tell you, you've been in North Carolina too long. You and your tooth. You have too many teeth for that town. Look at the flower, not the seed.

Juan 14:35

TJ, I did something like something like pop uh and I say I did some digging up. I didn't dig up anything because I don't I don't give a crap. Something popped up into one of my uh, you know, like and your social media pops up on your memories or whatever. And it was uh the I I don't know if it was I I guess it was the MOU from like 2018 between AAU and in and USAT. I think I saw that, yeah. You two? It's like it's I think I saw that it's basically the exact dude. It's I I wanna I'm gonna I'm gonna send it to you and I want you to look at it word for word.

SPEAKER_10 15:10

It's it's the same thing. Like it's the same thing with the same person talking to the same organization. It's the same person. That's funny. It's the same semi, actually a little less, but semi-chat GPT, same MOU, and they're gonna work together and they're gonna do this, and it's gonna look like this, and they're gonna, you know, overlap this and this, and I mean, it's almost like the Twilight Zone. I just that exact same document.

Suspensions And Smear Accusations

Juan 15:38

I I hate to say it, you know, and I know like it's out of sight, out of mind, and stuff like that. And I wanna, you know, I I in a strange way, I want to revisit, you know, you know, why why we are here talking about this type of stuff, you know, after our suspension for for whatever for for being on a podcast, and like we say, we talked about things forever for over a year.

herb 15:58

But as soon as it is still are you still suspended?

Juan 16:00

Yeah, we are still suspended. Oh my god. Yeah, I know. And yeah, and we haven't heard anything. So you know our council hasn't heard anything, but you know, that and and and and how it all played out with you, TJ. And now here we are a couple months later, and everyone's you know, just trying to kind of put it underneath the rug and stuff like that. And you know, I'm not gonna let that go. I I'm not gonna let that go with you know how they handle that with you. I'm not gonna let that go where they are right now, even with us, you know, even with some of these uh, you know, other social media people putting things out there about me and you, you know, when it first came out, and like that was all planted. That was obviously all planted in this it's um it's slimy, it's it's it's wrong, you know, and you know, to try to, you know, I didn't I didn't talk about it, but I was told that Rena recently there was some kind of hacking going on in uh in a zoom call that these people had, and it was pretty ugly. And I heard that they thought it was me and you, TJ, that me and you hacked their Zoom call and put some crazy stuff up.

herb 17:05

I'm like, they obviously don't watch this, they don't they don't even watch this podcast. You guys can't even figure out how to sign on to this podcast. It's true. Are you gonna hack anything? It's true. I mean you have the computer literacy of a kindergartner, the both of you combined.

Juan 17:19

I'm the worst. I'm the worst. But you know, when I was hearing about the story, blah blah blah, and then it got to that part. I was like, I was people are telling you that.

herb 17:26

I knew TJ was in trouble when I see him trying to swipe on the computer screen. He thought the computer screen was an iPad.

SPEAKER_10 17:34

No, but think about that. Stupid stuff like that's happening, it's getting back to you that they think that we win in something. That's that's that's smearing right there. That's that's crazy. It's crazy.

Juan 17:47

Well, first of all, I'm like, again, you guys are thinking about us that much that you think we were like, let's hack into your demonstration zoom call. I'm like, what the heck? What the heck?

SPEAKER_10 17:59

I'm surprised it's hard for me. You know, it hasn't been talking about it. You know, like everything, but it's hard. But I mean, like now we're just flooding the the Facebook with this person, hey you chair, hey you chair, hey you chair, hey you chair. Congratulations. It's all this, like you said, the kumbaya that like just it's it's it's almost like it's not grimy, not not slimy, but it's just weird. It's hard for me because all these people are sitting back watching what they did to two people in the organization, and it's meanwhile, good.

Juan 18:25

Meanwhile, all these things that they're having, and they're having like you know, 80 people at their tournament, 100 people. I mean, just I mean, I get it. You're I get it. You're trying to build an awareness. Let's say I get it, I get it, but like it's over the top, guys. It's so it's so fake. I pointed this, I pointed that, I pointed this. It's like, really? You just you you're a referee. You know, I mean, it's you come to the tournament, you work. You know, I again I I understand self-promotion. I mean, we all do it, you know. I do it, peak performance for my own brand. I do it. I know you do it, young. You do it in in your own area. But this is just I like I said, getting back to my original point, let's not forget what got us here and and what transpired and what was said. Well, not was inferred, what was said, how it you know played out, and then all of a sudden how you get when you know we both get suspended right after that when when we decline, when you decline. And that's just uh forgotten.

SPEAKER_10 19:24

And still, and still, no, and still to this day I haven't been told what I did. You know that I still I still don't know what I was suspended for. We asked for clarification, our console asked for clarification. I still don't know.

Juan 19:38

When we get our hearing, when we get our hearing, we're gonna sit there like well, can you you guys want to cue us in on what we did wrong so we can defend ourselves or you know, give you a a a different version? It's just obviously it's it's it's it's hogwash, it's silly, it's dumb, and you know, like I said, I'm not I just it it just all this popped into my mind when I started seeing all this ranking stuff, and I just started like kind of thinking back of how where that came from for the first time and knowing what these people thought about that, and here they are doing it. That's why I use the word slimy. I I mean you can say I'm wrong, but a lot of people think they're the same.

SPEAKER_10 20:18

So I don't get the point of the point, Chase. I don't get the point of like trying to acquire this number one rank at AAU nationals. I I really don't get it. Like, don't you want to show up? Isn't that supposed to be a building point? Isn't that supposed to be the the less uh congested route to get to the point where you can have some good matches and have some good interactions? It's supposed to be kind of a free not friendship. I understand they have their national team structure, but it's just going to an open. You literally pay for states, you pay for regionals now, you go pay for nationals, they take some team trials. You pay for team trials by all that time you did all this stuff, you probably could have

The Real Price For Families

SPEAKER_10 20:55

just gone to a tournament by yourself.

Juan 20:56

You could have been to two tournaments by yourself, let's be honest. Come on, then me when you're paying 230 bucks, you know, you know, these things are not cheating anymore, and and flights and hotels and and blah blah blah blah blah. Come on, yeah, easy, easy mom and dad, easy two trips, easy, not even close. I mean, people did it. So it's not a money grab, I don't know what it is. Exactly. People did it, even like myself when I, you know, kind of went back to AU to kind of support just because exactly what you said. It was just clean, easy, direct. You know, if you win, you go on a team. Okay, great. If you don't, no problem. It was just it was just a tournament, it was just it was just development. You know, I don't think anybody was like, hooray, I'm on this team, I made it, finally, I've worked on it. I don't know about that. I don't know about that. Not me. I'm just saying, we're like I know. For some people that's a big win, you know, but come on, come on. I don't know. So anyway, I'll let that go for now. Let's

Pan Am Championships Brazil Preview

Juan 21:52

talk about the Pan Am Championships in Racine.

SPEAKER_10 21:57

I'm excited. When are you gonna when you get in there? I get there midday Thursday. So right I get there right basically for because the fight started on Friday, right? Yeah, yeah. All divisions same day. So I can't.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

You're gonna miss Pumsei?

SPEAKER_10 22:10

Huh? I'm gonna miss it. I couldn't get my flight change. I tried. I tried. I tried I tried my hardest to get my flight change. They got you in there watching Pumsei. Nope.

herb 22:21

You're gonna miss Pumse? I I I I never want to miss Pumse. I I did I I can't wait. The only thing more exciting than watching Pumse is watching a uh a uh middleweight match in the current style of Taekwondo. Those those things are a toss-up for me.

Juan 22:41

We'll go back to go back to this in a second. No, you know who just reached out to me for uh uh some kind of program? Your boy Kamal from the Jordan, the middleweight guy. Oh, nice, I like him.

herb 22:55

From Toronto, yeah, yeah, good guy. Good guy.

Juan 22:58

No, but the pen names, I actually leave tomorrow, so I'll be there and um I don't know. Kind of a mixed, I mean I like you. I like going to Brazil. I know you're gonna stay after a little bit with Coach Diego and stuff like that. That's gonna be a really nice training camp. Um I don't know how I'm feeling about this tournament just because I know like 10 days later, five days later, everything goes back to zero. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_10 23:25

So I think it'll be I think I'm excited because you gotta, I mean, I'm excited. It's probably one of the biggest ones I'll get to watch this year. Obviously, I'm missing out on all the the grand prize and all that stuff. So this will be the championship I kind of get to be in the house for. So I know everything goes back to zero, but I think people still play a little bit for real, you know. Some of these countries can't afford not to play for real. Um, you know, a lot of the a lot of the countries they take it seriously. So I think it'll be fun. I'm excited to be there.

Juan 23:51

They're gonna listen. I I was telling my daughter today, I was like, you know what I like about the Brazil people in particular, they like to fight. Like they don't they don't need a reason to fight. You know, they're like, they can say, Oh, I'm gonna save myself for the Grand Prix in two weeks. They're like, no, let's go. You know, so I I really like that. And it's in their hometown, so they're gonna feel oh, there were some of them, they're gonna feel real, you know, you know, they're gonna have a lot of friends and family there. So they're gonna, yeah, it's definitely gonna be it'll be exciting, and it's crazy because it's all on one day, TJ. Like all weights, 16 categories on one day, bro. It's gonna be you know what's gonna suck is you're gonna miss something. You're gonna miss some good matches, you know. I'm saying you're gonna have to go back and watch them if you can dig them up, which I don't know.

SPEAKER_10 24:36

I like to I'm gonna do my best. I normally try to write all the ones out the night before I want to see, kind of like where you know, when the good people beat the other good people and stuff like that. So I'm gonna I'll try to do the same for this. But the venue there is usually a little easy. You could sit in one side and probably not miss much, you know. No, if you try to know where it's going. If you're in the stands for sure, 100%.

Juan 24:55

Yeah, I like to get you. I'll get you up to I'll get you up to the VIP little area because you can see everything and get coffee and I box. There we go. Yeah, I'm gonna hold you.

SPEAKER_10 25:03

I guess we were that last time, so that'd be cool. But I'm I'm excited. I think, like I said, for me, it's um I'll be there afterwards too for the cadet championship and the under-21, which I'm also excited about. It's just kind of, I guess, you know, get to keep with my guys and get a couple good matches, hopefully middle middle level matches or you know, good people, whatever, but it'll be good too.

Juan 25:22

People fighting both days, Saturday and Sunday?

SPEAKER_10 25:24

Yeah, I got um a cadet on Saturday and then uh let's see, uh, under 21 on Sunday.

unknown 25:29

Okay.

Juan 25:29

I didn't know.

SPEAKER_10 25:30

I'll take Monday off. Yeah, I think then the camp starts on Tuesday, and I'll I'm only staying for a couple days. I think he pushed the camp up to Monday. To start on Monday, yeah. I just texted him today, so I gotta call I gotta text him back then. Yeah, I was trying to change hotels on Monday because it's a little far.

Juan 25:48

I think he did it from Monday because he's like, oh, everyone's fighting on Friday, so they can be back on you know by you know start on Monday. I think he has to go somewhere Friday or maybe it's Saturday, something like that.

SPEAKER_10 26:02

But I'll ask him. But yeah, I'm excited about that too. I always like being, it's funny because uh born in Brazil sometimes, like having all those people in that room and like it's the weather, the kind of warehouse feel is kind of cool just to sit around and watch those guys train and kind of I'll have my guys that are interacting, get a good view of my guys just in a different room under a different system. So it'll I think overall it'll be good. And obviously, I'm gonna eat my face off and find as much food as I can possibly find. I was just about to say what you're gonna eat. Where are you saying? Oh uh the Vinique. Don't be looking for me. Don't be looking for me. That's what I'm saying. Oh, you can look for me. I'm talking about don't be looking for me.

Juan 26:36

Yeah, I ended up over there. Yeah, it's good. Oh, so they got all those little places right around the corner we can go eat too. That's tight. That's tight. Very good, very good. So, anyone in particular, like you from any country or I wouldn't say particular country.

SPEAKER_10 26:51

I'd say I'm always interested in watching 80 for guys, 68 for guys. Um 74 could be a little interesting. Uh girl side, 49 is always on and off. 67 will be fun. Um that's about it. I don't know. I'm not sure any other ones. 53, 57. I mean, maybe 57. 57 is always good too. I like 57. They're like the little fast explosive division, a little bit stronger girls, you know, they get into it. So I'm excited about most of the games.

Juan 27:20

I'm curious to watch um um Dominican Republic. I'm just curious to watch. Yeah, just because they've I feel like they've been a little flat for a while, and I feel like they're just, you know, they have the Central American games coming up in their own country. So I feel like they need to like kind of get out there again. Because I mean, for a while they were like, you know, they were tough. Like they, you know, top to bottom, they were hard out for everybody, and they're real physical and very athletic and aggressive, you know, didn't always make the greatest decisions, but um, I think they're I'll be curious to see how they fight. Um a lot of new people on the team or a lot of similar faces? I think there's a couple of similar faces. I know uh the P brother is fighting in 74 now, he's not fighting 68. Bernardo.

SPEAKER_10 28:05

Bernardo and Bernardo's 74.

Juan 28:08

Yeah, and there's another, I think one or two girls that are the same, but I I don't really know. I haven't paid that much attention. And then just random countries. You know, I know, like for example, Ecuador has a couple good people. Um, you know, some of these Central American, you know, countries. And but you're right, it's gonna be, you know, Colombia is gonna bring a strong team, Argentina will be a strong team, Brazil will bring a strong team, Mexico will bring a strong team, Canada, United States, um, Cuba only has a couple people. So it's gonna be those those big four or fives, you know. And I think when we look at the brackets, if everyone shows up, like there's gonna be a lot of Brazil and Brazil fighting like in the quarters and semis, you know. So I was hoping that we could be a little bit more spread out so we can make it, you know, possibly to the finals. But um we'll end up.

SPEAKER_10 28:52

I think it's always good to see this too, because you know, when we run it back for the Continental Qualifiers, it's not that far out now, just being two years out, you know what I mean? For that, yeah. So it kind of gives you a little look at where everyone is now and then where we end up later on when all that kind of is said and done.

Juan 29:06

So you want to hear something weird that you know we have this para-athlete, uh Mr. Felix Sabatis. You know, you know Felix? Of course, yeah. Felix, he trains with uh Coach Benaby, and then he comes down to Miami twice a week. And uh great man, just a super, super guy. But so he's on the the para team that's going, so he's required to fly from Miami, I think, to Atlanta and then to North Carolina, but regardless, he has got to go to North Carolina so he can meet with the team, and then the team flies from Charlotte to Miami and then leaves 100%. He's living in Miami, young. He lives in Miami, they're gonna make a flight to Charlotte to come back to Miami. Are they training?

SPEAKER_10 29:49

Are they training when they get to Charlotte or something? This is all in the same day? Same day.

SPEAKER_11 29:55

I'd be missing a plane.

SPEAKER_10 29:57

I would not do it. They could they could do whatever I there's no way they'd have to kick me off the team. I I would just be I would stay home. There's no way. There's no way you can convince me to fly there, fly right back.

Juan 30:08

I would be like, no, I am with you, man. I just was I was cracking up. I was like, what? I think I think they're gonna be on my flight tomorrow night, man. I uh yeah, that'd be interesting. When when do you guys get back? I'm actually coming home early. I'm coming home uh Saturday night to get home Sunday morning for Mother's Day because I've been missing a lot of things, and so I was like, you know what? I'm gonna be there for my wife. They married, baby. They married.

SPEAKER_10 30:32

Yeah, I get back like the 14th. So I think two or three days. Nah. Actually, you know what happened to me on the way

Airline Chaos And Travel Planning

SPEAKER_10 30:40

home? So I tried to book a cheap flight from uh coming back. No, I had a I had like a few.

herb 30:46

You got racially profiled? You didn't get racially profiled?

SPEAKER_10 30:48

$55 spirit flight. And then spirit goes under. So now I gotta get a replacement flight. So I know I was trying to save money for the squad. So I'm going from here to Orlando and then Orlando there. But on the way back, that that little connection, I took a spirit one because it was like fifty 48 bucks or something. I'm like, cool, quick, no problem. And then they go under. So now I'm and works about another fly.

Juan 31:18

Because you know who's doing that? Going to Orlando is Josiah. Yeah. So it's funny because remember, I was asking you, I'm doing platinums everything. You remember when we was asking you about like where to fly into for this uh East Championship? And you said Philly. Yeah. I was looking it better because that's what they're flying into. And so, and if not my wife and daughter are stuck somewhere, it's your fault, motherfucker. But no, it was my Philly. No. Um, I was looking at flights and the same thing, like Spirit was like 72 bucks, everything else was like 350, 400. I was like, you know what? I should just rough it and just do it. But for some reason I didn't, thank god, because they would have been stuck like Chuck.

SPEAKER_10 32:07

What a joke. They refunded the 45 sucky dollars, but all the flights now are like 300, 400 bucks for a one-way. You get your money. Not yet, but it was like it's like literally the ticket, the whole tickle was $48. I have a refund receipt. Yeah, it's not like I'm it sucks, but probably spirit? Yeah, you can use it in spirit.

herb 32:28

Hold on to it.

SPEAKER_10 32:29

Rebook it. Not was it? Whatever I booked it through, not kayak or priceline or something. Oh, okay, okay. Yeah. But I'm excited. I'm excited.

herb 32:38

I'm still loyal to um United, because I can, yeah, I can fix problems. I don't have to worry about the airline going out of business.

SPEAKER_10 32:49

I never used sphere, but that was too tempting. It was like 45 bucks. Alright, it's almost like an hour and 10 minute flight.

Juan 32:54

Or from where to where? From Orlando to there? Orlando to Charlotte, yeah. What do you find from Orlando to straight to Rio? Yeah. No, no, I stopped somewhere.

SPEAKER_10 33:05

I don't remember where. Yes. Sounds about right. De Panama holds uh the airport's nice. I heard, I've never been, but I heard. But it's not we're only there for like a short, quick time, but so yeah. I I'm I don't leave out till Wednesday, so I got a couple more days at home and I'll head over there, get ready for that. But um, like I said, I'm always excited to watch Taekwondo, I know, unlike Grandmaster Disaster. Good taekwondo, bad taekwondo. I just I like taekwondo, so we'll be there.

Juan 33:31

And me and Coach Jennings buy you a ticket to come to an event with us. Would you come?

SPEAKER_11 33:39

Kind of event.

Juan 33:41

Taekwondo. What the a blues band it with, you know, with rainbow shirts on.

herb 33:49

What do you

Rome Grand Prix And Calendar Mistakes

herb 33:50

mean? Well, where? K-pop. Where? K-pop. Where? I'm gonna take you to a K Gop concert.

SPEAKER_10 33:55

You should go to Rome Grand Prix. I keep trying to sell this to people because I can't. I keep trying to send everything. Rome I go to.

herb 34:01

But I'll buy my own ticket. Wait, I I will go there.

SPEAKER_10 34:04

Well, if you buy buy mine too, I'll go with you. Just just buy mine.

herb 34:07

How did this get to you guys are buying my ticket to go watch taekwondo, and then next thing I know, I'm buying you a ticket.

SPEAKER_10 34:13

No, you should go to the Rome Grand Prix. That would be the one I would go to because it's Rome and the venue I like. I want to go see the Coliseum.

herb 34:21

That's been something I I went to Milan, but I haven't been to Rome, so we go. I would definitely go.

Juan 34:25

When is the Rome Grand Prix? First week of June. Yeah, where they have it, they have it at this where they play the Italian opening of tennis. And so, like you walk the holding area, you walk underneath, and then you come like you're in the hall, like when they're walking out to the tennis courts, and you walk, and they they have an outdoor venue, like that's where they play tennis, and so it's all open air around, and it's just got a a top or top. It's like the it looks like like uh like you said that Coliseum seating is just big brick things that go down. You can stand up like in the in the aisles and and watch the matches. It's it's pretty cool. And they have like roll like this, yeah, right? They have like a thousand kids there, like in a venue right next door, like having a tournament too. Free. I think it's free. Crazy. You remember this, right? I do remember this. Ta-da! Ta-da. But TJ, I mean, it's gonna be a good one, but I I think Paris could be good too, just because is it the same venue, you think? I don't know. That's a good question. No, I I I I just said that because this first one is uh has a conflict with the President's Cup in Europe. And I think some people are gonna the same weekend. No. How do we make those kind of mistakes? Yeah, Europeans are pissed, man. That's a G3. And some people are saying maybe it's easier to win at the President's Cup than it is at the Grand Prix. But that that's debatable, because you're gonna have like 50 Russians in each division. So that could be a little bit.

SPEAKER_10 36:03

How do we keep how do we keep making those mistakes? Like that's not good. With a two-year cycle, that's not good. That's really bad. You can't make any mistakes like that in a two-year cycle.

Juan 36:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 36:15

You just can't.

Juan 36:17

That's bad. We have our presence covered in the women's world championship that girls are gonna miss. It's not gonna affect the guys, but for the girls.

SPEAKER_10 36:25

Do they consider those extra points for the women's world championships? Is that like outside of the 40 or 60 or whatever?

SPEAKER_02 36:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_10 36:30

Really? Yes. Yeah, they're not open points. Why do you think that is why the significance of the the women's world championships to have it by itself and they they're at the the men's world championships like together? Is there is there like was there a reasoning behind it or is just to give them more uh more give the women more matches, more opportunity?

Juan 36:49

I don't wanna I don't want to give you know Grandmaster Disaster any like fuel to this fire, but it's leadership again on the surface, like we're giving females more opportunities to develop in some other countries. But I mean they have they have all the opportunities that we have every open, every world championship, every continental games. I mean, I don't know. I I don't I don't think it was I don't know. I I really don't know.

SPEAKER_10 37:19

How was the event last time? Wasn't it was it in Nai was it nayor was bad?

Juan 37:22

No, it was horrible, man. It was in Malabo. Malabo New Guinea horrible, horrible. They were they didn't start the tournament time because they didn't have the KPAP there, and then there was no chairs, so referees didn't have any chairs. I'm talking the morning of the competition. They brought us in like a like a local tournament, like, okay. I was like, damn, there was zero holding area, zero holding area, like no what? Fend for yourself.

SPEAKER_10 37:53

It was kind of like that cubit trip you guys went to. I didn't go. I dug home on accident, but I didn't got her, it was bad. But that that and I suppose that we're making these important events and then just putting minimal resources, and they did it in Africa, and there was like no Africans there, no Africans.

Juan 38:10

I mean, I think Morocco and Egypt came, but like I'm talking like like continent down, you know, Africans, like there was like like four from like IP Coast and it was bad. Even the technical committee said, like, we had this thing here to give you know people in this region opportunities and nobody showed up.

SPEAKER_10 38:33

So I just never understood the significance of just doing it separate like that, especially since they're the regular

Points Reset And Junior Carryover

SPEAKER_10 38:40

world championships, and they're outside. I mean, I guess it doesn't matter because guys don't compete against girls, I just don't understand it. Just offsets the whole structure a little bit, right?

Juan 38:47

Yeah. But somebody said something like uh they made a comment like, you know, all of our points reset, but like the junior world championship points don't reset. So these kids are gonna go through a junior world championship.

SPEAKER_10 39:00

Yeah.

Juan 39:01

So they're gonna come, they could go right to the grand prize right away if they won a junior world championship a couple months ago, a month ago. Like that's crazy. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_10 39:10

But what's crazy is they thought about this and did it on purpose. There's no way they didn't think about that.

Juan 39:16

I don't know what they think about or don't think about anymore, really. I I don't, I I I mean, how many times have we had this conversation? Like when there's a new rule change, there's a new schedule change, and we're like, who sat in a room and said, This is a good idea to call a double deduction in the last 10 seconds. Yep, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_10 39:39

I never, I've never, I've never like, I know it benefited a lot of people, and like in some situations, those people turned into like superstars, but I never thought it was made any sense for those points to transfer to senior points. You got seniors like scraping and scrapping to kind of be in a top 31, 32, whatever it was, and now you got these juniors who don't have any senior experience or not any senior points moving into the grand prix in front of people that have been competing in the system.

Juan 40:06

No, I I was never a fan of it. I understood what they were thinking to give these kids a chance, blah blah blah, but I never liked it. But what is it? But what is it? I don't understand. Their thing was to keep them um past that sticking point, like because you know they were saying there's a drop-off, you know, after juniors. So if we can keep some of these champions up there and just give them the chance to fight in there, it doesn't mean they're gonna win, doesn't mean they're gonna stay up there that long. But maybe now with the with a with the 50% drop-off after the year, you know what I'm saying? It'll be more significant. So let my point is let's because you don't get all your points. You get like, I forgot, is it 50%? I forgot what it is. Like, so if you win 100, you don't get 100 points, or maybe it's 80 points. But you know, but in the old, let's just let's let's use a hundred, you know, and if you dropped off 25%.

SPEAKER_06 40:55

We're going to grab the bull by the balls and kick those off campus. What do you intend to do, sir? Delta's already on probation. They are, yes, sir. Oh. Then as of this moment, they're on double secret probation.

SPEAKER_10 41:13

That's how I feel. Maybe I'm on double secret probation. I don't know it.

herb 41:16

That's what it is, man. That's what it is. They could they ran out of stuff to do, so they did the Animal House, double super secret probation in the last few seconds. So they must uh this is what they do in their spare time. I apologize. I digress. No, no, no. I don't know.

Juan 41:32

I was just saying like it. Yeah, I don't like it. But now with the two-year cycle, that it'll go down 50%. So if the kid isn't good and he doesn't win at the Grand Prix, it's just a matter of time.

SPEAKER_10 41:41

But yeah, that's still somebody missing out on a grand prix, though, potentially, right? That's I mean, to no real effect at all. You got people coming into the system being higher ranked because they win in June. I I I don't think I don't think it can happen. I don't know if you I don't know how you do it, or I understand the reason to kind of keep them in the development, but I think they just gotta go fight like everybody else. Right? If it's going back to zero, shouldn't they have a really good shot at going zero, you know, G1s, G2s?

Juan 42:08

And see, so that's a good point because originally they said it's hard for them to catch when all these people had these points, but when everything starts to zero, they should just be again, we're all on even playing fields, right?

SPEAKER_01 42:19

I listen, for so long to do your moron. What the hell is supposed to do your moron? What the hell is all right?

SPEAKER_11 42:29

Sorry, sorry, sorry. I I digress. It's it's been a moment, so I I'll stop. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_10 42:34

No, uh uh what was what were we just talking about? Them them letting them keep their points when everyone else is going to zero. Like it's almost lopsided now. Like the juniors keep their points and everyone else.

Juan 42:43

No, what I was gonna say, like, yeah, I used to thought I listen, I never liked that we always I never liked that people just kept having points. So for example, and you could tell me, oh, they went down 25% every year. But for example, if you went to the Olympics and you got a medal, like you were in the Grand Prix for the next three years, no matter what. Like you were you're you're you're gold, and so you had a big leg up. This is gonna be the first time where superstars are gonna have to start from zero again, just like everybody else. You know what I'm saying? So that's gonna be interesting. I I I think I think it's gonna be really interesting

Parity Era And Grand Prix Predictions

Juan 43:20

when you know the parade, you know. I remember. So look at it this way.

SPEAKER_10 43:23

Maybe they maybe they gotta, maybe it's I mean, when we're talking about the juniors keeping their points, maybe because it's zero, maybe they're fending off more of these kids. Maybe there's more, you know, uh the the brackets are reset, so a lot of the bigger guys are fighting, you know, earlier in situations and stuff like that.

Juan 43:37

It gets a little it gets messy quick. It gets real quick, real quick. And so, I mean, it's gonna be interesting. Yeah, I'm I'm curious. Like you said, this first Grand Prix should be interesting. Uh the three grand prize this year are gonna be are gonna be. I'll be curious to see if there's any consistency. Or is it like you're hot one tournament, I'm hot one tournament, and then also at the end of the year, we're all basically this parody.

SPEAKER_10 44:00

I think that's where we are now in this entire sport. I you know, we go from an era of like, you know, we talk about a lot, but talk about De Hulli winning, you know, a lot of Grand Prix back to back to back. What's like eight or nine? It was a lot, right? I don't think that happened. I don't I don't I don't think that could ever happen again now. I don't I don't think there will be that much consistency ever in any division.

Juan 44:21

Yeah, that's a lot to that's a lot to run off, to be honest with you. That's a lot to run off. I mean, for anybody. I mean, Maria had a great year last year. You know, we talked about that. That was that was phenomenal, you know? I mean, we really did. I mean, three Grand Prix challenges in a world championship in a you in a university, you're just kind of like, what? What? And not to mention a couple opens. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm wrong.

SPEAKER_10 44:44

I just thought I think you're right. I think it's gonna be a lot harder. I think there is a lot more tournaments, and then you can look at the schedules overlapping with weird stuff like the President's Cup and everything. Like, anything can happen. I think that was kind of like for me, the world championships kind of looked like that. You just didn't know where who was gonna be where and what was gonna fall in, you know?

Juan 44:59

Yeah. I think uh for sure on the men's side it's definitely dip more difficult. You know, I don't know. Yeah, I don't see that happening, you know, anytime soon, but let's see, bro. It's gonna be it's gonna be fun, it's gonna be a good one. Uh-oh.

unknown 45:18

That's it.

SPEAKER_07 45:19

How did it feel to you? Let me think. Oh, think. It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all that heavenly glory. Do you understand? Never take your eyes off your opponent. Yeah, a lot of rules. I wish to hear, man.

herb 45:48

I wish people got a lot of rules. He's got a lot of rules.

Juan 45:52

When you put this up, no one ever hears all those things, do they? No, I think they do.

herb 45:56

I think they do. Uh-uh. Uh-uh. If I do share, I think they do. Oh, well, I'll do my.

SPEAKER_13 46:02

It's like a finger pointing to the moon. All the heavenly glory.

SPEAKER_03 46:10

Oh.

herb 46:12

Well, anyway, I'm gonna I'm gonna have to put it in if they miss it, because that's such a shame. I'll put it in the beginning of the video, so I gotta figure that out.

Juan 46:19

But yeah, but actually, the ones you put out today were pretty good. The double secret spy one was pretty good.

herb 46:26

That was pretty good. That's from Animal House. It's like, yeah, we'll put them on double secret probation. So you go out of the ring, you're gonna get double negative points. So next year that'll change to triple, trust me.

SPEAKER_09 46:41

Yeah.

herb 46:42

All right, what else we got, gentlemen? I know we got a long agenda. I know you guys, you can't be that can't be your only consternation.

Juan 46:53

We're waiting for you, Grandmaster, to enlighten us about the flower.

herb 46:58

The flower. Oh, wait till you see. Oh, no, no, don't get me started. Wait till you see.

Juan 47:02

I heard you're about to go on with this guy, this verbal verbal violence. I heard you're about to get like smoked, man. He said we warm it up for you, man.

herb 47:10

I had no idea that I was that popular. I had no, I had no idea. But I'm we talked since your DJ episode.

Verbal Violence And Coaching Leadership

SPEAKER_09 47:20

Yeah, no, I have a no.

Juan 47:22

I have I have I got a oh no, because I did my after years. We did we did ours on Monday and I did it on Wednesday. Yeah. So I did a I did um I did my podcast, or did uh Sven's uh verbal violence podcast.

SPEAKER_07 47:34

It was good.

Juan 47:34

I I thought it was good. I mean we guys talk about fast. Dude, we talked about everything. We talked a little bit about my upbringing, we talked a little bit about old school fighters. I talked a lot about Joseph Salim. Um, you know, I think he's just one of the uh underappreciated like athletes and coaches. I mean, he just I I I think very highly of him. I thought very highly of him, rest in peace. We talked about about actually I I talked to him a little bit about like, you know, coaching, is it is it merit-based or is it you know what you what you have to offer? And you know, he I asked him if he thought we had some good coaches in the country, and he said no. And I said, I I think we do. I'm not saying they're all leaders, but I think there's a bunch of people that could contribute under underneath the right leadership. And it's and I kind of called him out a little bit. And I know it sounds personal, but you know, for TJ, I was like, you know, you've you've mentioned other coaches before, and I'm not saying they're good coaches or bad coaches, but you mentioned them. I said, but you failed to mention TJ when TJ has been an Olympic coach, he's been a Grand Prix coach, he's been a world championship coach, he's been a coach of a professional team. He's done all the things that more than all the people that you know you've mentioned, and you didn't mention him. And so, you know, and I and I don't know what you think about this, young, but I think some people in life have it and some people don't. It's like the the mafia stuff where I I said with Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky. Together they felt they they they treated themselves as equals, but in public, it was Lucky Luciano. He was he was the leader. Whoever chose him, or the media or the people chose him. And I believe there's some leaders in this country, and then there's other people that are very good, and they might be equal when it comes to knowledge. I mean, and I'm I'm being very vague here. Maybe they're equal, but you know, I think some people just have a uh a better ability to manage people, to motivate people, and to lead people. And I think TJ is one of those people, to be honest with you. And so I was kind of uh it wasn't anything contentious, but I said, you know, I think you forgot about him when you were saying that? I was saying that.

herb 49:41

But who was saying that there weren't good coaches in this country?

SPEAKER_10 49:43

Oh, I was about to say he said there were no good coaches in the entire country, is what he said.

herb 49:46

Who said that?

SPEAKER_10 49:48

Let me let me Sven, Sven. Uh you don't get it.

herb 49:52

He doesn't know what he's talking about then.

Juan 49:53

I said we have capable coaches. It's and I think when he when I explained it to him, because I think the easy way to be like, no, we don't have any top coach or whatever. But he was when I started talking to him about even specific coaches from you know from Texas and other parts of the country, I'm like, I'm talking, these guys have been around for a long time. They write, they go, they fly under the radar, they're quality people, they've they've they've created cadet and junior team people. But I said, I'm I'm talking about those kind of guys, and there's a lot of them, men and women in this country. Are they big household names like TJ? No. Or one of them? No. But but they're good. And I think under the right leadership. He also asked me about like how things were when, you know, when me and me and Gene were there, and you know, I talked about some good things and some bad things, and we talked about a training camp that we had, you know, that was uh selection camp that was, you know, people don't. It's funny, man, people get like half of the uh half of the information. Yeah, yeah, because if you ask me right now a selection camp, I I mean, well, first of all, I think I could pick a I I think I could kick pick just as good team, if not better team, than if you had a fight off. But what I said was that was considered, and you know about this young PM games and Pan Am Championships in that era were considered developmental. They would they weren't even looking at the Olympic committee.

SPEAKER_10 51:17

Yeah, you know that. I know that. Most of the when I went to some of the first teams I made when I got to my first Pan Am Championship, the ones that happened, it was because the what Mark Lopez wasn't there. The big guys didn't go fight those tournaments. They those are walk-off tournaments in them because they had fought them so much, and like you said, it didn't really mean anything. No. We actually, I think we considered the Pan Am Championship team. You just made the Pan Am Championship and you weren't considered the national team. You didn't make the national team until you made the world team. Like it was a there was a different between the two words, like you went to Pan Am Championships, or you were on an actual national team, you went to the world championships. Those were a different between the two. So I know that too a little bit.

Juan 51:52

Yeah, so I mean it was it was interesting to talk about you know some of that kind of stuff. And I mean, I think I'll be I'll be curious to see what you guys talk about.

herb 51:59

I'm not sure you know what he has in store for you or anything like that, but I mean, he was it it was better he better he better come, he better choose to either be a wedding stone R W E T T I N G, which is sharpening my blade, or he better choose to be a target because my blade is sharp and it cuts on the way in and on the way out. So he's he's been he's I think he better he better he's the one he better come correct him with his game on. So if I ask him a question about are there good coaches in this country, he says so. I'll be like, I said, what?

SPEAKER_10 52:34

I don't maybe he didn't understand the question. I mean he didn't say the Jesus.

herb 52:39

We had a lot of fun when we had him on the podcast. I'm just giving him a hard time. Nothing but love for him because he's willing to speak his mind, and he's uh he's a gentleman, so I'm looking forward to it. But um, you know, you and I'm the biggest critic of the United States and its current situation, but I'm not gonna sit here and pretend like there aren't good coaches here. My argument is exactly the opposite. There are good coaches here, they're just not get being given the opportunities to coach and they're not being developed correctly. And if you can't do that over a period of time, then you're at fault. It's just like if you can't put people on I I'm not gonna say the metal podium. If you can't put people on the top podium, not the metal podium, but on the top podium, then you're not doing your job. In a country of this many people with this much talent and this much money, you ain't you ain't making it to the podium, you're not doing your job.

Juan 53:29

So honestly, that that's something we talked a lot about the 10 year and stuff like that of what's been happening. So no, I he and I'll I'll defend him on this. Like, I he did say, like, when I asked him that, he was just he thought for a second, he's like, no, and I go, let me rephrase it. And then I started talking. He's like, and then he understood where I was coming from.

SPEAKER_10 53:48

So um, but I think you made it, you guys were talking when you made a good point when you're like, you know, does it matter who's like how kids feel or how the athletes feel when they're walking in chairs with different coaches or different coaches of different statures that have more

Why The Coach In The Chair Matters

SPEAKER_10 54:00

can maybe connections, maybe it's background, maybe it's war uh medal winning, maybe it's just experience in general. But I know for me when I was an athlete, that was I don't think I've ever had someone that didn't kind of hold the shield and was like that guy. And they look at the coach and they're like, oh shit, here we go. This is not gonna be easy. And I think that's a that's a game changer for a lot of these higher level matches and trying to get in front of these powerhouse countries that you know win more than that.

Juan 54:24

Listen, again, everyone's well-intentioned, right? Everyone's well intentioned in their in their effort. But I'm telling you, if you have a kid walking to the ring and he sees, you know, coach A, he's like, he doesn't know what's gonna happen, but he feels comfortable, she feels comfortable. When you sit there and you have Coach A, the coach on the other side's like, okay, this guy's for real. I'm gonna give you a personal story. This guy's for real. And the referees know it as well. And you can say, you know, those kids still gotta go out there and fight, but it does matter. People change the way they move, people change the way they talk, people change the way they act, you know, when coach A is there. Now, if you have Coach M and all of a sudden you look back and you're kind of like, oh, he's just as nervous as me, or this is his first tournament, too. I'm telling you, or the referee is like, man, I'll call Kam John and that guy all day because he's not gonna do nothing, you know. The other coach is like, I ain't losing to that guy. You know, it's it's that's a true thing. I even said today, I'm sorry, when I was in Uzbekistan, I was watching, you know, the coach, Coach Choi from um Thailand, from Thailand, the good Thailand coach. Like, when he sat down, I was like, I I said, oh shoot, this kid must be good because he don't just come around for nobody, you know, anybody. He's he he must be investing in this person. Like I said that from the freaking cheap seats watching. And people know. People know. So you're right. I I mean, I that's why I said that. I believe it makes a difference who's walking out to your chair. That's just like a you could go all the way down to a local level. The master sits in the chair, or the coach sits in the chair, or some assistant assist instructor. Come on, man. The parents aren't gonna be as confident, the kids not gonna be as confident. I mean, there's no replacing it. Now, take that up to the world championships. It's the same shit, it's the same thing. So yeah, that's what we're talking about.

SPEAKER_10 56:25

That's pretty I I thought you guys got a lot of good topics and uh the conversation was good. Anything you didn't like? Um, I I'm again not to sound personal. It is weird when you have a whole conversation about AAU and or you know, coaches in this country, and like, you know, you don't say my name. Uh like, you know, we're we're sitting here fighting for funding for kids and funding for the the sport and trying to make the better one of the sport. And I've done quite a few things and a lot of good things, and I don't know, people don't like to say my name. I've kind of kind of gotten used to it now. You know, I I've never done it for them to say my name. I've been very lucky and very privileged to have been put in the situation I've put in, you know, going from an athlete to a coach as fast as I did and being able to be in a program and be able to coach at Grand Prix and coach at world championships. I'm very fortunate, you know. So my story is a little bit different, but I I don't I don't get too caught up in it. I just I just want to, you know, he's you you're right. I think the coaching matters. I think we have a lot of good coaches in this country. I think we have a lot of coaches that have a long, long, long, long, long, much longer than my careers of being around athletes, developing athletes, helping athletes get past big moments, helping athletes win big medals that we don't involve in the system. Because I've accepted that I'm the the what called the black sheep. I've accepted being the black sheep, but there's a lot of people that I don't think they're the black sheep. I mean, I I I see them have been around the organization a little bit. I see them flash in and flash out. I see them, you know, pretend to be utilized, and then now they're not being utilized anymore. And these are people that I know they have something to offer.

Juan 57:49

I've seen this like equal opportunity hating, equal equal opportunity of not using people, like you know, properly. And you're right, TJ. I mean, obviously, you are I mean, no pun intended black sheep, they put you, they put you on a little, like on the what do you call what's that, what's that when they could when uh what's that the list? You know, your your blacklist, yeah.

herb 58:14

You said it twice. You said black sheep and blacklisted to the black guy on the podcast. So it's like even my even my doll, even my doll is now.

Juan 58:25

No, but what I'm saying is there's other people that like you to your point, TJ, there's other people that have produced some junior world championships, and they've been blacklisted too. They've been put on the shelf too. And it's just kind of like, what are we doing?

SPEAKER_10 58:38

We all just stand by and watch it. Like, it makes no sense.

Juan 58:40

I mean I don't like that's what I don't like.

SPEAKER_10 58:43

I don't, I mean, like I know we talked about it a little bit last time. I mean, we're just making all sorts of stupid decisions. We got coaches that have people on a junior national team that put the most people on a junior national team and was denied a coaching uh uh pass because he wasn't on the monthly calls. Like, you understand what I mean? Like, there's there's more badges available that we're not utilizing, and you got a guy that's actually putting people on a team that they're because he doesn't come on the monthly calls. Are you are you kidding? It can't be we we're not living in a real world, but all of us sit around and let it happen. Like, we have so many good coaches in this country. That's the part I did. Like, I understand what the conversation you guys are talking about. I thought at first he misunderstood what you were saying. I thought he was saying that he didn't think there were any good coaches on the the national coaching staff, or we had the our system had those coaches. So that's why I thought that's what that's what he was talking about. But we have so many good coaches in this country that that's that care so much about this sport, that cares so much about the kids, that cares so much about Taekwondo in the United States. I I'm not there's so many.

Juan 59:41

Hey, listen, again, I I always say this and I know you guys hate it, but look, it's not my it's not my thing because I work for another country. Okay, maybe at a different point in my life I will, but like you should you guys should you should I don't know how you do it, you know. Young, maybe you can help. You should you guys should band together. You guys should like you guys should talk, and because you're right, there are some big names out there, there's some big programs out there. I just I just saw I'll I'll I'll say Coach Kim from Virginia. I just saw Coach Kim from Virginia had uh Bay, the the world junior, the the Korean world champion out. Like, well, that's a again, I'm not saying that's like the best seminar in the world or the worst seminar, but that's a big name. Like, why why wouldn't people like, you know, at least USAT should should be on that? You know what I'm saying? If you don't like me, okay, don't like me. No problem. Don't don't don't follow where I go. I'm I'm as you can see on social media, I'm busy, more busy than I need to be. But like, why wouldn't you? This is a uh a coach that has been you know loyal and respectful and worked hard and put people on the team and had junior world champion. Like, how do you not like have this guy around more? Like, he was on you know, the AU coaching staff, he was on, and when I was in there, he was on the USAT coaching staff, he was on uh uh the the Topps coaching staff, he was on the uh the Ace coaching staff. I mean, you know what I'm saying? Like he's good enough to go everywhere else, but but not there. Like that's just weird too. I don't get it.

SPEAKER_10 1:01:11

Yeah, and it's so many people like that though. That's why, that's why, like, sometimes for me, I I kind of I always just like step back and I'm like, it's not even special. Like, they're doing this, they're doing it to everybody. They're literally doing it to any and everyone they don't work with. They've handpicked the people in this season, right now, for the moment, who they want to work with. And all these people, there's there's another group before them, there was another group before them. Now we just entered this air right now, and we've elevated people from not coaching anyone to any significant metal all the way through managing our development. Mind boggling. Our manager of development from where? And you're gonna tell me we don't have good coaches and other people that have actually worked with youth and worked with juniors and have that background of coached at that level and dealt with that level and developed at that level. Every coach that has a school has put anyone at the team trials is on the same level. Anyone that's at nationals is on the same level. People that own Taekwondo schools are on the same level. And somehow we've gotten to this point, we just do what we want, they do what they want, not we, clearly not we, but they just do what they want, but they're they're shitting on a lot of coaches. I just I just don't know how we stop it when we stop it, and it's gonna take everyone to do it because it's it doesn't make any sense. There's there's there's ample amount of coaches here that can coach in the United States of America at different levels.

Juan 1:02:29

Well said, well said, and I just know I mean people just gotta come together and let their voices be heard. I mean, that's that's what we do in America, right? That's what they do in the political world, that's what they do in in social media world. And I know there's a lot of those good coaches. I mean, listen, the people that are getting a little bite at the apple, they're gonna say, they're not gonna say anything, right? And they're they're gonna take their trip, you know, on to a Pan Am Championship or under 21 team, and they're gonna be like, thank you, thank you, thank you, kumbaya, kumbaya. But there's that's 10 people. That's you know, 10 people total, right? And all the different teams, it's 10 people. And there's a bunch of other people that that could be utilized, that should be utilized, you know. Um, that have just been kind of either look past, and I'll go back to something we talked about, you know, from mana at the beginning of this podcast stuff. We talked about investing and looking in, watching and and understanding who the juniors and cadets were. And it's the same thing. You should be understanding who the who the coaches are as well.

Being Shut Out Of Coach Calls

Juan 1:03:33

Like you should know people's names, like their household names, like Coach Smith from whatever coach you know, produces a lot of people. Coach this version, but you know, supposed to be.

SPEAKER_10 1:03:42

Yeah, but you gotta go to the, you gotta, you gotta pay your money or you gotta put your name on the list and go to those accelerated camps and you gotta get on the calls, which some of us coaches in the United States can't even get on the call. I don't even think that's legal. If you ask, if I'm asked on a forum, do I want to be on any teams with junior cadets, all this stuff? And do I want to be on a monthly coaching call? They could just they can't just exclude me from the calls. Don't I have the same right to the same information that everyone else in this country? I own a school, I own a school, I literally I own a school, I coach athletes, I'm in their system, I have a lifetime membership to your system, and I can't get a link to the call? How does one person how does Steven Lambden make that decision? How does one person already say we don't want him on the call? Because that's all it is. He controls the list, he controls the emails. How can he decide that I can't be on those calls? But I'm not in any trouble in USAT. I'm I'm I'm I coach in your organization, I'm a part of the coaching core. How can you decide what information I get in that game?

Juan 1:04:38

Do you want to? Be on this call. Would you like the invitation? I'm gonna formally ask, will you please allow my brother, my fellow coach, to participate and hear for his own ears the the beauty and the great program that is being developed by your organization so he too can absorb it and support it and move in the right direction. How was that?

SPEAKER_10 1:05:05

I don't understand it. But I've like I'm complaining to people and I'm putting it maybe, maybe. That's like you know, you know, maybe, maybe, maybe I'll get a text or something. But think about that though.

Juan 1:05:15

That's wild.

SPEAKER_10 1:05:15

I still don't believe they can have been. How can you do it? How can you legally do that? Tell me what grounds can I not be on this call for? And they and again, I they just keep going. I'm gonna I got this. I I'm gonna tell you why.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:37

What you can do with this. Who can deal with this? What you can do with that.

SPEAKER_10 1:05:44

Engine, engine, number nine. Engine number nine. No, but they're the best. You know what I mean? Like, how is that even legal? Think about that. I'm a coach and it's an open call. Doesn't say you have to be a certain level of coach, doesn't say, you know. Gotta be this or that. I'm just not allowed to be on these phone calls. I don't even get an invite after requesting to be on it. Like that's gotta be illegal, right? They never said they never told you why, they never nothing. No, man. I've never got I've I've filled out two coaching applications, one last year, one this year, and I put my name on every list for everything all the way down to bag boy water holder, you know, cheer sign holder, everything, whatever. And I don't get a call back, I don't get a response. I I can't even be on the call. I don't get no plantains, you know. It's crazy. It's it's crazy, and it's funny because I know why it's happening and I'm I'm sitting by and it it's happening. It's just gonna keep writing this stuff down because like it can't be legal. You can you can't tell me as a part of the organization I can just be shunned from a public coaching call. Right?

Juan 1:06:52

Well, hopefully, I know they listen to that podcast, so of course they have the powers to be you can timestamp it, you can act like you don't, but please help my brother out.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:06

Let him get on the call, let him listen.

SPEAKER_10 1:07:11

I have a membership to year 3000. What are we talking about? I can't get on the call. But all right, Grandmaster, send us out.

Revolution Talk And Sign-Off

herb 1:07:20

Send us out, but I got something to send us out with. Uh oh. One last thing, here it comes because this is my suggestion, even because Coach Morano said it. Here it comes. Are you ready for it? Here it comes.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:33

Revolution will not be televised. The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox and Four Fox without commercial interruptions. The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John Mitchell.

Juan 1:07:46

That's good. This revolution will not be televised.

SPEAKER_10 1:07:49

I need to I need to hear that in the will not be televised.

herb 1:07:53

Just so we're all clear. So, you know, the the question is when you get tired enough, when you've had enough. There's a story, another promotion from my book, which I don't want anybody to read. But um, this is my 11th book. So in this book, which is a memoir, tells a story about my mother, who my father was abusive to. And then one night, finally, finally, she had enough. She had the courage to run. She left, she took action, and that's what I feel like the USAT is. And I feel like all this is. It's a question of whether you are tired enough to actually take action and in her case, run, run from the abuser. So at some point, America will wake up. That revolution will not be televised, and it may be quiet, but there is a groundswell that's coming, and there's research that's being done, and there are people that are gonna have enough, been enough, done enough, and are tired enough. And when they get tired enough, trust me, the revolution will not be televised, but it will occur. So that's all I can say. With that said, it's been another amazing night with the warehouse 15. Wait till you hear and see the song and the video that's been built tonight for this beautiful day. Gentlemen, any any final words for the good of the order, as they say? The black sheep, anything to say, black sheep, who's been blacklisted, and who's the black sheep? What do you got for you?

SPEAKER_10 1:09:25

I'll see you in Brazil. You guys have a nice trip.

herb 1:09:27

And if you decide you want to go to Roma, Roma, I might come too. You buy my ticket? Dude, you offered, he said, if we buy you a ticket where you come. I'll take him my own ticket. I didn't hear nowhere in there did I hear the black sheep would get a ticket. Black sheep don't get nothing. I was waiting for you. When he asked you when you went to Brazil, what food you were hoping to get, there were two items in particular I was thinking about. I won't mention because I don't want to be I'm supposed to be coming to California in June.

SPEAKER_10 1:09:55

You gotta get it.

herb 1:09:57

We gotta talk, we gotta get that done. So when tell me that does that date work for you?

SPEAKER_10 1:10:02

Yeah, we'll actually you know what? I'll come out there Grand Prix weekend. I'll make you stay up all night and watch tech window. How about that? Well, I'll get it. What is Grand Prix weekend? The first weekend in June. We just talked about it. Instead of being in Rome, we'll be in California. We'll all right.

herb 1:10:16

I will confirm, I will confirm with you in the morning, like engine engine number nine. Coach Moreno, anything for the good of the order? Uh have a great trip. Peace. All right, the recording.