Cuban Kicks Referee in the Face After Being Disqualified

I was a student of karate for a number of years in my younger days, and even competed in both point karate competitions and full-contact kickboxing matches. I have been disappointed with mistakes made by referees on a number of occasions. For the Cuban Taekwondo competitor Angel Matos to attack a referee as he did after being disqualified from his Olympic bronze medal match, is unheard of in all the competitions I have ever attended.

Cuban Kicks Referee

The Cuban Taekwondo competitor attacked the referee with what looked like a front hook kick, which certainly can inflict some damage, but is not known as a power kick. The front hook kick is a speed attack, it's quick and it's sneaky. It seems to me as though Angel Matos wanted to make a point and thought about the attack before he let the kick go. Kicking someone in the head is more suited to making an impressive show, than to actual fighting. Although in a situation where the victim is not expecting to be attacked it can be a successful move. However, most martial artists are taught that in a real fight, high kicks are dangerous and risky moves. A trained fighter would never throw this kick out of a reflexive loss of temper. It was designed to humiliate as well as injure the referee, and I say again, he must have considered his action before launching the kick. I have seen many instances of bad sportsmanship in martial arts competitions and the Cuban Taekwondo competitor Angel Matos kicking the referee is probably the worst.

Cuban Angel Matos Kicking the Referee is Worst Example of Sportsmanship

The closest example to Angel Matos kicking the referee that I have personally witnessed was when I was first starting out in martial arts competition. I was a blue belt in Tang Soo Do at the time. That is one step above beginner. At that level, competitors are not allowed to strike the head at all. It is a target area, but all kicks and punches must be pulled back before making contact. This is to prevent injury among novice competitors. In my first tournament, I was watching the match before mine and saw one competitor throw an overhead ridge-hand and strike his opponent on the bridge of the nose. It was thrown with full force and with no attempt to avoid contact. The opponent's nose was severely broken and bled profusely. The offender was immediately disqualified, but it didn't end there. In my second tournament, the same competitor was again in my division. He threw the same technique and again badly broke another competitor's nose. He was again disqualified. Once, could have been an accident. Twice was convincing evidence of some real anger issues, anger issues on par with those of Cuban Olympian Angel Matos kicking the referee.