Jordan Thomas to transfer from karate to taekwondo in Olympic chase
The chase of Olympic glory is a profound calling. Such call is beckoned to Jordan Thomas of the UK. He is a World Champion Karateka who narrowly missed out on an Olympic berth in the 2020 Tokyo Games. With karate being pulled from the Olympic programme, Thomas has found the calling insatiable with karate and is finding a new way around: taekwondo. The former champion is making a switch in hopes of getting that chance to compete in The Games.
Jordan Thomas: From Karate to Taekwondo
At 29 years old, Jordan Thomas knows he’s on borrowed time for his athletic career. Some might question the decision to switch sports this late in life, but being a karate practitioner since before he was 8, Thomas has a leg up (pun intended) on the average Joe wanting to change sports. He’s top level in karate and a lot of his skills from there cross over to taekwondo.
Thomas remains optimistic and is enjoying the challenge. “Life is about facing new challenges,” said Thomas. “And this is definitely going to be a challenge starting in a new sport.” He believes he needs to start as soon as possible to receive the most benefits from time put in. “But what we do today affects tomorrow.” Continuing he says, “We do things with purpose and that’s how I plan to go on.”
Jordan Thomas comes from a lineage of accomplished karateka. His father, William Thomas, was the 1992 World Karate Champion in the kumite at 70 kilograms. Jordan has achieved much himself, winning the 2016 World Karate Championship at 67 kilos. He’s also a World Games silver medalist (2017), and won gold at the European Championships in 2014 and an additional bronze in 2016, both 67 kilos as well.
The road will not be easy, but Thomas has the skillset required to move over from karate to taekwondo. Stay posted to My MMA News for all the latest news surrounding Jordan Thomas, Olympic Taekwondo and more. Thanks for reading!
