Putin stripped of martial arts honors

Russian President Vladimir Putin was stripped of his 9th dan black belt in taekwondo and status as honorary president and ambassador of the International Judo Federation over his decision to breach the Olympic Truce and initiate an invasion of Ukraine.

The International Judo Federation (IJF) was initially hesitant to remove Putin from his honorary post. IJF President Marius Vizer Jr. failed to mention Ukraine, Russia, or Putin in his first statement on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, his federation seemed to reverse course two days later when it was announced Putin would be suspended from his title.

A statement from the IJF read, “in light of the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine, the International Judo Federation announces the suspension of Mr. Vladimir Putin’s status as Honorary President and Ambassador of the International Judo Federation.”

Putin is a well known practitioner of the Japanese martial art. He has one black belt to his name, and has made multiple trips to major tournaments in the sport over the last decade.

His suspension from his honorary position in the IJF was accompanied by his suspension as honorary president of the European Judo Union (EJU), and the cancellation of the Grand Slam due to be held in Kazan, Russia as part of the IJF World Judo Tour.

It was also accompanied by the stripping of another one of Putin’s martial arts honors, his 9th dan black belt. World Taekwondo confirmed the move on Monday, stating, “World Taekwondo strongly condemns the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which go against the World Taekwondo vision of ‘Peace is More Precious than Triumph’ and the World Taekwondo values of respect and tolerance.”

The statement continued, “in this regard, World Taekwondo has decided to withdraw the honorary 9th dan black belt conferred to Mr. Vladimir Putin in November 2013.”

The tone of World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue was quite different when he awarded Putin the 9th dan black belt in 2013. At the time, Choue said, “We are so grateful to President Putin for the commitment he has shown in promoting taekwondo in Russia and we are delighted to hear he wants to continue to develop the sport in his country in the future.”

“Russia is an incredibly important country for our sport and we are sure that, with the President’s endorsement and support, it will continue to evolve rapidly over the coming years.”

True to Choue’s prediction, taekwondo continued to evolve in Russia. The country’s Olympic Committee won its first gold medals in the discipline at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.

Speaking on Vladislav Larin’s victory, Putin stated, “your success is a clear example that martial arts are on the rise in Russia, while the Russian taekwondo school trains worthy fighters who can face up to the most serious challenges.”

Martial arts may be on the rise in Russia, but Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has left the country without a chance to attend major global events. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced their recommendation on Monday that athletes and officials representing Russia and Belarus be barred from international competitions.

The full consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remain unclear. However, it’s becoming more and more clear that martial arts’ love affair with Putin may be at an end as the international sports community continues to deal with the ramifications of his decision to invade Ukraine.