Silva ‘willing to get embarrassed’ for Olympic goal
Anderson Silva: “I never stopped training and watching the sport. I always used taekwondo kicks in my MMA fights, but now I have to train taekwondo only and adapt myself.”
Last week Anderson Silva revealed that he would like to represent Brazil in the Olympics competing in Tae Kwon Do. Today at a joint press conference with the president of the Brazilian Tae Kwon Do Federation, Silva formally announced his goals and they two went into detail on the process for Silva to compete:
“I stopped training taekwondo when I was 17 so it’s going to be tough, because taekwondo is very different today,” Silva said. “I’m not worried about being embarrassed by the other athletes. For everything sport gave to me, I will try to give it back. I don’t have anything to prove. I’m here to help the sport and make it stronger.
“I never stopped training and watching the sport. I always used taekwondo kicks in my MMA fights, but now I have to train taekwondo only and adapt myself. It’s another challenge I have to face, and I’m willing to get embarrassed for it.”
The official tryouts start in January, and Silva will have only a few months to score points and earn a spot in the Olympics in the heavyweight division. According to Fernandes, that’s the only way “The Spider” will quality for the Olympics.
“The rules will be respected,” Fernandes said. “The Brazilian Federation would never do that, and Anderson Silva would never accept that. He’s a champion, and he proved it inside the ring.”