College football teams around the country are firming up their coaching staff as they prepare for the upcoming campaign. That includes Illinois, which has added a notable name after hiring a taekwondo grandmaster who pivoted to football with some help from Bill Belichick and has spent decades working with various NFL teams.
Martial arts and football might seem like fairly different disciplines at first glance, but it’s hard to ignore the many similarities they share when you take a closer look.
Linemen are essentially engaging in a form of hand-to-hand combat whenever the ball is snapped, and receivers and the guys tasked with covering them are also involved in a physical chess match that requires them to keep track of every move their opponent makes in the hopes of gaining an edge.
Bill Belichick was pretty ahead of the curve when it came to understanding that reality, as the legendary head coach made a shrewd move when he was working as an assistant for the Browns in the early 1990s by recruiting the services of Joe Kim, a taekwondo expert who was training Americans who competed at the Olympics and other international competitions at the time.
Taekwondo primarily revolves around the kicking and punching that will draw a flag if they’re deployed during a football game, but there’s also plenty of emphasis on the speed, momentum, and kinetic energy that all come into play on the gridiron.
Kim—who has trained over 250 people who’ve obtained a black belt in taekwondo—was able to translate those principles to create the pass-rush philosophy he’s attempted to instill while working with close to a dozen NFL teams over the past 30 years.
He recently wrapped up a five-year stint with the Patriots that began in 2019, and on Monday, Illinois announced it had retained his services by bringing him on as their newest skill development coordinator under head coach Bret Bielema.
The Fighting Illini took a big step in the right direction last year during Bielema’s fourth year by posting a 10-3 record, earning a win in the Citrus Bowl, and finishing at #16 in the country. However, their defense was in the middle of the pack when it came to yards allowed per game, so it’ll be interesting to see if Kim can give them a spark.
The post Illinois Football Adds Taekwondo Grandmaster With Fascinating Background To Coaching Staff appeared first on BroBible.
Illinois Football Adds Taekwondo Grandmaster With Fascinating Background To Coaching Staff
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