Martial Arts In The Olympics

With the Olympics going on presently, there is a lot of discussion about the martial arts that are included. All of the combat sports in Olympics have gone through changes since their inclusion. Modifications to wrestling were made to stay in the games. Boxing now takes away the headgear (which they didn't start wearing until the 80s). Changes in the sports of Judo and Taekwondo have been made over the years to make them more appealing to spectators. Some question the effectiveness of the combat sports and criticize them. First of all, one should not be negative about something they've never tried. Next they must remember that these sports are huge in popularity around the world. Then you have to consider that these competitors are world class athletes. Those criticizing them would probably get the bottoms kicked if they went up against a lot of these guys (for sure if they tried to do their sport and probably outside of the sport).