SPORT TAEKWONDO
There are two styles of sport fighting in Taekwondo. One is the full contact World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) style where you win by knocking the person out or by scoring enough points that have hit the person hard, as in boxing. This is the style that is an Olympic sport and is the one mainly trained for within this club by learning to hit targets hard. We do not try and knock each other out in the class! There is a Northern Ireland Taekwondo Squad that is always keen to have new people who want to compete. The second is semi-contact where punches and kicks are ‘pulled’ so as not to hit the person hard. This is also practiced as a means to get better at the Olympic sport style. The sport mats is an important arena to test a player’s skill under an accepted set of rules. Within the training class sparring is an important part of training and presents one of the most challenging aspects of Taekwondo practice for the beginner. There are some simple principles that you can apply to be a little smarter in sparring. Movement Quick movement is vital to avoid getting hit. If you stand still you risk getting hit. So keep moving lightly on your feet and be ready to dodge an attack. Keep It Simple It is of little use to have a wide range of fancy kicks that never seem to work. Most good players have one or two simple techniques that are unbeatable. These are not fancy or complicated and indeed may be white belt techniques but have been perfected to black belt level. Such kicks that have been shown to work are: .bit chagi .front leg raising kick .back kick .reverse turning kick |
WTF Olympic and Commonwealth sparring rules Free sparring is unprogrammed fighting between two partners. In ancient times it was intended to simulate a real combat situation. In modern times it has developed to be the sporting side of Taekwondo and has become so popular across the world that it is now an Olympic and Commonwealth sport.
The match for children is organised round 3 x 1 ½ minute rounds with 60 seconds break between each round. The match is played on a 8m x 8m competition area line. Boys only compete with boys in their identified age and weight category, similarly for girls. There are as many girls who compete as boys. A winner is determined by the total points from successful hits, which have made solid contact using a kick with the foot or punch with the first two knuckles of the fist, or a knock-out. Therefore battlefield techniques such as kicks to legs are outlawed as is bare knuckle punching to the face. This is done for the safety of the players and also to encourage the use of kicking techniques, which is known by all to be the specialisation of Taekwondo players. A kick to the head is awarded 3 points, with 2 points for a spinning kick and 1 for a straight kick to the body. No kicks to the head are allowed in novice children’s competitions. Body protection is worn on the head, body, groin, teeth, hands, arms, hands and legs. The idea is to score as many points as possible with kicks by striking to the front, sides and back of the trunk and to the head. Points scored by punching are to the person’s trunk only. |