just a question about TKD

[Bushido58266]

Yeh, I did a semester of Olympic Style TKD and all those people dropped their hands. They said that the idea is that they will kick me before I reach there head with my hands. Then I blocked a kick and they got hit.

what the TKD people said is kinda true, every time i went to punch them they would kick me in the head but in continous fighting like i do that one kick aint gonna do nothing to me, i just kept rushing them and stayed close and boxed them to death. but u shouldnt do open style tournaments if u dont know how to fight other styles

[Aodhan]

Yes, Olympic style TKD does this and in their tournaments like someone pointed out realistically you don't get points for punching.

I found this out the hard way in '96 when I entered a WTF TKD tourny...I literally reversed punched the individual at least 40 times with getting no points in the chest. Why my sensei had me, solely a karateka at the time enter a tkd tourny beats me...however, I did win first place in the forms division doing Chinto and I tied, so I did Bassai Dai and won first place. Which still surprises me considering I did an okinawan/japanese form.

I've never tied in kata competition in a karate tournament though, I don't know how often this happens in TKD tournaments.

This is because of the rules regarding what is a point. In Olympic style TKD, you need to cause what they term "trembling shock". With pads over the knuckles and the padded hogu's that they have, it is REALLY hard to do with a punch. It's very rare (Although it does happen) to score full points with hands in a WTF/Oly style match.

Aodhan

[HAPKIDO-KID]

TKD is famous for being a flashy kicking style- the most common format for a TKD tournament does not allow punches to the head, hence making it unnecessary to protect against punches there.

that doesnt make sense,they can get kicked in the head so that cant be the reason they dont have there guard up!

[SubGrappler]

TKD is famous for being a flashy kicking style- the most common format for a TKD tournament does not allow punches to the head, hence making it unnecessary to protect against punches there.

that doesnt make sense,they can get kicked in the head so that cant be the reason they dont have there guard up!

Sure it does- its much more difficult to land a kick to the head than it is to land a punch to the head.

Kicks are coming from a downward angle, which makes them a little easier to check even if your hands are down at your waist.

Simply put, fighting with your hands at your waist is a bad habit of TKD.

[MartialArthur]

Simply put, fighting with your hands at your waist is a bad habit of TKD.

It's a bad habit of SOME taekwondo, particularly WTF/Olympic taekwondo. Please don't give my taekwondo that rap. I have trained at several taekwondo schools in several states and have NEVER been trained that way. In fact, the only place I've seen this type of sparring is on TV.

It's sad that because WTF style sparring is in the Olympics people think it represents all taekwondo. I believe that most TKD practitioners do not spar that way.

..

[de_medici99]

Im fairly new to the world of martial arts, but as reading your posts, it makes me not want to enter a competition to show and test my skills. If formal competitions dont allow shots to the head, what does that leave as a target? Im sure most people attend these competitions to test the skills they have aquired, but limiting the ability to hit at the head kind of defeats the purpose to me. I think that competitions should allow contact to the head, but require full head gear to take the hit. It just doesnt make any sense to me to limit a skill or competition when you are there to "compete" with what skills you know.

[tufrthanu]

well thats a failing of generally every tournament in the world. From UFC to stop-point. The rules of safety, fair play, and showmanship will always limit what is allowed...and by association who is allowed. Many people have trouble kicking over their waists for instance. This is a HUGE detriment in most types of sport fighting.

[ninjanurse]

TKD tournaments do allow kicks to the head and....its my favorite target when people fight with their hands down!!!!

[de_medici99]

i would think that kicking is more dangerous than punching (to the head). the only defense i can think of is that with a punch, you are probably a little more accurate than with a kick, but you legs can generate a heck of a lot more power than your arms ever will.

[Ottman]

This topic has come up before, and I always feel the need to clarify the rules of different types of TKD sparring so non TKD guys can understand what goes through the mind of a TKD Sport competitor.

Point Sparring:

Only light contact is allowed (no shocking force)

Punches, backfist, ridghand are all legal hand techniques and are allowed to strike to the head only on the head gear area (no face contact) or the chest protector target and they score 1 point.

Kicks are allowed to the same targets as hand techniques, but still must be light contact. 2 points for a kick to the body, 3 points for a kick to the head.

You can see how even point style TKD sparring favors kicking, making competitors more wary of what their opponents feet are doing, and bringing the focus to a lower location on the body.

Olympic sparring:

Full contact is allowed and knockouts are allowed in adult black belt sparring.

Kicks can land to the chest protector target area or to the head from the ears forward including the face.

Punches are only allowed to the chest protector target and no other hand techniques are allowed.

Strikes to the chest protector score 1 point, while kicks to the head score 2 points (again, no hand techniques to the head are allowed) and as someone mentioned, you need to strike with 'trembling force' for it to be considered a point.

So TKD sport competitors are used to not having to worry about a knockout punch. Kicks are more easily blocked by stopping them low before they reach your head, so keeping the guard low is not necessarily detrimental while competing in TKD. Also a lot of TKD schools practice moving back out of range of an opponents kicks. The emphasis is on staying away, rather than moving in close.

All this being said, I still can't stand that TKD sport guys don't keep their guard up, and I insist on my students keeping their hands up during class, even if we're just running or practicing foot work, but especially while sparring. I think it's rather lazy and even a little arrogant of TKD guys who think that the range and power of their kicks are magically going to save them from being punched in the head. In my experience, it rarely stops a determined opponent, and counterattacks, and traps are much more useful than trying to time every kick perfectly and then stay out of range. I'd rather draw someone in close for a sharp strike to the body, than go for the flashy, high, head kicks. This works much better in TKD competition (for me anyway) and I'd have been knocked out a number of times, if I didn't keep my hands up and guarding my head.