Stupid Rule?

[DWx]

Was sparring in a tournament at the weekend and the ref kept giving me warnings eventually resulting in a deducted point. Only about halfway through the 1st 1 minute round did he tell me that punching more than twice in a combo was forbidden. What kind of stupid rule is that!?! As soon as the fight closes in you can only do 2 punches, then have to pull back to do a leg before going in for a punch again. I wouldn't go so far as to call it my signature move but in my club I'm known for taking a fight in and then boxing my opponents until they escape. I'd done something to my right leg earlier sometime during/after forms (we think it was a pulled hamstring) so I was counting on minimal use of my legs and this rule really limited me on what I could do. I checked the rules before hand and nowhere does it say that punching is limited to 2 techniques only. My coach didn't know about it either until I walked off the mat in a foul mood.

Anyone agree with me that only allowing 2 punches is totally stupid?

How is that ever going to resemble a real fight at all? IMO it also disrupts the flow of the fight. Once you're in, you want to stay in, not pull back to flick your leg about before being allowed another punch! Referees make me so mad sometimes...

[bushido_man96]

Yeah, it is a stupid rule.

I had heard that the WTF was working on some rule changes to make TKD more "exciting" with less stalling and clinching in the matches. I don't know if this rule is a result of that collaboration or not; I truly hope not. I would begin to do some checking if I were you, though. It could have been a special rule for that tournament, though.

[DWx]

Yeah, it is a stupid rule.

I had heard that the WTF was working on some rule changes to make TKD more "exciting" with less stalling and clinching in the matches. I don't know if this rule is a result of that collaboration or not; I truly hope not. I would begin to do some checking if I were you, though. It could have been a special rule for that tournament, though.

It was an ITF style tournament and apparently it was supposed to stop brawling... I like brawling...

[Clash]

Wow that is a very stupid rule IMO, kind takes away the realism of the the whole thing or I think it would.

[bushido_man96]

Yeah, it is a stupid rule.

I had heard that the WTF was working on some rule changes to make TKD more "exciting" with less stalling and clinching in the matches. I don't know if this rule is a result of that collaboration or not; I truly hope not. I would begin to do some checking if I were you, though. It could have been a special rule for that tournament, though.

It was an ITF style tournament and apparently it was supposed to stop brawling... I like brawling...

That kind of surprises me. I think ITF tourneys even allow head strikes, don't they?

I think they should let them brawl. If they don't like it, then only score a good, clean shot. If they are just trading, though, just let them go until they make some space and then get a good shot in. But I would hate to see the body punches taken away.

[DWx]

Yeah, it is a stupid rule.

I had heard that the WTF was working on some rule changes to make TKD more "exciting" with less stalling and clinching in the matches. I don't know if this rule is a result of that collaboration or not; I truly hope not. I would begin to do some checking if I were you, though. It could have been a special rule for that tournament, though.

It was an ITF style tournament and apparently it was supposed to stop brawling... I like brawling...

That kind of surprises me. I think ITF tourneys even allow head strikes, don't they?

I think they should let them brawl. If they don't like it, then only score a good, clean shot. If they are just trading, though, just let them go until they make some space and then get a good shot in. But I would hate to see the body punches taken away.

They were still allowing full face shots, just not more than 2 at a time.

This was only one of the many ITF groups in the UK though and the first time I've competed with them. In my experience with other groups affiliated to the ITF, they allow you to punch as much as you want. What gets me though, is at the World Championships they don't have this rule!

[bushido_man96]

It could just be something that tourney wanted to do to be a bit different. That happens from time to time. It could be an experimentation as well, and they could be reporting the results of the test to the ITF as well.

[Existence_is _suffering]

Wow... That is prety ridiculous! So, let me get this straight, the ref gave you a warning but didn't specify what it was for?

[DWx]

Wow... That is prety ridiculous! So, let me get this straight, the ref gave you a warning but didn't specify what it was for?

When giving warning all he said was "Red (or Blue), 1 warning!" to the judges and made the hand gestures to go with it. I didn't recognise what the gesture was as I'd never seen it before! I guess the ref must've noticed I was getting very confused because around the 3rd time it happened he said that only 2 hand techniques in a row were allowed.

My instructor has had to alter our competition training and is trying to drill us all to do 2 techniques only but its hard as you naturally want to go for the third and fourth and fifth. I guess it shows how much I rely on my hands to win a fight.

[NightOwl]

So is this a universal rule? I have never been good with kicks, so even when I did TKD I wanted to use my hands a lot but...I don't think that it really helped much in my case