Introduction
Taekwondo literally means the way of hand and foot or, more specifically, the way of kicking and punching. Taekwondo is a combat sport originating from Korea and is now one of the most widely practiced martial arts in the world. It is the national sport of Korea and is also an Olympic sporting event.Formally, there are two main styles of taekwondo. One comes from the Kukkiwon, the source of the sparring system sihap kyorugi which is now an event at the summer Olympic Games governed by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The other comes from the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF).
Kyorugi(sparring sport category)
There are two players in a bout which is controlled by a referee. The players have a match according to age group, belt ranking, gender and weight. Contestants wear different coloured "tobok" or uniforms. Points are scored when a player delivers a successful punch or a kick to designated target areas on the trunks and kicks to the head. There are four judges positioned in each corner of the contest area with a 1m safety zone surrounding. Compulsory protective guards are employed on the head, body, arms, hands, groin, legs, feet and mouth.The duration of the contest is two rounds of two minutes each for lower rank belt divisions and three rounds of two minutes each for higher ranked black belt players. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds.
The competition area measures 10m x 10m and is covered with an EVA mat 20mm thick. The marginal line of the competition area is called the boundary line. The competition area may be installed on a platform 50cm?60cm high from the base and the outer part of the boundary line is inclined with a gradient of less than 30 degrees for the safety of the contestants. The safety zone area is 2m outside the boundary line.
Poomsaie (technical sport category)
In this technical competition, each player individually performs a pre-determined taekwondo form that comprises taekwondo tehcniques using hand and feet techniques such as punching, blocking and kicking. Each form ranges from 40?60 moves.The players have the match according to age group, belt ranking and gender. Other categories include individual, pairs, teams and creative poomsaie (with music and without music).
The competition floor area is a 12m x 12m EVA mat 20mm thick. There are seven judges, four on one side of the competition area and three on the other.
Features
Taekwondo is known for its emphasis on kicking techniques which distinguishes from martial arts such as karate or southern styles of kung fu. The rationale is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon that a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to execute powerful strikes without successful retaliation. Historically, the Koreans thought that the hands were too valuable to be used in combat.Taekwondo which is a martial art is popular among people of both genders and of many ages. Physically, taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of wooden boards, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration on fousing one's power.
Rules
Download: WTF_Rules.pdfDownload: ITF_Rules.pdf
Reference
World Taekwondo Federation(WTF) http://www.wtf.org.comInternational Taekwondo Federation(ITF) http://www.tkd-itf.org