The announcers voice rang across the tournament floor:
“Now, for the tournament results!!
First place in forms competition, hailing from A Pineapple, Under the Sea,
SpongeBob Squareparnts!!!! Aaaaaannndd for the sparring competition! Once
again, first place, from A Pineapple, Under the Sea, SpongeBob Squarepants!!!!”
WOW! I bet you want two gold medals hanging around your
neck, huh? Want to know how? I’ll show you! But first, let’s look at what we can
expect during the tournament.
There are two parts to TU Taekwondo
competitions: Forms and Sparring. In the Forms competition, each
competitor will be called up individually to do their form and they will be
judged on a scale of 5 – 10, with quarter increments (e.g. 6, 6.25, 6.5, 6.75).
However, to help the judges get a base line, or average, score, the first three
competitors will be called up to do their form without getting scores
immediately upon completion. Instead, once the third competitor finishes
his/her form, the original three will line up and will be scored individually
based on their individual and competitors’ performance. Every competitor
thereafter will be scored immediately upon completion of their form. The highest overall score wins. In the case of a tie, both competitors will do their form and be scored after (kinda like the first three), and will use two whole numbers (e.g. 7 and 8, 8 and 9).
The sparring competition is
completely different than the testing sparring we do in class. The round is a
minute and a half and the winner is the one with the most points. The objective
of the round is to punch your opponent in the stomach or kick them in the stomach
or head. When a point is made, one of the three judges will yell “break” and
the competitors are re-centered. The center judge (they are the head judge)
will call for points, at that time all three judges will point in the direction
of the competitor who they think gets the point. If a competitor gets two
judges pointing in their direction, that competitor is awarded the point(s).
The same rule goes for warning, two of the three judges have to had seen and
called a warning in order for a competitor to receive a warning. The point
system is as follows: 1 point – kick
or punch to the body. 2 points –
kick to the head. There is one additional point added to a kick for a spin, and
another additional point added to a kick for a jump. Three warnings are given.
The first warning given gives the opponent a point. The second warning given
gives the opponent two points. The third warning given ends with that
competitor being disqualified. In the case of a tie, a second bout is started
and the first point to be scored wins.
Now, HOW TO WIN GOLD1
First and for most, come to class! Weeks leading up
to the tournament, the mindset of all the instructors is to get the students
ready for the tournament. If you aren’t coming to class, then your chances of
doing well in the tournament are slim.
When it comes to forms, every judge
is different in how they score forms. With that said, there are a few qualities
about a form that appeal to the judge’s eye (besides doing the form correct).
One of the most important qualities is stances. This is always stressed in
class when doing forms; “make great stances!”. As a student, you should be
paying particular attention to STANCES, and not just doing the form right. If
two cometitors do the form correct, and one have phenomenal stances while the
other doesn’t, it is going to be easy to decide the winner. A few other points
to consider are power and timing. Power is simple (actually, not as simple to
execute as you may think). Punch, kick, and block strong. Imagine trying to
fling mud off of your uniform, that might help point what “power” is in
perspective. Timing is a bit harder and requires a lot more practice and deliberate
attention. Having an even cadence with each move makes the form look a whole lot
better, and that score card a whole lot more appealing.
If you do these three things, your
chances of winning the forms competition is a whole lot better! Now…..how can
you win the sparring portion? Two factors determine success: Combinations and
speed.
“WHAT? YOU SAID COMBINATIONS?” Yes...well
no, I didn’t say it, I typed it, and you read it. But nevertheless, the best
way to score a point is to do combinations, the same thing that I stress to the
students every time they spar in class. The fact is, one technique is hard to
score with, chances are it is going to get blocked. However, a barrage pf kicks
and punches are bound to score, the human reflexes are not quick enough to keep
up with someone else’s intentions.
Let’s look at speed. This is very
obvious. If you are quicker than your partner, than chances are you will win.
That does not mean you need to go do wind sprints to develop speed. You are
already quick enough, you just don’t use your abilities. Be light on your feet,
bounce around and don’t stay in one place. If your opponent throws a kick at you,
be quick to block and counter. If you throw a punch as a counter, you can
easily score.
Well, thur yee go! So, what are you
going to do? COME TO CLASS. Tournaments are fun, and they should be fun. You
should enjoy them and if you need help to do so, you might try reading the last post “An
experience that will be one for the books!” to get a perspective on why we compete.
And remember: Patrick is rooting
for ya! And SO ARE WE!
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