Tips for TKD sparring

[sconner]

I have recently started taking TKD and I will be participating in a sparring tourny towards the end of the year.

I first want to emphasize that I dont have any dreams of becoming a mma fighter and I have always wanted to study a martial art. It just happened that a coworker of mine is a 3rd degree blackbelt in Chung do Kwon TKD. He was looking at starting a school in Tucson next year or so and I pressed him to start a little early. I am mainly taking TKD for exercise and as a personal goal of mine to study a martial art. Im not looking to be a bad ass, just participating in a fun activity.

My instructor mentioned that it would be a great experience for us to travel to the tourney that is held between the schools in KC and St. Louis as well as it would be an opportunity to meet his Instructor.

Im just curious as to how a typical sparring match is scored, time frame and any tips anyone may have.

 

[FlyingKnee101]

do not block a high kick with youre hand just dodge them all. i blocked one when was about 14 with my left wrist and fucked it up, i have some scafoild(spel) fracture. its a small bone in the wrist that has moved slightly it fucking hurts when i bend my wrist back and clicks all the time. surgery is not rely worth. i asked a friend who was a doctor in the field and told me not to do the surgery because they will put a screw inside which could restrict the motion in my wrist a bit and risk out weigh the advantage.

just dodge all the kicks dont block them. but i did brake the same wrist a year which is why its so bad now.

 

[juji gatame**]

do not block a high kick with youre hand just dodge them all. i blocked one when was about 14 with my left wrist and fucked it up, i have some scafoild(spel) fracture. its a small bone in the wrist that has moved slightly it fucking hurts when i bend my wrist back and clicks all the time. surgery is not rely worth. i asked a friend who was a doctor in the field and told me not to do the surgery because they will put a screw inside which could restrict the motion in my wrist a bit and risk out weigh the advantage.

just dodge all the kicks dont block them. but i did brake the same wrist a year which is why its so bad now.

Dodge kicks? Who do you think he is Anderson Silva?

TS I'm sure your Sensei has taught you proper blocking technique (block with the hard part of your forearm facing the strike) and most likely this won't happen to you.

 

[chaospfa]

I have recently started taking TKD and I will be participating in a sparring tourny towards the end of the year.

I first want to emphasize that I dont have any dreams of becoming a mma fighter and I have always wanted to study a martial art. It just happened that a coworker of mine is a 3rd degree blackbelt in Chung do Kwon TKD. He was looking at starting a school in Tucson next year or so and I pressed him to start a little early. I am mainly taking TKD for exercise and as a personal goal of mine to study a martial art. Im not looking to be a bad ass, just participating in a fun activity.

My instructor mentioned that it would be a great experience for us to travel to the tourney that is held between the schools in KC and St. Louis as well as it would be an opportunity to meet his Instructor.

Im just curious as to how a typical sparring match is scored, time frame and any tips anyone may have.

Under which rulesets will you be competing?

 

[sconner]

As far as the rules I am not really sure. I have just started and will be testing for my yellow belt in a couple of weeks. We have not done any type of free sparring but will start once I obtain yellow. I wasn't aware that there were different rules, but it does make sense.

Obviously due to my current level we are really only learning the "basics" and the early forms. I have started to practice outside of class and have set a goal to reach green by Nov. Ive never competed in a contact sport before and the prospect is kinda exciting and makes me nervous at the same time. I really want to do well and looking for any tips from "vets"

 

[sconner]

Dodge kicks? Who do you think he is Anderson Silva?

TS I'm sure your Sensei has taught you proper blocking technique (block with the hard part of your forearm facing the strike) and most likely this won't happen to you.

Yes he has, as a matter of fact he was really stressing that to me in yesterday's class while practicing my outside blocks. Now its a matter of me applying that to technique

 

[quatin]

In tournaments, some dillweeds like to throw a kick, watch you completely block it, but then go on a celebration campaign like he just won the French Open. Sometimes the referee gets fooled and gives him the 2 points.

 

[barnowl]

Done my share of point tourneys. First don't let the name fool you, you can still get K.O.'d or bust ribs depending on exactly how the judges are scoring hits. Last time I fought in one, at black belt level, my opponent happened to also be an ammie kickboxer. Would not have been a big deal other than the fact the judges were not really calling excessive contact, so it end up being a full contact point match. Oh and don't expect to be using those body protectors, I have never been in a tourney they were used in, unless your instructor has already said you will be using them.

Most events will go over the rules before the matches begin because there are so many variants on the same rules. Some venues will not score lead hand strikes because "they are to weak to actually do damage", others score standing and jumping kicks differently and even differently based on target.

Lead leg snap kick, lead side kick, lead round and straight reverse punch are your friends. they are fast and easy for the judge to see and harder for the opponent to see.

On the blocking point try to block at the ankle, lots of small bones or in above the knee where there is muscle. Blocking on the shin just sucks, period.

 

[chaospfa]

As far as the rules I am not really sure... I wasn't aware that there were different rules, but it does make sense.

You have 3 main rule sets in tkd: ITF: semi/light contact point sparring, punches to the head allowed.
WTF: full contact point sparring, no punches to the head, can be identified by the armour/vests they wear during sparring.
Pro TKD: Full Contact ITF rules, looks a hell of a lot like US kickboxing.

 

[lord_kader]

Quote:
Originally Posted by juji gatame View Post
Dodge kicks? Who do you think he is Anderson Silva?

TS I'm sure your Sensei has taught you proper blocking technique (block with the hard part of your forearm facing the strike) and most likely this won't happen to you.

TS, dont listen to this guy... TKD 101 (and really any martial art) is your first line of defense is footwork. by using footwork you take 0 damage, throw him off balance, and create a counter opportunity for yourself.

bone conditioning or not, you take a full force round house kick while using an outside block and your arm is going to break. in TKD tournaments you have to wear arm pads and shin guards so you can get away with blocking there but when you take those off you will be so used to blocking it will happen without thinking

 

[Mr Fingers]

In tournaments, some dillweeds like to throw a kick, watch you completely block it, but then go on a celebration campaign like he just won the French Open. Sometimes the referee gets fooled and gives him the 2 points.

The scoring at local tournaments is at best a joke. As silly as it sounds, make sure to ki-hop when kicking because it usually gets the referees attention. After the first few hours of a tournament the judges seem to get tired and less attentive. From my experience the louder and more aggressive you are the more the judges will favor you.

 

[Alaskantkdkid]

The scoring at local tournaments is at best a joke. As silly as it sounds, make sure to ki-hop when kicking because it usually gets the referees attention. After the first few hours of a tournament the judges seem to get tired and less attentive. From my experience the louder and more aggressive you are the more the judges will favor you.

Sometimes our local tournaments are this way, but at bigger events or USA Taekwondo events, the judges are very experienced and know what they are doing. True that at the end of the day you are more likely to score then at the begging, local tournament refereeing isn't a "joke". I might just be getting defensive because I personally referee, but I know the other referees know their stuff.

 

[KoSubDntMttr]

...

 

[wisemanrax]

If you see your opponent keeping the rear foot back a bit behind the front, then the guy is getting ready for a back kick. In order to discourage him from doing it again, land a fronk kick on his buttocks as he is jumping in the air. It will force him to fly away and will make him pissed off, which is great thing since your opponent will make mistakes.

 

[Mr Fingers]

Sometimes our local tournaments are this way, but at bigger events or USA Taekwondo events, the judges are very experienced and know what they are doing. True that at the end of the day you are more likely to score then at the begging, local tournament refereeing isn't a "joke". I might just be getting defensive because I personally referee, but I know the other referees know their stuff.

Don

 

[SteelHammer]

do not block a high kick with youre hand just dodge them all. i blocked one when was about 14 with my left wrist and fucked it up, i have some scafoild(spel) fracture. its a small bone in the wrist that has moved slightly it fucking hurts when i bend my wrist back and clicks all the time. surgery is not rely worth. i asked a friend who was a doctor in the field and told me not to do the surgery because they will put a screw inside which could restrict the motion in my wrist a bit and risk out weigh the advantage.

just dodge all the kicks dont block them. but i did brake the same wrist a year which is why its so bad now.

Well you're not supposed to use the sides of the actual wrist to block. The forearm is alot stronger than the wrist.

 

[Alaskantkdkid]

From my personal experience. I wouldn't even block with your forearms too much; my arm broke that way.