How were the Tae Kwon Do competition rules changed?

Answer 1

Since this is a rather vague, and general question, the answer will vary depending on the specific rules, organization, and time period in question. Also, the subject of "competition rules" covers a wide range of categories, including forms (tul, hyeong, or poomsae), weapons, board breaking, and free-sparring (gyorugi), as well as weight classes, divisions, ring dimensions, floor surfaces, safety gear, scoring equipment, and the training and rules regarding coaches and tournament officials.

Many early Taekwondo tournaments used "stop point" sparring similar to Karate matches where the corner judges called for "Point!" The center referee would stop the match and judges would vote to validate and award a point, or not. As the sport aspect of Taekwondo developed, tournaments began to used continuous matches where the corner judges would sit in chairs and score with pencil and score sheets that were collected at the end of each round and submitted to the "Head of Court" or scorekeeper for tally.

In more recent times, electronic scoring has allowed for judges to push buttons attached to wires connect to a computer with a large display screen of the current match score visible to spectators, athletes, coaches and officials (the method currently used in Olympic Taekwondo). Some chest protectors have been wired with sensors to help determine valid points through the vibration of the impact, but still require judges to validate proper execution without obstruction or violations.

Competition rules for most major Taekwondo associations and the World Taekwondo Federation rules for Olympic competitions are constantly being revised to promote the preference of kicking by raising the point value for a kick over a punch, a head kick over a body kick, and advanced or jumping kicks over basic kicks.

In early tournaments, there was little to no safety equipment required. If any, the groin cup for males, and mouth guards were used. Throughout the 80's and 90's, more equipment was designed and required including cloth or dipped foam forearm and shin & instep guards, foot boots, and foam gloves. Reversible (red & blue) chest guards, and foam headgear also became standard equipment.

Various penalties have been added, deleted, or modified over the years. Early competitions may have permitted foot sweeps, knee checks (tapping the knee with the foot), and punches to the face (some tournaments still permit this). Typically, holding, pushing, grabbing, throwing, and ground grappling are not permitted in the sport of Taekwondo (conversely, the Martial Art aspect of Taekwondo contains all of that and more). For a detailed comparison of rule changes, consult the competition rules for each individual association.

For changes in World Taekwondo Federation and Olympic rules, visit their website (related link below).