How do you play Tae Kwon Do game?

Answer 1

Taekwondo can be defined as a Asian Martial Art or a sport. It comes from Korea, and was developed in post WWII as a culmination of older combative skills and philosophy which have some roots extending back to the original settling of the Korean Peninsula and development of the first three kingdoms (57BC - 100AD). However, Taekwondo as it is today did not take shape until the period of "Kwan" (school) development from 1944 (the opening of the Chung Do Kwan by Grandmaster Won Kuk Lee) to 1972 (the establishment of the Kukkiwon - World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul Korea). http://www.kukkiwon.or.kr/english/introduce/introduce03.jsp?div=03 Many Korean Masters were instrumental in the development of Taekwondo as a complete Martial Art, but there was also a desire to spread Korean Taekwondo world wide. To do this, Competitions were devised using rules unique to the Korean Martial Art. While Judo and Karate had already established games with rules that promoted their systems of combat as a sport, Taekwondo needed to revise the rules to enhance the aspect of kicking as a primary weapon of self defense. In 1963 the first National Taekwondo Competition was held in Seoul, Korea, and the first foreigner to compete in that tournament was an American Serviceman and Taekwondo Black Belt by the name of Edward Sell (currently 9th Degree Black Belt - Founder of the United States Chung Do Kwan Association: USCDKA). http://www.uscdka.com/about-uscdka.html As the Martial Art of Taekwondo spread world wide, so did the interest in tournaments. Early Taekwondo competitions were run similar to former Karate tournaments in what is often called "stop point" matches. This is where the two fighters attempt to strike valid scoring areas of the opponent's body with legal techniques, and the fight is stopped temporarily to vote on, and award points or penalties. Typically, in these type of tournaments, four judges are positioned, standing one in each corner of a ring (ring size varies depending on tournament size - usually about 15' x 15' or up to the 8 meter x 8 meter of the Olympic rings). Each corner judge holds a red flag in one hand and a white (or blue) flag in the other hand (or a single wooden stick with a red flag at one end and a white flag at the other). One fighter is designated as the red fighter (usually by a small, rectangular piece of red cloth looped through their belt in the back. A center referee starts and ends each round, and helps to manage the safety and enforce the rules by moving about the ring during the match. Upon the proper execution of a legitimate technique to a valid target, any one of the corner judges may yell "point," and the Center Referee would stop the match. The Ref would then call for judges score, and each judge would raise the color of flag, or indicate "no point" by waving their arms low, or "no see" by crossing their hands in front of their eyes to indicate they were not at a vantage point to see the impact. The Center Ref also has a single vote and may suspend the fight if he/she sees a point or a violation of the rules. As Taekwondo tournaments have progressed, many have moved away from the "stop-point" method, and adopted a "continuous match" system. This is the type that is used in the Olympic Taekwondo rules. Taekwondo, as a sport, made its Olympic debut as a demonstration sport at the 1988 games in Seoul, Korea. Taekwondo was accepted as a full medal Olympic sport in the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia. The continuous matches of Olympic Competition provides for three - 3 minute rounds, with a 1 minute rest between each round. The Center Referee gives commands in the Korean Language, and the corner judges are seated with either score sheets to record points as they see them, or electronic push buttons to record points by majority consensus within a brief time span. Under these rules, the center referee does not vote on points, but can invalidate a point due to a violation, and can penalize with "kyeong-go" (warning - two warnings = 1 deduction), or "Gemjeom" (Deduction = 1 minus point). The Center Ref also suspends the match for safety reasons, injuries, or to perform an "8 count" (in Korean language) after an extreme hit, to give the fighter a chance to recover. If not recovered by "Yeodeol" (eight), the ref will automatically count to 10, and the fighter looses by K.O. Some local tournaments, especially those run for fun and family participation, require no contact among lower ranks and children, and only light impact for high rank and Black Belt adults. "Light contact" or "no contact" does not mean that the techniques lack power, it just means that the full power is stopped at a point prior to impact. Olympic rules for children allow medium contact to the body when a chest protector is worn, but no contact to the head. Adult Olympic rules allow "full contact" to body and head which is typically self-monitored to mean a knock-out is possible, but not attempting to kill an opponent - - which full contact Taekwondo can do, even when padding is worn. Olympic rules require the use of some safety equipment (chest protector, headgear, shin pads, forearm guards, mouthguard, and groin protector), but rules change from time to time. Foot and fist pads might be required, especially as the punching to the face in Olympic rules is being considered. Some Taekwondo tournaments allow punching to the face, while others only allow kicks to the face, with punching and kicking to the body. Oddly enough, more injuries occur from a wild punch to the face, then a controlled kick. Also, Taekwondo rules are designed to promote the kicking skills, and not allow the matches to convert into a boxing bout, or Karate type of fight. Usually, fighters are not allowed to strike below the waist (top of the hip bones), or to the spine in the center of the back. The back of the head is NOT a legal target, thus kicks there should not be scored. A punch or kick to the body must cause a "trembling shock" to displace the person in order to show sufficient power. "No contact" tournaments will score when the technique comes within a 3 - 6 inch proximity of the target if it is well executed and controlled. In Taekwondo matches, there are typically no foot sweeps, flips, throws, grabbing, holding, or pushing allowed. For Olympic competition rules (forms or sparring), the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) was created in 1973, and currently serves as a sport governing body with member nations around the world. http://www.wtf.org/wtf_eng/site/about_wtf/history.html You can not become a Member of the WTF as it is only open to National Governing Bodies (NGB) for sports. You can join the NGB in your native country to be eligible for Olympic and Jr. Olympic competition. You can also join independently run organizations (some authorized with proper credentials and some are not). The US Chung Do Kwan descended from the first Taekwondo Kwan in Korea; the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) descended from General Choi Hong Hi's Oh Do Kwan, The American Taekwondo Association (ATA), or a large list of other organizations who often hold their own tournaments with rule variations. One should note that the "sport" of Taekwondo is played by rules which involves a portion of the Taekwondo curriculum. Sport Taekwondo is not the same thing as the complete Martial Art of Taekwondo which is for self defense, fitness, character development, and a philosophical way of life to enhance the body, mind, and spirit of the student.