Have access a wide variety of either club, national and even international tournaments. We are able to provide a wide range of tournament opportunities for all students interested in either non-contact or semi contact competitions.

Tournaments are more than just sparring bouts! 

• Power breaking competition involves hand stikes and kicks against numerous stacks of wooden boards. Competitors are awarded points for each board broken and partial points for each board cracked. A single board's strength is often compared to a male adult rib. It is not unusual to see 8,9 or occasionally even 10 individual boards broken with one single technique .. a true testament to the power of Taekwon-Do technique.
  
• Patterns competitions place competitors side by side in a match which showcases the skill and beauty of Taekwon-Do technique. Students are asked to perform patterns (also knows as Tul's or Forms) and are judged on a wide variety of aspects such as technical Accuracy, balance, characteristic beauty, fluency etc.
  
• Special Techniques competition involves the application of difficult jumping and flying techniques against a small target. Such techniques often involve jumping and spinning at heights well above 2 metres.

Students who participate in tournament competition wear hand and foot protectors to minimise the risk of injury. Tournament participation is for everyone, and it is common to have many children's, women's and mature divisions in even the smallest of competitions.

A Taekwon-Do match is more than merely a contest of skill and power. It is also an aesthetic display of a martial art, not unlike fencing, with an honorable tradition. There is certainly beauty in aggressive yet controlled sparring, in well-executed patterns, or in the awesome spectacle of flying kicks and breaking techniques. Though the contest itself and the competitive spirit of all participants is important, students should also enjoy the match and take advantage of it for making new acquaintances within the fellowship of Taekwon-Do, exchanging training techniques, and spreading the physical and mental attributes of the art to the spectators.

A great deal of emphasis has been placed on the sparring aspect of matches. Though sparring is certainly an indicator of a student's training, it cannot be the sole criteria for judging any particular student's techniques. There are a lot of variables that must be taken into consideration. In the case of match sparring, there are some instructors and students who feel that victory can only be decided through actual contact matches with or without protective equipment. Certainly, as in the case of some of the soft styles of open hand fighting, contact can be made without serious injury. Using proper technique, however, a Taekwon-Do student could easily shatter an opponent's jaw or cause instant death with one single blow. Hence the compulsory wearing of protective equipment, and the policy of strict control of contact.

Related Material:

Take a look at the world championships video clips in the Media Section

Return to Main page