ITF competition rules, is it going in the right direction?

 

ITF Taekwon-Do has created a competitive standard for itself that out shines many if not all of the other Chang h’on Taekwon-Do groups in the world today. Post the 2002 split, ITF World Champions were a class amongst themselves, and even today with three ITF groups in existence each of the groups can boast some highly competent champions, every one of them are outstanding athletes and are a credit to their associations.

Over the years, ITF tournaments have undergone a step change. Most of the international groups have introduced changes to the sparring rules that some say enhance the sport and may make it more appetising to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as they scout for new combat sports. Others, however, say that some of the new rules are strangling the sport and that these new rules may encourage top class ITF competitors towards the like of the World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (WAKO). Here I will endeavour to outline this argument as best as possible. Before starting, I would like to acknowledge those ITF senior instructors whom I have discussed this topic with over the past month.

ITF Taekwon-Do is a dynamic, explosive martial art. In the ring Taekwon-Do athletes possess some of the fastest legs in the business, many also have sharp tactical hands. Taekwon-Do itself is based on Newtonian physics which is the scientific application of body mechanics to generate maximum power. In short, Taekwon-Do is an explosive, dynamic and powerful martial art when trained correctly - not unlike many other combat sports that take competition seriously. However, recent rule changes have been brought in to penalise any competitor with disqualification if they have injured their opponent and he or she can no longer continue. In Kickboxing this is called a ‘technical knockout’ and the injured fighter loses having been unable to continue.

For ITF Taekwon-Do, this rule change will water down some of the dynamic kicks that it is famous for within the ring. Competitors who have trained vigourously for international tournament will be very cautious about landing for example a reverse turning kick to an attacking opponent. The reverse turning kick when landed correctly is a powerful tool and has stopped opponents many times in the past. Likewise the axe kick will now become a kick that could lose you a tournament. Both the axe kick and the reverse turning kick in particular are kicks that are thrown with speed and power, they are difficult to throw gently, especially at an attacking opponent. You could in fact say the same about any kick aimed to head. These kicks will all now carry the possibility of disqualification for the competitor and because of this they now risk becoming rare kicks in ITF Taekwon-Do.

Other international groups have introduced the compulsory use of the 360 degree jump kicks mid round. These kicks when performed are the trade mark of ITF Taekwon-Do. However these kicks, due to their method of execution are also capable of delivering knockdown power. So in one hand competitors are encouraged to throw jump spinning kicks during the bout, but in the other hand they are penalised severely for any injury that they may cause. International rule makers need to make a choice, ITF Taekwon-Do at it’s finest, or ITF Taekwon-Do watered down.

The new two punch rule, which inhibits a competitor of throwing more than two punches in any combination was brought in to encourage more kicking, that’s fair enough, but with the already mentioned disqualification rule for knocking someone out kicking is already a touchy subject. However this two punch rule also waters down the Taekwon-Do competitor’s ability to use nice clean combinations while incorporating hands with kicks also. There is an opinion on this that even if the rule was made into a three punch rule it would allow a lot more combinations to flow. The blitz for example will suffer due to this rule. The blitz which is a flurry of straight punches that gains a competitor an explosive entry is generally no less than three punches with the lead hand used as an initial attack followed by a cross and lead hand again which can then be followed by some kick combinations.

While the new rules are meant with the best intention for ITF sport, they may serve to turn competitors away from top level events. Why train to increase your speed and power, if you may get penalised for it? It was General Choi who coined the phrase – “One strike, one victory” but now that victory may lie with the individual you have struck. Even in a self defence context if you train only to pull your shots well then you will pull your shots for real.

Competitors may seek other avenues to perform at a high level. WAKO have already made significant steps towards Olympic recognition, and while Kickboxing at the Olympics may be a bit into the future, it will certainly perk the ears up of any ITF athlete that fancies themselves in the ring. The rule set in Light Contact Kickboxing is relatively similar to that of ITF Taekwon-Do give or take a few minor details. There is a legal foot sweep in Light Contact, but the scoring is the same. The ring in Light Contact Kickboxing is two metres smaller which encourages more action and the sport in general is more safety focused in relation to equipment; mandatory head protection, mandatory wrist and hand protection and bigger softer gloves. Light Contact at a high level possesses all of the explosiveness of ITF Taekwon-Do except hand combinations are allowed to continue, there is no separation of competitors while clean techniques at close range are used.

WAKO is also presently a prestigious organisation, there is only one. So you can understand how any top level ITF fighter would eye up the WAKO’s as an organisation that would accommodate explosive and dynamic technique. Having said that, in WAKO a fighter can still be disqualified for lack of control, however clean technique within the realms of Light Contact will not lead to disqualification like it can in ITF.

The first person who managed to be successful at ITF Taekwon-Do and Light Contact Kickboxing was Slovenian Tomaz Barada. After dominating the ITF circuit for years he then went onto become one of WAKO’s top fighters, maintaining the Pro title at his weight for over 80 fights.

The message should be clear to the international rule makers involved in ITF sport. Allow the competitors the freedom to use the kicking and punching techniques that have made ITF sport what it is today. Allow competitors to be explosive while in control, and if a competitor gets injured because of it, count them out. The WTF is a knockout sport which is one of the reasons why it has held onto it’s Olympic mantle for so long. The ITF need to think about doing the same.

New challenges always accepted!

Another year another major international tournament. Bulgaria awaits us this coming Monday 14th May 2012. I have mixed thoughts on this one. This tournament promises to be tough, it promises to be bigger than most and the standard promises to be top class.

This will probably be our toughest tournament to date, new challenges like this always bring with them anticipation and of course excitement, new challenges are always accepted.

After the six competitors were selected to travel we began training back in early February. Like any good coach would do, I opened the training diary and made a log of the initial session and marked in my own thoughts on where each individual's head was at. We had a lot to work on, but we got down to brass tacks and started to make progress. Preparing for any major tournament takes time and dedication from everyone involved, not only for all that extra training but there were also a sizable amount of tournaments needed to benchmark our progress. Luckily for us tournament happy TKDists we had a plethora of events lined up, mostly kickboxing fights that helped us identify weak points and enabled us to build on the strong points as the training progressed.

Every competitor brought their own strengths and weaknesses, all except Neidin and Lauren (both having extensive foreign tournament experience)  were brand new to this level of training and participation. Some of the guys needed to be worked under pressure, piecing together tactics for operating under duress while keeping the head, others had to work on footwork to aid using the angle which then brought in reaction speed while being offensively defensive as I like to call it.
 We needed Dylan to develop a dominant game plan instead of being reactive,  Laura needed to get those hands working faster and straighter with the legs under pressure, same for Lauren Russell who also needed to build speed into that crazy side kick she has, Leon needed to keep his head up and develop impact in those kicks, Neidin needed to think more about evading that lead leg and Lauren had to step up her speed and reaction timing. So with all the SAQ coaching material, pads and power bands out and ready, we began our work.

We also took time out to study the opposition, we got some clips of the Bulgarians and the Russians, we studied their form and their tactics, we've seen them before in Italy 2008, Croatia 2009, and the Russians had a big team in Korea in 2010. We know they're good but with the right mindset anyone is beatable, we needed to stay positive in our approach to training for this tournament without underestimating the strong teams from the former Soviet Bloc.

Fast forward from February to May, we had our final training session on Friday night and I have to say, on the floor over the past week were six different competitors to what we started off with. All six have improved speed, power and fitness with improvements documented for all to see in the training diary, result times were shaved off drills left right and centre. The last couple of tournaments were testament to their new found levels of performance. The last kickboxing show we entered was a very tough and high paced event. All six recorded wins. The training was paying off. All those stomach churning hill sprints were worth it, all those viper cord power and speed drills were now making sense and in the ring, all those sessions involving ring tactics were working. Anyone that has trained with me they'll know I base my training for tournament on principles and concepts, from there everything else follows.

So we leave for Bulgaria on Monday. I am nervous for them, like any coach would be, especially as I'll be on the side lines and not available to coach ring side, but for me a good coach will have prepared their fighters comprehensively and consistently, that's my hope.

In relation to results? Meh I don't worry too much about results before hand, all I wish is that they all perform gallantly and do themselves and the team proud, a medal is a bonus as always but a strong performances always out weighs that. This is about ring experience but most importantly life experience!

To finish, I would have to add that I have never in my time had the pleasure to have trained six wonderful TKD junior athletes like these guys. They have bonded like no other team I have ever trained, there is no ego, there is just a team spirit, they genuinely care about each other and have helped each other along this very tough path. No matter what happens in Bulgaria, these six lovely people will be etched in each others memories forever, now that is what this stuff is all about!

So as I've learned some teenage lingo over the past 8 weeks or so, I'll finish with this...

"Bulgaria.. come at me bro!"

Good luck to all of the National Team taking part, my the gods and goddess's shine favourably on you all :)