Japanese Karate Sensei Reacts To Taekwondo Kumite!

[@PegLegNinja]

As a former olympic level tkd competitor, the hardest punch I ever received was from a karate expert. Mutual respect on both sides. Much love!

[@vinaykumar488]

What ??? Did u say Olympic level ... Tkd competitor .... Sir let me know ur name ??

[@dodokio3655]

Then you don't know dae hoon lee(이대훈)?

[@farhcawalid8224]

From 2nd Dan and above they have insane fists some artists

[@chadhumphries1445]

@@vinaykumar488 Its the internet bro people are liars. They don't realize that there are fighters on here that call them out sometimes. He didn't expect an Olympic Tkd fighter from India to call him out. 😉

[@vinaykumar488]

@@chadhumphries1445 .. i liked that u figured out ...that I am Indian ... By my name 👍👍 where are u from ??

[@josewmeldondo]

WT Taekwondo Vocabulary: Tae = Foot Kwon = Hand Do = Art or Way Taekwondo = Way of hand and foot Ti = Belt Dobok = Uniform Dojang = Training Center, School or Academy Kyorugi/Kyorugui = Sparring Poomsae = Patterns or Forms Hogu = Chest Guard

[@daswordofgork9823]

In this case WT is Taedo. No punching allowed/ never score.

[@josewmeldondo]

@@daswordofgork9823 WT Taekwondo Sparring Point System: 3 Rounds, 2 Minutes each one, 1 Minute break in between each round. If tied, there is a sudden death round (A.K.A. Golden Point Round or 4th Round) to determine a winner. Somehow if there is still a tie after that round, we go to the judges to determine a winner. Block = O Points Punch to the body = 1 Point Kick to the body = 2 Points Spinning kick to the body = 3 Points Kick to the head = 4 Points Spinning kick to the head = 5 Points Deduction (Gamjeon) = - 1 Point Disqualification = 10 Gamjeons Deductions include: - Stepping outside of the ring while fighting - Punches to the head - Head butting - Elbow or knee strikes - Evading the fight - Falling down - Touching the floor - Arguing with the official, judge or opponent - Unsportsmanlike conduct - Grabbing your opponent's strike - Banned blocks - Pulling your opponent towards you to attack them - Raising foot without attacking - Attacking a fallen opponent - Low blows - Attacks to the legs - Eye poke - Grappling - Banned kicks

[@sway71]

@@josewmeldondo Thank you! But what are "banned blocks"? Also, with "Raising foot without attacking" does that mean no feinting?

[@josewmeldondo]

@@sway71 there are certain blocks, such as the knife block, that are not allowed in WT Taekwondo sparring. Also, yes. Lifting your leg up and then putting it down without attacking warrants a deduction.

[@arjunpadiyar956]

@@sway71 to add on to what Joshua said, there's something called "checking" which is similar to a feint, but your foot doesn't leave the floor completely. If you hold your knee up and don't kick, its a penalty.

[@juanpablocadenabarrezueta6839]

U should watch older taekwondo match

[@KarateDojowaKu]

Thanks for letting me know! Do you have any specific video in your mind?

[@Dimastiohermoko5]

@@KarateDojowaKu watch the athens 2004 olympic taekwondo mens +80kg south korea vs greece final, that's one of the best old taekwondo sparring ever

[@bananananana6205]

or maybe that joe rogan spinning back kick fight

[@SomnathRoyGrimfangs]

Taekwondo really isn't the same as it used to be before. Not since the invention of the Cut Bal anyway. I miss the old days.

[@rainierdipasupil5734]

This one, old school Taekwondo: facebook.com/198964096845975/posts/3167068436702178/?vh=e&extid=U1ibWEsiAGSkhhaK

[@dragonixbim5974]

You should react to Old School Taekwondo sparring as well!!! Knockouts and stuff. I miss the old days...

[@TheNakedWombat]

Oh yeah, when we didn't spa by kicking the air.

[@dragonixbim5974]

@@TheNakedWombat Yeah.. Well, today's sparring has merits as well regards safety. But I've been practicing TKD for 24 years, I grew up with old school sparring and self defense. So of course I reminisce and cling on to old school teachings first :)

[@TheNakedWombat]

@@dragonixbim5974 Kicking the air has benefits however, to have never felt a strike delivered or received doesn't prepare anyone for anything but exercise. Children are a different status, of course. Can't have kids attacking each other.

[@dragonixbim5974]

@@TheNakedWombat so true. Children at our TaeKwonDo school starts with air kicks to get technical, then pads to get the feeling of hitting with good technique etc etc.

[@kharismachristianroring820]

Agreed.....

[@TheNakedWombat]

When I use to study TKD, one of the kicking warm up exercises we did was a 3(sometimes 4) strike combination knee, hip and head(4th, hook kick on the other side of head) repetitively without letting you foot touch the floor unless you switched legs, switched with continuous flow of kicking. Another was running and skipping with different kicks alternating during the exercises.

[@martial_matt]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video I understand your questions. There is a lot to unpack so I'll try to explain a few points as simply as possible but it's not easy. I will attempt to address each point and question you had. Taekwondo sparring is called "Kyorugi" sometimes spelled "Gyorugi". Because taekwondo is a sparring based martial art, it's sparring evolved from its high, turning, jumping and spinning kicks. So the back of the head gear or any part of the head or face is allowed to kick. Those high kicks can be quite powerful however all you need to do is contact the head to score points. if it weren't for the trunk protector shin gear and headgear these kicks would cause a lot of injury and in the past they did when the gear wasn't as good a quality. So even though these attacks are fast they are very strong. TKD is nonstop like a boxing match. Very different to kumite point sparring. Also, Gyorugi is used as a very old and traditional part of Taekwondo training for self-defense purposes not only for competition or the elite. At the beginner student level Gyorugi is a traditional exercise that's been used for centuries, as far back Taekyun and Subak. It helps with learning fighting principles of offense and defense so it is not just a sport aspect of TKD. Competitors are good at avoiding many of these high kicks as this is a traditional part of Taekwondo sparring and method. Taekwondo practitioners use forms as exercise but the truth is the fighting style is more like this. A lot of footwork Dynamic movement and high spinning kicks and jump kicking. as you said these kicks are not used in traditional karate. but I know your sport kumite does permit high kicks and so because of that karate often will still use kicks even though it doesn't exist in kata. It is not necessary to knock the competitor out. The goal of TKD sparring is not, necessarily, to knock out the opponent but to put on a good show of Taekwondo technique and using mostly kicks to score points. I won't bore you with the point system but spinning and high kicks get more points suffice it to say. So while KO's are permitted you can still score points simply by contacting the head. Most major tournaments use electronic scoring for the trunk protectors but points are counted for both kicks to the head or body, and punches to the body. In terms of their expression of victory when they score a point. Traditionally in training the Taekwondo person is very serious, calm, and respectful. However in competitions such as these it's the exception, a difference in Korean culture to Japanese culture. It's important to understand that Taekwondo is the culmination of Korean striking method, culture, and history expressed as their national martial art. so naturally the competitions reflect those things, not the other way around. The thing with punches is that they have to actually be quite powerful to score. Particularly when using the electronic sparring gear with the sensors you have to hit quite hard, much like the kicks. Knockouts are legal in Taekwondo sparring but since punching to the Head isn't allowed kicking is the method used. Just like ancient Taekyun. This is why kicks are generally encouraged as opposed to punches to give a better show of Taekwondo kicking techniques. Taekwondo is basically a modernized version of ancient Taekyun but got its influence for forms from Karate because ancient Taekyun didn't have forms. Why aren't they blocking the kicks with their arms? Well they do block a lot, it's fast but that's why the guy in red didn't score very many points. Taekwondo blocking is a mixture of redirection absorbing and occasionally hard blocks but not really in the way practiced in the forms of karate. As you noticed the arms are relaxed and generally at long range they are but they come up in close range to strike and block. Again even though Taekwondo has forms in practice they aren't really used in any sort of practical application such as bunkai because Koreans are use to training with the sparring methodology from there folk art Taekyun, not the kata method of Japan. (Most TKD masters have no idea what most of the poomsae techniques are for, they just guess or make it up.) So a lot of times they are simply avoiding the attack with their motion as opposed to trying to stop the kick outright with a hard block. hard blocks stop the rhythm of motion and allows opening for the extremely fast kicks. And keep in mind attacks could knock you out so stopping for too long could result in getting hurt. since there is a high probability of the kick being roundhouse kick when a competitor is at a distance it's not unusual for them to keep their hands down but like I said earlier upon getting closer to one another they will lift their guard to strike or block. High kicks are often attempted at close range.

[@mayanik4889]

Tq for this knowledge

[@ryanoldryan9189]

@@mayanik4889 Not quite a right/true knowledge though. Try get to 2nd DAN Blackbelt in certified school of WTF or ITF, then you will understand why😊

[@Zaloy313]

I will add the scoring for those days (2013): Punch to the trunk (well executed) is 1 point. Kick to the trunk is 1 point. Turning kick to the trunk (such as 360° kick or a spinning side kick) is 2 points. Head kick is 3 points. Spinning head kick is 4 points. Nowadays the scoring is different: Punch to the trunk is 1 point. Kick to the trunk is 2 points. Spinning kick to the trunk is 4 points. Head kick is 3 points. Spinning head kick is 5 points.

[@blissprokop6239]

From what my masters (one has moved on to open his own dojang) and grand master has taught us, the blocks in a poomse are meant to give a more rounded practice to involve the whole body. As well as a practical skill if self defense is ever needed and safe to use without serious injury.

[@duke613]

As someone who has been training and teaching Tae Kwon Do for decades and trained under an Old School Korean Grand Master I have to comment. Hands should NOT be down swinging by their sides. You will see many fights with arms just hanging down and swinging by their sides. This is NOT proper or good sparring technique in competition or not. Hands must be up in guarding position and yes you are supposed to block kicks during sparring. Coaches are not teaching proper sparring technique. This is not proper TKD sparring. New TKD sparring is also not real TKD, it is something else.

[@donalmacthomais7584]

I hold a 2nd degree black belt in taekwondo and a black belt in goju ryu karate. Now, I've been doing taekwondo since the 1980s but sensi when I started goju ryu karate it really spoke to me more. The philophy made me what to learn more to improve just like in life you always want to improve.

[@sway71]

Haha, I hear you. Thankfully, my TKD master was old school and had learned all of his "TKD" and "Hapkido" before they had been separated (before TKD had forms for that matter). It makes a big difference to have a martial art framed around a better way of life vs. performing as an athlete.

[@agonizedbarrel2850]

This is the first video ive seen of this KZbinr and must say i like how he actually talks in his reaction video,he doesn't just sit there the entire video like most do.

[@MichaelWilliams-mo1vv]

Do check out ITF taekwon do competition. The sparring is different to WTF taekwondo because it also incorporates punches to the face and body.

[@KarateDojowaKu]

Next time, I will check that out as well! Thanks for letting me know!

[@henriquefrancisco300]

@@KarateDojowaKu I have done WTF but I must say, dojo training for WTF is terrifying but competition, ITF for sure. Their rules are much better and exciting. check the link. One of my favorite and technical fights I've ever seen kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKqkZJSna9F9kM0

[@samuraiking4525]

Being a ITF practitioner myself I would say the WTF sparring is better yes you can punch to the head in ITF but it’s much lighter contact then WTF I’ve lost a lot of matches because I hit someone a little hard it’s kinda stupid but would still like to see your thoughts on it

[@boominS10]

World Tae Kwan Do Fderation is also light contact, even with pads. They stopped all full contact several years ago do to injuries. I remember when I was @ 12 or so and was told I wasn't allowed to compete in a NY events due to my "aggression" I have always ended the fight as quickly as possible and I guess some people didn't agree with me lol

[@samuraiking4525]

Gary Turner that’s interesting I didn’t know they changed the rules my bad didn’t mean to give out false information. I guess they are equally as bad now lol

[@1DeeThunder]

The cards thrown by the coaches represents whether they are dissatisfied if their player hit the opponent in the head but did not get a point. The rules change drastically almost every year. There isn’t really a short kick in particular and most of the time people make things up which involves creativity. Older old school is a lot more intense. Since recent Covid the game style changed of constant kicking rather than stopping and waiting a bit for the opponent.

[@kaiya846]

I’m actually a red belt in Taekwondo 🥋 so I’m happy your also covering Taekwondo videos

[@danielrojas2059]

Recently I found this channel with the poomsae reaction video. And really catch me the respect you show it and the knowledge that you teach in the other videos. Great content!! 😃

[@KarateDojowaKu]

Wow thanks soooooo much for YOUR respectful comment!

[@josewmeldondo]

WT Taekwondo Sparring Point System: 3 Rounds, 2 Minutes each one, 1 Minute break in between each round. If tied, there is a sudden death round (A.K.A. Golden Point Round or 4th Round) to determine a winner. Somehow if there is still a tie after that round, we go to the judges to determine a winner. Block = O Points Punch to the body = 1 Point Kick to the body = 2 Points Spinning kick to the body = 3 Points Kick to the head = 4 Points Spinning kick to the head = 5 Points Deduction (Gamjeon) = - 1 Point Disqualification = 10 Gamjeons Deductions include: - Stepping outside of the ring while fighting - Punches to the head - Head butting - Elbow or knee strikes - Evading the fight - Falling down - Touching the floor - Arguing with the official, judge or opponent - Unsportsmanlike conduct - Grabbing your opponent's strike - Banned blocks - Pulling your opponent towards you to attack them - Raising foot without attacking - Attacking a fallen opponent - Low blows - Attacks to the legs - Eye poke - Grappling - Banned kicks

[@KarateDojowaKu]

Which do you prefer? Karate or Taekwondo? And why? 🥋FREE TRIAL｜Online Group Lesson🥋 Program Details: karateintokyo.com/ Any questions or concerns? → Email me at [e-mail] I relieve my pain & soar with this massage gun! hey.hydragun.com/Yusuke Thank you for always enjoying our videos! I really appreciate it if you could support the channel🙏 www.paypal.com/paypalme/karateintokyo

[@ryanoldryan9189]

I prefer both. But if I had to choose, I would prefer ITF Taekwon-Do because I love the art of ITF Taekwon-Do especially the kicks variation/aspect and biomechanics as well. As for Karate, Kyokushin and Shotokan style are amazing. No doubt about that. All the best to you, Sensei😁

[@KarateDojowaKu]

@@ryanoldryan9189 I totally agree with your POV about kick variation/aspect and biomechanics

[@KarateDojowaKu]

Shehryar Khan Dragon yeah the kicks are super fast!

[@crapme]

Both are good in their own way .it depends on the practitioners 👊

[@captainnemo9524]

I do Taekwondo but switching to Karate real soon because I just don’t like the fact that we are restricted from using our hands and legs only its just not my style

[@atcera8714]

"How did that happen?" is probably everyone's reaction when they first spar with points in Taekwondo

[@This_is_fun144]

😂

[@snazdogdbfan251]

This man approaches all aspects of the martial arts with respect and an open mind. True king shit right there 👑

[@herculesthegod7400]

Front kick plus a reverse punch is usually the only hand technique seen in competition because of point differences for kicking and punching

[@reipratam4]

Thanks for the video, sensei. Look forward to your next one as well!

[@that_one_asian_fat_bro_]

Also we show emotions ted because we want the referee to know that we feel good because we scored a point, meaning like it convinces the ref that you scored.

[@Ryudayz]

Yeah people do that to point out 'hey I got a point. In case you missed it.' Like that guy who landed a solid punch like 3 times, he raised his hand so the referees would notice... they still didn't though lol

[@thebadingandthemukhangmama2216]

mostly in manual scoring its very effective but not much in sensor and also it gives hype in player and also on the viewers when you release your emotions

[@MyGuyA]

Some perspective on my part on Tae Kwon do over the years. I was a player and a Referee back in the 80, 90s and early 2000s - In Olympic style TKD in the 90’s to score a point you had to move or create shock to your opponent for points to be scored. This focus has decreased it seems over the years to points being scored with less power and having speed being emphasized. Punching which are allowed were mostly ignored in the 90s because it was hard to create that shock or backward movement with a punch. Using fast hard kicks to the body or head were easier to score . (Looked cooler too to the spectators) The reason the players have their hands in a low guard was 1. because with your hands up it was easier to slide a kick under your guard (elbows) with a kick. 2. Having your hands low there was the idea you are not getting punched in the face lead to that type of technique/style. 3. If you got in close/chest- chest you could block kicks easier or grab/tie up your opponent. The Really old school TKD schools or sparring in the 70s & 80s, the practice was to have your hands up in a traditional guard because the rules allowed you could punch and kick to the face back then. Not judging, just stating the evolution over the years from my perspective.

[@peterp4k]

I personally think the point system is wack and rewards small touches and contacts over well executed strikes. You can see from Karate guy's reactions that he doesn't initially see how many of the points are rewarded. I hate how the arms just became useless in WTF TKD and are usually just flopping around vs being used, even for blocking.

[@udornyc]

Hi Peter! I am retired from competition long time ago, as I am now 55, but I was a competitor and coach, qualifying often for the German nationals, as did my team mates who moved on to the European and world championships and even the Olympics. ( I never could advance to the Nationals, as I was not a German citizen - it's complicated...) Anyway, when I was active, a point was *ONLY* made when it showed clear impact and *effect*, meaning that the kick/punch had to move the body. So, a light touch, or so did not count as a point, unless the body was at least slightly displaced. Also, we let hang our arms a lot, but not because arms were "useless"... that was done to "invite" a kick by the opponent that we then would counter very fast... So, it looked like we didn't use the arms, but yeah, we did... Maybe the point system changed ever since, but impact was always a deciding factor!

[@frankdieber7090]

When I was in a TKD school we were always taught to never block a kick with our arms. Their reasoning in it was that some ppl have such a strong kick that it could / would break a bone. We were taught to move , spin way from the kick and counter. I come from a street fighting ,grappling/wrestling background from a child and managing and or bounced bars from my teens into my mid twenties. I took TKD classes in my mid 30’s. No disrespect to my Masters in the TKD school but if someone can kick so hard that they snap my arm I’d rather they snap my arm than my neck or ribs resulting in a punctured lung or anything else that kick could do. If you have a broken arm you can still run away pick up a weapon/ stay alive. The other options have a bleaker ending.

[@Lymmar]

High level TKD competitors actually have all their arm bones removed. It depends on who you ask as to whether this gives them an unfair advantage over fighters using the traditional method of sitting on their hands until their arms go numb.

[@kermit1211]

The new electronic gear is harder to score compared to the one in the video. The gear they used in this vid, Daedo, you just have to touch the armor and headgear to score a point

[@suryadev5925]

Always good,your every video motivational for every one.i am really a big fan of your videos,I learn some good steps , thankyou so much.

[@martinygard4307]

Taekwondo has 2 different styles, could you review the ITF as well? :)

[@tarashae5315]

I'm a Taekwondo athlete and watching this series has been my favorite thing!! I think a huge thing to note is that sport Taekwondo and traditional Taekwondo are extremely different. This is true for both sparring and poomsae. In sport Taekwondo moves are changed to be more flashy than practitcal. To answer a few of your questions... -The point delay with head kicks is because at the time, head kicks were manually scored. They weren't electronic like the chest protectors (that's changed since this fight) -On that same note, at the time you only had to make contact with the head to score. Now that they are electronic, our head gear have the same power sensors as chest protectors -There are typically 3 2-minute rounds, however there is also something called a point gap, which is basically a mercy rule. If one person gets ____ points ahead of the other, the fight is automatically over. The number of points required to gap varies by tournament, but right now the world standard is 20 points -We keep our hands down to cover our body. Its not that we don't try to block our heads, but sometimes we don't see its coming and we can't block fast enough.

[@perkristoffersson4153]

So did this match end early due to the point gap? Or was it something else?

[@SomnathRoyGrimfangs]

You need to have an impact on the trunk protector for a score. If electronic, it'll score automatically. Any touch to the head is scored as a head kick, powerful or not.

[@paulb1383]

Love your videos...very interesting and you have a nice way about the way you explain everything 🙂

[@Physicshelper]

The hands are down to block the sensor in the chest and sides. And WT does not have the punch to the face. And they will be separated once "Hug".

[@jamestan4165]

Just found your channel - love it! It's so nice seeing martial artists who have a respectful interest in other styles. Is there anywhere we can send a wish list for more reaction clips?

[@alexei456]

In nowadays Olympic style taekwondo, sensors are calibrated depending on the players weight and strengh if i recall correctly, but (here comes the phrase) BACK IN MY DAYS! ("old school" WTF TKD) you still had to blast that chest or headguard with all your might or else the judges wouldnt give you a point, basically you had to make it sound and resonate through the galaxy to get a single point (lol) and punching was allowed but very rarely used since you almost never got points from it. Also punching in TKD is allowed (and taught, at least to me it was taught, ITF TKD has more focus on hands techniques and allows face punches) but only to the chest guard. Even though this a good combat, If you really want to see what WTF style was, I'd suggest looking matches from 2008 or before (the 90's is my favorite era) also try some ITF TKD matches youd see is even more similar to Karate (specifically shotokan, that has its reason but thats a whole different topic lol) To me it was taught a variant of the roundhouse kick (sorry I always forget the japanese names) which is more of a semi sircular kick (some dojangs called it Bandal chagi, some others Pit chagui) and it is as you say, way shorter, less predictable and quicker, but sacrifices power, which in this case is fine since it is a point based competition, and it was also very useful to set up other kicks (double roundhouse or roundhouse with back spin kick for example). Also in TKD in general (but even more so in olympic style) you keep your arms down because head kicks are less likely to happen, face punches are not allowed and managing distance and timing is key, so its wiser to keep them close to where the kicks might go in (good for the sport, bad for self defense) or to the chest guard so the kick hits your arm but not the guard thus not giving a point away, notice that most of the head kicks they try to avoid them by stepping back or leaning back, and no, grabbing shouldnt be allowed .

[@Abluemoon9112]

It is so dumb how there that don't score punches. The sensor is only for the foot. Or am I wrong?

[@alexei456]

@@Abluemoon9112 nowadays sensors are also calibrated for the gloves so punches can also score points I believe, I was just referring to the "old days" where even if you landed a clear and strong punch to the chest guard, you most likely wouldn't get a point anyways.

[@Abluemoon9112]

@@alexei456 when I was doing TKD the sensor were only on the chest protector, foot and head. I did not know they change it. Looking at the glove I did not see the silver.

[@mehtoaster4905]

@@Abluemoon9112 points from punches are given by referees, not the system

[@AllundraRedmoon]

@@Abluemoon9112 yes it is dumb, in a way. Kind'a hate that thing even to these days. Now they had to put some censors too with the gloves. What use of punch, that it doesn't gonna count huh?

[@julianpr]

This taekwondo from today is not even the shadow of what it was back in 97' when I obtained my black belt. Like the other guy in the comments said, you should watch taekwondo competitions from the 90's and I'm sure you'll be super excited . 💪🏿.From Puerto Rico, greetings. And thank you for what you're doing. That shows humbleness.

[@KamalKamal-ht5xc]

I am from Bangladesh .and today I got the green belt in karate .plz pray for me and I wish one-day I will be a successful women .and a good player also 🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩

[@insanity8119]

just to answer ur question (yes) u can block the kicks , and there really is no reason to them having their hands down ... u can have ur hands up any way u want in taekwondo ...

[@Stormtrooper--dx1xj]

There are additional points if you use spinning techniques in a specific target

[@callofthewildoutdoors]

your extremely perceptive when your watching, you will do very well in life, i love your videos and will rec them to those i know!

[@alpachinko9154]

I think the best way to view WTF and ITF Taekwondo are as seperate ryuhas (流派). ITF (and it's subsidiaries) being non-olympic sports, and a typically wider rule set. WTF Taekwondo is the version recognised as an Olympic sport, and as such, the Olympic committee decided upon the rules. In WTF Taekwondo Olympic kumite, punches aren't scored, so fighters tend to neglect their arm techniques. The WTF system itself though, has plenty of hand techniques. As far as I know, in competition kumite, kicks below the hip are not allowed, kicks delivered whilst losing balance are not scored either. I agree with the others saying to watch some ITF Taekwondo kumite, especially the older stuff.

[@alpachinko9154]

Okay, so here's a more recent version of ITF based Taekwondo in the UK: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3aTqKaHn7GErq8 (The trips/sweeps etc were allowed because this was a kickboxing Vs tkd event. Taekwondo side are wearing the camouflage pattern dobok/dogi)

[@deronfranklin6903]

Enjoyed your reaction and respect for TKD. In my TKD school, they taught counters instead of blocks. When they attack, you attack right back.

[@awlabrador]

I trained in WTF Tae Kwon Do as a kid, decades ago. Seeing how WT tournament sparring has evolved, it seems to me it is becoming kind of like fencing -- very fast, and the focus is on scoring the highest points per strike as possible. It's hard to see what's going on, live, and a surprising amount of time is spent by the judges reviewing replays.

[@jesusmiguel6652]

Nice spanish, thanks for the comments, as always great to hear your comment and respect to all the martiar arts, greetings from Mexico.

[@Krononauta]

I would like you to analyze Taekwondo kumites made before 2008. That Taekwondo is different, faster, more aggressive

[@Kryojenix15]

Osu, Karate Sensei! Both styles are great! To me, Karate feels like Earth and Taekwondo feels like Wind. For short and simple strikes, almost every style has a straight punch but punches are an afterthought in TKD so few practitioners possess punches skilled and strong enough to score points with ( while kicks only need to touch to score points, punches need a certain level of impact to score). The typical techniques used for controlling distance are straight kicks such a front or side kicks. At closes ranges (such as at which a karateka would start using punches) the TKD player will either slide back or use a retreating kick. I typically compare TKD matches to fencing. Arm blocks are taught but it's easier the counter with a kick from an evasion than a block. Also, fighting primarily with kicks is extremely tiring so keeping the hands down is a matter of energy conservation ( although a risky habit). Excuse me if any of this was redundant. Happy training!

[@AliHussain-mj6rl]

2008 taekwondo and earlier is where its at. Exciting and beautiful to watch. The old school stuff is top notch. Full power kicks

[@davespringer777]

My taekwondo instructor had also done some kickboxing. We learned how to punch. It was a fluid style between punching and kicking where you used whatever worked at the time. I was a traveling construction worker for years, and would stop at different schools in different towns. I always got in trouble for light taps to the headgear. "No punching to the head!". It was just a tap. Very light contact. It was reflexive to me. I couldn't help it. Yet they never dodged or blocked. These were black belts that have never learned to defend a punch to the head. The most common punch in the world. I guess it all depends on your instructor and federation. I appreciate that you enjoy different styles.

[@Chris09978]

In tae Kwon do the kicks are held back for safety purposes but in reality it’s strong and fast and have a snap to them there are simple tactics in taekwondo They do teach take downs punches elbows knees blocks and of course kicks And if you want to know how completion works is that you have to be a black belt standard to 1 degree and 3rd only 4th 5th 6th degree black belts are not allowed because they are considered masters when they are 10 degree black belts in taekwondo

[@bradmiles1984]

1st to 3rd Dan = trained students 4th to 6th Dan = masters 7th to 9th Dan = Grand masters 10th Dan = Supreme Grand Masters, honorary title. That is the rankings for WTF according to the Kukkiwon. ITF has different belt rankings.

[@ateam388]

My student competed for Team USA at the Olympic training center in Tijuana in 2010. It’s a very impressive facility. Head kicks are 3 points. The matches are extremely exhausting. The training goes up to 7 hours a day. Punches are supposed to get one point, but the officials rarely give points for punches, so they are good for pushing opponent back and then following with a kick.

[@KarateDojowaKu]

So that's the reason why punches aren't used that much

[@that_one_asian_fat_bro_]

Hello when a coach pulls out a card of their color team, It means that they think that's the team the coach is on scored a point but did not dhow up on the scoreboard.

[@darrentan6308]

In TKD, we have the "cut leg" (front leg up and extend kind of like a short side kick). So when the opponent does a spinning kick or something, we use the "cut leg" to get them off balance. I hope that answers your question at 5:25. :)

[@muchammadnurilhuda3623]

maybe you can consider looking at other martial arts such as pencak silat

[@Chris09978]

Yes one of my favorite martial art fast swift deadly and especially the karambit

[@gesshugh9976]

I'd love to see his reaction to all of the scissor leg takedowns.

[@alexgarcia908]

As a taekwondo player I know that you are allowed to block with your arms and I have done the mistake of not blocking them because I get distracted with the kicking. But i did learn that blocking is important during a fight cuz they do teach you blocks in taekwondo

[@gesshugh9976]

At the higher levels blocking generally just throws off your stance and makes you slower to be able to retaliate, robbing you of the ability to score more points. Alternatively, you can just use head and shoulder movement to avoid getting hit in a way that will score. On top of that, they do actually block. They just use passive blocks instead of active blocks. They leave their arms hanging and just slightly hug them in to block body shots, and push head shots away with their shoulders.

[@NexusJunisBlue]

I believe the term for sparring in Taekwondo is gyeorugi (겨루기; sparring).

[@ccrass4443]

In English it’s called slap fighting

[@alistaircorstorphine7469]

As a beginner of Taekwondo ( only a white belt ) watching some of the higher grades spar ( with the appropriate gear ) is an amazing sight

[@stevendemoniac]

To me when I see this I am sad because it is the competition style that has ruined many solid aspect of TKD. When I see modern competitors fighting with hands down and celebrating kicks that do not do any damage I think people are being misled. When I transfered my abilities to MMA I had to abandoned some things that were too low damage to waste energy with. And the hands down approach.. That is a horrible stance for fighting. Thankfully my instructor (Larry Ammons) taught us to always have our guard up so I did well in MMA.

[@tatsuya.]

yeah bro i understand having ur hands down or having no guard is such an ugly defense, as a muay thai practitioner i felt very uncomfortable seeing those hands down approach.

[@ericktio755]

Although they hand a hands down guard youve gotta understand that most of the time they're not aiming for the head and actually the body, where the sensors are at, if you watch closely, the onmy time the head head gets kicked is when the opponent bends down slightly. The point scoring system is fucked I agree but they have to have a hands down guard to block the body kicks quickly and not to mention that it takes a lot of stamina so a hands up guard would tire them out quickly...

[@laurenlee6628]

Modern competition Taekwondo is not just about power and obliterating your opponent. It’s more like fencing. In reality, it takes a lot of control and accuracy to be able to do the techniques so quickly and not hurt their opponent. This is just another side of an incredibly versatile martial art. Not everything is about application.

[@AJVANBAKKER]

I really enjoyed this video, 1st video of yours that I see. I like how you chose Mexico VS Korea. Being Half Mexican, trained by Koreans and beng a TKD Master I really enjoyed it. Like the background too, your giving me ideas lol. Osu.

[@bikin-bikin8937]

Please watch and react to old school taekwondo, or taekwondo match before the introduction of electronic protector.

[@gisellerodriguez1270]

Something about Taekwondo that I notice a lot even for myself. We tend to have a balance leg and a power leg. Those that are right foot tend to use there left leg in front of them for more speed kicks and quick jabs while or power leg is good for good push, back head shot kicks. A more impact. Also to include that our balance helps create more kicking combos. That is my concept on it. 🤷‍♀️ Hope that helps visualize more better.

[@fabianboro4686]

That range tho, and he always missed the kick so there is huge gaps between that South Korean and the Mexican. Good fight btw.

[@jeong131]

Taekwondo fighters keep hands down to keep the upper body relaxed which helps them to counter kick or throw combination kicks. Since punches are rare, we are taught to use foot work and counter rather than block for Olympic style sparring. Beginners are still taught to fight with their hands up since they do not have the speed or the technique for counter attacks or footwork/combination kicks. FYI headbshots are 3 points and there used to be 1 extra point for any kind of turning kicks which is now 2 extra points. For Olympic sparring today, it is 1 point for a punch to the body, 2 points for a kick to the body, 3 points for a kick to the head and additional 2 points for turning kicks. They did that to make it harder for the winning athlete to feel safe to just kill time by being defensive. Thank you for the interesting videos!

[@anggitanggas]

U should try reacting to silat match

[@s.a.9503]

lol

[@sirshawnmichaele.soliven8612]

You should watch old style taekwondo , they're using arms to block but they're more using reflex to dodge in head kicks

[@AllundraRedmoon]

This is the form of somehow people called it "new" Taekwondo For myself, this is disgusting example, regardless of how it was on Olympic Match from some "World Class athlete" or such What I mean is, this is demonstrate a very lazy match. Born from kicking style that no longer possess a hardiness of power & speed anymore at all. Its just chase after the point for censors body protectors. I myself was a practitioners, used to be an active athlete during my younger days and for now a coach. Never in my life imagine that my beloved arts turns out to such a weak slap kick that only intended to catch opponent off guard by his opening point to score numbers, how can these called a fight? It's just a tap play. I'm soooo sad I might just get old faster than it should be. Back in the Old-style Taekwondo; Kicks are that of full power & true strike or just don't kick at all, my former coach used to says Taekwondo had to deformed its shapes of rules to apply with the International tournament base line of protective match, it first meant for protecting the athlete, but fail to do so and just became a joke rather than an entertaining match anymore. I VOTE for Karate Sensei to just screw this "new" Taekwondo fighting style and go for the old one where kicks are kicks for real, that it could broke ribs even when thrown in a side road real fight than a cute 'Push kick' all over the place at an Olympics

[@abjnr4389]

being old skool tkd myself i kinda agree with you and thats sad tkd

[@ateam388]

Tae kwon do is very exhausting, and the kicks hit a lot harder than karate. I’ve competed in karate tournaments for 15 years competitively. One of my students made it on the USA Olympic team in 2010, and I’ll tell you tae kwon do is a hard hitting full contact sport. When my student made it on the team he had to train 7 hours a day of constant kicking drills, and full body exercises. We also trained with a former gold medalist who competed and won the first year tea kwon do was in the Olympics in 1988.

[@kbanghart]

@@ateam388 any training for 7 hours a day, if it is good training is gonna produce some major power, imo!

[@vicentegeonix]

@@ateam388 old tae kwon do not this "new" tae kwon do

[@laveronusagi8920]

whenever I do matches with my group (I'm a junior yellow belt) I've noticed the younger ones are very flexible and fast, where the older ones give more energy in their blocks and attacks

[@_bwiseth]

In todays TKD competition (Kyurugi), you don't need power to score points, you just need to "tap" to activate the sensor. They call it, olympics style taekwondo. Unlike the one they call "OLD SCHOOL TKD" where they focus on power and speed.

[@henriquefrancisco300]

I like the commentary. Very open minded and non judgmental. Love the channel Regarding not using the punches, its due to not being able to munch the head and body punches has to have considerable power in order to register as a point. Therefore, they prefer to try to kick from such close range. Not the best look or application but its competition and strategies around the rules to score.

[@GordonGavin]

In 2013 electronic helmets had not been released yet, so head shots were still dependent on judges. Any touch to the head would score. Now we have electronic helmets, but the threshold to score is still quite low. As far as direct/simple attack, mostly we rely on side-push kick, also called “cut kick”. Blocking takes too much time, it’s better to evade. Powerful kicks can smash through your guard and end up scoring anyway. If you watch carefully, Lee Dae-Hoon is a master at deflecting and evading without doing large blocking motions. The “guard” is better than a “block”. Hope that makes sense.

[@HaykAmirbekyanTKD]

so fun to watch someone watch Taekwondo and give feedback. BTW arms are down because body kicks are fast and its hard to lower your arm in time to block a body kick. Head kicks are slower so you have more time to react to them by blocking or leaning away. As you noticed the feints make it hard to block because the kicking angle can easily change and confuse the block.

[@chadestioco]

Got to say, even if you don't know the rules, I find your commentary more insightful than WT official commentary! I'm late to the party but in case no one spelled it out yet: - WT rules have changed a lot very quickly the past decade. It's true that headgears have sensors now but it wasn't the case back in 2012/2013. So head kicks were still scored manually (which is the majority of VAR requests at the time I think). - Spinning kicks are merited an additional point. Mexico's first four points (subsequently waived) came from a spinning kick. You can see it initially registers as 3 in the board with the merit point coming in much later. - I agree WT should learn to block more but I think the tactics emerged to depriopritize blocking because of several reasons: blocking can injure your arms and an injury just makes it harder for you to catch up; better give the score and catch up on your own. Also makes it a bit more difficult to spin so it's better to just counter with your guards down. Also, one thing I envy is the stability of Karate's reverse roundhouse! I think it takes insane core strength to execute in form consistently and that's something I wish I had. :)

[@yunzhupan9063]

I’m a Olympic style taekwondo competitor. In Taekwondo, Lee is one of the best player. Taekwondo has changed so much in recent years. Players will get 1 point by punch, kick to the body 2 points, kick to the head 3 points, spinning kick to the body you get 4 points and 5 points if you spinning kick to the head. That’s why Taekwondo athletes tend to do more “fancy” kicks, because they can get more points in that way. Karate in my opinion, focus on solid, hard attack. And it’s a point sparring system. Once you hit, you stop and reset. That’s why people tend to focus on how to attack fast for each punch or kick. In tkd, the game continues no matter you hit the player or not. Right now, most big matches use electronic sensors for body protector and head gear. That’s why tkd player put hands low- to protect their body so the other players won’t get points. And yes, you need to hit it at a right angle with some power, otherwise the chest protector and the head gear won’t sense it. In a match, each coach will be given a judge card. If the coach think that’s a point for his player but the sensor or the judge didn’t register, he/she can use that card to review the kick. If the main judge think the kick should count, then the card will return to the coach, and the coach can keep using it. However, If the main judge think the kick is a miss, they will keep the card, then the coach looses the review card. I hope these answered some of your questions!

[@ictkd3515]

I practice Taekwondo too and I'm a 2nd degree. If you spar in taekwondo tournaments, the headshot kicks are just touches or strong taps if the player hits with a spinning kick there. The electronic gear sensors won't give the player an x amount of points if the kicks aren't strong enough. The judges sometimes will not grant points unless the players have gestured it(hence the arms being raised) or the coaches use their card to do "replays" of the kicks that shouldve gotten points!

[@dan3tta]

13:40 took me a while to realize the ad wasn't from my laptop 😂

[@Rideonspot]

Hey I'm a blackbelt in taekwondo and karate too.! I believe both the martial arts together enhance the quality

[@Noctua8]

Very quick on their feet it's impressive

[@sumib7224]

Normally, in TaeKwonDo, they do have their arms up for guarding. However, more higher rank athletes tend to lower their arms for "baiting" in competitions.

[@gabsterrivera5674]

as a TKD practitioner, I mainly think the reason why TKD players tend to put their arms down most of the time is for them to have more kicking room and using the arms as a contributor when pivoting the body. TKD players are still taught to have defensive responsibility by raising the arms (or atleast one defensive arm while kicking), but again they still choose to let it down so that they get more kicking room and just use the arms for pivoting and generating kicking power. In some cases that you encounter a very strong kicker, blocking the kick doesn't help at all as it just adds up to the potential damage you would take especially if it's on the head, that could also be the reason why even high level TKD competitors appear to have more lax arms.

[@bappabiddu3296]

You're fantastic Shihan. I'm a 4th Dan in World Taekwondo.

[@ricardoaquino6708]

About simple and short techniques in olympic-style WTF Taekwondo: Yeah they do exist. The simplest ones I can think of are the feints and stance switching to disguise your kicks. Raising and putting down your knee really fast is also a common tactic because you can throw many kicks from the same chamber (side, hook and roundhouse kicks) and that can confuse your adversary (maybe not at the level shown in the video). About simple and short techniques in free sparring using Taekwondo: The low side kick and inside leg roundhouse kick (both using the front leg). These guys are like flies. They annoy the hell out of your opponent, can cause discomfort and are really fast. If you are lucky, precise and hit with the right amount of power, both of the forementioned kicks can cause relevant damage to the knees. I am unsure if all the techniques I've talked about are exclusive do TKD, but I learned them at my dojang anyways hahaha Thanks for reading this and good training to you.

[@mpanini5694]

Also its 7 points at 8:51 because a regular kick to the head is 3 points but with spin, its 4.

[@mpanini5694]

And from my experience, there's a couple reasons why we don't have our hands up. 1st, it makes you more vulnerable to quick shots to the body. 2nd, makes countering more easy if you lean or slip under. 3rd, stamina is a huge factor since kicking takes a lot off movement, arms down is much more relaxing and stamina saving. ^my opinions^

[@miso-era]

Current modern Olympic style sparrer here 🙌 To answer your question towards the end of the video, arms down is the preferred style because kicks to the body are much faster than the head. Having your arms down reduces the chance of your opponent scoring a body shot since your arms are already placed there. And if they go for a headshot, then you have more time than a body shot to bring your hands up to defend the head kick. Lastly to everyone who criticizes Taekwondo for the sport it has become-that’s the thing: It’s a sport and although it has rules that remove the more practical aspect of the art, it’s still nonetheless enjoyable for those who are truly invested in the sport because we understand the technical skill set, hard work, and effort it takes to pull off these boring-to-the-common eye matches. This is true for any sport. If you don’t genuinely enjoy it for what it is, then you won’t enjoy watching highly technical matches. If you are interested in Taekwondo and want to see more explosive matches, I recommend watching older athletes like Servet Tazegul. The athletes of his time and their style of Taekwondo was much more explosive and eye-pleasing to the common spectator. On a final note, I want to highlight the fact that these athletes can still throw lethal kicks with deadly precision, contrary to popular belief. Current athletes are bound by the modern rules of taekwondo during matches so that’s how these fights turn out so boring. But take away the rules and allow an athlete to kick with the full intent of power and not with the intent of only scoring points, and you’ll see what I mean.

[@dfactor]

My daughter's teacher would blow a gasket watching these guys without their guard up.

[@rsvtgunawan1193]

Respect SENSEI, greeting from Indonesia. I am very appreaciate n respect with u. No negative comment. There is some rules in TKD competitions. Surelly hv some differents with KARATE RULES KUMITE or others MA. i am black belt in TKD n AIKIDO also, everyone hv their feeling with many choice of Martial Arts. So we cant judge which one is better. Different person, different chances, difderent timing, n different luck also if u were in combats. Onegeshimasu sensei

[@EthanJones-pi6fh]

Tae kwonDo is Designed to get you in the air, mainly using kicks. So we use more kicks than hand use

[@eliaslundqvist1396]

Can you react to a Taekwondo demonstration and compare it to a Karate Demonstration?

[@syamilmarramli8165]

kick to the head- 3 points spining kick to head- 3 + 2 points kick to body- 2 points spining kick to body- 2+2 points punch to front body- 1 points All points depend on the pressure sensor on body protector,head protector, glove and sock. kick below waist- deduct 1 point kick fallen opponent- deduct 1 point punch to the head- deduct 1 point grabing- deduct 1 point 10 point deduction- disqualified

[@MishtahPoog]

A lot of people are asking you to look at "old-school" WTF competitions. Generally, "old-school" in the context of WTF/WT sparring means before the implementation of electronic chest protectors at high-level competitions. The advent of the electronic gear meant that competitors tended to optimize their techniques to score in the most reliable way possible. This, in turn, equated to an even greater emphasis of speed at the expense of power and the use of a bunch of tricky technical kicks with the aim of touching the special magnetized foot gear to the chest protector from odd hard-to-block angles. The electronic gear does have the ability to sense power, but in actual practice, it's kind of inconsistent and a lot of kicks that don't look that strong end up scoring. With the addition of electronic head-gear that will score points for barely any contact, it hasn't become any better. All that said, "old-school" WTF sparring wasn't always great either. The matches tended to be incredibly boring until the last 20 seconds or so when the insane power kicks would come out. If you watch highlight reels of "old-school" WTF sparring, most of them will take footage from only a few seconds of the matches. Recent rule changes in modern TKD sparring have done a lot toward making the matches more entertaining and action-packed, though they still haven't done much to solve the problem of power kicking. I do want to add, though, that the rules have always been full-contact. Even in modern TKD sparring, you're still allowed to hit with maximum power and knock people out. In contrast, other styles may have power restrictions. The only reason competitors may go for low-power technical kicks now is simply because they score points. There are still plenty of competitors who choose to throw lots of power kicks, though. I mean, if you knock them out, the match is over!

[@somerandomfujoshi1621]

This is probably really late but the point system goes as follows (in my country): 1pt - punch 2pts - body kick 3pts - head kick 4pts - turning body kick 5pts - turning head kick (As of Aug 2022) Matches last 1:30 or 2:00 minutes and you win if you can get the best out of 3 rounds

[@thmain1253]

Punches and kicking side stepping., attack while retreating and blocking kicks depend on the skill of the fighters and there teacher. A lot of stamina is needed.

[@danieldelgado6464]

Next review judo! Great video

[@emilt.m.6418]

11:50 the question about blocking with arms. They are doing that just not hard blocks. Modern TKD kicks are more fencing like and have a stronger focus for agility over strength, which is easy to block by just putting you arm slightly in the way of the kick and just moving you upper body out of dodge. electronic gears also means putting your are between the torso and the kick is enough to negate full contact and the point. and to protect the head from unexpected angles a more relaxed and lower stance that focuses on intercepting kicks before it is at a dangerous height so that you can dodge the ones you fail to intercept by seeing it has become the main strategy. I may be 20 (started when i was 6), but i'll say it, we used to do things differently back in my day...

[@writenow6948]

To your question about why taekwondoists have their arms down while sparring, it's because the vast majority of kicks are delivered to the trunk. By having the arms down, it sort of serves as having walls against most of the attacks. The downside is that it leaves the head completely exposed, so fighters are forced to use dodging/evasion against those attacks.

[@paulleonardatchonghilario5472]

The spinning movements is to get angles. Standard fighting position is facing your opponent sideways so that you expose as little area as possible to your opponent. Also, you can do spinning kicks usually after strong kicks to take advantage of your momentum after kicking, making the second kick faster and stronger than the first.

[@freddiemann5555]

My dad was a former Shotokan instructor and thought me the basics before I joined a karate club in high school. I graduated high school with a brown belt in karate. But when we moved then the college I attended was managed by Korean missionaries and all we have then is a Taekwondo and Gynmanstic club. I graduated college and eventually a black belt in Teakwondo. I think my experience in Karate did helped a little but it was a big adjustment on the stance when sparring. In a form perspective it is much easier in Taekwondo (Poomsae) than Karate (Kata). So back in highschool I was part of the kumite team then poomsae team in college.

[@trentonalberts262]

So I’m a taekwondo fighter. For head shots you just have to touch the HEAD GEAR. If you kick the face, no points unless their nose starts to bleed. I recommend watching Bradly Sinden. Also we do have a short kick, we call it either have a punch, or an in close front leg roundhouse kick. I can send you videos of each of the kicks we use for sparring

[@TUNApocalipz]

During the era of TKD you watched, people liked to have their arms down and relaxed to focus more on footwork and also, to be able to control the torso to lean away from kicks - lower centre of mass etc. The new school meta now is shifting to really focus on controlling space with check kicks (sliding front side kicks) and good guard. WT TKD athletes are getting very efficient (?) nowadays and so are training a lot in deflecting kicks with their arms as opposed to just dodging them like in old school. You'll see crazy things like athletes putting their arms behind their own heads to block the opponent's foot sensor from touching the helmet sensor.. But yeah, nowadays athletes hold a much stricter guard at all times and it's becoming a game of who can spot holes in the opponent's guard, making for less dynamic games. A lot of people don't like how TKD is evolving away from its roots and I did too at first but now I really appreciate the fencing-/game-style aspect of modern TKD and its cut-throat efficiency and evolving strategy. I do miss old school of course, but I like the science of modern TKD too and I accept it's not for everyone

[@TUNApocalipz]

After reading some other comments, I too would recommend watching Bradley Sinden for an example of the most modern TKD. Tight body guard because body kicks can be too fast to dodge, but relying on shoulder deflecting and leaning to avoid head kicks. Also punches have a long list of weird requirements for them to be scored so most athletes don't accommodate for them in their guard. Lauren Williams is a great counter puncher though.

[@joelweber3462]

It may seem strange but, this style TKD does block with arms, when they are down at side. They shield their bodies from waist to shoulder level kicks using arms to side. They can block kicks to head that are in an arc by raising their arms high. Sadly, along with a lack of emphasis upon punches, they do not effectively block their heads (relying upon distancing, evading and countering). To be fair, if you try to low block their kicks, they are able to very quickly rechamber and add secondary kicks from same leg.

[@Danlows1]

That push kick into a roundhouse is a common variant of a question mark kick. The true question mark kick starts as a front kick and mid way up, the hips are rotated to turn it into a roundhouse.

[@AtlanSumerian]

Sense, I am a really maniac fan of Karate, especially Kyokushin Karate, I respect you.

[@SoraBora354]

The one from Korea is actually a triple gold medalist of Asian games now and is bronze in Olympics of rio so congrats to him

[@robertdennis550]

I was Michigan AAU TKD champion in 1979 and fought in the Nationals in Dayton, Ohio that year. I had the misfortune of drawing TKD legend Gerard Robbins as my opponent ( I gave him a good fight...but yeah, I got beat...lol) anyway, back then while kicking was featured, we used more punches. It was truly full contact with a lot of power and if you didn't keep your hands up, you were guaranteed to get knocked out. If your technique didn't have power, it was counted. After that match, I had blood in my urine for 2 days. It was no joke, because TKD was still a martial art as opposed to a martial sport. I was part of the WTF but the ITF under General Choi was even rougher. Today they are flashy and have tremendous skill, but a lot of the players would have gotten knocked out keeping their hands so low. No disrespect to todays players meant, just stating fact.

[@carlosvseneca1079]

As a suggestion you should review the combat between Servet Tazegul and Martin Stamper. That is a fine example of fast kicking and strategy.

[@michaelswet4532]

It's is undeniable that these fighters are very skilled. They are engaged in basically the sport form of taekwondo. Very focused on fast kicks and counter kicks. There are very.few punches thrown because they rarely are scored. In other forms we do still rely on kicks but there are punching and some throws. It is sad because there are alot of techniques that we have that aren't really drilled anymore for safety reasons or in order to market the art form more. I have been told that there are similar things in karate.and other forms. It sometimes feels like the skills have been diluted over time. Regardless, I still love TKD.

[@KarateDojowaKu]

Thanks for your knowledge!

[@chadsamples6178]

To answer the question about why they keep their arms down, there's two parts first because a more traditional hands up fighting style exposes the target areas on the sides. Look at their chest gear for the gray marks that's where you have to hit to score. The hands down style allows better defense of the body sensor which would give up a lot of points if they didn't cover them. To compensate for the lack of protection with the hands up high they tend to lean back a little creating more distance and thus reaction time to avoid the head kicks. Also, you asked about short punches which gets to the second reason. They can only score with the rear hand and it must be fully extended straight punch and it only counts for 1 pt. Such limited scoring options with the hands and little reward for the technique is why TKD in competition looks like they only train kicks.

[@KinoHiroshino]

For head kicks any contact counts no matter how hard or soft. Body contact needs certain amount of power to count as points. The socks contain magnets and the body gear measures the pounds per square inch of force. As for short techniques that counter opponents big movements they use the cut kick, which is essentially a front leg side kick. This video is old since a body kick nowadays is 2 points instead of 1 point. Punches rarely counted back then since they were supposed to be fully locked out. Nowadays a punch can be mostly locked out and if used with enough force gets 1 point. Also nowadays, the helmet has the same contact technology as the body gear, just a lower threshold for contact. Blue won early in the 3rd round because of the 12 point gap. But since body kicks are now 2 points the gap is now 20.