SpongeBob Did It, So Can You!
The announcer’s voice rang across the tournament floor:
“Now, for the tournament results!! First place in forms competition, hailing from a Pineapple, Under the Sea, SpongeBob Squarepants!!!! Aaaaaannndd for the sparring competition! Once again, first place, from a Pineapple, Under the Sea, SpongeBob Squarepants!”
WOW! I bet you want two gold medals hanging around your neck, huh? Want to know how? I’ll show you! But first, let’s look at what we can expect during the tournament.
There are two parts to Taekwondo competitions: Forms and Sparring. (Not to mention weapons and board breaking but that’s for another day). In the FORMS competition, each competitor will be called up individually to do their form and will be judged on a scale of 5 – 10, with quarter increments (ie. 6, 6.25, 6.5, 6.75). However, to help the judges get a base line, or average score, the first three competitors will be called up to do their form without getting scores immediately upon completion. Instead, once the third competitor finishes his/her form, the original three will line up and be scored individually based on their individual performance. Competitors thereafter will be scored immediately upon completion of their form. The highest overall score wins. In the case of a tie, both competitors will do their form and be scored after (kind of like the first three), and will use two whole numbers (ie. 7 and 8, 8 and 9).
The SPARRING competition is completely different than the testing sparring we do in class. The round is a minute and a half and the winner is the one with the most points. The objective of the round is to land punches to the body or kicks to the body or head. When a point is made, one of the three judges will yell “break” and the competitors are re-centered. The center judge (they are the head judge) will call for points, at that time all three judges will point in the direction of the competitor who they think gets the point. At least two judges have to score in favor of a competitor before they are awarded the point(s). The same rule goes for warning; two of the three judges have to had seen and called a warning in order for a competitor to receive a warning. The point system is as follows: 1-point – kick or punch to the body and 2-points – kick to the head. There is one additional point added to a kick for a spin, and another additional point added to a kick for a jump. Three warnings are given. The first warning given gives the opponent a point. The second warning given gives the opponent two points. The third warning given ends with that competitor being disqualified. In the case of a tie, a second bout is started and the first point to be scored wins. Following me so far? AYE YAI CAPTAIN!
Now, HOW TO WIN GOLD1
First and for most, come to class! Weeks leading up to the tournament, the mindset of all the instructors is to prepare the students for the competition. If you aren’t coming to class, then your chances of doing well in the tournament are slim.
When it comes to forms, every judge is different in how they score forms. With that said, there are a few qualities about a form that appeal to the judge’s eye (besides doing the form correct). One of the most important qualities is stances. This is always stressed in class when doing forms: “make great stances!” As a student, you should be paying particular attention to STANCES, and not just doing the form right. If two competitors do the form correct, and one has phenomenal stances while the other doesn’t, it is going to be easy to decide the winner. A few other points to consider are power and timing. Power is simple (actually, not as simple to execute as you may think). Punch, kick, and block strong. Imagine trying to fling mud off of your uniform, that might help put “power” into perspective. Timing is a bit harder and requires a lot more practice and deliberate(focused) attention. Having an even cadence makes the form look a whole lot better, and that scorecard a whole lot more appealing.
If you do these three things, your chances of winning the forms competition is way better! Now…..how can you win the sparring portion? Two factors determine success: Combinations and speed.
“WHAT? YOU SAID COMBINATIONS?”Yes…well no, I didn’t say it, I typed it, and you read it. But nevertheless, the best way to score a point is to do combinations, the same thing that I stress to the students every time they spar in class. The fact is, one technique is hard to score with. Chances are it is going to get blocked. However, a barrage of kicks and punches are bound to score, the human reflexes are not quick enough to keep up with someone else’s intentions.
Let’s look at speed. This is very obvious. If you are quicker than your partner, then chances are you will win. That does not mean you need to go do wind sprints to develop speed. You are already quick enough you just don’t use your abilities. Be light on your feet, bounce around and don’t stay in one place. If your opponent throws a kick at you, be quick to block and counter (quick kids! What are the three C’s of sparring???) If you throw a punch as a counter, you can easily score.
Well, thur yee go! So, what are you going to do? COME TO CLASS. Tournaments are fun, and they should be fun. You should enjoy them and if you need help to do so, you might try reading the last post “An experience that will be one for the books!” to get a perspective on why we compete.
And remember: Patrick is rooting for ya! And SO ARE WE!
