Punches

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Professor Random

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This isn't a flaw. Pushing is good so long as you push them in the right direction. If I were to push someone , it would be to knock them off balance so that I can strike them while they are off balance. However in your case, you simply can change your thought process, when you feel like pushing the person then just change it into a punch instead of a push.
Well as you seen in the 2017 new tkd rules pushing out of an area or pushing hard enough that the opponent falls is a penalty against the pusher so just need to back off that tactic a little I suppose.
 

Gerry Seymour

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So recently I was in a tournament and I realized that I tried some punching but never landed any of them. So I was wondering what some good punching routines are. To help strengthen my upper body and arms, or just in general any information on punching.

I am taught in my class the basics of punching, but it being taekwondo we don't use our fists that much. I know a friend of mine who does taekwondo and it seems everytime he went for a punch he would get a point. So I thought there is definitely something wrong with the way I'm doing it. All information would be helpful :)
If you aren’t landing them, power is likely not the issue. Some issues that might contribute:
  • Telegraphing
  • Too slow
  • Poor timing
  • Too far away
  • Your opponent is just that much better at defending them than you are at throwing them (least likely, I think)
 

Dirty Dog

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As I do agree they are pretty bad, the new rules are what gave me a victory in my latest championship so hey what can I say.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So what matters most to you is winning? That's sad. I've always seen competition as a learning tool that I hoped would allow me to further my skills. Didn't really matter if I won or not.
 
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Professor Random

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So what matters most to you is winning? That's sad. I've always seen competition as a learning tool that I hoped would allow me to further my skills. Didn't really matter if I won or not.
Not what I meant, I was just stating the new rules are what gave me a victory in my last tournament. I wasn't saying that that was all that mattered.

If you aren’t landing them, power is likely not the issue. Some issues that might contribute:
  • Telegraphing
  • Too slow
  • Poor timing
  • Too far away
  • Your opponent is just that much better at defending them than you are at throwing them (least likely, I think)
Can you explain telegraphing?
 

JowGaWolf

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Well as you seen in the 2017 new tkd rules pushing out of an area or pushing hard enough that the opponent falls is a penalty against the pusher so just need to back off that tactic a little I suppose.
Unfortunately those rules will stunt your growth in terms of TKD as a self defense. Many of the things that people would recommend in terms of improving your punching would be considered illegal based on those rules. For example, feinting a kick to draw your opponent's hands down, which leaves their upper body open for a punch would be illegal under the rules. Pushing to get your opponent off balance would be illegal, but in terms of self-defense are key strategies.

So in reality you don't want to know how to punch better. You want to know how to punch within the rules of TKD competition which is different from anything close to fighting or self defense, or being better at punching. Striking an off balance opponent is one of the main principals of martial arts and TKD competition just removed it.
 

CB Jones

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So what matters most to you is winning? That's sad. I've always seen competition as a learning tool that I hoped would allow me to further my skills. Didn't really matter if I won or not.

I respectfully disagree.

Everyone has their own motivation and one is not more noble than the other.

Whatever it takes to drive you to work hard is fine....everyone is different in what motivates them....the important part is the willingness to put the work in.
 

Gerry Seymour

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So what matters most to you is winning? That's sad. I've always seen competition as a learning tool that I hoped would allow me to further my skills. Didn't really matter if I won or not.
But not everyone has the same goals, DD. If someone chooses to approach TKD like I approached soccer, I see nothing wrong with that.
 

Kung Fu Wang

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So what matters most to you is winning? That's sad. I've always seen competition as a learning tool that I hoped would allow me to further my skills. Didn't really matter if I won or not.
To keep a good winning record is important.

My daughter Natasha Wang was the

- California pole dancing champion in 2013.
- US pole dancing champion in 2014.
- international pole dancing champion in 2015.

I told her not to compete any more and keep her title for the rest of her life. She didn't listen to me. She competed last year for the international event and didn't win. That give her a non-perfect winning record. It did affect her pole dancing teaching career. She was the best. Now she is not the best any more.
 
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JowGaWolf

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I've always seen competition as a learning tool that I hoped would allow me to further my skills. Didn't really matter if I won or not.
I'm on the other side of this statement. If I'm in a formal competition where there are winners and losers then I want to either win or do my best. When I was a kid and teenager, many of the non organized sports that I played had the rule of "Winner Stays." When playing basketball in the park, the winner would stay while the loser had to sit out and watch the challengers until their rotation came up. Winning meant that I could play more games and play longer.

Winning in organize competition not only reflects on the participant but it also reflects on the school. Here, I don't want to win just for myself, but I want my school to look good.

Then there's the, I just don't want to get my butt kicked motivation. Winning this way means I come out on top and someone else gets to go home with nothing but bruises. The only limits that I put on myself is, "winning by any means necessary." That type of mindset can take people in the wrong direction mainly cheating.

Winning in a self-defense situation is different because of interpretation. Like avoiding a fight or an attack is a big win for me, but I won't use any mean necessary like lick someone's shoes for the sake of avoiding a fight.

I do agree with the spirit of your comment because. I would be happy to be DQ King as a result of not abandoning the techniques, concepts, and strategies of the fighting system that I trained. I don't mind a compromise, but I don't want to abandon the system.
 

Dirty Dog

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I'm on the other side of this statement. If I'm in a formal competition where there are winners and losers then I want to either win or do my best.

Doing your best is one thing. Winning because of a crappy ruleset that penalizes good strategy? Something totally different.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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Doing your best is one thing. Winning because of a crappy ruleset that penalizes good strategy? Something totally different.
Only if you joined because you want to begood at SD, or effectively utilize the system as a whole. If you saw a TKD competition and thought it looked cool, so you learned in order to compete, then it makes sense for that to be your focus. Even if other people may dislike the rule set.
 

DaveB

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I just watched a video for the TKD 2017 rules and my jaw dropped. I would totally be the DQ King lol.
Q.. What happens when referees are titled masters outside the ring and decide they should be the stars of the show.
A. see video above.

This kind of stuff is exactly why so many martial artists draw a distinction between sport and martial art. There is a ton of stuff to be gained from playing these games, but they are games.
 

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