Height helps?

[shieldg]

I heard that height helps alot in taekwondo. One of my senior told me that being taller and having longer legs help. He is 6'1 and his legs are 38 inches from the inner cut. I am 5'6 and i didnt measure my leg length.

I think he's wrong but in his weight group, i went through his records. Out of 56 matches, he won 52.

He said how that one or 2 inch of leg length difference and height gave him the edge in the distance and timing waiting staring part in taekwondo matches.

Out of curiousity , only if you wish, can you put your height and leg length and your results in competition so that other posters can see if what he claimed is a myth?

Oh, he claimed i should never touch middle weight and should stay in lightweight if i want to stand a chance.

 

[granfire]

maybe in a long range matchup height matters.

I know enough short people who can and will run circles around taller opponents, but that's not sport TKD.

But those guys with the long reach often seem to rely on it, too, and have considerable holes in the short range game.

 

[dancingalone]

I definitely think height helps when sparring Olympic style.

 

[rabbit]

I am 6'2'' and the extra reach doesn't seems to help. I still lose a lot of matches.

 

[terryl965]

Technique and knowing how to manage a ring and the fight can really help, but have long legs is a great weapon in an Olympic match.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I heard that height helps alot in taekwondo. One of my senior told me that being taller and having longer legs help. He is 6'1 and his legs are 38 inches from the inner cut. I am 5'6 and i didnt measure my leg length.

I think he's wrong but in his weight group, i went through his records. Out of 56 matches, he won 52.

He said how that one or 2 inch of leg length difference and height gave him the edge in the distance and timing waiting staring part in taekwondo matches.

Out of curiousity , only if you wish, can you put your height and leg length and your results in competition so that other posters can see if what he claimed is a myth?

Oh, he claimed i should never touch middle weight and should stay in lightweight if i want to stand a chance.

Height helps in anything. Being able to land a blow on an a vital target area before an opponent is within reach to do so to you is very helpful. But, one must know how to use this height to their advantage.

Being short can be an advantage too; smaller target area, smaller profile, generally quicker and for those reasons, can be harder to hit. But like height, one must be able to use it to their advantage.

What I really enjoy are the rare opportunities where I can spar against someone my own height. Then I have no height advantage and I have to think differently and use a different strategy.

To answer your request, I'm 6'4, 198 pounds, and my inseam is about the same as your instructor's. I'm not a very active competitor, but I do win most of my matches, both taekwondo and kumdo, and yes, the height is a big part of it. I can land head shots very easily because I rarely have to kick high enough to hit my own head. Since I can kick higher than that, landing a head shot on a guy five ten isn't a big stretch for me, while for him to hit me in head with a kick requires him to be able to kick greater than his own height. Even against an opponent my own height, he does not have the luxury of a height enabled head shot, though in that case, neither do I.

Out of curiosity, aside from height, is there any other reason that he said that you should avoid middle weight? Not to be a pain, but you seem annoyed that he's told you this, but given his record, he has the background and experience to at least have a good reason to say that, even if he may be off base; never having sparred you nor having see you spar, I can't really comment as to whether he is in line with that claim or not. I will say that against guys over five foot ten, you would have a very serious obstacle to overcome.

If you were to move to a division where the average competitor is substantially taller than yourself, you would need to be a good infighter and take advantage of the size difference. Oh, and hands at your side sparring against a guy more than six inches taller than yourself would be unadvised.

Daniel

 

[rabbit]

Most people I train with at my studio are shorter than me. It helps at the studio. When I go to a tournament I have to compete against people my age and height. So I am at a disadvantage becuse I never train with people taller than me.