WT/TKD Changing the Rules - Again

[HighKick1]

As with nearly every regime change, WT/TKD is proposing new rule changes. Typical lately after an Olympic cycle ends WT looks to change and tweak rules leading to the next one. Here are some of the things being looked at from an interview with WT Technical Director Philip Boedo from the 2025 German Open:

• There are 3 events with tests currently planned (Kazakhstan, Germany, Russia)
• Olympic Broadcast Services like Taekwondo say there are too many stoppages in the action, and that they are too long in duration (face kick IVR being the main culprit here)
• They are asking the referees to give fewer gamjeom, only calling penalties when “necessary” - for example if someone egregiously grabs and then kicks and scores there should be a penalty and point removal but if they just grab and nothing happens as a result, no gamjeom
• Turning (technical +2) kicks are also on the chopping block due to referees sometimes making mistakes and not hitting their technical button on something like a Dwi Chagi, resulting in another stop in action and IVR to verify
• Master Boedo doesn’t like the removal of 4 and 5 point kicks but apparently the data from the last couple of GPs show that technicals make up a small percentage of scoring shots
• They want everything streamlined essentially - 3 referees per ring (1x center ref and 2x with scoring controllers?), less matches being determined by penalties
• They don’t like how the same match can have two different outcomes based on who is refereeing it
• They would like singles matches to have the referee behavior and uninterrupted flow of team matches “action, action, action”

What say you on these proposed changes?

 

[Dirty Dog1]

I think with every rule cycle, they move KKW TKD further away from an actual MA.

 

[skribs101]

I've competed in both Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I've not been anywhere near Olympic level in either, but from what I've seen, BJJ seems far more streamlined than TKD.

BJJ tournaments typically run faster than planned. The more submissions that happen, the more fights get moved up. I have never been to a Taekwondo tournament that moved swiftly or quickly. I remember coaching one tournament. It was supposed to be over at 5. At 6, my parents (who were just there to watch) got hungry and went out to dinner. Then they saw a movie. Then they came back and we were still waiting for a couple of fights.

At that tournament, we had to bring kids to the staging room to get ready to get lined up. Then we had to wait for them to get lined up, then for brackets to be formed. Then they were brought to the arena where they sat in a second staging area, only to get moved mat-side. At each staging area, they were waiting 30-60 minutes. It was hours from when they were called until they fought. It was horrendous. Kids got tired, bored, hungry. They just wanted it to be over. The majority of what we did as coaches was keep the kids entertained until they finally got to fight.

In BJJ tournaments, you get your brackets the night before. You show up shortly before your assigned time, weigh in, and you're usually fighting within 20 minutes (unless your opponent no-shows). The first tournament I went to watch I missed every fight I wanted to see because it got moved up and happened earlier than I expected it to. They are significantly more efficient in how they move folks through.

I do hope TKD figures out how to streamline tournaments. I do hope so, because when I start taking students to tournaments, I'd rather have a fun, engaging experience than a tedious one.

 

[Haruhiko]

for example if someone egregiously grabs and then kicks and scores there should be a penalty and point removal but if they just grab and nothing happens as a result, no gamjeom

This is hampering risky kicks that referees have trouble scoring. It also encourages more passive clashing which is a pain to separate.

referees sometimes making mistakes and not hitting their technical button on something like a Dwi Chagi

This is a referee problem and like you mentioned, disincentives technical kicks.

They would like singles matches to have the referee behavior and uninterrupted flow of team matches “action, action, action”

With the amount of penalties being thrown at risky technicals, I don't see how this lines up with their dispassion for slow fights.

It's like they want their cake and eat it too. Matches will be safer, easier to judge, and fighters will have to find more ways to blind spot points with the grabbing changes. Nothing major but it simply doesn't make sense.

Master Boedo doesn’t like the removal of 4 and 5 point kicks but apparently the data from the last couple of GPs show that technicals make up a small percentage of scoring shots

I WONDER WHY.

I think with every rule cycle, they move KKW TKD further away from an actual MA.

It's a sport. They're treating it like one.

 

[isshinryuronin]

I think with every rule cycle, they move KKW TKD further away from an actual MA.

My recent thread, "Where to draw the line?" brings up this point. IMO, important to the long-range future of the art.

It's a sport. They're treating it like one.

The trouble with organizations is they like to organize. In their bubble, the more detailed and "developed" it gets, the better. It gives them a sense of purpose. But what's good for that purpose is not always what's best for the competitors, the sport, or the art. Like real combat, the simpler, the better. A few rules for scoring and safety - beyond that, just let the guys fight and have fun!

 

[Haruhiko]

My recent thread, "Where to draw the line?" brings up this point. IMO, important to the long-range future of the art.

The trouble with organizations is they like to organize. In their bubble, the more detailed and "developed" it gets, the better. It gives them a sense of purpose. But what's good for that purpose is not always what's best for the competitors, the sport, or the art. Like real combat, the simpler, the better. A few rules for scoring and safety - beyond that, just let the guys fight and have fun!

What's fun should be what the spectators and fighters enjoy, from the art. For me that was technical kicks, not this poke and prod with your foot nonsense. It's been such a cautious sport for over a decade now. Look at the 2000's world's and even the 2000 Olympics in Sydney — such a different attitude.

The PSS has changed the tenacity of kicks and attack... one little roundhouse and *ping* you've scored. They're fencing with feet now. And the IVR is psychological torture when you're in the middle of a fight.

Go back to corner refs with buttons. Score it with flags. I don't care what they do just get rid of this point-verify-judge system that's killed momentum.

 

[skribs101]

I think with every rule cycle, they move KKW TKD further away from an actual MA.

I get the general sentiment, but I don't really see it in this case. Trying to bring more action and more continuous fighting seems to me that they're trying to get closer to martial arts.

 

[HighKick1]

I get the general sentiment, but I don't really see it in this case. Trying to bring more action and more continuous fighting seems to me that they're trying to get closer to martial arts.

I feel this is 100% wait and see.
Which is something else that annoys me. I have often wondered if they do any kind of test bed live sparring to see what works and what does not for the competitors And the audience. I get that fighters are going to push and change the base model. We all did it back in the day to be the best fighter (within the rules) you could be. Or whether they really get And listen to feedback from outside their 'circle'. It certainly does not feel/look like it. Add this to the Very close relationship between KKW and the approved electronic equipment certainly make you wonder about the money trails.
The clinch was taken too far back in the day, no question. It was removed to 'keep the action going'. When they completely removed it, that was the beginning of the never-ending slide they are in now. It could have/should be controlled/shortened. Simple as that. What WT sparring is now is a s**t show.