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    So, Taekwondo then...

    The world Taekwondo championships are taking place in Guadalajara next month and tickets for the morning qualifying sessions are a whopping £2.50, so I'm thinking of going to a few of them after I drop my daughter off at school. The last world championships took place in Manchester, so possibly an OTFer or 2 attended?

    So, a few questions:

    Is it a good spectator sport?
    Are the rules difficult to understand. I just checked online, and you get points for contact kicks and punches, the fighter with the most contact wins, that sounds simple enough. Is it really?
    Will qualifying sessions be a bit too confusing for a novice to attend? It looks like there will be 3 rings to watch, doesn't that get confusing?
    Is there a specific weight category that is more popular or exciting? Or is that irrelevant?
    Who are the big stars of Taekwondo?

    #2
    Enjoy. I've absolutely no idea on any answers to your questions but on weight category I'd predict it would be similar to boxing or any other similar sport and that heavier weights might be slower and less interesting.

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      #3
      Every time I've watched it I've found the scoring slightly perplexing in terms of what it's intended to measure, although easy enough to understand. From what I remember, you get one point for a punch to the body, five for a kick to the head, etc. I remember lots of times in the Olympics, a fighter was ahead by a few points in the last 20 seconds, only to then lose when they get kicked in the head. It was kind of frustrating. Why didn't they just refuse to engage?

      So it's always been a fight sport that I've not had much interest in. But you should definitely go – that sounds a fantastic opportunity.

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        #4
        I've no idea but maybe refusing to engage is understood as passivity and subject to penalty points?

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          #5
          You might be right, but in the Olympics, I remember a commentator saying "all she needs to do is stay away!" ... and then she got kicked in the head.

          I'm making it sound quite entertaining, now I come to think of it.

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            #6
            Originally posted by diggedy derek View Post
            in the Olympics, I remember a commentator saying "all she needs to do is stay away!" ... and then she got kicked in the head.
            Maybe this delightful woman?

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              #7
              This is a decent primer.

              https://olympics.com/en/featured-new...ring-equipment

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXUCHThaxoU

              I would also suggest watching videos of some bouts on YouTube to get a sense of the flow.

              The current World Rankings are accessible here
              http://www.worldtaekwondo.org/ranking/ranking.html

              The sport is notable for not being as concentrated in a small group of nations as many others.

              Of the eight Gold Medals awarded in Tokyo, only Russia won more than one, and a total of 21 countries won medals.

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                #8
                I went to Taekwondo at the 2012 Olympics having not seen much of the sport before and found it easy to follow and gripping. I even took my then five year old son (my wife and daughters were watching the Diving at the same time) and he enjoyed it too.

                I've since watched quite a bit at major tournaments as Wales has had a few elite competitors (such as double Olympic champion Jade Jones who broke through at London) and would love to see it again live.

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                  #9
                  Thanks Ray, and everyone else.

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                    #10
                    Have you been going steveeeeeeeee?

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                      #11
                      My son played at school and got to black belt with the beginnings of some gold on the tips. I found the inter school matches entertaining despite not fully understanding everything. But I got the gist and could usually tell who'd won before the judges announced.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by Antepli Ejderha View Post
                        Have you been going steveeeeeeeee?
                        Starts in a couple of weeks' time.

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                          #13
                          Alas, not to be and I couldn't go yesterday, nor will I be able to go tomorrow. I've had a complete nightmare over the last couple of weeks. Daughter breaks her arm and then our flat in London gets flooded by the flat above. Being a landlord is sh*t and stressful, I wish I wasn't one.

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                            #14
                            Sorry to hear that, best of luck to her and you.

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                              #15
                              Sorry to hear that Steve

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                                #16
                                Ah, thanks and in the grand scheme of things, it no biggie. Daughter fractured her arm above elbow making a courageous leap from atop of a 12ft inflatable climbing wall. Tenant is being supportive and understands I'm doing all I can, but I fear situation may drag on due to scumbag, unlicensed HMO renting landlord of the flat above. I've reported him to environmental health, but can't see much being done anytime soon.

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                                  #17
                                  That's a bummer. Hope that gets sorted out and your insurance comes through.


                                  With TKD or any of the martial arts in the Olympics - including fencing, boxing and wrestling - it's often hard to understand the rules and kind of disappointing that it isn't at all like a Bruce Lee film.

                                  On the other hand, we have a sport where almost every kind of move or hit is legal and it's not that exciting to anyone who isn't particularly interested in violence for its own sake. In my experience, MMA is just wrestling with more concussions. I'd much rather watch proper wrestling without the hits to the face. Of course, I'm in one of the only places in the world where "proper wrestling" is very popular and on TV.

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                                    #18
                                    Really sorry to hear about your impact injuries and water ingress, Steveeeeeeeee. Sounds a right pain.

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