Taekwondo Competition Rules and Self Defense

Photo credit: Aminoacid91

A nice post by Self Defense Source on the difference between ITF (International Tae Kwon-Do Federation) and WTF (World Taekwondo Federation) rules for sparring in competition. Why post about specific federation rules? Well, it relates to the discussion started by John Zimmer at My Self Defense Blog on what I called Competitive Distortion in Martial Arts Competition, meaning how tweaks to the rules emphasize (or de-emphasize the practicality of certain techniques. Zimmer’s post focused on open tournament rules, and then it started a healthy discussion on MMA in his comments. The Self Defense Source post is a pretty fair comparison of the difference, pros and cons of the two federations’ rules, with the admonition that, “Although both organizations have admirable characteristics and traits, receiving training in WTF vs ITF Tae Kwon Do, can lead the student down different paths.” What are those paths?

The gist of it is that, “Individuals who want to compete in tournaments that may lead to Olympic try-outs will be most interested in the WTF sanctioned schools. When self-defense or the art of movement is the goal, the ITF sanctioned schools will be most appropriate” Absolutely correct. Or is it?

Full disclosure: I hold black belt ranks in both styles of TKD, but favor the ITF. I do recognize, however, that there are distinct advantages to the WTF approach, at least as I understand it (not having taught pure TKD of any flavor since 1996). The two biggest advantages for the self-defense oriented martial artist is that WTF competitive sparring is very physical – heavy contact is the only way to score; in some traditional (ITF) competition, power is de-emphasized over clean technique and control (reducing power while retaining speed and technique). There are other differences, and to make it easy for even someone like me to understand, here is a handy comparison chart:

Comparison Point	WTF	ITF
Knockouts?	Allowed (wins)	Not allowed (Disqualification)
Power Level	Heavy (to score at all)	Controlled (or point deductions)
Body Protection Equipment	Yes	No
Head Punching	Illegal	Allowed
# of rounds	Three with 1-minute rest periods	One 2-minute round
Continuous Action?	No	Yes
Point Scoring	Body (punch or kick)=1 Turning during score+1 Head kick=3	Punch to head or body=1 Kick to body=2 Kick to head=3

Can you pick out the distinct advantages for self-defense oriented practitioner? No? Well, it’s not that clear. Here’s my humble opinion, and I’ll invite our TKD oriented readers to correct and interject as to whatever I may have missed.

The WTF sparring style is extremely fast – footwork is unique among martial arts and very deceptive. I’ve found out personally how effective the sport footwork is for controlling range. And I didn’t like it when applied to me! It CAN be applied in self defense, but must be tempered by the conditions (as all styles must), including the room needed, and the footing.

ITF sparring’s inclusion of face contact via punches is a big plus. There was nothing I hated more than watching ITF players standing and trading kicks while almost hip to hip, when a elbow or hook punch would have taken so much less effort and been immeasurably more effective. The primary benefit of allowing face punching is that the practitioner learns to defend face punches, which are probably the most common attach there is, besides grabs and shoves.

The WTF style is all about kicking HARD. That’s a big plus since the competitors learn to hit a moving, resisting target with power. They also learn to absorb a hit and not get stunned. On the other hand, the ITF emphasis on control is, to me, dangerous for two reasons: 1) you’re expecting a certain level of control, and if it’s not used, you can get hurt very badly, and 2) there is a distinct lack of control in a violent encounter, and you need to be aware of, and ready for that! The continual threat of getting knocked out in WTF sparring adds a sense of gravity to the idea of hitting while not getting hit! I’d thought of mentioning the hogu as a reason to dump on the WTF as unrealistic, but it’s not as much a factor as you’d think, since the emphasis is to heavily on head kicking. And the shots are so powerful that they hurt anyway.

WTF conditioning is a nice plus. There are few sports that demand a higher level of conditioning than an elite WTF fighter. I got tired just watching Gordon’s young fighters getting ready for a regional tournament.That training can make the difference in an encounter lasting longer than expected, or even if you just want to put some distance between yourself and the situation.

To sum up, I think both are unrealistic enough due to the emphasis mentioned in John’s post about open rules: more points for head kicks. That leads to a distortion in that what is being used in competition is one of the last things you want to use in self defense. Sensei Matt Klein’s comment in the Zimmer post was right on: for a sport that can also apply well in self defense, pick MMA.

For more information:

Read the original post at Self Defense Source

Wikipedia post on TKD

Traditional Taekwondo Techniques

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