Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

616 Taekwondo
score a technique wins. As in Olympic-style competition, running out of the
ring is not allowed. In some forms of non-Olympic competition, competitors
do not wear protective gear (although groin protection is required), and
practitioners are only allowed to make light contact when striking.
Forms competition is also an event in some taekwondo tournaments.
The forms are known as hyung or poomse. Competitors perform a form,
and a panel of three judges scores the competitor. Factors that are used in
awarding points include the precision of techniques, especially kicks; the
condition of a competitor (indicated by not being winded after the end of
a sequence); the focus of techniques; and mental attitude. Obviously, forms
judging is more subjective than sparring, with the judges having much
more input into how and when points are awarded.
Taekwondo also places an emphasis on breaking. Practitioners are
expected to be able to break wood and, at higher levels, concrete. Although
breaking techniques are emphasized in other martial arts, most notably
Kyokushinkai Karate, taekwondo practitioners are expected to be able to
break at least one board with every type of kick. Thus, taekwondo practitioners
will learn breaking techniques not with just a few techniques, such
as a punch, but rather with all of the types of kicks. A student who climbs
the ranks is expected to be able to break boards with advanced kicks, including
jumping wheel kicks and back kicks. This is designed to teach the
student accuracy and power in kicking techniques.
Taekwondo, perhaps more than any other martial art, has been featured
in countless movies and television productions. Bruce Lee studied and copied
taekwondo kicking techniques for incorporation into his movies, most notably
Enter the Dragon. Chuck Norris, although a Tang Soo Do practitioner,
made the kicks of Korean systems famous worldwide with his movies from
the 1970s and early 1980s and his long-running American television series,
Walker: Texas Ranger. There is now scarcely a Hollywood action film that
does not include some sequence or fight scene that features the art.
Taekwondo has emerged as one of the major martial arts of the twentieth
century. It is likely that as the art becomes an established Olympic
sport, it will continue to grow in recognition and popularity. However, the
art has been criticized as having become too much of a sport, with the predictable
result that many of the techniques that enabled taekwondo to become
an effective martial art in the first place, such as strikes to the vital
points of the human body, will become forgotten as taekwondo practitioners
instead focus their energies on how to score points in tournament fighting.
This has already led to the development of what some have termed traditional
taekwondo, in which emphasis is placed on hyung (forms) practice
and self-defense, and equal weight is given to the practice and development
of punches and kicks, as compared to Olympic-style taekwondo, in which