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THE THEORYOF

NEW JAHYOU MAHDSEOKI(Free Sparring)

Written byGrand Master Jong Soo Park

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THEORY OF JAHYOU MAHDSEOKI (FREE SPARRING) IN TAEKWON-DO 2

II\'TRO))l!CTION:TIlE DREAMOFTHEFOUNDER 2WII.Y!"FREESPARRINGCURRENTLYLOOKSLIKE 2WilY TilE RULESANDTHEPOINTSYSTEMSHOULDBEALTERED 3

Techniques ... 3,I.,'trategies 3/I'eight Divisions 3,I.,'nectators 3

HOW TO TRAIN FOR NEW FREE SPARRING 4

Diagonal, Dodging and .lumping Positions 4.lgili~v and Quickness 4Rotating the Trunk -I

NEW RULES AND A NEW POINT SYSTEM 4

CON CLUSION 6

INTERN ATIONAL TAEKWON-DO FEDERA nON TOURNAMENT RULES 7

SECTION I - GENERAL 7.Irtide I. 1)lIrpo.\'(!. ... ... 7.Ir/ide ]. .Ipplic(/tion 7.lrtic/1' 3. (Jflicillls 7.Ir/ide .4, /Jlllies 7

. Ir/icle 5. ('olllpelilors (..1111189) 7

.Irliele 6 IJress 8

.Irtic/e 8. .\ IediclIl./llen/ion.. 8

.lrli('I1' 9. InilllT !.iuhili~I' and Insllrance - ('ompelitors 8

.Ir/iele 10. Insllrance For I~'vent ... ... 8

.Ir/ide II. Sqllare.. 9

.Ir/iele I]. Resllll Recording 9

.Ir/iele 13. Delegates 9

.Ir/ide 1-1. ('ouches Advisors 9

.11'1ide 15. .llt'ards (.11111.89) ... 9

.Irliel1' 16. (Jflicial Terlllinology 10

.Irliele 17. />ivision o{('ompetition (Alii 1/89) II

.Irliele 18. ('ompelilOr Numbers - Individual and Team II

.Irliele 19. Order of'.\/alch (.4m ]..89) II

./rlicle ]0. /I 'eighl ('heck... I]

.Ir/iele ] I. />ralt'fi)/' Order o/Colllpeting (Alii ]/89) 12

. Irliele ]]. ./nnollncellleI1lS I]

.I 1'1ide 23. I~'qlliplllent ('heck. I]

.Ir/iele 1-1. ('ollr/(!.,y (11113/93).. ... I]SECTION II - PATTERN 13

.Irliele 15. (irollps.. ... 13

.Ir/iele 16. l:'Iilllin(/lion -Individual 13

Ir/iel1' 17 l'erfil/'lllllnC1' and l)oil1ls II/(Iil'idlllll (.111I189).. 13.lrli('I1' 18. l:'Iilllin(/lion - Tealll 13

.lrli('I1' 19. I'erfil/'llllll/Cl' and I)oinls - Tealll 1-1

. Irlicle 30. (Jflicillls 1-1

SECTION 111- SPARRING ;. 14. Irtiel1' 31. />il'isions 1-1

.lrtic/e.1]. />lIralion ofBollts (.ClIll189,. 11111.89) 1-1

. Ir/iele 33. 'f'argel .Irea 15

.Irlide 3-1. l)oint.llt'ards (.cllll]/89) 16

THEORY OF JAHYOU MAHDSEOKI (FREE SPARRING) IN TAEKWON-DO 2

INTRODUCTION:TIlE DREAMOFTHEFOUNDER 2WIL\T FREESPARRINGCURRENTLYLOOKSLIKE 2WilY TilE RULESANDTilE POINT SYSTEMSHOULDBEALTERED 3

Techniques 3Strategies 3lI'eight Divisions 3.)'nectators 3

HOW TO TRAIN FOR NEW FREE SPARRING 4

Diagonal, Dodging and .JumpingPositions 4../gilit.vand Quickness 4Rotating the Trunk 4

NEW RULES AND A NEW POINT SYSTEM 4

CON CLUSION , 6

INTERNA TIONAL TAEKWON-DO FEDERA nON TOURNAMENT RULES 7

SECTION ..I-GENERAL ... 7

. /rticle I. I)urpose 7

.Irtiele 1. .Ippliwtion 7

.1rtic!e 3. (Jfficiols 7

.Irticle./. I)uties 7

.Irtiele 5. ('oll/petitors (/111/1,89) 7

. /rticle 6 I)ress 8

. /rticle 8. .\ ledical .1lIention 8

./rtiele 9. Injur" !.iahilit.v and Insurance ..COll/petitors 8

. Irtide 10. Insurance For EveJ1f... 8

.Irtide I I. .'>'quare 9

. /rtiele 11. Result Recording 9

.Irtiele 13. /Jelegates. ... 9

.Irtiele 1./. ('oaches Advisors 9

.Irtiele 15. .lIrards (,III/ 1/89) 9

.Ir/ide 16 Official Terll/inologv 10

./rtide 17. nil'ision o{C'ompetition (All/ 1/89) II

./rtiele 18. ('oll/petitor Numbers - Individual and Teall/ II

.Irtiele 19. Order o(Match (All/ 2/89) II

./r/iele 20. II'eight C'heck 12

. Irtide 1 I. IJraw(iw Order o.fCompeting (All/ 2/89) 12

.Irtiele 12. ./nnouncell/eJ1fs 12

.Irtiele 23. I~'quipll/ent C'heck 12

.Irtiele 1./. ('ourtesv (III/ 3/93)... 12SECTION 11- PATTERN 13

.Irtiele 25. (iroup,\ 13

.Irtic/e 26. /'.'/ill/ino/ion -Indil'idual /3

./rtiele 27. /'er(iiJ'lUiIl/Ceand /)oint.\' Individual (/111 189).. /3

./rtic/e 28. l..-till/ina/ion - Teall/ 13

./rtide 29. l'erfiiJ'luance and l)oiJ1f.\'- Teoll/ 14

. /r/iele 30. (Jfficiols 1./SECTI ON III- SPARR ING 14

.Irtic!e 31. IJil'isions 14

. /r/ieli' 32. /Juration onjouts (.L/mI '89, ..//1/2.89) 14

.Irtiele 33. Targe/ . Jreo 15

. /rtiele 3./. /'oint ./wards (./lm2/89) 16

./rtide 35. .""coring Procedure /6

./rtide 36. Disqualification /7

.Ir/ide 37. Vouls (AII/2/89) 17

.Irtide 38. Warnings (.4/112/89).. /7

./r/ide 39. /njurv 18

.Ir/ide -10. Ilout IJrocedure and Decisions (.1/11/2/89) 18

./rtide -II. Timing /9

.Ir/ide -12. Officials 19SECTION IV - POWER BREAKING 19

.1r/ide -13. /)ivisiol/s... /9

./r/ide -1-1. I'rocedure - /ND/V/DU,1L 20

./r/ide -15. Officials... 2/SECTION V-SPECIAL TECHNlQUE 2]

./r/ide -16. /)ivisions 2/

. /rtide -17. I'rocedure -INDJrlDUAL 2/'1E4A f 22

. /r/ic/e 4R. Officials... 22SECTION VI- DISPUTE PROCEDURE 23

.Ir/icle .N. rourl/all/ent Adjudicatiol/ COll/lI/iflee 23

.Irtide 50. I)isputes 23

.Irtide 51. I)ecisiol/s 23

.Irtide 52. IJisqualijicatiol1 23

.Ir/icle 53. ream competitor //.ithdrawal 23

.Ir/icle 5-1. ('opies of Rules. 23

S ECl'l 0 N V II - J UNlOR R ULES 24

JUNIOR SECTION . 24.1lll.l-.' (iIW{ '/' l'EIllfL' (iIW(lI' 2-1.ICiF . 2-1IH.'(iNf.J 24

PATTERNS 241.\'/)/1 W{~/I. - IJF( iNf'.F /J/ll.\./OA/.')' 2-1. ICiI~'.... . .. . .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. ... . .. . . ... . .. .. . ... ... 2-1

n'.~IJI/ 2-1SPA RRING ... 24

I\'/>II W{ '.11.IIF/( itrl. /)11 ./.'1/0\'.')' 2-1"/'/0.:/.1/ 25

DURATION OF BOUTS 25I\'IJII"lI){ ~./I 25rv 1.1I 25

POWER 25I\'IJIIlI){ :/1. ( '( )I.UX "l'1I'/~' /J//1.',10N 25

iF. 1.1/ 25

THEORY OF JAHYOU MAHDSEOKI (FREE SPARRING) IN TAEKWON-DOByJongSoo Park

INTRODUCTION: THE DREAM OF THE FOUNDER

Before General Hong-Hi Choi, the founder of Taekwon-Do passed away in 2002, he statedthat Jahyou Mahdseoki (free sparring) should be breathtaking and must originate from alltechniques in Taekwon-Do, especially from the Tuls (patterns). He knew that thefundamental movements in the Tuls could be scientifically analyzed and physically adaptedto any sparring situation.

In fact, he believed that free sparring should develop in a way that made spectators imaginethat physical limits were being broken - that flying spinning kicks, multiple air kicks and othertechniques unique to Taekwon-Do were not only powerful and fast, but also spectacular. Toput it bluntly, Taekwon-Do is both 'martial' and 'art' and General Choi promoted this his entirelife.

Thus, free sparring must be strategic and beautiful, tactical and graceful as well as powerfuland harmonious. In this way, free sparring should not only be focused and successful, interms of attacks, but must also look perfect and contain brilliant defenses.

This calls for a change of the rules and point system currently being used in the ITF. Forinstance, proportionally more points should be given for a difficult attack (such as a flyingspinning technique), an excellent defense (such as a clean block of a mid-air attack), aperfect technique (as opposed to a clumsy or overly aggressive one) and overall artisticperformance (along the lines of Olympic-level gymnastics or skaters).

It was General Choi's lifetime goal to develop Taekwon-Do as a martial art. It was his lastwish to evolve it into the future. What follows are some notes on how we should do this.

WHAT FREE SPARRING CURRENTLY LOOKS LIKE

Over the years free sparring, in both the WTF and ITF, has degraded. Four decades ago, weused many advanced techniques during sparring. Today, black belts execute mainly groundtechniques during sparring and basic ones at that. Turning, side and front kicks are popularalong with jabs and other basic punches in ITF. One of General Choi's favorite ground kicks- the twisting kick - is rare during competition. Although one punch, or one kick, should endthe fight - and should be the focus of training - let's not forget that Taekwon-Do involvesstrategies using many artistic hand and foot techniques.

These days, however, the goal during free sparring is to win, so competitors do not riskexecuting advanced kicking and hand techniques. One cannot blame them, WTF mainlyuses front short turning kicks, bouncing around, no hand techniques with very simple skills.The rules and point system are set up to reward conservative strategies and techniques. Forexample, points are not rewarded for excellent blocks or defenses. Even worse, during somesparring matches, points are given for aggressive, clumsy techniques in what amounts tocock fighting or bad boxing.

General Choi always wanted points awarded for defense. He used to say that we need onlythree weight divisions if we award for perfect defensive techniques. The rules must bealtered and the point system updated so that competitors could attempt mid-air and otheradvanced attacks and defenses.

WHY THE RULES AND THE POINT SYSTEM SHOULD BE ALTERED

There are four new issues we should think about if we want to encourage advancedtechniques such as flying kicks, aerial blocks and artistic performance.

TechniquesThe rules should somehow reward attempts for perfectly executed advanced techniques.Extra points should be awarded for difficult kicks. Flying spinning kicks (180°, 360°, 450°,540° kicks) and flying multiple kicks show that the competitor is attempting to overcomephysical limitations, which was one of General Choi's objectives in creating Taekwon-Do.

Let's face it, these kicks are relatively difficult to execute but they are spectacular to behold.A competitor should be awarded for the attempt, even if the kick is more than several inchesfrom a vital spot. A broader target should be determined to allow for these spectacularefforts.

StrategiesThis is more challenging to explain, but we should discuss the fact that free-sparringcompetitors must be rewarded for developing and advancing techniques. First, it is importantif competitors complete a variety of hand and leg techniques. This keeps all Taekwon-Domovements alive. Second, competitors who exhibit advanced sparring strategies should berewarded. Competitors should not be allowed to repeatedly win if they rely on only a fewbasic techniques and, even more importantly, if they depend mainly on aggressiveness orbrute strength. Taekwon-Do should not be heavyweight boxing.

Weight DivisionsIt is not necessary to create so many weight divisions for sparring. The rules should be setup to award points for a variety of attacks, defenses and strategies that are well executed. Ifwe award competitors for completing advanced techniques to the neck, kidney and other vitalspots - or for controlled attacks with elbows and knees - then it is easy to see how even alight person can defeat a heavier one. The goal during sparring would become controlled,advanced techniques, not aggressive, basic strikes intended to injure. In light of these facts,three weight divisions would be sufficient.

SpectatorsThere must be more thrills and less kill in free sparring. The new rules should create a matchthat holds the spectators' attention to the very end of the bout. Because high points would beawarded for advanced flying techniques, competitors would have a chance to dramaticallychange the game at any time, even near the end of the match. Awarding points for variab~etechniques, unique strategies and even for artistic merit would also raise spectators'enthusiasm for Taekwon-Do. Perhaps there would also be less blood and broken bones atthe competitions and more enjoyment.

How TO TRAIN FOR NEW FREE SPARRING

Besides practicing Tuls, as well as three-step, two-step, one-step and semi-free sparringtechniques - all of which are relevant to advance sparring - Taekwon-Do practitioners mustfocus on three key areas.

Diagonal, Dodging and Jumping PositionsTo prepare for the variable situations that develop during free sparring, Taekwon-Domembers must practice techniques in many directions, not just front- and left-right directions.Practice the techniques at angles to your opponent - diagonally as well as dodging andjumping in all directions - in order to freely adapt and use skills in any situation.

Agility and QuicknessMany different types of stretching are required to overcome the stiffness that limits leg andhand techniques. Stretching fortifies the entire body and increases agility and quickness,especially in the hip area. The new sparring discussed in this paper also requires advancedflexibility. The only way black belts can whip their hips in mid-air to execute multiple kicks orhand techniques is to increase agility and flexibility. Another example: dodging at a 450angle while blocking a turning kick and executing a front-leg twisting kick at the same timedemands flexibility.

Rotating the TrunkOne priority in training should be to execute techniques by quickly rotating the lowerabdominals, lower back and pelvic area while doing multiple techniques. This allows thelimbs to achieve great speed with minimal movement. Another challenge is to spring or jumpwith maximum power without telegraphing the technique (one way of telegraphing is toslightly bend the knees before spinning, which cues the opponent that a technique iscoming). Obviously, this should be avoided during free sparring and the abdominals shouldcome more into play. Focusing on trunk rotations also makes half moves and complexsimultaneous techniques easier and freer flowing.

NEW RULES AND A NEW POINT SYSTEMUsingthe currentrulesas a base,the followingchangesshouldbe considered:

A strict non-contact systemPoints awarded only for correctly delivered techniquesProper attacking form connecting to the correct target areasMultiple aerial kicks and acrobatic kicks should have broader target areasAbsolute defense should have specific points awarded (ie. ground)Mid-air blocks should be awarded on the condition of a mid-air attackRe-define the target areas

1. Target Area:

· Facial and complete neck area· Body truck, vertically from the neck front to navel and from a line drawn vertically from

the armpit down to the waist on each side (ie. frontal area only excluding the back)· In the case of aerial kicks, the whole body above the waist can be targeted

2. One Point for:

· Hand or elbow attacks to the face, neck, chest, front and sides of the body

· Foot or knee attacks to the chest, front and sides of the body· Absolute block from ground (when this block occurs, attackers are completely

vulnerable)

3. Two Points for:

· Aerial hand technique attacks to the face· Ground-based kicks to the face

· Executing a flying block during an aerial attack

4. Three Points for:

· Flying acrobatic kicks to the whole body

· Multiple flying kicks to the upper body, including the shoulder, back and forearms (eg.#1 Kick to body from ground + kick to face = 3 points... ego#2 Ground kick to body +flying kick to body = 3 points).

5. Five Points for:

· Flyingacrobatickicks(360°or more)or flying combinationkicksthe face or body.

6. Warnings:

First warning should be recorded as minus half a point but not counted until the secondwarning. This means, if a competitor gets two warnings, he/she loses one full point.

Warnings would be issued for the following:

· Overly aggressive or incorrect techniques

· When an opponent is engaged in a flying spinning kick, flying combination kicks orother acrobatic techniques, interference should not be allowed. The aim is that thedefender must engage in defensive tactic.

· Attacking while grasping or tripping opponent.

· Using fingertips or forehead as attacking tools.

· Attempt at biting or scratching the opponent.

· Unacceptable behaviour and rudeness to referee and opponent.· Disobedience.

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7. Disqualification

Disqualification would occur if:· Three minus points, or six warnings, are given.

· Competitor charges an opponent and causes severe injury.· Competitor repeatedly disobeys the referee's judgments and delays continuing the

match.

CONCLUSION

Changing the free sparring rules and the point system willresult in better sparring bouts forcompetitors, more thrillingmatches for spectators and more beautiful Taekwon-Do - one thatputs the 'art' back into 'martial art'. The new sparring willalso ensure that thousands ofTaekwon-Do techniques willremain alive and vital. In this way, General Hong-Hi Choi'sdream (that free sparringwillbe breathtakingand will continueto evolve)will cometo be.