This Saturday I took second for my division in point sparring at a small tournament. The final match came down to sudden death. I obviously didn't get the point, and I felt that my opponent clearly deserved the win. A bit later a few friends of mine said I shouldve won before the sudden death. I was not swayed because the judges have a better view of the action As I was leaving some one I never met came up to me and said nice job on the win, and someone else said "you clearly won that last round bad calls were made. " I think that my opponent deserved the win. Especially from the last point he tagged me with. This all got me doubting my last match where I took 1st by one point. The judges are all from the schools that are there competing. I know that they are not supposed to be judging their own students, but there is a ton of freindships among the black belt comunity. Any former judges out there give a point they were unsure of because a competitior was a student of a friend of yours? This match I have no doubt about. I lost. I doubt now that I won my last one.
To err is human I umpire and referee at TKD tournaments several times a year, and I've never given a point to a student or friend because of who they were. I have had people question my calls, and that happens to all judges. Usually the reason is simple; I can't see the point, so I can't give it. If a competitor has their back to me and their opponent throws a kick to their stomach for example, I can't give the point as I'm unsighted. That person might even move as if they were kicked, but it would be tough to distinguish that from a dodge/flinch, so it would still be difficult to give the point. All that might happen and I might hear a noise that sounded like an impact, but that noise could have been something else, or even the kicker slapping their chest to make an impact noise to sway the judges! This, of course, is why there are normally multiple judges. But you can see how spectators at different angles can have a very different view of a bout. On top of that, mistakes are made and it may just be you did have a bad call made against you. It may be you got a break last time. It's just the luck of the draw, it all balances out over time, and it rarely completely decides the outcome of a bout. Don't let it devalue your achievements, nor let it annoy you if you get pipped at the post; over time it will work out. You won your last bout. The records show it. Don't worry about it Mitch
Most likely because head, and groin shots are also target areas. Also take downs with a hit. At my level I would not compete if I had to purchase gear with sensors.
I am not a fan of TKD judging to be honest. I felt i won my last competition as did the people around me. We hosted a team from Northern Ireland a while back that took most of the medals. The agreement among most of the guys was that they got good calls because of the distance they travelled and to keep good relations. One of my friends who is exceptional (Had Evgeni Otsemik (sp) on the ropes at last euros) was put out in the first round by the eventual winner from Northern Ireland. When people contested the decision including my friend he was told that his opponent showed more spirit and more agression. As everyone around pointed out it was absolute garbage and that points during the fight should have counted not agression or spirit or any other such nonsense. Baza
Was he actually ahead on points, do you know, or was it a case where the scores were actually pretty much even?
No Sloth, my friend clearly won. The other guy had zero cotrol, he fell threw the judges table at one point mis judging a kick. The second person he fought had him well beat too. The real sickener was the referee was actually one of my old schools teachers who we knew. The guy threw an uppercut in frustration and wasn't even warned. This is what was making people think that we were being kind as we were hosts and to keep good relations. I have heard many tales like this since then to be fair. My friend who fights at 65kg turned down his guaranteed gold medal to fight in the 75kg, he gave away 10kg and the adminstrators allowed it. He wiped the floor with the guy too. Baza
I've had plenty of arguments with refs. Not being scored for certain sloppy takedowns which looks like we both fell but video would clearly show it was a waistlock takedown. HOWEVER (and now i can say this cos I'm done competing) when it happens the other way. I kept my mouth shut. I won a round, when I shouldn't..which kept me in the game. What I am trying to say though, is that Referees can only work with what they see. If they didn't see it, it didn't happen. Contrary to popular opinion, the ref doesn't always have the best see seat in the house. Theyre just very up close. So next you compete, like any other time, work your hardest and (literally) kick the other guy to bits. Worry about the outcome later.
I acutally do factor in how to win, and not just win, because of these problems with light and semi contact.
Ah, I did wonder. I've seen it sometimes where two fighters are pretty much level pegged in light continuous sparring since I've been kickboxing and the guy who showed more determination, heart and aggression has been awarded the win rather than the defensive guy, which I kind of agreed with. But only when the fight was even, controlled, etc. I actually tried to award a win to a guy who was fighting in an inter-club comp a couple of weeks ago that I took part in (I was one of the judges for that match and he was in a different weight category). He didn't get as many hits in but was a lot more controlled and had the disadvantage that he actually suffered with seizures. Hence why I asked. The account you mentioned was pretty diabolical though.
I know what you mean Sloth but when it comes down to points on the board i don't think there should be room for bias. On another note i do fancy taking up kickboxing. When you say you "tried to award a win" - what happened? Can you give an example of this? Baza
I haven't competed yet but trained with some guys daily now for a few weeks. Things like agression and the overall apperance, things which shouldn't matter but clearly do, as you attest to. Strongly dislike this. It should not even be concidered, but it is the way it is.
Sorry mate but you have no basis with which to say this. I put away a guy that was 17st. It wasn't my appearance that won it for me. What level do you concider yourself in TKD. If your black belt are you a hard black belt or a soft one, which do you concider yourself? Have you ever actually felt someone's body weight behind a punch, taken a kick to the kidneys or liver? Baza
As with most things you're wrong , there are valid strategies for trying to make sure you're more likely to score a point , and make it harder for you're opponent to score on you , aggression and "appearance" have little to do with it.
Whats your point? I asked you what you do to win the fight. Never mind what was said. You have never been in competition. What i said was the excuse used not what the general concensus was. Please try your very best to validate your posting. This really annoys me, in my last TKD club i had guys come up and give me advice going into competition that never competed.
