Whats better to watch, olympic style or itf style sparring?

I do ITF so i'm gonna be a lil bit (jus a lil bit) biased and sugget possibly itf. The one reason tkd was under threat of not being included in the next olympics was because ppl didn't find it entertaining enough. Personally, (from what little i saw of it thanks to the bbc coverage) I thought what i saw at athens was quite good. But could it be better? Why didn't ppl enjoy it? what could they do in Beijing to improve it. Feel free to post ur ideas!

 

Personally, if it's a really good WTF match I'd rather watch that. However, I consistently prefer to watch ITF as there is alot more variety in technique etc.

EDIT: I do ITF style sparring.

 

I prefer ITF.

I'm WTF

 

Wow, Wynnema I'm impressed. I didn't think anybody would come out and say they preferred the others style.

Personally, I'm ITF, and I prefer to watch ITF. To me it's more exciting but I always assumed because that's what I'm used to, and what I understand better. I'd like to see ITF style fighting in the Olympics, but with the ITF schism still dragging on I don't think it's likely. (Yes I know that Chang Ung's ITF group lost in court in Austria, but no I don't think it's over and that still doesn't address Gen. Choi's son's ITF group).

 

i figure that the more rules, the more limitaions and the less "fun"...or erm, realistic.

since ITf has that little more freedom, and you know that those kicks are quite far from light-mid contact, i consider it more entertaining to watch.

i do ITF (well, TAGB but you know )

 

I'm not a TKDer but I guess that makes me representative(ish) of the people who saw it at the olympics. The reason people didn't find it entertaining was the lack of evident competitiveness and skill. It was two heavily armour-clad figures standing 6 inches apart jumping up and down with their arms by their sides for ages before throwing a flurry of kicks with no attempt at defence or evasion. To the layman (i.e. me) it looked entirely random which one was declared the winner.

I've no idea what the other kind of sparring looks like, but I'm told it's a bit more like karate (no armour, more evasion etc) so I'd go for that as a replacement in the Olympics.

 

Ive seen some real good ITF fights. however pretty much every olympic WTF fight ive seen has made me cringe, so id go for ITF

 

WTF fights

 

Personally I'm a fan of all type of competitive fighting. I've seen some fantastic ITF fights, some amazing WTF ones, and of course all the other arts (wrestling, MT, BJJ, MMA, Fencing, etc . . .)

My personal preferance is the WTF matches though, mainly for the reason that I compete myself and understand some of the little nuances involved. I think that's probably the same with any sport though if you actually understand it. I mean really, who likes to watch curling . . . . mostly other curlers

 

The one thing i dislike about watching wtf taekwondo is what Moosey said about the standing 6 ft apart and then throwing a flurry of kicks. I've tried both styles, i've been doing itf for 10 yrs and went for a few sesssions at a wtf club and enjoyed it, but never really got in to it.

Yes moosey, a little bit like karate, a lot less armour, more heavy on the contact even though its meant to be kept light, punches to the face, and i think alot more continuous. Like watching boxing really, the fight only stops if one player hits the deck, or the referee is concerned, injury etc.

Wynnema, i'm impressed too! why do you prefer itf? have you done it before wtf?

 

O think it depends upon the group again.

I have seen some ITF rules stes that are a bit dull but my friend(who loves to compete) takes part in some with a very free rule set allowing mid-contact(heavy bruising but short of breaking) to all areas above the knee(but not neck or spine) and fights are continuous until either the ref steps in or someone falls.

those showcase far more variety and are far faster(rounds are 1 minute in length so they have to act fast) winners only declared after either 5 rounds to one fighter or someone concedes.

 

Overall....definitely ITF. Watching the Olympics made me cringe because it was awful but I've seen some fantastic WTF fights in other competitions....pity we hardly see them in the Olympics.

 

I guess I am biast, but I like seeing people get punched in the face!
so ITF.

 

ITF. How can you have a fighting style that doesn't use punches to the head? As someone who went from TKD to kickboxing, the first few kickboxing sparring attempts I had, everything went fine till I got punched in the face.... I didn't know what to do! Nobody had every punched me in the face before! It makes no sense to have a "martial art" that doesn't allow punches to the head.
WTF needs to lose the body armour and allow face shots to make it more interesting.

 

ITF absolutely, the WTF sport TKD is all kicks and absolutely no hand techniques it seems.

 

I'm ITF, and have not seen much WTF(missed the Olympics). So ITF for me.

 

I love seeing people get punched in the face, that's why I love to watch boxing.

I agree that WTF should inlcude punches to the head.

I like WTF a lot. I have seen lots of excellent fights WTF style, besides that's the style that I do and as a competidor it is really motivating the possibility that someday you can go to the Olympic games.

 

WTF style sparring

ITF style sparring

You decide.

 

i'm in wtf now. used to be in itf too. i have to give it to itf. in those times, in itf style, we get to spar in kickboxing fights with less adjustments. in wtf, it needs realy big adjustments.

 

Actually I watched a few WTF clips last night and they were pretty entertaining - maybe it's just the olympics that sucked? Or maybe the choice of clips by the BBC.