Tournament Weight Category

In taekwondo, a weight class is a standardized weight range for taekwondo practitioners. The upper weight limit for each class is the lower limit of the next highest class. A taekwondo sparring ( 겨루기 gyeorugi ) is usually scheduled for a fixed weight class, and each practitioner's weight must not exceed the upper limit.

A competitor typically weighs more between championships than at the time of a tournament. Part of the process of training for a match is "getting down to fighting weight". The weigh-in takes place the day before the tournament. Competitors typically stand on the scales barefoot and without the uniform, belt, or sparring gears.

A competitor who is over the weight limit may strip naked to make the weight if the excess is minimal; otherwise, one can try again later, typically after losing weight in the interim through dehydration by vigorous exercise. If the excess weight is too great, the effort expended trying to "make weight" will make the competitor unfit for the fight itself. In such cases, the competitor may be disqualified for the tournament by the officials.

At the weigh-in, the fighter must be between the weight class's upper and lower limits. Below is the weight category for World Taekwondo (WT).

• Outline
  

  SPORTS WORLD

  Taekwondo

  Taekwondo as a martial art is popular with people of both genders and of many ages. Physically, taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. Under World Taekwondo (WT) and Olympic rules, sparring is a full-contact event and takes place between two competitors in an area measuring 8 meters square. A win can occur by points, or if one competitor is unable to continue (knockout) the other competitor wins.

  History of Taekwondo: The oldest Korean martial art was an amalgamation of unarmed combat styles developed by the three rival Korean Kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje, where young men were trained in unarmed combat techniques to develop strength, speed, and survival skills.

  Sparring ( gyeorugi 겨루기 ): A win can occur by points, or if one competitor is unable to continue (knockout) the other competitor wins.

  Tournament Point System: Points are awarded for permitted, accurate, and powerful techniques to the legal scoring areas; light contact does not score any points.

  Tournament Weight Category: In taekwondo, a weight class is a standardized weight range for taekwondo practitioners. The upper weight limit for each class is the lower limit of the next highest class.

  Tournament Referee: A referee is the person of authority in taekwondo who is responsible for presiding over the match from a neutral point of view and making on-the-fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.

  Sparring Basics

  Sparring Advanced

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles "Taekwondo", "Sparring", "Taekwondo Competition", "Referee", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.