Tournament Day Playbook: Taekwondo
Mat Manual companion guide to "Your First Tournament: The WT Day, Rehearsed." Print it. The article walks the WT day in order and explains what electronic scoring rewards. This book trains the day: a six-week run-in, a…
| Art | Taekwondo |
|---|---|
| Family | Korean Arts |
| Level | beginner |
| Format | playbook |
| Topics | competition, kicks, training-plans |
Mat Manual companion guide to "Your First Tournament: The WT Day, Rehearsed." Print it. The article walks the WT day in order and explains what electronic scoring rewards. This book trains the day: a six-week run-in, a two-kick game plan, the day-of checklist, warm-up builds for three hall situations, the between-match reset, and a review sheet. It is the partner to this library's first-competition playbooks for BJJ and judo, so the day runs on the same rails in every art.
Competitor: ______________________________ Event: ______________________________ Date: ______________ Division: ______________ Coach: ______________________________
BEFORE ANYTHING: THE RULES THIS BOOK DOES NOT BEND ☐ Compete at your natural weight. Weight is settled with your coach weeks out, on the entry form. No dehydration practices, no morning-of negotiations with the scale. Children never cut weight, full stop. ☐ The game plan is fixed by week two of the run-in: two scoring kicks and one defence. Nothing new is added in the final fortnight, however well it worked once in the gym. ☐ Gear is checked against the event's standards before the event week, protector fit and certification, mouthguard formed, uniform legal. A kit problem found at check-in is a preparation failure, not bad luck. ☐ Any injury in the run-in is reported to the coach the day it happens. Entering hurt and hoping is a decision this book removes in advance. ☐ On the day, food and water follow Part 8 and Part 19. The venue's concession line is not a nutrition plan. ☐ A competitor who feels dizzy, foggy, or unwell at any point stops and tells the coach or a parent at once. The bracket is never the reason a symptom goes unreported.
Part 1: The Event Card, Scoring, Calls, and the Pencil Rule
Carry this card in the bag. Events set their own details inside the WT framework, so verify each line against your event's published rules and information pack before the day, and pencil any difference onto the card. The pencilled card is the true one.
| Element | The standard to confirm for your event |
|---|---|
| Scoring system | Electronic trunk protector (PSS hogu) at most first events; some events add an electronic head protector; some scores are added by corner judges by hand. Confirm which parts of your scoring are electronic and which are judged |
| What scores | Techniques landing on the scoring areas with the scoring surface, registering on the system or seen and awarded by the judges. Head techniques carry the highest value in the WT game. Pencil your event's current points table in the margin, from the official pack |
| Penalties | Fouls are recorded against you, accumulate, and repeated penalties end matches. Boundary violations, falling, grabbing, and attacking after a break are the usual first-timer traps |
| Match format | Rounds and round length for your division, from the official pack, pencilled here: rounds ______ · length ______ · rest ______ |
| The standard this book teaches | Kick so the force registers through the protector (Part 11), defend the head as the highest-value target, and know the score state late in any match |
| Court call or signal | Meaning | Your behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Chung / Hong | Blue / red, the competitor called | Answer to your colour at once |
| Kal-yeo | Break, the referee separates the competitors | Stop attacking instantly, step back as directed |
| Kye-sok | Continue | Resume on the call |
| Gam-jeom signal | A penalty is recorded | Register it. Do not argue it |
| Time / end signal | The round or match is over | Stop, return, bow out |
Call spellings and signals vary slightly by event. Watch one match on your court before yours (Part 17), and the local version of every line above becomes familiar before it is aimed at you.
Tournament Day Playbook: Taekwondo
Mat Manual companion guide to "Your First Tournament: The WT Day, Rehearsed." Print it. The article walks the WT day in order and explains what electronic scoring rewards. This book trains the day: a six-week run-in, a two-kick game plan, the day-of checklist, warm-up builds for three hall situations, the between-match reset, and a review sheet. It is the partner to this library's first-competition playbooks for BJJ and judo, so the day runs on the same rails in every art.
What's Inside
- Part 1: The Event Card, Scoring, Calls, and the Pencil Rule
- Part 2: The Small Game Plan Builder
- Part 3: The Six-Week Run-In, Overview
- Part 4: The Opening Exchange Builder
- Part 5: Pressure Drilling Formats
- Part 6: Registration, Weigh-In, and Bracket Literacy
- …and 22 more sections
The full guide is a paid Mat Manual product. Checkout is not connected yet — no payment is taken on this page.
Free companion article: Your First Tournament: The WT Day, Rehearsed — the full article, free in full.
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