Weapons

Types

There are three main classes of weapons that are available in our style of taekwondo:

Sticks	Connected Sticks	Sharp-Edged

All these weapons are available to traditional color belt competitor. Traditional black belt competitors using weapons have restrictions as noted below.

The weapons in green boxes are ones that we regularly use in classes.

Testing

When a student takes a midterm or rank test, they can substitute a weapon for one of the standard disciplines.

The weapon the student uses must be rank-appropriate (see the black belt competition section) for the current rank of the tester.

Competition

There are rules and situations which apply to all students competing with a weapon:

• A dropped weapon earns a 0.1 point penalty from all judges.
• Improperly picking up a dropped weapon is another penalty from all the judges.
• A weapon which breaks during competition is a penalty from all judges. Students should ensure their competition weapon is in good condition before the tournament starts. Competitors have 30 seconds to get a replacement weapon, or the form will be judged as incomplete.

The performance and scoring procedure for weapon competition is similar to that of form competition. The performance order of the competitors is usually the reverse of the form competitors.

Specific competition rules for traditional color belt and traditional black belt weapon competitors can be found below.

Color Belts

All approved weapons are available for use by color belt competitors, and the student must create their own freestyle form. Still, the student must show quality, power, and competence with their chosen weapon.

These are the weapons allowed for color belt competition:

• Ssahng jeol bong (single or double)
• Bahng mahng ee (single or double)
• Jahng bong
• Ssahng Nat
• Jee pahng ee
• Gum do
• Oh sung do

In competition, there are rules that all color belt students must follow. These are the most important ones:

• Students have up to 30 seconds in which to complete their freestyle routine. Some judges will allow the competitor to continue, but only the first 30 seconds of their performance is judged.
• Color belt freestyle forms can't use whole sections, or be completely copied from black belt forms. This will result in a score of 9.0 from the center judge. The purpose of a freestyle weapon form is for the competitor to create it themselves, not to copy existing forms.
• As with the traditional form competition, students are given scores relative to the other competitors. These are the general criteria used to judge weapons:
  • Utilization of the weapon
  • Overall control of the weapon
  • Difficulty of the moves
  • Originality and creativity
  • Practicality
  • Stances, timing, rhythm
• All three judges will judge the overall form.

Black Belts

The lowest rank at which each weapon is accessible by a black belt student for tournaments or testing is noted below.

Each judge in a black belt ring will judge the competitor's overall form. The center judge will also judge the form for completeness.