Taekwondo
Competition Introduction
Korea’s national sport that has gained international popularity. The Deaflympics includes “Kyorugi” (sparring) and “Poomsae” (forms), which are not adopted in the Olympics
Basic Rules
“Kyorugi (Sparring)”
- Full-contact combat sport emphasising leg techniques, resembling a mix of karate and kickboxing with a strong sporting element
- Victory goes to the athlete who accumulates more points according to predetermined values for different techniques
“Poomsae (Forms)”
- Consists of combinations of various defensive and offensive techniques in taekwondo, performed moving in all directions following set performance lines
- There are two main judging criteria, “accuracy” and “expression”, with rankings determined by total scores
Unique Aspects of Deaf Sports
In deaf taekwondo, lights provide visual signals when referee calls to athletes like “begin” and “stop” cannot be heard.
In kyorugi, a blue light is used for match start signals and red for match end signals.
In poomsae , a blue light is used for performance start signals and red for performance end signals.
Event
25th Summer Deaflympics Tokyo 2025
“Kyorugi”
(Men): -58kg, -68kg, -80kg, +80kg
(Women): -49kg, -57kg, -67kg, +67kg
“Poomsae Individual”
(Men/Women)
“Poomsae Pair”
(Mixed)
