Electronic Hogu Hurting Taekwondo by GM Young In CHEON

[puunui]

Forwarding from Grandmaster Young In Cheon.


*****

I have written an article about my feelings of the electronic hogus in
korean that is being published on Mookas.com. The article is fairly long
and will be posted in 3 sections. Unfortunately, my english is not good and
it is in korean only but my student Phillip Yun has translated first part.
If you would like the korean version I can email it to you the pdf. Please
send request to [email protected]


March 24, 2011

The use of Electronic Body Protector in the Olympic can be the end of
Taekwondo as we know it. I was inspired by the recent mistakes made by
lajust during the Korean Olympic Team trials to write this article. I have
witnessed many faults of... the EBP in tournaments other than the Korean
National Trials.

I have written numerous articles against the EBP, but they had not been
published. I wish to publicize the numerous problems that the EBP holds to
the Taekwondo community.

The consensus regarding the EBP is that it is necessary to prevent bias and
corruption of the referees, but I beg to differ:
First, I believe that the partiality of the scoring in matches has not
improved since the introduction of the EBP.
I see the EBP as more of a scapegoat for the faults of the referees. In
addition, I feel that the techniques in Taekwondo have deteriorated by
trying to comply with the new style that the EBP has created for Taekwondo.

For example, the EBP is available for use for children older than 8. It is
obviously unfitting that a mere child, on which even a regular chest
protector would be considered heavy, is wearing an EBP, which is
significantly heavier than the regular chest protector.
The cost is certainly another issue to be considered. The entire set costs
thousands of dollars, and yet, a personal EBP is not allowed for use for
competitions. Thus, a competitor would have to pay $45 for the sensor socks,
$20 for the EBP rental fee and the competition registration fee.

Second, has the scoring become more accurate and fair since the introduction
of the EBP? This device only detects kicks to the body, which is a miniscule
portion of Taekwondo Sparring Techniques. The majority of the scoring is
still done by referees, such as turning kicks, head kicks, punches and
warnings.

I believe that the EBP has not performed even 50% up to its expectations.
Rather, it has reversed the improvements in techniques of Taekwondo with its
inadequate capabilities. It is truly peculiar to see that such a strange
technique would register as a point, which sometimes would determine the
champion of Taekwondo.

Some might even start calling Taekwondo “foot fencing”. There are obvious
differences between fencing and Taekwondo. Electronic systems in fencing is
justified by the fact that, unlike the kicks in Taekwondo, the movements in
fencing are so fast to the point where a valid point is hardly detectable to
the human eye. The electronic scoring system, however, serves a different
purpose for Taekwondo. Instead of performing duties that humans can’t, it is
merely acting as an impartial medium.

The judges are still responsible for 80% of the calls made during a match.
Simply pinning the responsibility for erroneous calls on a scapegoat (EBP)
will definitely not solve the problem of corruption and bias.

Of course, the blemished reputation of the partiality of taekwondo has been
caused by only a small minority of corrupt referees. I happen to know that
the remaining majority of referees dedicate their utmost judgment and
passion to be fair as possible. I propose that the judges be evaluated by
their performance regarding the fairness and accuracy of each match.

I had spoken to a representative of an EBP company regarding the necessity
of EBP in Taekwondo, but he simply digressed after stating that improvements
are constantly being made through research. I am disturbed by the very
notion that Taekwondo is being used as a business for these companies. If
any of these companies were to seriously damage the reputation and ideals of
Taekwondo, who’s to blame but ourselves?

Why is it that boxing, baseball, soccer and other sports prefer humans over
electronic systems? Erroneous decisions are simply a natural aspect of a
sport, which contributes to the excitement of Taekwondo.

Part 2 & 3 to be continued...

Written by: Master Young In Cheon
2000 USA Olympic Team Head Coach
1990-2002 US National Team Coach , Collegiate Team Coach

 

[ralphmcpherson]

Im curious, how come turning kicks are still scored by the referee? Does the sensor not pick them up? Also, what percentage of all points scored in sport tkd come from punches? Im not criticising the sport side, Im just curious because he said that they only pick up kicks to the body which makes up a miniscule part of the sparring, yet from what Ive seen (which is very little) it seems the majority of points come from a kick to the hogu. I rarely see a punch scored and dont see a lot of head kicks in comparison to kicks to the hogu. Again, Ive seen very little sport tkd so please enlighten me as Im a little confused.

 

[terryl965]

WOW you beat me to it, I simply agree Lajust is not the system for competition right now. We need something that is lighter and is really for the athlete as a whole.

 

[puunui]

I simply agree Lajust is not the system for competition right now. We need something that is lighter and is really for the athlete as a whole.

Plain and simple, nice idea, but it does not work like it is supposed to, especially LaJust. And it's expensive to boot.

 

[ATC]

Turn kicks are scored by the epp system, only the extra point is given by the judge. So it a back kick lands the system will score it but the judges have to also score it to give the extra point. If the point is not scored by the judges then the center ref will stop the match to add the extra point.

Just curious, is the Phillip Yun you state is your student the same Phillip Yun that is training with Master Singer from WTC? Just asking.

 

[puunui]

Just curious, is the Phillip Yun you state is your student the same Phillip Yun that is training with Master Singer from WTC? Just asking.

I think it is the same person. Both are listed here:

http://usa-taekwondo.us/athletes/phillip-yun

 

[ATC]

I think it is the same person. Both are listed here:

http://usa-taekwondo.us/athletes/phillip-yun

Ok, yes that is the Phillip I know also. Good fighter. He is good friends with my Sabumnim. He has trained with us quite a few times.

 

[StudentCarl]

Im curious, how come turning kicks are still scored by the referee? Does the sensor not pick them up? Also, what percentage of all points scored in sport tkd come from punches? Im not criticising the sport side, Im just curious because he said that they only pick up kicks to the body which makes up a miniscule part of the sparring, yet from what Ive seen (which is very little) it seems the majority of points come from a kick to the hogu. I rarely see a punch scored and dont see a lot of head kicks in comparison to kicks to the hogu. Again, Ive seen very little sport tkd so please enlighten me as Im a little confused.

By turning kick he means spin kick such as back kick--the sensors can't tell whether you threw a back kick or a side kick as the contact is with same surface.

A small but increasing percentage of points are coming from punches, in part because they are scored by the judges whose only job under the EBP system is scoring punches, turning kicks, and head kicks. The EBP has also hugely increased kicks to the head because kicks to the hogu score much less consistently, and are worth 1 pt vs the 3 pts for a head kick. I've seen matches with more than a dozen kicks to the hogu with none scoring, and it's not uncommon. The EBP system causes athletes to adapt in ways that, as mentioned above, are not necessarily good Taekwondo.

Carl

 

[Manny]

I am a little skeptical about the Lajust and other EBP hogus, I am not saying they are bad but good either, in my days we use the scoring sheets and they always worked, 4 corner judges plus the central judge, offcourse they were controversials some times but even in amateur boxing (olimpic) there is controverse too once in a while.

I higly respect the tkd competitors however I don't like competition too much, I like to see it but don't like to compete, my TKD is more a Martial Art than a sport.

I can't wait the next parts of this writtings about the EBP.

Manny

 

[mango.man]

Here is part 2 of GM YIC's article:

(2nd part of my article on electronic hogu translated by Phillip Yun)

It is no mystery why Adidas has seized R&D on Electronic Body Protectors. Adidas in no way lacks in technological support and it has the potential to develop a flawless EBP for Taekwondo. Surely, it has determined that EBP is not a necessary component for the sport and definitely not a fiscally profitable approach.

I urge all leaders of Taekwondo to come to your senses! How can you call yourselves professors and coaches of Taekwondo while overlooking an issue that requires an urgent solution?

I have heard testimonials by users of EBP, stating that they bought the EBP system after knowing that they have closed a 4-year contract with USAT. Not only did the customer have to return the product numerous times for its defects, but had to pay for the costly shipping fees as well.

It is becoming evident that Taekwondo is evolving into a sport for the wealthy- the EBP companies require that the competitors pay twenty dollars for renting the EBP. This does not help the fact that the athletes already have financial burdens, such as travelling, housing and registration expenses. Every time a new chest protector becomes WTF approved, everyone will be coerced into the costly switch. As result, the number of global taekwondo practitioners will decrease.

I have personally taken a team from the US to the Russian Junior Open. I was quite impressed and astonished by the passion and intensity that a Taekwondo tournament had possessed in Russia. However, I was shocked to find that a pair of EBP sensor socks was being sold at 75 dollars. Although this may not seem like much to a US citizen, some foreign government officials would receive 300 dollars as their yearly salary. Such prices cannot possibly appeal to those under difficult financial situations. During the Asian games, I have read an interview of a coach of an unnamed developing country. He stated that the athletes’ first fight at the tournament was their very first encounter with the EBP, due to the unaffordable prices.

Similar issues have been heartwarmingly resolved in the past. During the world cup, the Korean players could have worn red uniforms, but wore white uniforms instead. The color red is not only a representative color of Korea, but was a befitting opposing color of blue, which was the color of the opposing team’s uniform. However, many developing countries could not afford to watch the broadcast in color television, so they could not differentiate dark colors such as red and blue. The credit for today’s popularity and success of soccer are rightfully given to its care for the financially difficult demographics.

When I went to Korea for Korea Open, I spoke to numerous reporters about issues regarding the EBP. I had even predicted a possible mishap during the upcoming Asian Games at the time. As we all know, a Taiwanese athlete was disqualified during a match at the Asian Games due to a controversial issue regarding the legitimacy of her EBP sensor sock. This has had a tremendous negative impact on the image of Taekwondo to the Taiwanese public eye.

I have recently watched a match between Aaron Cook, from England, and an athlete from Azerbaijan at the 2011 US open. Aaron cook has knocked out Steven Lopez recently and has been receiving attention from the global Taekwondo community. This tournament was Aaron’s attempt at redemption from his loss at a recent European tournament and his intensity seemed to guarantee his redemption.

Aaron landed a perfect turning round house kick and the opponent fell from the impact but it did not register on the EBP. Aaron ended up receiving a deduction from the referee and gave away two points during a seemingly simultaneous exchange of kicks. Aaron ended up losing by one point.

Let’s pretend that this match determined the winner of a final match during the London Olympic Games. The perfectly executed kicks would not register on the EBP, and this would be broadcasted all over the world. The announcers would then try to clear up the confusion by explaining that the EBP provided a solution to the elimination of bias and inaccuracy of the judges. The future of Taekwondo seems grim to know that the skills of international referees, who are mostly decorated ex-athletes, are questioned.

Sparring is only a minor aspect of Taekwondo and yet, it is suffering as a whole.
Most parents send their children to Taekwondo classes not expecting to learn self-defense, but to learn manners, morals and personal well-being. The fact that the EBP is required to prevent the corruption of the leaders of Taekwondo goes against the very values that are taught to the Taekwondo students. Taekwondo will become a mere combat sport, such as boxing.

I am curious to know if Kukkiwon, as a leader and governing body of Taekwondo Worldwide, has even considered the possiblity that the EBP has the potential to desecrate all the progresses that have been made in Taekwondo. I highly doubt that they have seriously considered the impending issues.

I am not only exposing the current problems in Taekwondo, but also asking for a true leader to come forward to implement the necessary changes. A true leader would be capable of eradicate all doubts of Taekwondo no longer being an Olympic sport and increase the participating weight divisions in the Olympics from four to eight.

After attending the Youth Olympic Games in Mexico, US Open, Korea Open, US National Championships and etc, I have witnessed countless interactions during matches that simply did not make sense. However, I will conclude this article here for the purpose of being concise.

Thank you for taking your time to read such an unstructured article

 

[terryl965]

You know the man has alot of valed points, I was at the US Open and saw Aaron Cook deliver that blow and it brent the competitor over but nothing went up. They even had to fix the hogu's during matches, this stops the rythem of competition and gives the one controlling the match the unfair advantage and for there competitor to regroup as a whole. Over the last year I have seen everything thing and have heard every excus for all the mishaps with Lajust and in the end seen so many competitors get robbed match after match. I would prefer refs. going back and doing there job and educate them better than to miss with EBP's.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

EBPs are, in my opinion, the equivalent to Nasa making a special pen to write in space. The Russian solution was to use a pencil.

We seem to have fallen into the trap that technology is the answer to the problem when, as the article points out, the problems were never technical to begin with.

Daniel

 

[puunui]

Most parents send their children to Taekwondo classes not expecting to learn self-defense, but to learn manners, morals and personal well-being.

That comment jumped out at me....

 

[nuhash]

It is becoming evident that Taekwondo is evolving into a sport for the wealthy

I agree very strongly, if we compare to other sports like soccer or cricket we can see that for the price of an Adidas Fighter we can buy quite a lot for one person (I am not faulting Adidas, just that i have been looking through some doboks just know)

 

[andyjeffries]

I agree very strongly, if we compare to other sports like soccer or cricket we can see that for the price of an Adidas Fighter we can buy quite a lot for one person (I am not faulting Adidas, just that i have been looking through some doboks just know)

I disagree with your example. For example, you can buy a dobok for about £15 over here (~US$25). If you want to buy an Adidas Fighter (or Nike Olympic or whatever) then you can and you should have that choice.

As you compared it to soccer, let's follow through on that. You can buy a pair of F10.9 Adidas football boots from Amazon.co.uk for £18, but you can also buy a pair of Adidas X Predator X football boots for £193.

The fact that a more expensive, elite level product is available does not mean it's becoming a rich man's sport. It means that if you want to spend more, someone will accomodate you and this will always be the case in any sporting endeavour - the equipment company spends money on research and charges more for their prized researched products.

 

[miguksaram]

I disagree with your example. For example, you can buy a dobok for about £15 over here (~US$25). If you want to buy an Adidas Fighter (or Nike Olympic or whatever) then you can and you should have that choice.

As you compared it to soccer, let's follow through on that. You can buy a pair of F10.9 Adidas football boots from Amazon.co.uk for £18, but you can also buy a pair of Adidas X Predator X football boots for £193.

The fact that a more expensive, elite level product is available does not mean it's becoming a rich man's sport. It means that if you want to spend more, someone will accomodate you and this will always be the case in any sporting endeavour - the equipment company spends money on research and charges more for their prized researched products.

You are correct that using uniforms as a way to show that it is becoming a rich man sport is a bad example. However, when you are put in a position of having to purchase equipment that even at the low end is expensive, then this is where it slowly evolves into a sport for people that are well off. Plus it is equipment that, from what I am reading, is not really working well at all.

I agree with the posting that technology is not the answer to better scoring. I believe that manual scoring is still the best way.

 

[andyjeffries]

You are correct that using uniforms as a way to show that it is becoming a rich man sport is a bad example. However, when you are put in a position of having to purchase equipment that even at the low end is expensive, then this is where it slowly evolves into a sport for people that are well off. Plus it is equipment that, from what I am reading, is not really working well at all. I agree with the posting that technology is not the answer to better scoring. I believe that manual scoring is still the best way.

I agree with all the above

 

[terryl965]

Look people do not have to buy them, they can pay twenty dollars and use the events one's. The price of competing is just that a price, you can buy off brands and save or name brands to be cool your choice.

The problem is not price the problem is equipment it does not work correctly, it is terrible and it takes away from the game. If they ever made one that truely worked than we all would be happy but for now they suck and we are stuck with them for better or worst.

 

[Manny]

Look people do not have to buy them, they can pay twenty dollars and use the events one's. The price of competing is just that a price, you can buy off brands and save or name brands to be cool your choice.

The problem is not price the problem is equipment it does not work correctly, it is terrible and it takes away from the game. If they ever made one that truely worked than we all would be happy but for now they suck and we are stuck with them for better or worst.

That's why I strongly say that TKD is a Martial Art first of all and can be practiced or learned with only your dobok and belt and perhaps a set of shin/instep pads plus a cup and no more.

However if you want TKD to be a sport for your kid and want him to suceed in the competion arena and be a national champion, you must pay for decent clothes (including brand name doboks) expensive safety equipment,tornament fees, meals,bus or airplaine tkiets,acomodations,etc,etc,etc.

I know an international poomsae champion she has given to Mexico and my place of residence only but medals and laurels and most of the times her family has to invest on her daughther so she can go outside Mexico to compete, this girl is living her dream but at a high cost, something that for example in USA she will get govermental help and sponsors.

I really don't believe in tornaments competition, no matter how effort you put in your training there is always the bad apreciation and now the bad electronic gear that can and will ruin a fight or a championship.

The fights I really like are the ones I fight with myself trying to be better everyday.

manny

 

[miguksaram]

Look people do not have to buy them, they can pay twenty dollars and use the events one's. The price of competing is just that a price, you can buy off brands and save or name brands to be cool your choice.

Am I the only one that is sort of squeamish about renting out sparring pads that have been used by others?

The problem is not price the problem is equipment it does not work correctly, it is terrible and it takes away from the game. If they ever made one that truely worked than we all would be happy but for now they suck and we are stuck with them for better or worst.

Right, that is my understanding that it just doesn't work. I know manual is not perfect and there are so many problems that go along with it. I guess I am just old fashion in thinking that this is just a better way for the sport to go.