From Okinawa to Korea

[Michele123]

That's awesome, well done! Every time I've broken boards I've found it to actually be harder than I thought (I could definitely feel the board..), maybe your technique is far better than mine Michele!

And I really think board breaking has massive benefits... and don't think it's gimmicky at all. Of course it's a primary demonstration tool that's used, but actually doing the break requires so much: focus, accuracy, technique, power, good stance, overcoming fear and doubt, COMMITMENT... I love it.. and would jump at the chance to do more of it.

Hmm, maybe it’s the kind of board used? I only broke with a kick (side kick). Maybe if I’d used a different technique it would have been more noticeable. Or maybe because I expected a lot of resistance?

And it was totally fun. It made me want to run out to Home Depot and buy a bunch of wood. But I would still need someone to hold for me so... I guess I just have to wait.


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[pdg]

Hmm, maybe it’s the kind of board used?

What sort of board was it - as in what material and thickness?

 

[Dirty Dog]

Hmm, maybe it’s the kind of board used? I only broke with a kick (side kick). Maybe if I’d used a different technique it would have been more noticeable. Or maybe because I expected a lot of resistance?

And it was totally fun. It made me want to run out to Home Depot and buy a bunch of wood. But I would still need someone to hold for me so... I guess I just have to wait.

Well done. The first breaks are always a challenge, because there's a little voice in the back of your head telling you it's going to hurt. Eventually, you learn that it only hurts if you fail. Overcoming that mental block is one of the reasons to do breaking.

You don't say, but I'm assuming this was a single, 1" pine board, probably 10x12? That's the most common size.

If so, then honestly it SHOULD be pretty easy. Especially early in your training, breaks shouldn't be all that difficult. Anyone in our program who is above white belt has broken one that size, regardless of their age, gender, or size. As you progress, you'll likely do more challenging techniques and add boards to increase the difficulty. Eventually you'll probably do multi-station breaks and power breaks.

In our program, we have a required break with a specific technique for each colored belt. Dan holders pick their own; they're just told to go show off. Personally, I favor concrete pavers for my own breaking and tend to do heavy power breaks (the stack in my avatar is ten 8x16x2" pavers) and speed breaks.

If you want to get your own boards and practice, it shouldn't be too difficult to find another student to work with. Or a family member can hold for you. Just ask your instructor to show you how to hold. You need a good front stance, leaning into the break, and you need to grip the board properly to minimize the chance that your finger tips will be in the way of the strike.

If you really enjoy it and want lots of practice, it might be worth buying a rebreakable board.

 

[Michele123]

What sort of board was it - as in what material and thickness?

I did both a rebreakable board and 1” thick pine.

Well done. The first breaks are always a challenge, because there's a little voice in the back of your head telling you it's going to hurt. Eventually, you learn that it only hurts if you fail. Overcoming that mental block is one of the reasons to do breaking.

You don't say, but I'm assuming this was a single, 1" pine board, probably 10x12? That's the most common size.

If so, then honestly it SHOULD be pretty easy. Especially early in your training, breaks shouldn't be all that difficult. Anyone in our program who is above white belt has broken one that size, regardless of their age, gender, or size. As you progress, you'll likely do more challenging techniques and add boards to increase the difficulty. Eventually you'll probably do multi-station breaks and power breaks.

In our program, we have a required break with a specific technique for each colored belt. Dan holders pick their own; they're just told to go show off. Personally, I favor concrete pavers for my own breaking and tend to do heavy power breaks (the stack in my avatar is ten 8x16x2" pavers) and speed breaks.

If you want to get your own boards and practice, it shouldn't be too difficult to find another student to work with. Or a family member can hold for you. Just ask your instructor to show you how to hold. You need a good front stance, leaning into the break, and you need to grip the board properly to minimize the chance that your finger tips will be in the way of the strike.

If you really enjoy it and want lots of practice, it might be worth buying a rebreakable board.

Yes. I did both a rebreakable as well as a 1” thick pine.

There are required breaks at each belt level at this school too. It’s why I was breaking, practicing for my test. I’ve watched a few tests, the breaking seemed to be the most common thing that people got tripped up on and prevented from passing their test so I expected it to be much harder. Though those were mostly kids 8-12 or so, but more advanced in rank than I am. Maybe it had more to do with technique and body size.

Maybe I will look into a rebreakable board for home. I know I saw one on Craigslist not to long ago. When it comes to other techniques, is s rebreakable board as helpful as the real thing?




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[Dirty Dog]

Maybe I will look into a rebreakable board for home. I know I saw one on Craigslist not to long ago. When it comes to other techniques, is s rebreakable board as helpful as the real thing?

Depends. Not all rebreakables are created equal. There have been a number of threads here if you want to do a bit of research. Personally, I like the UMAB rebreakables. The design holds up much better than others I've tried, and they come in everything from ridiculously easy to very tough. They're color coded by how hard they are to break (white, yellow, green, blue, brown, black). The green board is engineered to break at the same power level as a standard 1" pine board, and in my experience this is true. They're stackable, so you can easily adjust how difficult the break is.

 

[Earl Weiss]

And it was totally fun. It made me want to run out to Home Depot and buy a bunch of wood. But I would still need someone to hold for me so... I guess I just have to wait.


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If you are handy or know someone who is for not a lot of $ you can build your own holder.

https://1c47d0f0-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites...mjHMHet2hyDfwrxaAjUJtwlewgyisu&attredirects=0

Along with re breakables that are the same dimension you can break to your hearts content.

 

[Michele123]

Well, we had the tournament this morning. It was an interesting experience. I’m glad we did it, but I’m not sure it’s the kind of thing we will do often.

They had us in groups based on age and rank. My 6yo daughter only had one other person to compete against for forms. (The only other white belt her age). She did very poorly (couldn’t remember how to start her form) but I’m not surprised because she has continually refused to practice with me. The other girl did somewhat poorly as well (went the wrong direction and didn’t always do the correct side) but overall was light years ahead of my daughter. Because there were only two kids, my daughter still got a silver medal. I’m glad my daughter is happy, but I think it was silly that she still got a medal. How is she supposed to learn to work hard for things if she still gets a medal for not working hard?

For my pattern, there were four of us competing. So not much competition. There were two of us white belts and there were two orange (which comes right after white in this association). I was nervous at first but I got to do my pattern last so that helped. I chose to do the same pattern as the orange belts did but did a much better job. Both of them got mixed up in at least one part and did the wrong move. Also, neither one had any power or snap to their techniques. The other white belt did the white belt pattern and did a good job for what it was but still no power and snap (though more understandable for her I think). Anyhow, I won first but there wasn’t much competition. It was supposed to be all adult colored belts but the one higher rank they had they moved to compete with the junior black belts because there was such a gap (she was several ranks above orange). I’m pleased with myself for doing well. I knew I mailed my pattern, but I would feel better about it if there had been more competition. I’m not a fan of participation awards and this is what that felt like. The head judge did ask me if I had prior experience in another system. Not sure if that was due to me doing something well or if my stances are still a bit off. My husband took video so I’ll have to go back and watch it.

For board breaking, my daughter got to break a board for the first time ever. They put all the boys and girls the same age together though, so there was more competition. There were three ranks competing and she didn’t medal. She was very disappointed but I was just impressed she was able to break one of her boards (heel stomp) since she has never tried before and she usually doesn’t give new things her all.

I did very poorly with the board breaks. They had us break two boards back to back (so double the thickness) twice. Both with a spinning side kick. Do one, run to the other side and do another. I got nervous about the double board thing because I hadn’t tried that yet. Then I didn’t like up properly (my instruction told me where to stand last time so I never thought about it). I stood square to the boards and when I turned, well I wasn’t square anymore. We were also told that speed counted so... I didn’t break either double board. Very frustrating. The second double board I missed so badly I scraped up the inside of my foot on the side of the board. There were only three of us adult colored belts competing though (myself and the two orange belts from earlier) so I got a participation award... I mean medal. I actually ended up in second (maybe because my form was better than the other orange belt that didn’t break any?). One of the orange belts broke one set of boards the other didn’t break any.

Sparring was weird. Rather than pair my daughter up with the other white belt girl, she had to spar with two taller boys who were higher ranks than her. Actually, they did all the kids in groups of three and did a round robin thing. So everyone medaled. Again, not impressed though my daughter was glad to get another medal. Third place. I’m more proud that she managed to score two points on one of the boys (the second one she sparred). She really needs to learn how to block.

I didn’t get to stay for sparring because it was way past nap time for my 1 & 3 year olds and they were having a really hard time in the bleachers. Since it was an hour drive I made the decision to just leave so we could get them to bed. I was too stressed by their behavior to focus on sparring anyway. Hopefully I’ll get to next time I go to a tournament (hopefully in two months). Next time I’ll leave the younger two home with dad. My 6yo seemed able to handle the noise pretty well so she should do ok next time.

So that was my experience. I will hopefully try one more tournament in April since that is closer to home, but I won’t be traveling for any again until my youngest can go down for a nap without me. Once her sleep schedule gets thrown off it is a nightmare for several days until we get her back on track. Also, it would be more fun if there were more people to compete against. It’s hard to feel good about an award where there weren’t many competitors.


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[pdg]

spinning side kick

I've not heard that term before, I had to google it - but learning and comparing with other systems is why I'm really here.

If it makes you feel better about a participation award - well, you did beat everyone who didn't show up

 

[Michele123]

I've not heard that term before, I had to google it - but learning and comparing with other systems is why I'm really here.

If it makes you feel better about a participation award - well, you did beat everyone who didn't show up

I think I used the wrong term. I think it’s called a turning side kick in Taekwando. My old style and terminology were coming through.


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[pdg]

Well, there's Taekwondo and there's Taekwon-do (as well as derivatives of both) - I've seen many differences in terminology between them...

 

[JR 137]

Well, we had the tournament this morning. It was an interesting experience. I’m glad we did it, but I’m not sure it’s the kind of thing we will do often.

They had us in groups based on age and rank. My 6yo daughter only had one other person to compete against for forms. (The only other white belt her age). She did very poorly (couldn’t remember how to start her form) but I’m not surprised because she has continually refused to practice with me. The other girl did somewhat poorly as well (went the wrong direction and didn’t always do the correct side) but overall was light years ahead of my daughter. Because there were only two kids, my daughter still got a silver medal. I’m glad my daughter is happy, but I think it was silly that she still got a medal. How is she supposed to learn to work hard for things if she still gets a medal for not working hard?

For my pattern, there were four of us competing. So not much competition. There were two of us white belts and there were two orange (which comes right after white in this association). I was nervous at first but I got to do my pattern last so that helped. I chose to do the same pattern as the orange belts did but did a much better job. Both of them got mixed up in at least one part and did the wrong move. Also, neither one had any power or snap to their techniques. The other white belt did the white belt pattern and did a good job for what it was but still no power and snap (though more understandable for her I think). Anyhow, I won first but there wasn’t much competition. It was supposed to be all adult colored belts but the one higher rank they had they moved to compete with the junior black belts because there was such a gap (she was several ranks above orange). I’m pleased with myself for doing well. I knew I mailed my pattern, but I would feel better about it if there had been more competition. I’m not a fan of participation awards and this is what that felt like. The head judge did ask me if I had prior experience in another system. Not sure if that was due to me doing something well or if my stances are still a bit off. My husband took video so I’ll have to go back and watch it.

For board breaking, my daughter got to break a board for the first time ever. They put all the boys and girls the same age together though, so there was more competition. There were three ranks competing and she didn’t medal. She was very disappointed but I was just impressed she was able to break one of her boards (heel stomp) since she has never tried before and she usually doesn’t give new things her all.

I did very poorly with the board breaks. They had us break two boards back to back (so double the thickness) twice. Both with a spinning side kick. Do one, run to the other side and do another. I got nervous about the double board thing because I hadn’t tried that yet. Then I didn’t like up properly (my instruction told me where to stand last time so I never thought about it). I stood square to the boards and when I turned, well I wasn’t square anymore. We were also told that speed counted so... I didn’t break either double board. Very frustrating. The second double board I missed so badly I scraped up the inside of my foot on the side of the board. There were only three of us adult colored belts competing though (myself and the two orange belts from earlier) so I got a participation award... I mean medal. I actually ended up in second (maybe because my form was better than the other orange belt that didn’t break any?). One of the orange belts broke one set of boards the other didn’t break any.

Sparring was weird. Rather than pair my daughter up with the other white belt girl, she had to spar with two taller boys who were higher ranks than her. Actually, they did all the kids in groups of three and did a round robin thing. So everyone medaled. Again, not impressed though my daughter was glad to get another medal. Third place. I’m more proud that she managed to score two points on one of the boys (the second one she sparred). She really needs to learn how to block.

I didn’t get to stay for sparring because it was way past nap time for my 1 & 3 year olds and they were having a really hard time in the bleachers. Since it was an hour drive I made the decision to just leave so we could get them to bed. I was too stressed by their behavior to focus on sparring anyway. Hopefully I’ll get to next time I go to a tournament (hopefully in two months). Next time I’ll leave the younger two home with dad. My 6yo seemed able to handle the noise pretty well so she should do ok next time.

So that was my experience. I will hopefully try one more tournament in April since that is closer to home, but I won’t be traveling for any again until my youngest can go down for a nap without me. Once her sleep schedule gets thrown off it is a nightmare for several days until we get her back on track. Also, it would be more fun if there were more people to compete against. It’s hard to feel good about an award where there weren’t many competitors.


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You and your daughter competing was a victory of sorts in and of itself. I know it’s hard to get excited about the “participation awards” as you eloquently put it, but don’t let that discourage you. One tournament I competed in only had 2 of us competing in the weapons division (there were more people in kata and kumite though). Winning first place didn’t feel good at all, considering I could’ve for all intents and purposes just walked through the kata and won. The other botched his that bad, dropping the bo twice and one other point stopped and looked around trying to figure out which direction to go. And he went the wrong way. In fairness to him, his bo got caught on his sleeve about two moves into it, causing the first drop and he just never recovered. He was far better than that performance.

That “tournament” taught me something invaluable - forget about everyone and everything else. Go out and nail my kata. I can’t control how good or bad the competition and judges are. All I can do is go out there and do my thing the absolute best I can. Winning medals is great and all, but after it loses its shine, I know if I exceeded my own expectations or not. And that’s really all I’m after when all’s said and done. Nothing else. When you look at it that way, everyone and everything else is really just smoke and mirrors. It took me a while to view that alleged tournament that way, but when I did, I realized that I did an awesome job that night. Not the absolute best I’ve ever done, but pretty damn good.

When you’re competing, you’re putting yourself out there. It’s a huge learning experience, regardless of who else is competing. Some people seem to live for the trophies; I’d be far more satisfied with a last place finish where I performed better than I ever thought I could. Maybe I’m crazy though

 

[TrueJim]

well you did beat everyone who didn't show up...

I think that's a very valid point. When you divide 500 athletes by (a) age, (b) gender, (c) rank, (d) event...it shouldn't be too surprising that many divisions have only a few competitors. So maybe a person was only the best of 4, but they were the best of the 4 who felt motivated and confident enough to show up.

(500 athletes divided into 4 age groups, 2 genders, 4 ranks, and 4 events = 500 / 128 = about 4 people per division...that's just how the math of tournaments works out. If every athlete competes in 2 events, that takes you up to 8-person divisions on average: still not a lot)

The head of our school likes to say that attending 1 tournament equates to 1 month of attending classes. He feels that the extra pressure you put on yourself to perform at your best, the extra preparation you do to get ready, and the nerves that you have to overcome to perform in front of a large audience of strangers...that improves your skills as much as a month of training would.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I think I used the wrong term. I think it’s called a turning side kick in Taekwando. My old style and terminology were coming through.

The spinning side kick and turning side kick are the same thing (at least in the several styles of TKD I've studied). If you're standing with your right foot to the rear, you'd pick up your right foot, turn clockwise (what I'd call turning backwards), and do a side kick with the right foot. It's basically the same as a spinning back kick except you turn further. I wouldn't expect a white belt to be breaking with any spinning kick.

 

[pdg]

The spinning side kick and turning side kick are the same thing (at least in the several styles of TKD I've studied). If you're standing with your right foot to the rear, you'd pick up your right foot, turn clockwise (what I'd call turning backwards), and do a side kick with the right foot. It's basically the same as a spinning back kick except you turn further.

How much 'spin' would you consider normal for that kick - is the target in front of you in your start position?

 

[Michele123]

... I can’t control how good or bad the competition and judges are. All I can do is go out there and do my thing the absolute best I can. Winning medals is great and all, but after it loses its shine, I know if I exceeded my own expectations or not. And that’s really all I’m after when all’s said and done. Nothing else. When you look at it that way, everyone and everything else is really just smoke and mirrors. It took me a while to view that alleged tournament that way, but when I did, I realized that I did an awesome job that night. Not the absolute best I’ve ever done, but pretty damn good.

When you’re competing, you’re putting yourself out there. It’s a huge learning experience, regardless of who else is competing. Some people seem to live for the trophies; I’d be far more satisfied with a last place finish where I performed better than I ever thought I could. Maybe I’m crazy though

Thank you. This really helps put things in perspective. I know I did an excellent job on my pattern. I can feel good about that.

I think that's a very valid point. When you divide 500 athletes by (a) age, (b) gender, (c) rank, (d) event...it shouldn't be too surprising that many divisions have only a few competitors. So maybe a person was only the best of 4, but they were the best of the 4 who felt motivated and confident enough to show up.

(500 athletes divided into 4 age groups, 2 genders, 4 ranks, and 4 events = 500 / 128 = about 4 people per division...that's just how the math of tournaments works out. If every athlete competes in 2 events, that takes you up to 8-person divisions on average: still not a lot)

The head of our school likes to say that attending 1 tournament equates to 1 month of attending classes. He feels that the extra pressure you put on yourself to perform at your best, the extra preparation you do to get ready, and the nerves that you have to overcome to perform in front of a large audience of strangers...that improves your skills as much as a month of training would.

Hmm. Thank you. So it’s common to only have four competing? Do they always give out 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place awards when there are so few competing? Especially when the number of competitors is equal to or less than the number of medals? Especially in my breaking competition where there were only three of us total. Seems like they should only give out a first place award then. It feels kind of silly for taking home a medal in that when I didn’t even break the boards.

The spinning side kick and turning side kick are the same thing (at least in the several styles of TKD I've studied). If you're standing with your right foot to the rear, you'd pick up your right foot, turn clockwise (what I'd call turning backwards), and do a side kick with the right foot. It's basically the same as a spinning back kick except you turn further. I wouldn't expect a white belt to be breaking with any spinning kick.

Yes that’s the kick, except we twist/turn about 180 before picking up the right foot to kick with. I broke a board twice using that kick in class on Tuesday. But my instructor told me where to stand and it was only one board.

How much 'spin' would you consider normal for that kick - is the target in front of you in your start position?

In our school you start facing the target, turn about 180 perhaps a touch more, and kick the target with a side kick.



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[_Simon_]

Well, we had the tournament this morning. It was an interesting experience. I’m glad we did it, but I’m not sure it’s the kind of thing we will do often.

They had us in groups based on age and rank. My 6yo daughter only had one other person to compete against for forms. (The only other white belt her age). She did very poorly (couldn’t remember how to start her form) but I’m not surprised because she has continually refused to practice with me. The other girl did somewhat poorly as well (went the wrong direction and didn’t always do the correct side) but overall was light years ahead of my daughter. Because there were only two kids, my daughter still got a silver medal. I’m glad my daughter is happy, but I think it was silly that she still got a medal. How is she supposed to learn to work hard for things if she still gets a medal for not working hard?

For my pattern, there were four of us competing. So not much competition. There were two of us white belts and there were two orange (which comes right after white in this association). I was nervous at first but I got to do my pattern last so that helped. I chose to do the same pattern as the orange belts did but did a much better job. Both of them got mixed up in at least one part and did the wrong move. Also, neither one had any power or snap to their techniques. The other white belt did the white belt pattern and did a good job for what it was but still no power and snap (though more understandable for her I think). Anyhow, I won first but there wasn’t much competition. It was supposed to be all adult colored belts but the one higher rank they had they moved to compete with the junior black belts because there was such a gap (she was several ranks above orange). I’m pleased with myself for doing well. I knew I mailed my pattern, but I would feel better about it if there had been more competition. I’m not a fan of participation awards and this is what that felt like. The head judge did ask me if I had prior experience in another system. Not sure if that was due to me doing something well or if my stances are still a bit off. My husband took video so I’ll have to go back and watch it.

For board breaking, my daughter got to break a board for the first time ever. They put all the boys and girls the same age together though, so there was more competition. There were three ranks competing and she didn’t medal. She was very disappointed but I was just impressed she was able to break one of her boards (heel stomp) since she has never tried before and she usually doesn’t give new things her all.

I did very poorly with the board breaks. They had us break two boards back to back (so double the thickness) twice. Both with a spinning side kick. Do one, run to the other side and do another. I got nervous about the double board thing because I hadn’t tried that yet. Then I didn’t like up properly (my instruction told me where to stand last time so I never thought about it). I stood square to the boards and when I turned, well I wasn’t square anymore. We were also told that speed counted so... I didn’t break either double board. Very frustrating. The second double board I missed so badly I scraped up the inside of my foot on the side of the board. There were only three of us adult colored belts competing though (myself and the two orange belts from earlier) so I got a participation award... I mean medal. I actually ended up in second (maybe because my form was better than the other orange belt that didn’t break any?). One of the orange belts broke one set of boards the other didn’t break any.

Sparring was weird. Rather than pair my daughter up with the other white belt girl, she had to spar with two taller boys who were higher ranks than her. Actually, they did all the kids in groups of three and did a round robin thing. So everyone medaled. Again, not impressed though my daughter was glad to get another medal. Third place. I’m more proud that she managed to score two points on one of the boys (the second one she sparred). She really needs to learn how to block.

I didn’t get to stay for sparring because it was way past nap time for my 1 & 3 year olds and they were having a really hard time in the bleachers. Since it was an hour drive I made the decision to just leave so we could get them to bed. I was too stressed by their behavior to focus on sparring anyway. Hopefully I’ll get to next time I go to a tournament (hopefully in two months). Next time I’ll leave the younger two home with dad. My 6yo seemed able to handle the noise pretty well so she should do ok next time.

So that was my experience. I will hopefully try one more tournament in April since that is closer to home, but I won’t be traveling for any again until my youngest can go down for a nap without me. Once her sleep schedule gets thrown off it is a nightmare for several days until we get her back on track. Also, it would be more fun if there were more people to compete against. It’s hard to feel good about an award where there weren’t many competitors.


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Ah well done Michele, that's still awesome to hear, even if it was a weird first tournament for you

Some great points made by the others. And exactly right, as long as you were happy with how you went mostly that's the important thing. And even so, doing the preparation you did introduced a new type of focus to your training, and massive props to even entering a tournament to begin with. It takes courage, and a level of commitment and willingness to put yourself out there like that. Not to mention it's a great experience competing with those you've never trained with before.

And I'd imagine there had to be some criteria for the board breaking section if no boards were broken, and you maybe had the best form.

Yeah I know what you mean about it not being a big division and it not feeling as satisfying. But yeah I've learnt no matter what, how big the division is becomes irrelevant, you just focus on what you need to do.

The first tournament I entered last year in the sparring there were I think only five or six of us. I won my first round, and lost the second only just, and got silver. But I was absolutely stoked with how I went, considering this was my first tournament in what, 12 or 13 years or so. Forms there was only me and one other guy, and got gold there, but again, happy with how I went.

The second tournament last year was very funny. I'd been quite unwell for half the year, and wasn't 100%, but I didn't care, I really wanted to enter, as it was for the State championships which I qualified for, but not only that it was far more significant to me to just enter it as a sign of how much I'd gotten through and how far I'd come. I decided to only compete in forms as the body wasn't well enough for sparring. My prep began only one week before the tournament haha, so felt a bit underprepared! Rocked up on the day... And I was the only one in my division, no one to compete against! So I got guaranteed gold, as long as I performed my form. I by no means just slopped my way through it, I gave it my all, and was happy with it. A slight stumble at one point, but I was moreso absolutely thrilled that I'd come this far to be able to compete, considering just how unwell I was. See that's the thing, no one understands the context of the leadup to the tournament that everyone goes through, and it's different for everyone. For some people it's decided a couple of weeks before "ah yeah, whatever, I guess I'll do it" (which is fine btw), and for others it's a trial of months and months of incredible emotional battles, uphill clawing, despair, and just all-round rollercoasters...

I think the lead up speaks volumes about the benefits of the tournament, in some cases more than the actual event, and you learn quite a lot in that period

So definitely really great of you that you entered and had a go, and had a great result still. And every tournament will be different too, so see how the next one goes

 

[TrueJim]

So it’s common to only have four competing? Do they always give out 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place awards when there are so few competing?

In my experience, a small local tournament will have about 400 competitors, a large local tournament may have as many as 1,000 competitors. In my experience, athletes who attend tournaments like to compete in about 2-3 events. A typical tournament might be organized as something like this:

Age categories: < 7 years, < 9 years, < 11 years, Cadet 12-14, Junior 15-17, Senior 18-30, Age 31-40, Age 40+
Gender: Female, Male
Rank: Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, Black
Events: Sparring, World Class Sparring, Poomsae, World Class Poomsae, Pairs Poomsae, Team Poomsae, Breaking
Sparring weight categories: <45 kg, < 51 kg, < 59Kg, < 68kg, < 73 kg, over

In a tournament like this, you'll probably see some divisions with as many as 10 athletes in the division. You'll see other divisions with as few as 2-3 athletes in the division.

So yup...they'll award 1st, 2nd, 3rd regardless of how many people are in the division. For example, if you're an older adult and you're the only person in your division for that event, they'll often ask if you'd like to compete in an adjacent division just so that you can have some competition. If you decline, you'll wind up getting the 1st place trophy for your (empty) division! Most older adults opt to compete in adjacent divisions though, just so that they'll have a real competition. In my first tournament as an adult in my 50s, I wound up competing poomsae in the 20-something division, and there were still only 3 of us in that division! Of course I felt bad about wiping the floor with those young whipper-snappers...

 

[Dirty Dog]

How much 'spin' would you consider normal for that kick - is the target in front of you in your start position?

Doesn't really matter. If they're basically in front of you, it's a spinning kick. If they're basically behind you, it wouldn't be. Quibbling over the number of degrees off-dead-center they can be seems pointless.

If you're talking about something static, like board breaking or bag work, then the target is likely to be directly in front of you, resulting in a turn of roughly 180 degrees.
I'd recommend practicing the kick from other angles as well, where you have to turn more than or less than 180 degrees. Because reality.

 

[andyjeffries]

The spinning side kick and turning side kick are the same thing (at least in the several styles of TKD I've studied). If you're standing with your right foot to the rear, you'd pick up your right foot, turn clockwise (what I'd call turning backwards), and do a side kick with the right foot. It's basically the same as a spinning back kick except you turn further.

I would disagree that's the only difference. The main difference for me is in the knee chamber position. For a back kick, the chamber is underneath the hips, knee pointing to the ground. For a turning side kick, it's chambered at atleast 90° to the standing leg (ideally more), out to the side. Of course the arm position and the amount of turn in the upper body (shoulders in a line to the target for the turning side kick and back almost completely facing the opponent for a back kick) are important too, but it's the chamber position that is for me the key difference.

 

[pdg]

Doesn't really matter. If they're basically in front of you, it's a spinning kick. If they're basically behind you, it wouldn't be. Quibbling over the number of degrees off-dead-center they can be seems pointless.

I didn't say number of degrees off centre...

Although the number of degrees turned (coupled with direction of turn) makes a terminology difference. If that doesn't matter, why bother with naming it at all?