Taller People Doing Tae Kwon Do

[skribs]

This is one of the worst-faith arguments I've seen in a while. So many what-if gotchas that try to de-isolate variables so that nothing matters and everyone else is wrong.

 

[martialuser]

This is one of the worst-faith arguments I've seen in a while. So many what-if gotchas that try to de-isolate variables so that nothing matters and everyone else is wrong.

What are you referring to?

 

[skribs]

What are you referring to?

The entire thread. The discussion derailed very quickly because one person can't look at one variable (difference in height) and so everyone else has to qualify their statements with "all else being equal", then that person finds another curveball so they can "win" the argument.

 

[martialuser]

The entire thread. The discussion derailed very quickly because one person can't look at one variable (difference in height) and so everyone else has to qualify their statements with "all else being equal", then that person finds another curveball so they can "win" the argument.

No need of qualifiers. Let"s forget power..Do you see any advantage to being shorter in Taekwondo sparring?

I can't think of one

 

[MuayJitsu]

In a stand up fight a taller person will always have advantages over a shorter fighter but it doesn’t mean the shorter guy can’t win just means he has to play a different game.

I know it’s not taekwondo specifically but look in the ufc Steffan Struve was 6’11 and I was a fan of the guy he had some exciting fights and was a decent fighter but he had a record of 29-13…9 of those losses by KO. So it shows that a taller fighter can definitely be beaten

 

[Simfers]

In fairness, Stefan Struve seemed to make it a point of pride to never use his reach advantage. The dude liked to fight at close range.

But yes, height is a massive advantage in a style that basically forces you to fight at long range such as Olympic TKD. Not insurmountable I'm sure, but I feel it's definitely there.

 

[O'Malley]

No need of qualifiers. Let"s forget power..Do you see any advantage to being shorter in Taekwondo sparring?

I can't think of one

All else still being equal:
- smaller target
- lighter and can reach maximum ROM quicker (less space to travel), thus faster when in range
- lower center of gravity, hence quicker changes of direction.

These are advantages. Whether they would outweigh the range advantage depends on many factors, such as size of the gaps (e.g. in range), experience and gameplan.