Board Breaking competitors are required to perform a power hand or a three-directional breaking technique.
- A power hand break involves breaking a stack of boards using an accepted Tae Kwon Do hand technique.
- A three-directional break consists of performing breaks in three different directions (e.g., three sides of a box). One hand technique and two kicking techniques must be used.
- Boards must be purchased at the tournament ($3.00 per board), and under no circumstances will competitors be permitted to use their own boards.
POWER HAND BREAKING
| BREAKING TYPE | DIVISION | MINIMUM NUMBER OF BOARDS BY AGE |
|
POWER HAND BREAKING |
Beginner: White, Yellow, Orange | 7 and under: minimum 2 small board
8-11 years: minimum 4 small boards
12-14 years: minimum 3 medium boards
15 years and older: minimum 5 medium boards |
| Intermediate: Purple, Green, Blue | ||
| Advance: Brown, Red | ||
| Black Belt |
Rules for Power Hand Breaking:
- Competitors may not use a head strike for breaking.
- Competitors must use at least the minimum number of boards as defined by their age.
- Competitors may add as many boards as they want to get more points in this division.
- Competitors and their coaches will clean up all boards, broken boards, and wood fragments.
Scoring:
- One point will be awarded for each board broken.
- In the case of a tie score, the referee panel will choose a winner using the following criteria:
- Level of difficulty of the breaking technique
- Hand technique by increasing difficulty: palm strike, hammer strike, knife-hand strike, and punch
- Demonstration of Tae Kwon Do skills and presentation
Awards:
- Medals will be awarded to all participants 11 and under.
- For participants 12 and over: Only 1st, 2nd, and two 3rd place winners in each division will be awarded medals.
THREE-DIRECTIONAL BREAKING
| BREAKING TYPE | DIVISION | MINIMUM NUMBER OF BOARDS/AGE |
|
THREE-DIRECTIONAL BREAKING |
Beginner: White, Yellow, Orange | 7 & Under: 1 small board in each direction |
| Intermediate: Purple, Green, Blue | 8-11: 2 small boards in each direction | |
| Advance: Brown, Red | 12-14: 2 medium boards in each direction | |
| Black Belt | 15 & Over: 3 medium boards in each direction |
Rules for Three-Directional Breaking:
- Competitors may not use a head strike for breaking. Any other Tae Kwon Do technique may be used.
- Competitors must use at least the minimum number of boards as defined by their age.
- Competitors must provide their own board holders.
- Competitors and board holders will clean up all boards, broken boards, and wood fragments.
- No props, such as chairs, trampolines, tables, etc., may be used.
- Boards may be placed on cinder blocks for breaking. This is allowed for Power Hand Breaking and may also be used for the hand technique in a Three-Directional Break.
- A Three-Directional Break must include one hand technique and two kicking techniques.
- Any breaking performance, including any running starts, must be confined to the competition ring.
Scoring:
- One point will be awarded for each board broken.
- Scoring adjustments will be made as follows:
- Add 3 points for each turning jump kick technique.
- Add 2 points for each jump kick technique.
- Add 1 point for each turning (not jumping) kick technique.
- Deduct 0.5 points each time the competitor or board holder crosses the competition ring boundary line.
- Deduct 1 points for each second attempt on a break.
- In the case of a tie score, the referee panel will choose a winner using the following criteria:
- Level of difficulty of the breaking technique
- Demonstration of Tae Kwon Do skills and presentation
Awards:
- Medals will be awarded to all participants ages 11 and under.
- For participants ages 12 and over, only 1st, 2nd, and two 3rd place winners in each division will be awarded medals.
Note: Tournament organizers reserve the right to adjust competition rules. Boards for Board Breaking events will be on sale at the tournament site.