Judging Patterns

Patterns are the essence of any martial art, Taekwondo included. Within patterns lie the details of Taekwondo techniques. To promote patterns in any objective way, the rules and regulations concerning their judgment must be based upon Taekwondo's true basic fundamentals.

Master seminars and referee clinics held by various organization delve into those points of fundamentals specifically required for uniform judgment of patterns. The following are some general tips on judging patterns.

• Judges should understand the meaning of each movement and the realize that each pattern and its required movements have various levels of power and speed.
• Judges should be able to differentiate between unnecessary, meaningless movements and valid movements.
• Competitor should express proper mental concentration (spirit), decorum, and character.
• Competitor should demonstrate proper application to achieve maximum performance (slow/fast; expand/contract) and proper range and contrast of movement, with full inner and outer body control.
• Competitor should demonstrate proper footwork and distribution of body weight, such proper weight distribution in a back stance or a fixed stance.
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