Competitor Categories
The tournament will feature the following twelve (12) competition categories.
(Click on the category name for more information)
TOPCompetitor Categories
Special Needs
The tournament will have a special needs category for forms, breaking and weapons. Tournament directors will work with school owners to coordinate divisions and pairings for any special needs competitors. This is a FREE event to students with down syndrome or other qualifying special need. (For tournament purposes ADD, ADHD or similar attention disorders do not qualify for this category.)
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Scholarship / Grant
The tournament will give away a five hundred dollar ($500) scholarship/grant that can be used for college or trade school. It is open to black belt students that are a high school junior, senior or college level student. Each school with five (5) or more competitors can submit one (1) qualifying student who you feel should receive the scholarship/grant. The tournament handbook will provide an overview of the rules.
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Team Spirit Award
The Team Spirit category is open to all participating schools. The Team Spirit award will be given to the school with the most paid competitors participating in the event. The winning school receives the following.
- Reserved Seating in the bleachers for your team!!
- $250 in equipment/gear
- Team Pizza Party
- Team Spirit Trophy
- Bragging rights for one year!
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Speed Kick Competition
Do you have the fastest kickers? Enter your four (4) fastest kickers to compete against other four (4) person teams to see who will be crowned the fastest kicking school in Florida! This category will feature the Zemita eSparring System! This category is FREE to any school with ten (10) or more paid competitors. Winning school receives the following.
- $250 in equipment/gear
- Zemita Cup Trophy Award
- Team Pizza Party
- Bragging rights for one year
- FREE tournament t-shirts four(4)
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Poomsae — Forms
The category is open to all styles and forms of Korean martial arts. You will see different poomsae/forms competing against each other at the same time. Competitors will be judged on the beauty, grace and overall performance of their poomsae/form. They will be judges will be looking at the competitor’s kicks, punches, stances, kihaps, balance and more. The tournament handbook will provide an overview of the rules. This category features two (2) levels or rounds.
- Level I – This is the medal round. At this level three (3) competitors in the same belt and age division compete against each other in the same ring at the same time. They compete for Gold, Silver & Bronze position medals. All Gold position medal winners advance to LEVEL II, the grand championship round. The tournament does allow for a one (1) belt deviation if needed to complete a group of three (3) competitors.
- Level II – This is the grand championship trophy round. The level is open to all competitors that won a Gold medal in the LEVEL I forms category. Gold medal winners compete for the title of Grand Champion against other gold medal winners in their age and belt division. Competitors will be awarded 1st, 2nd & 3rd place Grand Championship trophies.
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Synchronized Team Forms
This category will be open to ALL belt and age divisions. It is a fun and exciting category that allows competitors to compete with their friends and/or family as a team. Each team must have a minimum of three (3) competitors and a maximum of five (5) competitors. The teams can be mixed with male and female and different belt divisions. The tournament handbook will provide an overview of the rules.
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Sparring
The tournament strives to provide a fun and safe sparring experience. Safety is a major concern. ALL sparring competitors are REQUIRED to wear sparring gear. Competitors must wear hand, foot, head, chest, groin and mouth protection. Competitors will not be permitted to spar without complete gear. Gear will be available onsite for purchase if needed. Sparring category will feature a four (4) person bracket (see below). The winner of each match will be determined by the number of rounds won, not total points. Points reset after each round. The competitor that wins two (2) rounds advances to the next level on the bracket. If each competitor wins one (1) round they will spar a third (3rd) round to determine the winner of the match. The four (4) competitors will be awarded 1st, 2nd, 2nd and 3rd place trophies. The tournament handbook provides an overview of the rules.
4 Person Bracket
(blue = winner red = loser)
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Breaking
In 2019 the breaking category will be subdivided into two (2) categories because this year we are adding POWER BREAKING!! The tournament handbook will provide an overview of the rules.
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Standard Breaking – The first category is the standard board breaking category. It is a fun category where competitors compete against themselves. The competitor determines their own breaking technique and board heights based on the number of boards for their belt rank. For non black belt competitors, if the competitor is successful and completes the breaks on the first attempt, the competitor will be awarded a Gold medal. If it takes the competitor two (2) attempts on any break they will be awarded a Silver medal. If it takes the competitor three (3) of more total attempts the competitor will be awarded a Bronze medal. Black belt competitors will be compete against two (2) other black belts in their division for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place trophies. Black belts will be judges on their breaking techniques and difficulty. Number of breaking attempts supersedes technique. Competitors must provide their own board holders. Boards will be available onsite for purchase.
- 2 Boards – White, Yellow, Orange & Green Belts – 1 hand & 1 foot technique
- 4 Boards – Purple, Blue, Brown & Red Belts – 2 hand & 2 foot techniques
- 6 boards – Black Belts – 3 hand & 3 foot techniques
- Power Breaking – The Florida Tae Kwon Do Open will feature power breaking this year. It will be limited to black belts only in 2019. There will be 2 divisions, Under 18 years old and 18 years old and older. Black belts will compete against each other in their division regardless of weight. To keep power breaking as fair as possible, competitors must purchase boards from The Tournament. The Tournament will use one inch (1”) thick pine wood boards. The Tournament will use construction pencils as spacers between the boards.
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Highest Kick Break
How high can your students jump to break a board? This is a super exciting category that offers CA$H prizes! This category is a FREE event to any competitor that qualifies. To qualify for free entry the competitor must break a board that is six feet (6’) and six inches (6”) above the ground. If the competitor can break the qualifying board they are entered into the category for free. The tournament handbook will provide an overview of the rules.
- 1st, 2nd & 3rd place trophies
- 1st place = $200 cash
- 1st place = Six foot (6’) trophy
- 2nd place = $100 cash & trophy
- 3rd place = $50 cash & trophy
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Weapons
This category is open to different weapons including sword, bo staff, nunchucks, kamas, kali (escrima) sticks, fans and more. Safety is a major concern. ALL weapons must be in safe working condition. For safety reasons, competitors ARE NOT permitted to use weapons with a sharp edge. The weapons category is subdivided into the two (2) categories.
- Traditional Forms
- Creative/Extreme Forms
The competitor entry fee includes one (1) weapons category only. The competitor can choose an additional weapons category for an additional event entry fee of fifteen dollars ($15). Based on the number of competitors in a category The Tournament rules do allow for belt rank deviations between weapons competitors. The tournament handbook will provide an overview of the rules.