Taekwondo: Martial art takes technological turn

Taekwondo has embraced the electronic age to make its sport simpler.

The Korean martial art has long entrusted judging to the human eye.

Two fighters roam the ring and four judges are positioned around the edges to note when clean hits are made.

But now, taekwondo is going high-tech.

Competitors and spectators at the South Island WTF championships in Dunedin on Saturday got their first look at electronic chest pads which may revolutionise the sport.

"We're pretty excited about it. It's the future of the sport, basically," Green Island Taekwondo Club instructor Grant Beel said.

"It takes the human element right out of the scoring side of things. You have to hit the pad with significant force.

"That creates an electronic pulse, which goes back to the computer and scores the point."

Beel said human judges often missed clean hits.

In a system similar to boxing, three of the four judges have to register a hit by either fighter for a point to be awarded.

The electronic pads can be set according the ability of the fighter, so a flyweight will not have to hit them as hard as a heavyweight in order to score a point.

The pads will likely be used at the next Oceania championships, expected to be held in Auckland at the end of the year.

Saturday's tournament was held under the WTF and Olympic rules, involving full-contact sparring over three 2min rounds.

The upset of the day was in the senior women's flyweight, where rising star Hayley Schofield (Wellington) beat New Zealand representative Aroha Miller (Christchurch).

Tneal Wilson (Blenheim) chalked up three straight wins in the junior women's lightweight and beat Tylah Bruce (Dunedin) in the final, while Oceania champion Dafydd Sanders (Auckland) easily won the men's heavyweight crown.

The best Dunedin fighter was Cody Jeffery (Green Island), who claimed the junior black belt middleweight title, with a third-round knockout against Dallas Carr (New Brighton).

Taekwondo New Zealand secretary-general Matt Ransom was delighted with the city's response to hosting the South Island tournament.