Competition Guideline

Traditional Forms Guidelines

  • Please refer to the forms/patterns section of the AAU Taekwondo Handbook at

https://image.aausports.org/dnn/tw/2026/25-26-AAUTKDHandbook-1.27.26.pdf

  • The official Forms/Patterns accepted for competition shall be WT (Taegeuk & Pal Gwe), ITF, and TSD/MDK
  • Forms/Patterns Cannot Be Altered or Modified. Do not add or leave out kicks or movements. Doing so can result in disqualification.

Team Form Competition Guidelines

  • There will be three (3) types of teams
    • Black Belt Youth (5-17 yrs old) Team
    • Black Belt Senior (18+ yrs old) Team
    • Mixed Belt Rank Team (can be a combination of Youth and Seniors, all colored belts, a combination of colored belts and black belts, all black belts consisting of both Youth and Senior black belts.
  • Teams shall consist of three members.
  • An individual may compete on only one team.
  • Team may consist of all males, all females or a combination of males and females.

Weapon Forms Guidelines

Weapon forms will be judged on the following criteria (in no particular order of importance):

  • Overall control of the weapon (deductions for drops, mishandling, etc.)
  • Difficulty (more difficult maneuvers deserve more recognition)
  • Originality (is the competitor being creative)
  • Presentation (was the display exciting and fun)
  • Practical application of the weapon
  • Stances, timing, and rhythm of the form

Sport Poomsae

  • Sport poomsae divisions will be officiated by AAU Poomsae and World Taekwondo International Referees with current AAU modified rules and guidelines.
  • Winners of male and female (with at least 5 athletes in the division) in the mini cadet, cadet, junior, and senior divisions will receive a reimbursement for early entry fee to the 2026 AAU National Championship.

Olympic Sparring

  • Please refer to the Olympic Sparring section of the AAU Taekwondo Handbook at

https://image.aausports.org/dnn/tw/2026/25-26-AAUTKDHandbook-1.27.26.pdf

  • Winners, male and female (with at least 5 athletes) in the mini-cadet, cadet, junior, and senior divisions will receive a reimbursement for an early entry fee to the 2026 AAU National Championship.

General Weigh-In – Olympic Sparring (State Championship)

Competitors will be expected to register in the most proper weight class division listed for that tournament. Any officials or coach may question the weight of a prospective opponent prior to the beginning of the division. If a competitor’s weight is questioned and his/her weight is found to be either over or under that weight class in which they have been assigned to compete, he/she may be disqualified or moved to the proper weight-class and pay $100 for the change fee. If the weight-division was completed, then the competitor shall be disqualified.

Weigh-in may be allowed in dobok, street clothes, or athletic shorts and T-shirt, absolutely no nude weight-in is allowed, weight allowance will be 2 lbs.

Competitors unable to make the weight for which they register, MAY BE DISQUALIFIED or be allowed to change their registration and pay the required CHANGE ORDER FEE ($100)

Board Breaking Guidelines

Board sizes will be supplied by the tournament director. All boards will be available for purchase at the venue. All boards used for competition must be purchased through tournament committee/director – No boards sourced from a 3rd party will be allowed for competition use. All boards will be subject to inspection any time before or during the competition.

Competitors must provide their own board holders.

Each competitor will be allowed only TWO stations per round, a maximum of 2 attempts per station is allowed

  • 90 seconds maximum setup/break time allowed per competitor.
  • Maximum of 10 boards utilized is allowed per competitor, per round of competition
  • No forehead breaking, open flames, or bladed props may be used
  • No jumping/flying over people will be allowed
  • No spacers will be allowed
  • No elbow strikes will be allowed
  • Competitors may use demo boards or pine boards

Athlete technique will be judged based on the following criteria: Technique focus, balance, power, and creativity

  • A break performed on the 1st try is superior to a break completed on the 2nd try
  • A 2 boards break is superior to a 1 board break, a 3 boards break is superior to 2 boards break and so on
  • A break supported on 1 end (speed break) is superior to a break supported on both ends

**Athletes must purchase boards at the tournament. $3/each demo board**

Coaches’ Attire:

Official Blue AAU Coach’s shirt (coach’s shirt may not be modified in any way)

  • White Dobok (uniform) pants or ankle-length athletic pants
  • Sneakers
  • Coach credentials must be always worn and must be plainly visible.