How 2020 Armor Energy Scoring Reduces Idle Time, Improves Fairness and Engages Spectators Longer
We have talked about how 20/20 Armor’s energy scoring improves taekwondo by rewarding power techniques and combinations, there are 3 more very important benefits to this system of fighting:
- Every match and every round in a match is dramatic – which engages spectators
- There will be less idle time – making the fights more energetic
- Referees can never decide the match – making the fights more fair
Every Match and Every Round in a Match is Dramatic
Some of the most dramatic moments in the current point based scoring of taekwondo is in the rare moments when a match is tied, and it goes into over time (or golden point). There is a great deal of tension because with just one successful technique, a winner will emerge. Spectators are on edge, and you can feel the energy of the fighters as they commit to each technique.
This dramatic effect is built into the 20/20 Armor energy scoring system for every round of every match, as opposed to the rare instances of a tied match in the current point based system. Every round will have tension, since a winner is determined by winning two out of three rounds making the winning of a round crucial.
Therefore when a fighters health is down to 5%, we get the same drama and tension as overtime. Spectators will be on edge with every fight, making the sport more enjoyable to watch for longer periods of time.
There Will Be Less Idle Time
Before electronic scoring the sport was more dynamic, but it suffered from idle time (times of no action where athletes are just stepping). Rules were introduced to mitigate this, where if you did not kick in 5 seconds you would get a half point deduction from the referee.
This tactic had a limited amount of success as athletes would clinch to simulate action instead of kick. Because the athlete just needs to be ahead of points at the end of 3 rounds (or 6 minutes), there was lots of time to wait.
With the 20/20 Armor energy scoring, idle stepping is dramatically reduced since a fighter always wants to be ahead of their opponent in health before the time runs out of the round or they risk losing a round (as we mentioned above, the winning and losing of a round is significant as the winner of the match is determined by winning two out of three rounds).
This pressure to win a round forces athletes to fight with full intensity every round and ensure they take full control of the match the entire duration of the match and not just near the end.
Referees Can Never Decide the Match
In the US Olympic trials in Reno, Nevada on Feb 2016 – a referee was able to decide which athlete represented the country by issuing warnings. The referee did not do anything malicious, they were following the rules. The ref gave two warnings in overtime, which disqualified the one player.
In other professional sports such as soccer, basketball or hockey, when an infraction happens, the referee can never award or take away points, they simply make it harder or easier for the one side to get a point. For example, in basketball, when a foul is committed, a point is not automatically given to the other team, a player gets a chance to score a point. Or in hockey a player gets sent to the penalty box and the team plays with one man short.
In 20/20 Armor energy scoring, if an infraction happens the referee takes away health, but only up until the point it would determine a round winner. For example, if a player has 5% health left and gets a minor penalty (where they would lose 10% health and thus lose the round), the infraction would give 10% health to the other player instead. This way, a referee can never outright determine a winner as in the case in the US Olympic trials, but make it harder for the athlete who committed the infraction to win the round.
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