The following are some of the sparring rules in taekwondo:
1. All contestants are required to wear protective gear during sparring. They must also wear the traditional taekwondo gi. For protection, they need to have pads to protect their shin, forearms, hands, chest and head. For men, they must wear groin protection. They must also wear mouth guard.
2. Kicks and punches can be very powerful and can therefore cause permanent if not fatal injury. This is why taekwondo only includes certain strikes which are mentioned before the competition. When it comes to using your hands, only a closed fist is allowed. All other moves such as using your elbow, open hand or hammer strikes are not allowed. Kicks, on the other hand, are allowed on the head but you cannot strike the unprotected area of the face.
3. For every penalty you receive, your opponent gains a point. Intentional and repeated fouling will get you kicked out of the competition or even expelled from the tournament. Some of the moves that can attract a foul include: running away from your opponent, grappling of any kind, striking with your elbow or your knee, punches to areas below the waist and to the face, etc.
4. A certain number of points are awarded to certain moves. For instance, a kick to the head will earn an opponent three points, a spinning kick to the chest will earn them two points, etc. The strikes have to be of significant force, a glancing or a grazing blow is not enough to earn any points.