freeing techniques must be learnt. Like other Taekwondo competition events, self-defense is marked by a panel of judges. When scoring they are looking at the following factors: Aliveness. How realistic is the Taekwondo students demonstration? Does he move with the requisite urgency and do his techniques have the emotional content to make the judges believe in their power? Technique. Are the Taekwondo techniques being demonstrated precisely? Are the kicks clean, fast and strong? Are joint locks and throws being performed accurately? Does the student have control over his adversaries or are they making it easy for him? Variety. What is the range of the Taekwondo practitioners knowledge? Is he showing his understanding of liner and direct counter-attacks? Has he performed a practical finishing technique after each throw or lock? Difficulty. More difficult Taekwondo techniques score higher than simple ones if performed correctly. However, a poorly executed technique will always score lower than a simple, effective technique performed well; students should not be demonstrating techniques that they have not mastered. References Further reading Modern Taekwondo:The Official Training Manual, Soon Man Lee and Gaetane Ricke; Sterling Publishing Company, New York, NY; copyright 1999 Traditional Taekwondo:Core Techniques, History, and Philosophy, Master Doug Cook; YMAA Publication Center, Boston, Massachusetts; copyright 2006 Forces of Tae Kwon Do, Edward B Sell and Brenda J Sell; U.S. Chung Do Kwan Association, Lakeland, Florida; copyright 2004 Taekwondo-related lists