How does team taekwondo work?
A · Advanced · Knock downs, replay and entry · 5 of 5Teams of two, three or four fight as a tag team: one athlete from each side is on the mat and can be swapped as often as the coach likes. The contest is best of three rounds of three minutes. The whole team must fit under a combined weight limit, and there is no video replay.
How it works
- The events: pairs and teams of three or four for men and for women. There is also a mixed team of two women and two men.
- Format: a single-elimination tournament, best of three rounds, in a tag format.
- Round length: three minutes, or two minutes for pairs, with a one-minute rest.
- Substitutions: unlimited, when the match is reasonably interrupted.
- Fifteen seconds: an athlete who comes on must stay on for at least 15 seconds.
- Ten seconds: after one team substitutes, the other may not substitute for 10 seconds.
- Combined weight: for seniors, 300 kg or less for a male team of four and 260 kg for a female team of four.
- Scoring: the usual point values, added to a team total.
- Winning a round early: the first team to 30 points wins the round. There is no point gap rule.
- Mixed team: each bout must be between athletes of the same gender. Rounds one and two start with the women and round three with the men.
- Fouls: a shorter list. Forty gam-jeom lose the contest.
- Passive penalty: for running away, falling on purpose or stalling, the opponent's points are doubled for ten seconds.
The glossary has the best of three entry, gam-jeom, the valid points entry, the weight class entry, the round and chung and hong.
Tricky cases
A team's heavyweight is tagged in. Can the other coach answer at once with their own?
No. After a substitution, the opposing team may not substitute for the next 10 seconds.
One athlete in a team of four is injured during the contest. Is the contest over?
No. A team of four may continue with three. If the referee has stopped the contest for that athlete, the coach is asked whether the team wishes to go on.
In a mixed team contest, can a man be sent on against a woman?
No. Each side must match the same gender for every bout.
What is the health bar?
An alternative way of scoring. Each team starts with 150 and every hit takes points off the other team's bar, from 5 for a punch to 30 for a turning kick to the head. A team at zero loses the round.
Why the rule exists
The combined weight limit is what makes the tag format interesting: a team may carry one heavy athlete only by picking lighter ones beside them, and the coach then chooses match-ups by substitution. The 15-second and 10-second rules stop a team from swapping constantly to dodge one opponent.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pairs | Two athletes, rounds of two minutes, no reserve | WT Article 22.4.1; 22.5.2 |
| Teams of three or four | One reserve, used only between contests | WT Article 22.4.1; 22.4.3 |
| Mixed team | Two women and two men, up to two reserves | WT Article 22.9.3 |
| Health bar system | 150 for each team, reduced by hits | WT Article 22.7.3 |
| World Cup Team Championships | A first round of one-minute bouts, then two five-minute tag rounds | WT Article 7.1.3 |
From the rule book
World Taekwondo, Competition Rules & Interpretation (in force 1 June 2026), Articles 5.6, 7.1.3 and 22. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: WT Competition Rules & Interpretation, 1 June 2026 (PDF).