Yesterday I returned to Ballerup Super Arena where the taekwondo World Championships were held to shoot another local fighter. I returned with a days worth of experience shooting Taekwondo. I was hoping errors made on day one would be eliminated. All throughout the first day I tried as much as possible to get the fighters from top to toe, also because I didn’t really know what to expect. I didn’t want to miss out on anything.

And a quick side note. Craig wrote a comment on the previous post asking if I found it easier or harder to shoot Taekwondo than hockey. I think my question is it’s easier. You don’t have to cover as much ground in Taekwondo as you do hockey. But you gotta be just as quick and anticipate the action just like in hockey.

Philip Rayes - the local guy fought his first fight on mat #5, his second fight on mat #4 and his third on mat #3 which was lit way better than the four corner mats. This wide shot of the arena shows just how big a difference the light was.

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 17-40mm f/4 @ f/9, 1/30sec ISO 800. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

If you look at the mat in the center the blue is washed out a lot more than the other four. Too bad the standard wasn’t like that all around.

Anyway, one thing I noticed is just how much the damn referee or whatever he’s called gets in the way. It’s not like boxing where he moves around. He’s facing the timekeepers table as much as possible so the referee gets in your shots a lot and ruins potentially great shots like this one:

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/400sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Even though I had brought my 300mm the first day I never used it. I thought I would be getting too close to the athletes cropping out action. All kicks are to the stomach area or head so from the firhters’ waist and down, not much is happening. However showing the mat does give you an idea of just how high these guys can actually kick!

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/400sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

As mentioned Philip Reyes fought his third match/fight on mat #3. It’s elevated a bit from the ground and as mentioned lit a lot better. too bad that was his last fight as he was knocked out of the competition in overtime/sudden death. He was at that point the danish fighter who had reached the third round. I used the 300mm for two of the three rounds + sudden death. Anyway here’s some more shots from the competition yesterday.

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/320sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/640sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Philip Reyes was devastated after losing in the third round.

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS @ f/2.8, 1/800sec ISO 1250. (Photo: Brian Poulsen)