Taekwondo Scoring Explained: What a Kick Is Worth in 2026

Under World Taekwondo's 2026 rules, a kick to the trunk is worth 2 points, a kick to the head is worth 3, and a turning kick to the head is worth 6, up from 5 until this year. Keep that in mind when you read an old scoreboard, including the ones from Tokyo that put Nedžad Husić fifth at the Olympic Games.

What a kick is worth now

Start with the values. A punch to the trunk protector is 1 point, a kick to the trunk is 2, and a kick to the head is 3. Turning (spinning) kicks now score double their base value, according to Taekwondo Canada's summary of the 2026 rules. So a turning kick to the trunk is 4 points, and a turning kick to the head, which used to be 5, is now 6.

That is why taekwondo fighters take risks. A clean spinning kick to the head is the biggest single score on the board.

The penalty side moved too. The sport calls a penalty a gam-jeom. Under the older rules in the Olympics.com guide, every gam-jeom given against an opponent added 1 point to your score. Taekwondo Canada's summary says that in the last 10 seconds of a round, a gam-jeom for passive behaviour, such as running away or stepping over the line, now gives the opponent 2 points.

How a bout is won

The older format, described in the Olympics.com guide, is the one in use when Husić fought. Bouts ran for three rounds of two minutes, and the fighter with the most points at the end won, according to Olympics.com. A 20-point lead at the end of round two, or during the final round, also won it. A tied bout went to a sudden-death round called the golden point, where the first fighter to score won.

The 2026 format is different. A New Zealand club's summary of the new rules says a match is now best of three rounds. Every round starts at 0-0, a fighter needs to win two rounds, and a lead of 15 points ends a round on the spot. Taekwondo Canada's June summary says the gap rose to 15 points under the 2026 rules.

The same rules also describe more punch sensors. Where the electronic protector is fitted with punch sensors, one corner judge, now called the technical judge, validates the technique, according to Taekwondo Canada.

Who decides what counts

Valid kicks are scored electronically. The trunk and head protectors contain a system called the PSS, which registers a legal hit, according to Olympics.com. Fighters wear a trunk protector, head protector, forearm and shin guards, gloves, sensing socks and a mouth guard, and men wear a groin guard too.

There is more than one way to lose. A referee stop, a withdrawal, a disqualification or ten penalties also end a bout, the Olympics.com guide says.

Where those old numbers come from

Husić fought at Tokyo 2020 (the Games that were held in 2021) in the up-to-68kg class. He won his first two bouts, then lost to Uzbekistan's Ulugbek Rashitov 28-5, the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina reported. In the bronze-medal bout he lost 22-13 to Turkey's Hakan Recber. His fifth place is the best Olympic result in the country's history.

A 28-5 score looks like a blowout, and it was. Those totals came from the old points-over-three-rounds format, so they do not map neatly onto the new best-of-three one.

The fighter behind the numbers

Husić was born in Sarajevo into a family of martial artists. His father founded a taekwondo club and is now head coach of the national team. He started training at three. He has won three European senior medals and, with Larisa Cerić, is the only Bosnian athlete to have won a medal at the European Games, according to Buzzer.

He also finished fifth at the 2022 World Championships in Guadalajara in the up-to-74kg class, the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina reported.

Buzzer's podcast conversation with him included a few honest lines about the sport. Husić said "everyone looks for an edge" when talking about rule loopholes in competition. He trains twice a day, with one or two rest days a week, a system inspired by his time with the British national team. His favourite weapons include the dwi chagi, which Buzzer describes as a spinning body kick.

Following Bosnian taekwondo

Buzzer has covered Bosnian taekwondo beyond Husić, including Ejla Makas, a rising star on European and world stages, and Husić himself in a profile as Sarajevo's Olympic taekwondo hero. Live events are on Buzzer Arena TV.

Next time a fighter lands a spinning kick to the head, count to six. Five, if you are watching a Tokyo replay.

Cover photo by olia danilevich.