Hogu

:"The word Bogu refers to the armor for Kendo."

A hogu is the armour worn by practitioners of Taekwondo during sparring. Translated into English, "hogu" means chest or chest protector. The "hogu" has been used in World Taekwondo Federation sparring since the 1950s and is considered the most important piece of sparring equipment in the Taekwondo practitioner's arsenal. The "hogu" is the most common scoring area in Taekwondo sparring. The "hogu" is hit by the heel, the sole and the top of the foot by many kicking techniques like the roundhouse kick or the back kick, and can also be hit with the fist. "Hogu"s are made by various companies such as Adidas and Dae Do; only certain brands of chest protector are approved by the WTF. The chest protector is mandatory in WTF- or Olympic-style competition [ [http://www.wtf.org/site/rules/competition.htm WTF competition rules] ] ; however, it is not used in ITF-style sparring [ [http://www.itf-information.com/information10a.htm ITF competition rules] ] .

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