Blocking for sparring in Taekwondo

[SimonB]

Hi guys,

After our tournament this weekend I came home with some pretty sore hands/wrists (& a silver medal! ) from blocking kicks in my sparring matches (WTF Olympic style).

My instructor has been teaching me to fight with my hands in front, and lower (similar to how we see the Olympic guys do it). I thought I was very successful at blocking/deflecting/absorbing kicks from my opponents, but my hands and wrists took a bit of a beating.

I understand this may be partially due to conditioning (lack of), and my hands may just need to toughen up, but can you give me any advice? (This is only my 2nd tournament)

Watching the video, I had my hands open most of the time, and I'm sure this is why they are sore now. Do I need to block with a clenched fist, or just toughen up?

Thanks in advance!

[SimonB]

toughen yourself up dude! everyone experiences this once in a while