What do points mean...?

I was watching the Olympics the other day and happened to drift across the Women's Taekwondo. It got me thinking, you'll be no doubt not surprised to hear. I used to do Taekwondo many years ago (about 20 years ago actually) so whilst not totally qualified to comment I do have some knowledge of the discipline. It is Korean in origin and is primarily a kicking art (I remember my instructor telling us not to use our hands until our feet started bleeding). It contains some very powerful kicks and sweeps but also does include punches and hand strikes together with defensive blocks. Well, it used to. Judging by what I saw on the TV it is now simply a matter of swinging your leg and appealing to the judges after every attempt. I don't wish to denigrate the skills of the young ladies involved as they are obviously at the peak of the game as it is played now and are applying the correct style and technique for the times they are in but that to an extent is my point; it was just a game. It wasn't a martial art in any sense of the word and this arguably can be attributed to the introduction of points.
Now at this point you're thinking "Uh-oh here goes Dave off on his old fashioned hobby horse again.." but consider the argument. If points were being scored on style, or technique, would the two competitors constantly be shrieking at the judges? Would they be flailing desperately at their opponent in an attempt to hit whatever the cost? During the bouts I watched there were two strikes that I would consider stylish and well timed, the others were quite simply lucky hits as their opponent left an opening. If you throw enough eggs at a barn some will stick after all.
As a coach this continual 'sportifying' of a discipline causes problems; students (particularly young ones) want to win and if that means sacrificing some boring old technique then so be it. As a sport it also causes problems. In the Taekwondo at this event one of the competitors kicked the referee because he got disqualified for a rule infringement. The bronze medallist in the wrestling threw his medal down and stormed off the podium because he didn't win due to a penalty. How many times do you see tantrums at a fencing match due to points not being given? It seems more regular now to me.
It's a difficult one to call as any sport needs a winner and without that sporting element there probably wouldn't be that many participants. However, it must be remembered that although points may well mean prizes, they shouldn't mean forgetting the roots of form, technique and discipline.