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Taekwondo was formed on April 11, 1955, when most Korean martial arts masters decided to unite all the various fighting styles (such as ], ], ] ] ] etc.) under the name "Tae Soo Do" . This name was changed in ] by ] to Taekwondo. Taekwondo was formed on April 11, 1955, when most Korean martial arts masters decided to unite all the various fighting styles (such as ], ], ] ] ] etc.) under the name "Tae Soo Do" . This name was changed in ] by ] to Taekwondo.


Although seemingly a "new" martial art, the roots of Taekwondo stretch far back in time. Taekwondo was formed independently on the Korean peninsula, and Korean historical records and evidences vouch for the independent development of the art for thousands of years. Much of the art is influenced by the ancient Korean martial art ] (which has existed in Korea for over 2,000 years). There is no evidence for the claim that karate was the predecessor of Tae Kwon Do. Although seemingly a "new" martial art, the roots of Taekwondo stretch far back in time. Taekwondo was formed independently on the Korean peninsula, and Korean historical records and evidences vouch for the independent development of the art for thousands of years. Much of the art is influenced by the ancient Korean martial art ] (which has existed in Korea for over 2,000 years). There is no evidence for the claim that karate was the predecessor of Tae Kwon Do; in fact, strong arguments have been made to the contrary, not only with Taekwondo, but other Korean cultural aspects- Korean Samurang to Japanese Samurai and Korean Sirum to Japanese Sumo.


Taekwondo is famed for its employment of leg techniques, which many believe distinguishes it from other martial arts such as ] or ]. Hand techniques are also used a great deal, and so Taekwondo should not be considered to be confined to leg-work. Taekwondo was designed to be effectively employed by people regardless of their sex, height, weight or age, and so Taekwondo is popular with people of both sexes and of all ages. Taekwondo is famed for its employment of leg techniques, which many believe distinguishes it from other martial arts such as ] or ]. Hand techniques are also used a great deal, and so Taekwondo should not be considered to be confined to leg-work. Taekwondo was designed to be effectively employed by people regardless of their sex, height, weight or age, and so Taekwondo is popular with people of both sexes and of all ages.

Revision as of 05:32, 13 August 2003


Taekwondo or Taegwondo (태권도; 跆拳道) is the Korean military martial art, and is also one of the world's most commonly-practiced martial arts. In the Korean language, Tae (跆) means "foot", Kwon (拳) means "hand" or "fist", and Do (道) means "way". Hence, Taekwondo is taken to mean "the way of the hand and the foot."

Taekwondo was formed on April 11, 1955, when most Korean martial arts masters decided to unite all the various fighting styles (such as Gong Soo, Taekyeon, Kwon Beop soo bak do Tang Soo Do etc.) under the name "Tae Soo Do" . This name was changed in 1957 by General Choi Hong Hi to Taekwondo.

Although seemingly a "new" martial art, the roots of Taekwondo stretch far back in time. Taekwondo was formed independently on the Korean peninsula, and Korean historical records and evidences vouch for the independent development of the art for thousands of years. Much of the art is influenced by the ancient Korean martial art Taekyeon (which has existed in Korea for over 2,000 years). There is no evidence for the claim that karate was the predecessor of Tae Kwon Do; in fact, strong arguments have been made to the contrary, not only with Taekwondo, but other Korean cultural aspects- Korean Samurang to Japanese Samurai and Korean Sirum to Japanese Sumo.

Taekwondo is famed for its employment of leg techniques, which many believe distinguishes it from other martial arts such as Karate or Kung Fu. Hand techniques are also used a great deal, and so Taekwondo should not be considered to be confined to leg-work. Taekwondo was designed to be effectively employed by people regardless of their sex, height, weight or age, and so Taekwondo is popular with people of both sexes and of all ages.

Although there are many different federations and associations, Taekwondo can be broadly divided into two schools: International Taekwondo Federation (ITF, founded 1966), and World Taekwondo Federation (WTF, founded 1973). Again, broadly speaking, the difference between ITF Taekwondo and WTF Taekwondo is the patterns (the pre-set, formal sequences of movements students learn). ITF has 24 patterns (which represent the 24 hours in a day, or the whole of a person's life), whilst WTF uses the Poomses form of patterns (which originate from the Chinese book, I Ching). The main difference between these two styles of pattern is that ITF patterns use a "stepping motion" for hand techniques, which include moving the body in a sinusoidal motion in order to use bodyweight to increase the effectiveness of the techniques. WTF is the only taekwondo body recognised by the South Korean government and it's rules have been adopted by the International Olympic Committee. Only students whose training is recognised by the WTF can take part in the olympic games.

Although each Taekwondo club or school will be different in some ways, a Taekwondo student can typically expect to take part in most or all of the following:

  • Learning the techniques of Taekwondo
  • Exercise!
  • Self-defence techniques for the world we live in today
  • Sparring (free-style controlled fighting in a safe environment, usually using safety gear, with either no-, light- or, more-rarely, full-contact)
  • Relaxation exercises
  • Breaking (using the techniques to break boards etc. to gain knowledge of how you are developing and to improve confidence)
  • Regular gradings (tests to progress to the next grade/belt and to gain confidence with your development)
  • A friendly and mutually-respectful atmosphere
  • Learning the theory and history behind Taekwondo

External links