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Taekwondo

A WTF taekwondo sparring match
Also known as	Taekwon-Do, Tae Kwon-Do, Tae Kwon Do
Focus	Striking
Country of origin	Korea
Olympic sport	Since 2000 (WTF regulations)

Taekwondo (태권도; /tɛkwɒndoʊ/) is a Korean martial art. Taekwondo is the national sport of South Korea. It is also regarded as the world's most popular martial art in terms of number of practitioners, and sparring, or kyeorugi, is an official Olympic sporting event. In Korean, tae 태 跆 means "to trample with the foot"; kwon 권 拳 means "fist"; and do 도 道 means "way"; so taekwondo is loosely translated as "the way of the foot and fist".

Taekwondo's popularity has resulted in the varied evolution of the martial art into several domains: as with many other arts, it combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, meditation and philosophy.

There are two main systems of taekwondo. One comes from the Kukkiwon, the source of the sparring system "Shihap Kyorugi" which is an event at the summer Olympics and which is governed by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF); the other comes from the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF), which was founded by General Choi Hong Hi, the father of taekwondo. Although there are doctrinal and technical differences among the two taekwondo styles and the various organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance, employing the leg's greater reach and power (compared to the arm). Circular motions that generate power are of central importance. Also important to the generation of power is the movement of the hips while performing a punch or a block. Taekwondo training generally includes a system of blocks, punches, and open-handed strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws, and joint locks.

History

The oldest Korean martial art was an amalgamation of unarmed combat styles developed by the three rival Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje. Young men were trained in unarmed combat techniques to develop strength, speed, and survival skills. The most popular of these techniques was subak, with taekkyeon being the most popular of the segments of subak.

Those who demonstrated strong natural aptitude were selected as trainees in the new special warrior corps, called the Hwarang. It was believed that young men with a talent for the liberal arts may have the grace to become competent warriors. These warriors were instructed in academics as well as martial arts, learning philosophy, history, a code of ethics, and equestrian sports. Their military training included an extensive weapons program involving swordsmanship and archery, both on horseback and on foot, as well as lessons in military tactics and unarmed combat using subak. Although subak was a leg-oriented art in Goguryeo, Silla's influence added hand techniques to the practice of subak.

In spite of Korea's rich history of ancient and traditional martial arts, Korean martial arts faded into obscurity during the Joseon Dynasty. Korean society became highly centralized under Korean Confucianism and martial arts were lowly regarded in a society whose ideals were epitomized by its scholar-kings. Formal practices of traditional martial arts such as subak and taekkyeon were reserved for sanctioned military uses. However folk practice of taekkyeon as a kicking game still persisted into the 19th century.

Modern Taekwondo

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During the Japanese occupation (1910-1945), the practice of tae-kyon was banned. Although the art essentially vanished, some aspects of taekkyeon may have survived through underground teaching and folk custom. As the Japanese colonization established a firm foothold in Korea, the few Koreans who were able to attend Japanese universities were exposed to Okinawan and Japanese martial arts, and some received black belts in these arts. Koreans in China were also exposed to Chinese martial arts.

After World War II and the liberation of Korea, several Kwans (schools) arose. They included: Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Jidokwan (or Yun Moo Kwan), Chang Moo Kwan, Han Moo Kwan, Oh Do Kwan, Jung Do Kwan, Kang Duk Won,and Song Moo Kwan. All taught Japanese-influenced systems. Most were based on Japanese Karate, most notably Shotokan Karate. As these arts began to be taught openly by Koreans who had learned it in Japan, they were taught under such names as kongsudo and tangsudo. According to Steven D. CapenerCite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

WTF

Under WTF and Olympic rules, sparring is a full-contact event and takes place between two competitors in an area measuring 10 meters square. Each match or bout consists of three non-stop rounds of contact with rest between rounds. Junior fighters fight in 2-minute rounds with a 30-second break, while senior fighters fight in 3-minute rounds with 30-second breaks. Points are awarded for permitted, accurate, and powerful techniques to the legal scoring areas; light contact to a scoring area does not score any points. A kick or punch that makes contact with the opponent's hogu (a trunk protector that functions as a scoring target) scores one point; a kick to the head scores two points. Punches to the head are not allowed. If a competitor is knocked down by a scoring technique and the referee counts, then an additional point is awarded to the opponent.

At the end of three rounds, the competitor with the most points wins the match. If, during the match, one competitor gains a 7-point lead over the other, or if one competitor reaches a total of 12 points, then that competitor is immediately declared the winner and the match ends. In the event of a tie at the end of three rounds, a fourth "sudden death" overtime round will be held to determine the winner, after a 30-second rest period.

ITF

The ITF sparring rules are similar, but differ from the WTF rules in several respects. Hand attacks to the head are allowed; flying techniques score more points than grounded techniques; the competition area is slightly smaller (9 meters square instead of 10 meters); and competitors do not wear the hogu used in Olympic-style sparring (although they are required to wear approved foot and hand protection equipment). The ITF competition rules and regulations are available at the ITF information website.

ITF competitions also feature performances of patterns, breaking and "special techniques", a category where competitors preform prescribed board breaks at great heights.

AAU Competitions are very similar, except that different styles of pads and gear are allowed. Any gear that has the Olympic symbol and not the WTF logo on it is approved.

• Olympic Games
• Asian Games
• South East Asian Games
• South Asian Games

Korean commands

In taekwondo, Korean language commands are often used. For words used in counting, see Korean numerals.

See also

• Korean martial arts
• Martial arts
• Songahm Taekwondo
• U S Taekwondo Federation

References

1. Tae Kwon Do: The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World's Most Popular Martial Art, by Park Yeon Hee et al. (New York: 1989)
2. ^ Capener, Steven D. (2000). Taekwondo: The Spirit of Korea (portions of). Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Republic of Korea. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
3. Cummings, B. (2005). Korea's Place in the Sun. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
4. Kyungji Kim (1986). "Taekwondo: a brief history". Korea Journal. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
5. Henning, Stanley (2000). "Traditional Korean Martial Arts". volume 9, issue 1. Journal of Asian Martial Arts. Retrieved 2008-01-17. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
6. Mitchell, David (1988). The Overlook Martial Arts Handbook. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press. p. 161. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
7. International Taekwondo Federation (2000). "Competition Rules and Regulations". Rules. www.itf-information.com. Retrieved 2007-09-06. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• "International Taekwon-do Federation Information Centre"
• Official site of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)
• International Taekwon-Do Federation
• Kukkiwon World Taekwondo Headquarters
• Taekwondo schools, tournaments and information.
• "Knowledge for Taekwondo Professionals"
• "All the terms used on Taekowndo are listed here"
• Collection of Taekwondo Videos

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• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from March 2008
• Taekwondo
• Korean martial arts
• Korean words and phrases
• Olympic sports
• Combat sports