Introduction of Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; Korean pronunciation: [tkwndo]) is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea.

In Korean, tae (, ) means to strike or break with foot; kwon (, ) means to strike or break with fist; and do (, ) means way, method, or path. Thus, taekwondo may be loosely translated as the way of the hand and the foot. [1] The name taekwondo is also written as taekwon-do, tae kwondo, or tae kwon do by various organizations, based on historical, philosophical, or political[citation needed] reasons. It combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and in some cases meditation and philosophy. In 1989, Taekwondo was the worlds most popular martial art in terms of number of practitioners.[2] Gyeorugi (pronounced [jui]), a type of sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000. There are two main branches of taekwondo development, which are not necessarily mutually exclusive:

Traditional taekwondo typically refers to the martial art as it was established in the 1950s and 1960s in the South Korean military, and in various civilian 1rganizations, including schools and universities. In particular, the names and symbolism of the traditional patterns often refer to elements of Korean history, culture and religious philosophy. Today, the Kukkiwon, or World Taekwondo Headquarters is the traditional center for Taekwondo in Korea. Sport taekwondo has developed in the decades since the 1950s and may have a somewhat different focus, especially in terms of its emphasis on speed and competition (as in Olympic sparring). Sport taekwondo is in turn subdivided into two main styles; one derives from Kukkiwon, the source of the sparring system sihap gyeorugi which is now an event at the summer Olympic Games and which is governed by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The other comes from the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF).[3]

Although there are doctrinal and technical differences between the two main styles and among the various organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance, employing the legs greater reach and power (compared to the arm). Taekwondo training generally includes a system of blocks, kicks, punches, and openhanded strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws, and joint locks. Some taekwondo instructors also incorporate the use of pressure points, known as jiapsul, as well as grabbing self-defense techniques borrowed from other martial arts, such as hapkido and judo.
History of Taekwondo

The oldest Korean martial art was an amalgamation of unarmed combat styles developed by the three rival Korean Kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje,[4] where 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. During this time a few select Silla warriors were given training in taekkyeon by the early masters from Koguryo. These warriors then became known as the Hwarang. The Hwarang set up a military academy for the sons of royalty in Silla called Hwarang-do, which means "the way of flowering manhood." The Hwarang studied taekkyeon, history, Confucian philosophy, ethics, Buddhist morality, social skills and military tactics. The guiding principles of the Hwarang warriors were based on Won Gwang's five codes of human conduct and included loyalty, filial duty, trustworthiness, valor and justice. Taekkyeon was spread throughout Korea because the Hwarang traveled all around the peninsula to learn about the other regions and people. 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 poorly regarded in a society whose ideals were epitomized by its scholar-kings.[5] Formal practices of traditional martial arts such as subak and taekkyeon were reserved for sanctioned military uses. Civilian folk practice of taekkyeon persisted into the 19th century.[4] During the Japanese occupation of Korea (19101945), all facets of ethnic Korean identity were banned or suppressed.[6] Traditional Korean martial arts such as taekkyeon or subak were banned during this time.[7] During the occupation, Koreans who were able to study and receive rankings in Japan were exposed to Japanese martial arts.[8] Others were exposed to martial arts in China and Manchuria.[9][10][11] When the occupation ended in 1945, Korean martial arts schools (kwans) began to open in Korea under various influences.[9][12] There are differing views on the origins of the arts taught in these schools. Some believe that they taught martial arts that were based primarily upon the traditional Korean martial arts taekkyon and subak,[13][14][15][16][17] or that taekwondo was derived from native Korean martial arts with influences from neighboring countries.[9][18][19][20][21][22] Still others believe that these schools taught arts that were almost entirely based upon karate.[23][24][25] In 1952, at the height of the Korean War, there was a martial arts exhibition in which the kwans displayed their skills. In one demonstration, Nam Tae Hi smashed 13 roof tiles with a punch. Following this demonstration, South Korean President Syngman Rhee instructed Choi Hong Hi to introduce the martial arts to the Korean army. By the mid-

1950s, nine kwans had emerged. Syngman Rhee ordered that the various schools unify under a single system. The name "taekwondo" was submitted by either Choi Hong Hi (of the Oh Do Kwan) or Song Duk Son (of the Chung Do Kwan), and was accepted on April 11, 1955. As it stands today, the nine kwans are the founders of taekwondo,[26] though not all the kwans used the name. The Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed in 1959/1961 to facilitate the unification.[8][14][27] In the early 1960s, Taekwondo made its dbut worldwide with assignment of the original masters of taekwondo to various countries. Standardization efforts in South Korea stalled, as the kwans continued to teach differing styles. Another request from the Korean government for unification resulted in the formation of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association, which changed its name back to the Korea Taekwondo Association in 1965 following a change of leadership. The International Taekwon-Do Federation was founded in 1966, followed by World Taekwondo Federation in 1973. Since 2000, Taekwondo has been one of only two Asian martial arts (the other being judo) that are included in the Olympic Games; it became a demonstration event starting with the 1988 games in Seoul, and became an official medal event starting with the 2000 games in Sydney. In 2010, Taekwondo was accepted as a Commonwealth Games sport.[28] One source has estimated that as of 2009, Taekwondo was practiced in 123 countries, with over 30 million practitioners and 3 million individuals with black belts throughout the world.[citation needed] The South Korean government in the same year published an estimate of 70 million practitioners in 190 countries.
Features of Taekwondo

Taekwondo is known for its emphasis on kicking techniques, which distinguishes it from martial arts such as karate or southern styles of kung fu. The rationale is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to execute powerful strikes without successful retaliation. Historically, the Koreans thought that the hands were too valuable to be used in combat.[citation needed] Taekwondo as a martial art is popular with people of both genders and of many ages. Physically, taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of wooden boards, bricks or tiles, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's power. A taekwondo student typically wears a uniform (dobok /), often white but sometimes black (or other colors), with a belt (dti ) tied around the waist. There are at least three major styles of do-bok, with the most obvious differences being in the style of jacket: (1) the cross-over front jacket that resembles traditional Asian clothing, (2) the Vneck jacket (no cross-over) typically worn by WTF practitioners, and (3) the verticalclosing front jacket (no cross-over) typically worn by ITF practitioners. The belt colour

and any insignia thereon (if any) indicate the student's rank. In general, the darker the colour, the higher the rank. The school or place where instruction is given is called the do-jang (). The grandmaster of the do-jang is called a gwan-jang-nim (); Master (senior instructor or head of do-jang) is called sa-beom-nim (); Instructor is called gyo-san-nim (); Assistant Instructor is called jo-gyo-nim () Taekwondo, along with many other martial arts, is traditionally performed in bare feet, though there are specialist training shoes that can sometimes be worn. Although each taekwondo club or school will be different, a student typically takes part in most or all of the following:[30]

Learning the techniques and curriculum of taekwondo Both anaerobic and aerobic workout, including stretching Self-defense techniques (hosinsool ) Patterns (also called forms, poomsae /, teul , hyeong /) Sparring (called gyeorugi , or matseogi in the ITF), which may include 7-, 3-, 2- and 1-step sparring, free-style sparring, arranged sparring, point sparring, and other types Relaxation and meditation exercises; breathing control Throwing and/or falling techniques (deonjigi and ddeoreojigi ) A focus on mental and ethical discipline, etiquette, justice, respect, and selfconfidence Breaking (gyeokpa or weerok), using techniques to break boards for testing, training and martial arts demonstrations. Demonstrations often also incorporate bricks, tiles, and blocks of ice or other materials. Can be separated into three types: o Power breaking using straightforward techniques to break as many boards as possible o Speed breaking boards are held loosely by one edge, putting special focus on the speed required to perform the break o Special techniques breaking fewer boards but using jumping or flying techniques to attain greater heights, distances, or to clear obstacles Exams to progress to the next rank

Some schools teach the "sine wave" technique when performing patterns. This involves raising one's center of gravity between techniques, then lowering it as the technique is performed, producing the up-and-down movement from which the term "sine wave" is derived. Other schools teach that one's center of gravity should remain generally constant throughout the performance of a pattern except where the pattern's description states otherwise.

World Taekwondo Federation

Under World Taekwondo Federation and Olympic rules, sparring is a full-contact event and takes place between two competitors in an area measuring 8 meters square.[33] A win can occur by points, or if one competitor is unable to continue (knockout) the other competitor wins.[34] Each match consists of three semi-continuous rounds of contact, with one minute's rest between rounds. There are two age categories: 1417 years and 18 years and older. Points are awarded for permitted, accurate, and powerful techniques to the legal scoring areas; light contact does not score any points. The only techniques allowed are kicks (delivering a strike using an area of the foot below the ankle) and punches (delivering a strike using the closed fist).[35] In most competitions, points are awarded by three corner judges using electronic scoring tallies. Several A-Class tournaments, however, are now trialing electronic scoring equipment contained within competitors' body protectors. This limits corner judges to scoring only attacks to the head. Some believe that the new electronic scoring system will help to reduce controversy concerning judging decisions,[36] but this technology is still not universally accepted.[37] Beginning in 2009, a kick or punch that makes contact with the opponent's hogu (the body guard that functions as a scoring target) scores one point; if a kick to the hogu involved a technique that includes fully turning the attacking competitor's body, so that the back is fully exposed to the targeted competitor during execution of the technique (spinning kick), an additional point is awarded; a kick to the head scores three points; as of October 2010 an additional point is awarded if a turning kick was used to execute this attack.[38] Punches to the head are not allowed. As of March 2010, no additional points are awarded for knocking down an opponent (beyond the normal points awarded for legal strikes). At the end of three rounds, the competitor with more points wins the match. 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 one minute rest period. If there is no score in the additional round the winner shall be decided by superiority as determined by the refereeing officials.[38] Until 2008, if one competitor gained a 7-point lead over the other, or if one competitor reached a total of 12 points, then that competitor was immediately declared the winner and the match ended. These rules were abolished by the WTF at the start of 2009. In October 2010 the WTF reintroduced a point gap rule. Under the new rule if a competitor has a 12 point lead at the end of the second round or achieves a 12 point lead at any point in the 3rd round then the match is over and the athlete in the lead is declared the winner.[38] In AAU point style sparring, all contact is light and the clock is stopped after a point is scored. (citation on aau website)[citation needed] Kicks to the head score two points, kickes to the body score one, and hand techniques to the head also score one. There are three legal hand techniques in point sparing, backfists, rich hands and punches. When a point is scored the official stops the clock and awards points accordingly.

Depending on the type of tournament and club, competitors may also use fist protectors, foot protectors, instep guards, helmets and mouth guards.

International Taekwon-Do Federation

The International Taekwon-Do Federation's sparring rules are similar to the WTF's rules, but differ in several aspects.

Hand and foot attacks to the head are allowed.[39] The scoring system is: [39] o 1 Point for: Punches to the head or body. o 2 Points for: Kicks to the body and head. o 3 Points for: Flying kicks to the head. The competition area may vary between 9x9 meters or 8x8 meters in international championships.

Competitors do not wear the hogu (although they are required to wear approved foot and hand protection equipment, as well as optional head guards). A continuous point system is utilized in ITF competition, where the fighters are allowed to continue after scoring a technique. Full-force blows are allowed, and knockouts result in a victory; although these rules vary between ITF organizations. At the end of two minutes (or some other specified time) the competitor with more scoring techniques wins. ITF competitions also feature performances of patterns, breaking, and 'special techniques' (where competitors perform prescribed board breaks at great heights).