Tae Kwon Do

Tae Kwon Do or Taekwondo, Korean martial art, known for its dramatic flying and spinning kicks. The name comes from the Korean words tae (foot, or kick), kwon (fist, or punch), and do (art, or way of life) and literally means “the art of hand and foot fighting.”

Students learn the fundamentals of tae kwon do through choreographed sequences of combative moves, the breaking of boards or other materials, and two-person controlled sparring. They also receive instruction in principles such as courtesy, integrity, perseverance, and self-control. Practitioners wear a white, loose-fitting uniform known as a dobok, tied at the waist with a colored belt that indicates rank. The ranking system is divided into ten kup (pupil) levels and nine dan (black belt, or expert) levels. At competitions, participants are judged by how well they perform the choreographed sequences, by their accuracy in breaking boards, and by their skill in sparring contests.

The roots of tae kwon do go back thousands of years. In 1955 a number of similar schools of martial arts were merged, and the resulting style was named tae kwon do. An important figure in this effort was Choi Hong Hi, a Korean general who worked to combine a traditional Korean foot-fighting technique called tae kyon with Japanese karate. General Choi established the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) in 1966.

Another organization, the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), was created in 1973. The WTF gradually became recognized as the leading international organization for tae kwon do, and under its guidance tae kwon do became an official medal sport at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.