History
Taekwondo may conceivably be traceable back to martial arts that were practiced around 50 B. C. in what is now Korea.
One source says that wall paintings from tombs of about that time clearly show two men using moves that are still used in taekwondo. Another source says that the men are dancing.
Certainly, there were Korean martial arts long ago, but connecting them to modern taekwondo is problematical.
Japan invaded Korea in 1910 and tried to obliterate Korean culture, banning the use of the Korean language and the practice of martial arts. Many Koreans left the country and learned Chinese martial arts in China or Manchuria. A few learned Japanese and Korean martial arts while attending universities in Japan.
The Japanese occupation lasted until the end of World War II in 1945. The United Nations in 1948 split Korea into two parts, Communist North Korea and Democratic South Korea. That year, Hong Hi Choi, a second lieutenant in the South Korean army, began instructing members of the armed forces in a martial art that combined karate with a kicking art known as taek kyon.
He also taught the art to some American soldiers stationed in Korea and a little later he demonstrated it at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he was attending a military school conducted by the U. S. Army.
The Korean conflict began in 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea. In 1952, South Korean President Syngman Rhee decreed that all of his country's soldiers should be trained in martial arts. The training continued after a ceasefire ended the war in 1953.
By then, there were about 40 major martial arts schools, known as kwans, teaching various techniques in South Korea. President Rhee ordered them to unite to teach a single system. They agreed and adopted the name tae soo do for the style. Two years later, Hong Hi Choi, now an army general, suggested that tae kwon do would be a more appropriate name, and it replaced tae soo do.
The Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA) was founded in 1959 to oversee the sport and its teaching. The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), established in 1973 because of the sport's rapid growth in other countries, was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1980.
Taekwondo was a demonstration sport at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics and became a full medal sport in 2000 at the Sydney Games.
The U.S. Taekwondo Association was founded as a national governing body in 1967. It was superseded in 1974 by the U. S. Taekwondo Federation, which is now known as USA Taekwondo.
How It's Played
Though now commonly spelled as one word, the name is made up of three Korean words: tae means foot or kick; kwon means hand or fist; and do means way. Thus the whole phrase can be roughly translated as "the way of the foot or the fist" or, perhaps, "the art of kicking and punching."
The emphasis should be on the kicking, because taekwondo is primarily a kicking sport.
As an exercise, taekwondo is based on practising poomses (meaning patterns or forms), which are prescribed sequences of typical techniques.
Competitive taekwondo, as seen in the Olympics, is kyorugi, or sparring. A bout is made up of three 2-minute rounds separated by 1-minute rest periods. Each competitor wears a hogu, which is a protective cover for the mid-section.
Points can be scored only with a kick or punch to the kogu or a kick to the head. The blow must make solid contact, causing abrupt displacement of the torso or head. Punches to the head and attacks below the belt are forbidden.
A head kick counts 2 points or 3 points if it knocks the opponent down for an eight-count. Blows to the body are worth 1 point, 2 points for an eight-count knockdown. As in boxing, a knockout wins the bout.
If one competitor accumulates a total of 12 points, or a 7-point lead, the bout ends and he or she is declared the winner. Otherwise, the winner is the person with the most points at the end of three rounds.
If the competitors are tied, there is a one-minute sudden-death overtime, in which the first competitor to score a point wins.
