Taekwondo

What is Taekwondo?

Taekwondo is the Korean martial art form and sport that uses the hands and feet for attack and defense. The ultimate goal of Taekwondo is to develop the character and personality of the practitioner through physical, mental and spiritual discipline.

The modern form of Taekwondo was not agreed until 1955, but the sport has its roots in various Korean forms of martial arts stretching back more than 2,000 years. The name Taekwondo translates as the way of the foot and the fist.‘Tae’ means to break or attack with the foot, ‘Kwon’ means to break with the fist and ‘Do’ translates as the art or way. The Taekwondo philosophy is based on 5 tenets which are Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control and Indomitable Spirit.

Martial Art

Taekwondo is a modern martial art that incorporates all aspects of combat. It emphases its highly developed kicking skills which are unique to this martial art but also has a vast range of hand techniques locks, take downs and grappling.

Taekwondo can be broken up into 3 main disciplines which are Poomsae (forms), Gyrougi (Sparring) and Kyopa (Breaking). Each aspect of training aids in developing a practitioners character teaching them to be self-confident, resilient and respectful of others. It is also a great physical work out aiding in improved muscle strength and flexibility which greatly aids into becoming a healthy lifestyle choice.

Olympic Sport

Taekwondo first entered the Olympic stage as a demonstration sport in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and became medal fixture sport in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Every Olympics has seen changes to the method of how bouts are conducted which has seen the incorporation of electronic chest and head protectors as well as video replay systems to make the game as fair as possible and eliminating human error.

Olympic Taekwondo matches are fast paced with dramatic speed and powerful yet graceful aerial techniques. The chance of a knockout is always possible making competitors deploy a high degree of strategy and planning during bouts. The World Taekwondo Federation has over 200 nations registered with it making Taekwondo one of the worlds most practiced Martial Art disciplines in the world with currently over 80 million practitioners globally.