A World Taekwondo Federation sparring match
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Also known as | TKD, Tae Kwon Do, TaeKwonDo, Taekwon-Do, Tae-Kwon-Do |
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Focus | Striking, kicking |
Hardness | Full-contact (WTF), Medium-contact (ITF,GTF,ATA) |
Country of origin | South Korea |
Famous practitioners | Choi Hong Hi, Nam Tae Hi, Jhoon Rhee, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Billy Blanks, Michael Jai White, Sun Hwan Chung, Scott Adkins, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jeeja Yanin, Cung Le, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mirko Filipović, Joe Rogan, Chang Keun Choi, Kwang Jo Choi, Han Cha Kyo, Jong Soo Park, Jung Tae Park, Yeon Hwan Park, Chong Chul Rhee, Keith H. Cooke, Jade Jones, Anthony Obame, Juan Antonio Ramos, Tran Trieu Quan, S. Henry Cho, Rose Namajunas, Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, Chan Sung Jung, Akshay Kumar, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Deepak Bista, Caity Lotz |
Parenthood | Karate and Chinese martial arts along with the indigenous styles of Taekkyeon, Subak, and Gwonbeop |
Olympic sport | Since 2000 (World Taekwondo Federation) |
Taekwondo | |
Hangul | 태권도 |
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Hanja | 跆拳道 |
Revised Romanization | taegwondo |
McCune–Reischauer | tʼaekkwŏndo |
Taekwondo (RP: /ˌtaɪ kwɒn ˈdəʊ/ or /ˌtaɪ ˈkwɒn dəʊ/,GA: /ˌtaɪ kwɑːn ˈdoʊ/;Korean: 태권도, Korean pronunciation: [tʰɛ̝.k͈wʌn.do]) is a Korean martial art, characterized by its emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping and spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques.
Taekwondo was developed during the 1940s and 1950s by various martial artists by incorporating elements of Karate and Chinese Martial Arts with indigenous Korean martial arts traditions such as Taekkyeon, Subak, and Gwonbeop. The oldest governing body for taekwondo is the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA), formed in 1959 through a collaborative effort by representatives from the nine original kwans, or martial arts schools, in Korea. The main international organizational bodies for taekwondo today are the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), founded by Choi Hong Hi in 1966, and the partnership of the Kukkiwon and World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), founded in 1972 and 1973 respectively by the Korea Taekwondo Association. Gyeorugi ([kjʌɾuɡi]), a type of full-contact sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000. The body known for taekwondo in the Olympics is the World Taekwondo Federation.