Taekwondo
태권도The Korean art of high, dynamic kicks, unified after the Second World War from nine schools. A full Olympic discipline since 2000.
Quick Facts
South KoreaCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Comparisons
Catalogs & Databases for Taekwondo
About Taekwondo
Taekwondo took shape in Korea after the Second World War, when the heads of nine schools (kwans) agreed to unite under a single name. The founders of the kwans had backgrounds mainly in Japanese karate, which reached Korea during the occupation, and in Chinese martial arts. Historians dispute the account that taekwondo descends directly from the old Korean arts of taekkyon and subak. Two main branches exist today: WT (formerly WTF), whose sport format has been Olympic since 2000, and ITF, which retains a more traditional technical syllabus. Kicking is the defining feature. Head kicks, spinning and jumping techniques form the core of training, and WT rules award more points for them than for punches. The hands are used mainly for guarding and for body punches; in WT competition punches to the head are prohibited (in ITF they are allowed), which strongly shapes the competitive style. Training rests on three pillars: forms (poomsae in WT, tul in ITF), technical drills, and sparring. Progress runs through coloured belts (gup) to black-belt dan grades. Alongside the sporting line there is a traditional syllabus emphasising self-defence and breaking. For a beginner, taekwondo offers a clear grading structure and a dense club network. Head kicks require good hip mobility.
History
Taekwondo arose in Korea after 1945. Schools called kwan were then opening in Seoul, and their founders had come to know karate, judo and Chinese martial arts. Several of them used the name Tang Soo Do, the Korean reading of the characters 唐手道 with which karate was written, and the Jidokwan school continues a section at the judo school Chosun Yun Moo Kwan. The name taekwondo was introduced on 11 April 1955 by Choi Hong Hi, by his own claim a student of Gichin Funakoshi. The Korea Taekwondo Association was formed in 1959 from nine kwans. In the USA, the first studio was opened in 1962 in Washington by Jhoon Rhee, the father of American taekwondo, from whose lineage came the full contact pioneers Jeff Smith and Mike Anderson, co-founder of the kickboxing WAKO (1977). Choi Hong Hi founded the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) on 22 March 1966. In 1973, Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation arose in Seoul, and since 2017 World Taekwondo (WT). The IOC recognised WT in 1980, and after demonstrations in Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992, taekwondo has been an Olympic sport since Sydney 2000, and para taekwondo since Tokyo 2020. In 2001–2002 the ITF split into three organisations.
Technique
In WT sparring (kyorugi), points are scored by a kick to the torso protected by an electronic guard and by a kick to the head, while the fist may strike only the torso. From 1 June 2026 the following applies: a punch to the torso 1 point, a kick to the torso 2 points, a kick to the head 3 points, a spinning kick to the torso 4 points and a spinning kick to the head 6 points. A penalty point (gam-jeom) gives the opponent 1 point and is given, among other things, for grabbing, holding, pushing, attacking the legs and attacking a fallen opponent. ITF sparring (matsogi) works with both hands and feet, allows a hand strike to the head, and contact is light, with excessive contact penalised. The repertoire of both branches is completed by forms, self-defence (hosinsul) and breaking (gyeokpa). The Kukkiwon textbook also knows falls (nakbeop), takedowns to the ground, locks and grips.
Training
Training includes forms (poomsae in WT, tul in ITF), sparring including step sparring, breaking, self-defence, conditioning and grading exams. The mental side includes meditation, breath control and etiquette. We have not been able to document in the sources the structure of a lesson, the ratio of its parts, or when a beginner first spars. A study of amateurs reports 7.0 injuries per 1,000 hours of training, and over 81% of all injuries occurred in training. A study of Spanish national team members names as most often affected the knee (21.3%), the instep and foot (17.0%) and the ankle (12.2%).
Ranks and progression
Student grades (gup) are counted from the higher number to the lower and marked by the colour of the belt, master grades (dan) ascending, usually up to 9th dan. Anyone who has not reached 15 years cannot take the dan exam and has four children’s poom grades available. Dans in the Kukkiwon system are issued by the Kukkiwon in Seoul. A British exam guide gives waiting periods of 1 year between 1st and 2nd dan, 2 years between 2nd and 3rd, 3 years between 3rd and 4th and 4 years between 4th and 5th dan, a minimum age of 16 years for 1st dan (15 years when moving up from poom), 18 years for 2nd, 21 for 3rd and 25 for 4th dan. ITF uses six belt colours and nine dans. The ten-grade gup system was adopted from taekwondo by many hapkido schools, which used five belts until the seventies.
Who it suits
WT rules divide competitors into cadets (12–14 years), juniors (15–17) and seniors (from 17 years), and both cadets and juniors have ten weight categories each. The cadet head protector may have a face shield, which is mandatory at the World Cadet Championships. The World Poomsae Championships have age divisions up to the category over 65. Women have been at the Olympics since 2000 with four weight categories, like the men. A review of 8 studies with 402 children aged 6–16 reports improvements in strength, flexibility, balance and cognitive performance after training. At the WT world junior championships there were 38.55 injuries per 1,000 starts, most often contusions, and 76% arose from contact with the opponent.
Competition
A WT bout has three rounds of two minutes with a one-minute break, and if the score is tied a one-minute golden point round follows. At the Olympics there are four weights for men (−58, −68, −80, +80 kg) and four for women (−49, −57, −67, +67 kg). Since 2017 scoring at major tournaments has been electronic, including electronic helmets. The WT contest area is a square or an octagon with a side of 8 m, in the ITF 9 × 9 m. Poomsae is a separate discipline: individuals, mixed pairs, trios and freestyle routines with music, and at the world championships two compulsory forms are performed. Para taekwondo has six disciplines and only sparring.
Gear
Practitioners train in a dobok with a belt (tti), whose colour determines the grade. The WT dobok usually has a V-neck, the ITF a jacket fastening at the front. WT rules require in sparring a trunk protector, head protector, groin protector, forearm and shin guards, gloves, a mouthguard and removable socks for electronic scoring. In the ITF usually only the hands and feet are protected and the head protector is optional.
Philosophy
Choi Hong Hi formulated five tenets: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. Both ITF and WT refer to the five commandments of the hwarang. Choi’s theory of power stresses speed over mass. Forms are called hyeong, poomsae (Kukkiwon and WT) or tul (ITF). The Kukkiwon uses eight Taegeuk forms for coloured belts (since 1971 instead of the Palgwe forms) and nine forms for dan holders, from Koryo to Ilyeo. The ITF has 24 Chang Hon forms, whose names refer to Korean history. The terminology is Korean. Masters in the Kukkiwon system are titled kyosa-nim (1st–3rd dan) and sabum-nim (4th–6th dan).
Styles and schools
Taekwondo has two main branches, which differ in organisation, rules and forms. The International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) was founded on 22 March 1966 by nine countries: Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, the USA, Turkey, Italy, Egypt and Korea. Its founder Choi Hong Hi moved the federation's seat to Toronto in 1972 and to Vienna in 1985. In 1980 he introduced taekwon-do to North Korea and he died on 15 June 2002 in Pyongyang. The set of ITF forms is called Chang Hon after his pen name. ITF dates the birth of the art to 11 April 1955, when a committee approved the name taekwon-do and President Syngman Rhee backed it. WT and Kukkiwon have their own interpretation.
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World Taekwondo, until 2017 the World Taekwondo Federation, was founded on 28 May 1973 and unites 213 national associations. Together with the Kukkiwon in Seoul, which awards dan grades and administers the poomsae forms, it governs the Olympic form of taekwondo. The IOC recognised taekwondo in 1980, approved it as an Olympic sport in 1994, and it has been on the programme since the Sydney 2000 Games. In practice the branches are told apart by sparring and forms. WT practises poomsae and spars in protective gear with electronic scoring, while ITF practises tul and keeps light contact with hand strikes to the head. ITF has held its own world championships since 1974, when the first took place in Montreal. The eighth was held in 1992 in Pyongyang.
Today
Taekwondo exists in two main forms. WT with Kukkiwon governs an Olympic sport with full-contact sparring in protectors and electronic scoring, while the ITF retains light contact and hand strikes to the head and is divided into three organisations. In 2018 the South Korean government designated taekwondo the national martial art of Korea. The notion that taekwondo is a continuation of ancient taekkyeon is described by overview sources as a widespread misconception, and the Korean taekkyeon association denies any connection. The prevailing historical interpretation places the roots of taekwondo in karate, while the official Korean interpretation stresses a domestic origin.
In culture
Jhoon Rhee, who opened the first taekwondo school in the USA in Washington in 1962, became friends with Bruce Lee and in 1973 starred in the film When Taekwondo Strikes. The American film Best of the Best premiered on 10 November 1989 and its story revolves around selection for the US Olympic taekwondo team. According to the AFI Catalog it was produced by Phillip Rhee, who is also the author of the story, and the screenplay was written by Paul Levin. In the sequel Best of the Best 2 from 1992, Rhee returned in the lead role. In video games, taekwondo is represented by Hwoarang from the Tekken series, who first appeared in Tekken 3 in 1997 and is one of its main kicking characters. Whether these works influenced the number of practitioners, we have not been able to confirm from sources.
Did you know
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics taekwondo was a demonstration sport and South Korea won nine of the sixteen weight categories. The medals were not counted in the official standings. At the second demonstration in Barcelona 1992, eight athletes competed in each category, 64 men and 64 women in total. The first Olympic winner in Sydney 2000 was the American Steven Lopez (68 kg). He added gold in Athens 2004 and bronze in Beijing 2008, and with five world titles his Olympic profile calls him the most successful taekwondo athlete in history. In Beijing the Lopez siblings won three medals, Mark silver, Diana and Steven bronze, the first family trio on one American Olympic team since 1904.
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Taekwondo has also seen Olympic scandals. The Cuban Angel Matos, the winner from 2000, kicked a referee after his disqualification in Beijing 2008 and received a lifetime ban. London 2012 saw the first use of protectors and socks with sensors and instant video review of decisions. The Briton Jade Jones won the 57 kg category there at the age of nineteen and defended the title in Rio 2016. In Tokyo 2020 South Korea won no gold at all for the first time since its Olympic debut. In 1976, at a sports evening, Jhoon Rhee jokingly challenged Muhammad Ali and Wilt Chamberlain to a fight for the title of the greatest. World Taekwondo has been a full member of the International Paralympic Committee since 2015.
Styles & Branches
A branch of taekwondo founded by Choi Hong Hi on 22 March 1966. It has 24 tul, a two-round match with controlled contact and scoring hand strikes to the head.
The Olympic branch of taekwondo under the federation World Taekwondo, founded in 1973. A three-round match is scored by the electronic PSS system.
Frequently asked questions
What is taekwondo?
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art whose most distinctive feature is kicks, including head kicks, spinning kicks and jumping kicks. It has two main branches: the Olympic World Taekwondo together with Kukkiwon, and the International Taekwon-Do Federation.
Which country does taekwondo come from?
From Korea. According to ITF, a committee approved the name taekwon-do on 11 April 1955, and World Taekwondo was founded on 28 May 1973.
What are the grades in taekwondo?
Student grades are called gup, master grades dan. Kukkiwon awards dan grades 1 to 9 and poom grades 1 to 4 to younger holders. The minimum age for 1st dan is 15 years, for 9th dan 53 years.
What is the order of belts in taekwondo?
According to ITF, ten gups lead from the white belt through white with a yellow stripe, yellow, yellow with a green stripe, green, green with a blue stripe, blue, blue with a red stripe and red to red with a black stripe. Then follows the black belt 1st to 9th dan. Kukkiwon does not list gup colours on its website.
What are the rules of taekwondo?
A WT match has three rounds of two minutes with a one-minute break, and a tie is followed by a golden point round. Since 2017, major tournaments have used electronic scoring, including electronic headgear. In WT, hand strikes to the head are prohibited, in ITF they are allowed.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.