WT Taekwondo
태권도The Olympic branch of taekwondo under the federation World Taekwondo, founded in 1973. A three-round match is scored by the electronic PSS system.
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.
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About WT Taekwondo
WT Taekwondo is the competitive and Olympic branch of taekwondo, governed by the federation World Taekwondo. It was founded on 28 May 1973 in the Kukkiwon in Seoul, the founding session was attended by 35 representatives, and Kim Un-yong was the first president. Until June 2017 it was called the World Taekwondo Federation. The Kukkiwon is a separate institution that works closely with the federation. The branch has no founder in the personal sense. Sparring (kyorugi) is built on kicks. The fist may strike only the trunk, the head may be struck only with the foot, and the rules allow no grabbing, holding or pushing. The validity of a hit is determined by the electronic PSS system with sensors in the protectors, the value of a technique grows with difficulty, and a spinning kick to the head is worth six points under the 2026 rules. Under the rules valid from 1 June 2026 a match has three two-minute rounds, the winner of the match is the one who wins more rounds, and in a tie the one-minute Golden round decides. The second discipline is the poomsae forms, judged for accuracy and presentation. The IOC recognized the federation in 1980, and taekwondo has been an Olympic sport since the Sydney 2000 Games. Competition categories start with cadets aged 12 to 14.
History
WT Taekwondo is the Olympic branch of taekwondo, governed by the federation World Taekwondo. The federation was founded on 28 May 1973 in the Kukkiwon in Seoul, the founding session was attended by 35 representatives, and Kim Un-yong became the first president. In the same month the Kukkiwon, together with the Korea Taekwondo Association, organized the first world taekwondo championships. The Kukkiwon remained a separate institution that works closely with the federation. Until June 2017 the organization was called the World Taekwondo Federation, and it dropped the abbreviation WTF because of the negative meaning it had meanwhile acquired on the internet. The IOC recognized the federation on 17 July 1980 and on 4 September 1994 included taekwondo in the program of the Games from 2000. At the London 2012 Games the electronic protector and scoring system PSS, with sensors built into the protectors, made its Olympic debut, together with instant video replay. At the Tokyo 2020 Games, held in July 2021, WT used a 4D replay system.
How it differs
The other main branch of taekwondo is ITF, which General Choi Hong Hi founded in Seoul on 22 March 1966 and which split into several organizations after his death in 2002. WT is an Olympic federation, ITF is not. WT sparring is three rounds of two minutes on an 8 × 8 m area, with kick hits measured by the electronic PSS system in the trunk protectors and helmet. ITF rules use two rounds of two minutes on a 9 × 9 m area, referees record the points, and a hand strike also counts to the head, whereas in WT the hand may score only to the trunk. In forms, ITF practises 24 tul, while Kukkiwon and WT have practised eight Taegeuk forms since 1972, which replaced the earlier Palgwe, along with the master forms Koryo, Keumgang and others.
Technique
In Olympic World Taekwondo sparring, punches to the trunk and kicks to the trunk and head score points. According to the British Olympic Association, at the Paris 2024 Games a punch to the trunk scored 1 point, a trunk kick 2, a head kick 3, a turning trunk kick 4 and a turning head kick 5. From 1 June 2026 a turning head kick is worth 6 points. A punch to the face and a kick below the belt bring a gam-jeom warning, so only kicks score to the head. The electronic PSS system scores kicks, while sensors in the protectors assess punches semi-automatically and the referee must confirm them within one second. A back kick, dwichagi, counts as a turning kick only if head and shoulders rotate together. A competitor receives a gam-jeom when any part of the foot crosses the boundary line, and from 2026 passivity is also penalized by a gam-jeom, which gives the opponent 2 points.
Training
Besides sparring, the second competition discipline of WT is the poomsae forms. At the 2020 online world poomsae championships, recognized poomsae were scored in two components, accuracy at most 4.0 points and presentation at most 6.0 points. A minor mistake cost 0.1 and a major one 0.3 points, and in a tie presentation decided first. Forms were assigned at this championship by age division and round. In the preliminary round of the division up to 30 years Taegeuk 6 and Koryo were performed, up to 40 years Taegeuk 7 and Keumgang, and in the final of the division up to 65 years Jitae and Hansu. Cadets in the open category of the preliminary round chose between Taegeuk 4, 7 or 8 and Koryo or Keumgang. Freestyle poomsae required five compulsory elements and a time limit, and a routine with fewer than three kicks or with a turn under 360 degrees was not scored.
Ranks and progression
Kukkiwon awards the dan and poom grades. According to Kukkiwon's British office, only Kukkiwon may issue a dan certificate, and a club may issue only its own confirmation after an examination. The wait is one year between 1st and 2nd dan, two years between 2nd and 3rd, three between 3rd and 4th, and four between 4th and 5th dan. Examinations up to 5th dan are held in Britain before a panel of at least three examiners, one of whom holds Kukkiwon 6th dan or higher. For Kukkiwon registration, the Canadian federation states that 5th dan requires five videos with the poomsae Koryo, Keumgang, Taebaek and Pyongwon and at least one minute of kyorugi, and 6th and 7th dan six videos and a written paper. A dan can be skipped only once, by one grade only and up to 5th dan at most, and not for poom grades.
Who it suits
The WT rules valid from 1 June 2026 place among cadets competitors aged 12 to 14, with age counted by calendar year, not by date of birth. Male cadets compete in the weight classes 33, 37, 41, 45, 49, 53, 57, 61, 65 and over 65 kg, female cadets in the classes 29, 33, 37, 41, 44, 47, 51, 55, 59 and over 59 kg. The rules also introduce height-based categories for cadets. The rules for cadets state no special round length and no special ban on techniques, but the technical delegate may shorten the rounds to 3 × 1 minute or 3 × 1.5 minutes.
Competition
The World Taekwondo rules in force from 1 June 2026 count a bout by rounds. The referees declare the winner of each of the three two-minute rounds, and the result of the bout is the sum of the rounds won. If the score is tied after the third round, a one-minute fourth round, the Golden round, follows after a minute's rest. The contest area is a square of 8 × 8 m including a 60-centimetre boundary line, or an octagon with a diameter of about 8 m and a side of about 3.3 m, inside a competition surface of at least 10 × 10 m.
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The validity of a hit, the force of impact and contact are determined electronically by the PSS system, except for punch techniques. Its sensitivity by weight, sex and age is set by the WT Technical Committee. PSS decisions are not subject to video replay, and only the chief referee may request a replay, and only when a kick clearly hit the head but no point was awarded. The value of a technique changed between rule versions. A turning kick to the head was worth 4 points from October 2010, 5 points from June 2018, and the 2026 rules give 6 points. At the Tokyo 2020 Games, ten gam-jeom ended a bout in favour of the opponent and a lead of 20 points stopped the bout after the second round or during the third, except in semifinals and medal bouts. Bronze medals were awarded there through repechage bouts. Under the 2022 rules a difference of 12 points ended a round, and from June 2026 it is 15 points.
Gear
According to the 2022 World Taekwondo guidelines, the sparring dobok is almost white with a V-neck 4 cm wide, the sleeves cover the whole arm and the trousers do not extend past the ankle. The collar is black-and-red for cadets (as for poom) and black for juniors and seniors (as for dan). The trunk protector and helmet are red or blue, and the forearm, shin and groin guards are worn under the dobok. The electronic PSS system consists of sensors in the protectors, and the guidelines also prescribe markings for sensor socks and hand protectors. The poomsae dobok has a white jacket and coloured trousers: black for junior and senior men, light blue for women, blue for cadets and red for female cadets.
Today
According to its president Chungwon Choue, World Taekwondo had 212 member national associations in 2023, compared with 208 at the 2017 renaming. Besides kyorugi sparring, it holds poomsae competitions. Recognized poomsae are scored out of 10 points, 4 for accuracy and 6 for presentation, with eight age divisions from cadets aged 12 to 14 to the over-65 category. Freestyle poomsae are scored 6 points for technical skills, up to 5 of them for the difficulty of kicks, and 4 points for presentation. Kukkiwon lists among its main activities poom and dan examinations, education of leading figures, research, a demonstration team and the World Taekwondo Hanmadang.
Did you know
Britannica states that taekwondo derives from traditional taekkyon and from karate and that its name was approved in 1955. Taekwondo was a demonstration sport at the Olympic Games in Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992 and was absent in Atlanta 1996. The Palgwe forms were created between 1965 and 1967 and were later replaced by the Taegeuk forms. Golden point was renamed Golden round in 2018 and since then requires 2 points instead of one for victory. Under the 2018 rules, randomly selected competitors are weighed two hours before the competition and must be within 5 % of the weight of their category. When a competitor restarts a poomsae from the beginning, 0.6 points are deducted from accuracy. In freestyle poomsae, the kicking sequences in the style of sparring are limited to 7 to 10 kicks.
Frequently asked questions
What is WT taekwondo?
WT taekwondo is the Olympic branch of taekwondo, governed by the World Taekwondo federation, until 2017 called the World Taekwondo Federation. Taekwondo has been an Olympic medal sport since the Sydney 2000 Games, and a match has three rounds of two minutes. In 2023 the federation had 212 member national associations.
What is the difference between WT and ITF taekwondo?
WT fights three rounds on an 8 × 8 m area with PSS electronic scoring, ITF two rounds on a 9 × 9 m area with points recorded by judges. In ITF a hand strike to the head also counts, in WT only to the trunk. The forms differ too: ITF practices 24 tul, WT and Kukkiwon the Taegeuk forms and master poomsae.
How does scoring work in Olympic taekwondo?
A punch to the trunk scores 1 point, a kick to the trunk 2 points, a kick to the head 3 points, a turning kick to the trunk 4 points and a turning kick to the head 6 points from June 2026, previously 5. A match has three rounds of two minutes and the winner is decided by the number of rounds won.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.