Taekwondo

Taekwondo

The Taeguk, one of the major symbols in taekwondo, represented in the flag of South Korea
Taekwondo sparring match
Also known as	Taekwondo, Taekwon-Do, Tae Kwon-Do, Tae Kwon Do
Country of origin	Korea
Famous practitioners	Moon Dae-Sung
Parenthood	Historic
Olympic sport	Since 2000

Taekwondo
Hangul	태권도
Hanja	跆拳道
Revised Romanization	Tae gwon do
McCune–Reischauer	T'ae kwŏn do

Taekwondo (also, Tae Kwon Do, Taekwon-Do, or Tae Kwon-Do) is a martial art and combat sport originating in Korea. Taekwondo is the national sport of South Korea and sparring, kyeorugi, is an Olympic sporting event.

Etymology

In Korean, derived from hanja, tae (跆) means to destroy with the feet; kwon (拳) means to strike or smash with the hand; and do (道) means "path", "way" or "method". Hence, taekwondo is loosely translated as "the way of the feet and fist". Taekwondo's popularity has resulted in the divergent evolution of the martial art. As with many other martial arts, taekwondo is a combination of combat technique, self-defense, sport, exercise, entertainment, and philosophy.

Style differences

Although there are great doctrinal and technical differences among public and private taekwondo organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance, using the leg's greater reach and power to disable the opponent from a distance. In sparring, turning, front, reverse turning and side kicks are most often used; advanced kicks include jump, spin, sliding, and skip kicks, often in combination. Taekwondo training also includes a system of blocks, punches, open-handed strikes, various take-downs or sweeps, throws, and some joint locks.

History

Traditional roots

The oldest ancestor of taekwondo is an amalgamation of unarmed combat styles developed by three rival Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje. Young men were trained in unarmed combat techniques to develop strength, speed, and survival skills. The most popular of these techniques was subak, with taekkyeon being the most popular of the segments of subak.

File:Tkddemonstration.jpg

Taekwondo practitioners demonstrating their techniques.

As the Goguryeo kingdom grew in power, the neighboring Silla kingdom became comparatively weaker, and an effort was undertaken among the Silla to develop a corps of special warriors. The Silla had a regular army but its military training techniques were less advanced than those of the Goguryeo, and its soldiers were generally of a lesser caliber. The Silla selected young men, some as young as twelve, and trained them in the liberal arts. Those who demonstrated strong natural aptitude were selected as trainees in the new special warrior corps, called the Hwarang. It was believed that young men with a talent for the liberal arts may have the grace to become competent warriors. These warriors were instructed in academic as well as martial arts, learning philosophy, history, a code of ethics, and equestrian sports. Their military training included an extensive weapons program involving swordsmanship and archery, both on horseback and on foot, as well as lessons in military tactics and unarmed combat using subak. Although subak was a leg-oriented art in Goguryeo, Silla's influence added hand techniques to the practice of subak.

In spite of Korea's rich history of ancient and traditional martial arts, Korean martial arts faded into obscurity during the Joseon Dynasty. Korean society became highly centralized under Korean Confucianism and martial arts were lowly regarded in a society whose ideals were epitomized by its scholar-kings. Remnants of traditional martial arts such as subak and taekkyeon were banned from practice by the general populace and reserved for sanctioned military uses although folk practice by the common populace still persisted into the 19th century.

Foreign influence

During the Japanese occupation (1910-1945), the practice of taekkyeon was banned. Although practice of the art nearly vanished, taekkyeon survived through underground teaching and folk custom. As the Japanese colonization established a firm foothold in Korea, the few Koreans who were able to attend Japanese universities were exposed to Okinawan and Japanese martial arts with some even receiving black belts under Gichin Funakoshi. Koreans in China were also exposed to Chinese martial arts. By 1945, when the Korean peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonization, many martial arts schools were formed and developed under various names such as Tang Soo Do reflecting foreign influence.

At the end of World War II, several Kwans arose. They were: Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Jidokwan (or Yun Moo Kwan), Chang Moo Kwan, Han Moo Kwan, Oh Do Kwan, Jung Do Kwan, Kang Duk Won, and Song Moo Kwan.

Modern Taekwondo

By the end of the Korean War, nine martial arts schools (translated as kwan) had opened, and South Korean President Syngman Rhee ordered that the various schools unify under a single system. A governmental body selected a naming committee's submission of "tae-kwon-do," possibly submitted by Choi Hong Hi, a general in the South Korean army and the founder of the Oh Do Kwan. However, several taekwondo leaders dispute this stating that Son Duk Song of the Chung Do Kwan submitted the name. Following the acceptance of the name "taekwondo" on April 11, 1955, the Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed in 1959 to facilitate the unification. Shortly thereafter, taekwondo made its debut in North America. Standardization efforts in Korea stalled, as the kwans continued to teach differing styles. Another request from the Korean government for unification resulted in the formation of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association, which changed its name back to the Korean Taekwondo Association in 1965 following a change of leadership. This new leader was Choi Hong Hi who ended up falling out of favor in South Korea following a trip to communist North Korea. This resulted in Choi's separation from the KTA and the founding of a new, private organization, the International Taekwondo Federation, in 1966.

In 1972, the Korea Taekwondo Association Central Dojang was opened. A few months later, the name was changed to the Kukkiwon, which means "National Technique Center." The Kukkiwon remains the World Taekwondo Headquarters to this day. The following year, the World Taekwondo Federation was formed. The International Olympic Committee recognized the WTF and taekwondo sparring in 1980, and the sport was accepted as a demonstration event at the 1988 Seoul and the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games. It became an official medal event as of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Taekwondo is one of two Asian martial arts (judo being the other) in the Olympic Games.

The public WTF and private ITF, the two largest taekwondo organizations, operate and train in hundreds of nations and teach the martial art to millions of people each year. Although competition has always been a significant feature of taekwondo, many practitioners study taekwondo for personal development, to learn self-defense, and/or for fun.

Organizations

The largest taekwondo organizations are the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and International Taekwondo Federation (ITF). The WTF is headquartered in South Korea and was founded in 1973 by a group of various national taekwondo teams. Its purpose is to coordinate international competition events under the rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Although the terms "WTF" and "Kukkiwon" are often mistakenly used interchangeably to refer to this organization, the Kukkiwon is a completely different organization which trains and certifies instructors and issues official dan and Poom certificates worldwide. The Kukkiwon has its own unique physical building that contains the administrative offices of Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters) in Seoul, South Korea. The Kukkiwon was founded in 1972.

The unofficial training headquarters of the International Taekwondo Federation is located at the Taekwondo Palace located in Pyongyang, North Korea and was founded in the mid-1990s. Today, the International Taekwondo Federation is splintered into three different groups, all claiming to be the original. The three are located in Austria, Canada and North Korea.

File:Breaking concrete.jpg

Four concrete paving bricks broken with a knife-hand strike. Breaking techniques are often practiced in taekwondo.

Outside of the World Taekwondo Federation and the International Taekwondo Federation, a large number of organizations exist, such as American Taekwondo Federation™, ATF®, National Progressive Taekwondo Association NPTA, ATA, STO, ITU, ITA, UTF, WTU, CTF, ICTF, WCT, UITF, USTF, MTA (Midwest Taekwondo Association), TAGB, WTA, Taekwondo America, IPTF (International Progressive Taekwondo Federation), JookAhm Taekwondo, Ernie Reys West Coast Martial Arts (WCMA), and so on. These private organizations require that students belong to a member club or school. Events and competitions held by private organizations are mostly closed to other Taekwondo students. However, the WTF-sanctioned events allow any person, regardless of school affiliation or martial arts style, to compete in World Taekwondo Federation events as long as he or she is a member of the WTF Member National Association in his or her nation, which is open to anyone to join. The major technical differences among these many organizations revolve around the patterns, called hyeong 형, poomsae 품새, or tul 틀, sets of prescribed formal sequences of movements that demonstrate mastery of posture, positioning, and technique, sparring rules for competition (e.g. WTF light-contact versus ITF full-contact), and philosophy.

In addition to these private organizations, the original schools (kwans) that formed the organization that would eventually become the Kukkiwon continue to exist as independent fraternal membership organizations that support the WTF and the Kukkiwon. The official curriculum of the kwans is that of the Kukkiwon. The kwans also function as a channel for the issuing of Kukkiwon dan and poom certification (black belt ranks) for their members. Each kwan has its own individual pledge of tenets and manners that describes the organization's goals for personal improvement. For example, the tenets of Oh Do Kwan and the ITF are: courtesy (ye-ui 예의), integrity (yom-chi 염치), perseverance (in-nae 인내), self-control (geuk-gi 극기), and indomitable spirit (baek-jeol-bul-gul 백절불굴). The Jidokwan manners are: view, feel, think, speak, order, contribute, have ability, and conduct rightly.

Some organizations also recognize one or two additional tenets beyond the five original Oh Do Kwan tenets; these are community service (sa-hui-bong-sa 사회봉사) and love (sa-rang 사랑).

Features

Stretching to increase flexibility is an important aspect of taekwondo training.

See also: List of Taekwondo techniques and Kick

Taekwondo is famed for its use of kicking techniques, which distinguishes it from martial arts such as karate or southern styles of kung fu. The rationale is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to execute powerful strikes without successful retaliation.

Taekwondo as a sport and exercise is popular with people of both sexes and of many ages. Physically, taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of boards, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's strength.

A taekwondo student typically wears a uniform (dobok 도복), often white but sometimes black or other colors, with a belt (tti 띠) tied around the waist. The belt indicates the student's rank. The school or place where instruction is given is called the dojang 도장.

Although each taekwondo club or school will be different, a taekwondo student can typically expect to take part in most or all of the following:

• Learning the techniques and curriculum of taekwondo
• Both anaerobic and aerobic workout, including stretching
• Self-defense techniques (hosinsul 호신술)
• Patterns (also called forms, poomsae 품새, tul 틀, hyeong 형)
• Sparring (called kyeorugi 겨루기, or matsogi in the ITF), which may include 3-, 2- and 1-step sparring, free-style, arranged, and point sparring, and other types
• Relaxation exercises
• Breaking (using techniques to break boards for testing, training and martial arts demonstrations)
• Exams to progress to the next rank
• A focus on mental and ethical discipline, justice, etiquette, respect, and self-confidence

Some taekwondo instructors also incorporate the use of pressure points, known as ji ap sul as well as grabbing self-defense techniques borrowed from other martial arts, such as Hapkido and Judo.

Ranks, belts, and promotion

Like many martial arts, taekwondo has ten student ranks (called a geup, 급, also romanized as gup or kup) and nine or ten black belt ranks (dan, 단) or "degrees". New students begin at 10^th geup (white belt) and advance down in number to 1^st geup. At many schools, students then advance into an intermediate rank called cho dan bo or dan bo, meaning "black belt candidate". After some prescribed amount of time has passed, the student takes a dan test, after which the student becomes a 1^st dan.

Dan ranks then increase to a maximum of either 9^th dan (ITF) or 10^th dan (Kukkiwon). The Kukkiwon does not allow students under 15 to attain dan ranks. Instead they earn poom ranks, or "junior black belt". Underage students may earn up to 4^th Poom, and all poom ranks convert automatically to dan ranks when the student comes of age and passes his or her next promotion.

The grading in taekwondo consists mainly of patterns, techniques and theory. The patterns are a display of punching and kicking techniques, and may also contain others such as breathing and stances. Theory is displayed verbally and expresses information on Korean words, vital information (such as vital points and rules) and a general understanding and knowledge of taekwondo.

Geup ranks and belt colors

The colored belt system is an artifact of Japanese influence on Korea during the occupation, and thus ultimately from Kano Jigoro, the founder of judo. Some organizations' leaders, like General Choi Hong Hi, assigned meanings to the various colors of the ranks, representing the progression of a student from white, the innocence of a beginner, into the maturity of the black belt, who is impervious to darkness and fear. The interpretation of the colors of the belt vary from school to school, and are sometimes omitted from instruction, as they did not have meaning when they were originally chosen. Neither the World Taekwondo Federation nor the Kukkiwon assign official meanings to the colors.

The correspondence of belt color to geup varies drastically from school to school, and can even change within the same school over time. Belt colors are most useful in allowing students and instructors within a school to quickly determine rank. The traditional and most common rank-color correspondence found in Kukkiwon and ITF schools are:

Geup	Kukkiwon Belt Color	ITF Belt Color
10th	White Belt	White Belt
9th	varies	White with Yellow Stripe
8th	Yellow Belt	Yellow Belt
7th	varies	Yellow with Green Stripe
6th	Green Belt	Green Belt
5th	varies	Green with Blue Stripe
4th	Blue Belt	Blue Belt
3rd	varies	Blue with Red Stripe
2nd	Red Belt	Red Belt
1st	varies	Red with Black Stripe

The method by which colors are assigned for intermediate belt rankings (odd-numbered geup) varies. The three most common approaches are:

• creating a new color for each odd rank (such as a purple or orange belt for 7^th geup);
• marking the increase of rank with a stripe on the belt;
• wearing a "mixed" belt blending the two neighboring even-numbered colors together.

The system commonly used by the Kukkiwon schools outside the USA includes only 5 colored belts (white, yellow, blue, green, and red) with two levels of each color indicated by a stripe on the belt. Including the first white belt brings the total to 9 geups to 1st Degree black belt.

The typical even-numbered geup colors are also sometimes altered or omitted, and even the names of belt colors can vary from school to school (for example, calling the "yellow belt" a "gold belt"). Because of the variations in color belt systems, for clarity, taekwondo practitioners should refer to their rank by number ("7^th geup") instead of by belt color, unless dealing with students or instructors from their own school.

The time required to advance in each geup level also varies from school to school, but geup promotion tests are typically given quarterly, bi-monthly, or monthly. Not all students advance at each promotion test, and students at advanced geup ranks often wait one or more testing periods for their next promotion. Students with good attendance and strong aptitude may earn faster promotions than those with irregular attendance or effort. Geup rank advancement records are usually kept by the school of origin, and sometimes by the association headquarters.

Dan belts

The black belt system is more formal and standardized across the different schools of taekwondo. Generally, a dan（단/段）black belt is either an unadorned black belt (the same for all ranks), or has a stripe across the tip for each rank (usually gold, silver, red or white). For example, a 5^th dan could have five lateral gold stripes across the end of the belt. Some schools instead write the Dan degree in Roman numerals. Many black belts also have the name of the school on the right side of the belt, and the taekwondo practitioner's name on the left. The names can be written in any language, though having the school's name in Korean and the practitioner's name in his native language is common.

In the ITF, the maximum rank is 9th Dan; in the Kukkiwon, it is 10th Dan. According to General Choi, "The reason for nine black belt degrees is that the number three is a powerful number in the orient, and therefore three threes must be the most powerful." The 10^th dan in the Kukkiwon is a very rare rank, generally awarded posthumously only to persons who have made great contributions to taekwondo. It is not the same as an honorary 10th dan. The Kukkiwon has only awarded five standard 10^th dan to the following men: Un Yong Kim (living), Byong Lo Lee, Chong Soo Hong, Il Sup Chun, and Nam Suk Lee. The WTF has also awarded two "honorary" Kukkiwon 10^th dan, both to individuals who were members of the IOC - IOC Presidents Juan Antonio Samaranch and Jacques Rogge. The WTF Member National Associations and the Kukkiwon issue many honorary dan to political and non-political persons who make a contribution to the growth of taekwondo.

Generally speaking, between one dan promotion and the next, one must wait at least the number of years equivalent to the number of one's current rank; for example, a 3^rd dan must wait three years before he can promote to 4^th dan. There can also be an age requirement. For example, one must be at least 30 years old to qualify for 6^th dan in the Kukkiwon. The Kukkiwon allows shortened promotion times for exceptional accomplishments. For example, a practitioner who wins the World Championships is accorded an 80% discount on both the minimum time to advance and minimum age requirements, up to a maximum promotion of 7^th dan.

Time & Age Limits for Poom or Dan Promotion
Poom/Dan	Minimum Time Required for Promotion	Age Limits for Promotion
		Start from Dan	Start from Poom
1st Poom	N A	N A	Less than 15 Years Old
1st to 2nd Poom	1 years	N A	Less than 15 Years Old
2nd to 3rd Poom	2 years	N A	Less than 16 Years Old
3rd to 4th Poom	3 years	N A	Less than 18 Years Old
1st Dan	N A	15 years and above	N A
1st to 2nd Dan	1 year	16 years and above	15 years and above
2nd to 3rd Dan	2 years	18 years and above	16 years and above
3rd to 4th Dan	3 years	21 years and above	18 years and above
4th to 5th Dan	4 years	25 years and above	22 years and above
5th to 6th Dan	5 years	30 years and above	30 years and above
6th to 7th Dan	6 years	36 years and above	36 years and above
7th to 8th Dan	7 years	44 years and above	44 years and above
8th to 9th Dan	8 years	53 years and above	53 years and above
9th to 10th Dan	9 years	60 years and above	60 years and above

For Kukkiwon practitioners, all ranks of 1^st dan and above must be registered with the Kukkiwon if the black belt wishes to participate in the Olympics, as a WTF International Referee, attend the Kukkiwon Instructor Course, attend the Kukkiwon Poomsae Presenter Course and so on. In the US and a few other countries, a Kukkiwon certificate is not needed for competition.

The Kukkikwon requires special promotion tests to advance to the 8^th dan and beyond. These tests must be taken at the Kukkiwon.

Dan titles

Officially, the Kukkiwon recognizes the following titles for dan ranks:

• 1st to 5^th Dan: "Master"
• 6th to 9^th Dan: "Grandmaster"

Officially, the Kukkiwon assigns the following instructor ranks, which are separate from Dan ranks. One must graduate the Kukkiwon Instructors Academy at Kukkiwon in Seoul, Korea and pass the Sabeom test. The certified instructor program (which must be taken before one can establish a new taekwondo school in Korea), is only offered to practitioners who are certified Kukkiwon 4^th dan and who have passed a week-long course held annually at the Kukkiwon.

• 3rd Class Sabeom Certificate
• 2nd Class Sabeom Certificate
• 1st Class Sabeom Certificate

However, in practice, titles vary from one school to another according to the school owners decision. The following is an example of how titles might be assigned to Dan ranks at a school:

• 1^st Dan: "Assistant Instructor"
• 2^th Dan - 3^th Dan: "Instructor"
• 4^th Dan - 6^th Dan: "Master"
• 7^th Dan - 9^th Dan: "Grand Master"

"Assistant Instructor" and "Instructor" are unofficial rank titles, and although dan holding these titles often help with instruction, this arrangement is independent of the Kukkiwon's official "Instructor" program.

ITF schools use a standard ranking system:

• 1^st Dan - 3^rd Dan: "National/Assistant Instructor" (Bu Sabeom)
• 4^th Dan - 6^th Dan: "International Instructor" (Sabeom)
• 7^th Dan - 8^th Dan: "Master" (Sahyun)
• 9^th Dan  : "Grand Master" (Saseong)

Modes of address

To some, the word "Master" carries a different connotation in Korean than it does in English. While in Korean the term is often used for all dan grades, in America, the term is often only applied to those of the 4^th dan and up. While a 1^st dan could technically (by Kukkiwon rules) refer to himself as a "Master" in English, he would likely meet with disapproval if he did so.

In the United States, black belts at the Instructor level and lower are usually addressed as "Sir" or "Ma'am" and those of the Master level are called "Master". Dan of the Grand Master level are called "Grand Master" or "Grandmaster", often with their last name appended for additional formality ("Yes sir, Grandmaster Jeong!"). However, students who train directly with a Grandmaster often simply use the address "Master", reserving "Grandmaster" for more formal occasions. In Korea, and the rest of the world, the word sabeom is often used ("Jeong sabeom") for Master or Grandmaster level.

Title	Hangeul	Meaning
Panjanim		Higher Ranking Student
Seonbaenim	선배님	Senior Student
Jokyonim	조교님	Assistant Instructor
Gyosanim	교사남	Assistant Instructor
Sabeomnim	사범님	Instructor
Gwanjangnim	관장님	Head of a Kwan (not an individual dojang)
Guksanim	국사님	National Instructor

Korean commands

In taekwondo, Korean language commands are often used. For words used in counting, see Korean numerals.

Word	Hangeul	Meaning
Charyeot	차렷	Attention
Gyeongnye	경례	Bow
Sabeomnim kke gyeongnye	사범님 께 경례	Bow to the Instructor
Baro	바로	Return
Swieo	쉬어	At ease, relax
Kihap	기합	Yell
Junbi	준비	Ready
Sijak	시작	Begin
Gallyeo	갈려	Break (separate)
Gyaesok	계속	Continue
Geuman	그만	Finish (stop)
Haesan	해산	Dismiss
Muknyeom	묵념	Meditation

Competition

File:N36902060 32519832 9237.jpg

An axe kick is thrown during a taekwondo sparring match in the UK.

Taekwondo competition typically involves sparring, breaking, patterns, and/or self-defense (hosinsul). However, in Olympic taekwondo competition, only sparring is contested; and in Olympic sparring the WTF competition rules are used. These rules are available at the WTF website.

Taekwondo sparring match in Madrid (Spain).

Under WTF and Olympic rules, sparring takes place between two competitors in an area measuring 10 meters square. Each match or bout consists of three non-stop rounds of contact with rest between rounds. Colored belts fight in 1-minute rounds with a 30-second break, while black belts fight in 2-minute rounds with 1-minute breaks. Points are awarded for permitted, accurate, and powerful techniques to the legal scoring areas. A kick or punch that makes contact with the opponent's hogu (a trunk protector that also functions as a scoring target) scores one point; a kick to the head scores two points. Punches to the head are not allowed. If a competitor is knocked down by a scoring technique and the referee counts, then an additional point is awarded to the opponent.

File:Armedforces taekwondo.jpg

Rachel Marcial of the US Armed Forces team (blue) competing in a taekwondo match.

At the end of three rounds, the competitor with the most points wins the match. If, during the match, one competitor gains a 7-point lead over the other, or if one competitor reaches a total of 12 points, then that competitor is immediately declared the winner and the match ends. In the event of a tie at the end of three rounds, a fourth "sudden death" overtime round will be held to determine the winner, after a 1-minute rest period.

Official WTF trunk protector (hogu), forearm guards and shin guards

The ITF sparring rules are similar, but differ from the WTF rules in several respects. For example, hand attacks to the head are allowed; flying techniques score higher than grounded techniques; the competition area is slightly smaller (9 meters square instead of 10 meters); and competitors do not wear the hogu used in Olympic-style sparring (although they are required to wear approved foot and hand protection equipment). The ITF competition rules and regulations are available at the ITF information website.

See also

• Korean martial arts

External links

• Official site of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)
• Kukkiwon World Taekwondo Headquarters
• Official Sites of International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF): Site 1, Site 2
• Animated examples of various kicks