Taekwondo — The Way of the Foot and Fist
Taekwondo is Korea's premier martial art — defined by explosive kicking techniques and dynamic athleticism, an Olympic discipline since the Sydney 2000 Games.
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Taekwondo — 跆拳道, “the way of the foot and fist” — is Korea’s national martial art and the world’s most widely practised kicking-based combat system. The name combines Tae (foot/kick), Kwon (fist/punch) and Do (way/philosophy). Despite its relatively recent formalisation, Taekwondo invokes roots stretching back thousands of years — the hwarang of Silla and the folk art of Taekkyeon. How much of that is transmission and how much is invocation is set out in the article on hwarangdo.
Officially named as a distinct style in 1955, Taekwondo developed during the Japanese occupation of Korea and its turbulent post-war reconstruction into a consciously Korean national art. With an estimated 80 million practitioners in over 200 countries, it is one of the most widely practised martial arts in the world — and since the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, a permanent fixture in the Olympic programme.
History and Development
Ancient roots: Korea had formalised combat arts from early antiquity: Subak (foot-fighting), Taekkyeon (a fluid folk art with strong leg emphasis) and various weaponed systems. The hwarang — an aristocratic youth organisation of the Silla Kingdom (approx. 57 BCE–935 CE) — trained in military skills alongside poetry, music and Confucian learning. A code of honour named hwarang-do is often ascribed to them; the expression, however, was coined only in the 20th century, under Japanese rule and on the model of bushidō. What is attested are the five secular precepts of the monk Won Gwang.
Japanese occupation (1910–1945): Korean martial arts were suppressed under colonial rule. Many Koreans studied Japanese Karate, particularly Shotokan. General Choi Hong Hi earned his Shotokan black belt and later combined this technical base with Korean elements.
Post-war Kwans: After liberation in 1945, Korean martial artists opened schools called Kwans: Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Chang Moo Kwan and others. These schools operated independently under different names (Tang Soo Do, Oh Do Kwan etc.).
1955 — Official naming: General Choi Hong Hi coined the name “Taekwondo” and had it officially adopted on 11 April 1955. The Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) was founded in 1961. That did not settle the name for a long time: the kwan went on arguing for another decade, and “taekwondo” was not generally accepted until 1965, under the umbrella of the KTA. Hwang Kee of the Moo Duk Kwan never adopted the term (Moenig and Kim, Acta Koreana 19/2, 2016, p. 134) — the road there is told in the article on Tang Soo Do.
Where the name came from, and why this one. The prompt was a demonstration in 1954: soldiers under Choi’s command showed President Rhee Syngman tangsudo, that is, karate, and Rhee called what he saw “t’aekkyŏn”. For the emphatically anti-Japanese president the art needed a Korean pedigree; a year later the new name was in place. What decided it was the sound, not the technique — the article on Taekkyeon sets out what Choi himself conceded about this in 2001.
1966 — ITF: Choi Hong Hi founded the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) in Seoul, which he subsequently led from Toronto after leaving South Korea for political reasons. This began the division into two major lineages.
1973 — WTF / WT: The South Korean government established the World Taekwondo Federation (now simply World Taekwondo, WT since 2017) as a counterweight to the ITF. The Kukkiwon in Seoul became the official technical centre.
2000 — Olympic debut: Taekwondo became a permanent Olympic discipline at the Sydney Games (following demonstrations in Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992).
Technical Foundations
| Feature | ITF Style | WT (Olympic) Style |
|---|---|---|
| Stance | Deep stances | More upright |
| Punches | Head punches permitted | Body punches only |
| Kicks | Diverse, including jump kicks | Focus on head kicks |
| Protection | Head guard, body armour | Hogu with electronics, head guard |
| Scoring | Point judges | Electronic sensors |
| Patterns | 24 Tul (Choi system) | Kukkiwon Poomsae |
Taekwondo’s defining characteristic is the overwhelming proportion of kicking techniques — an estimated 70–80% of competition points are scored with kicks.
Core Techniques
Dollyeo-chagi — Roundhouse kick; the fundamental offensive technique.
Naeryo-chagi — Axe kick (heel from above); highly effective against the head.
Dwit-chagi — Back kick; the most powerful linear technique.
Twieo Dollyeo-chagi — Jumping roundhouse; maximum point value.
Bandae Dollyeo-chagi — Spinning hook kick; heel strikes the head laterally.
Mireo-chagi — Push kick; distance management tool.
Poomsae (형): Taeguk 1–8 (WT) · Koryo · Keumgang · Taebaek · Pyongwon · Sipjin · Jitae · Cheonkwon · Hansu · Ilyeo
Philosophy
The five tenets of Taekwondo form its ethical framework:
- Ye-ui (예의) — Courtesy
- Yom-chi (염치) — Integrity
- In-nae (인내) — Perseverance
- Geuk-gi (극기) — Self-control
- Baek-jeol-bul-gul (백절불굴) — Indomitable spirit
The hwarang legacy remains philosophically active — though what is understood by it today dates from the 20th century: the warrior serves country, family and teacher. Mind and body are to be cultivated in harmony. Buddhist concentration, Confucian respect and Taoist equilibrium flow through the Korean martial ideal.
“The success or failure of Taekwon-Do training depends largely on how one observes and implements the tenets of Taekwon-Do.” — Choi Hong Hi, Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do
Organisations
| Organisation | Founded | Orientation | Characteristic |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Taekwondo (WT) | 1973 | Olympic sport | Electronic hogu, Kukkiwon |
| ITF (Choi lineage) | 1966 | Traditional | 24 Tul, body contact |
| ATA | 1969 | USA-based | Own poomsae system |
| GTF | 1990 | Traditional | Choi splinter group |
Connections to Other Martial Arts
- Taekkyeon — Korean folk art with similar kicking emphasis; the direct cultural predecessor
- Shotokan Karate — Technical base from the occupation era; many early Taekwondo techniques are Karate adaptations
- Hapkido — Sister art developed in the same post-war Korean period
- Kyokushin Karate — Technical comparison in the full-contact domain
Today — Reach and Critique
Taekwondo has over 80 million practitioners, making it one of the most widespread martial arts globally. Olympic status has driven enormous state investment in Korea and internationally.
Critique: The WT Olympic format is frequently criticised for narrowing the art to a points chase at head level. Punches are nearly irrelevant in competition. The ITF/WT split fragments the broader community.
Strength: Taekwondo is globally the most structurally accessible martial art — a clear curriculum, disciplined pedagogy and an Olympic presence combine to make it unmatched in youth and school sport reach.
Related Articles
- Hapkido — The Korean joint-lock and pressure-point art
- Judo — Olympic parallel from Japan
- Kyokushin Karate — Full-contact comparison
- The Roundhouse Kick in Six Systems — the highest impact force measured — and why it proves nothing
- Grading Systems Compared — how a central institute standardises grading
- Subak — why the appeal to this predecessor does not hold up against the research
- Haidong Gumdo — the same handling of its own age, only settled in court
- Kicking Programme — knee extension on top — the second engine and what it obliges
- Sibpalgi — the 1790 manual that claims to age most often lean on
- Hwarangdo — what remains of the appeal to the hwarang once the sources are looked up
- Gongkwon Yusul — the control case for naming: set apart in 1955, back in the shared characters in 1998
Further Reading
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