Tae means “to strike with the feet.”
Kwon means “destroying with the hand or the fist.”
Do means “way” or “method.”
Taekwondo is believed to be one of the oldest Oriental arts of unarmed self-defense. In ancient times, the Korean people were forced to fight to protect or regain their independence from the Chinese, the Scytho-Siberians of Central Asia, the Mongol Hordes, the Marauders, and the armies of Japan. As a result, characteristics that serve as the source of Taekwondo were created in the Korean people. These consisted of a fierce warrior spirit, an intense national loyalty, and an indominable will to survive.
At the turn of the twentieth century, Taekwondo was outlawed in Korea by the ruling occupiers of Japan. As a result, it was practiced secretly and kept alive. In 1945, when Korea was liberated from Japan, numerous individuals from Korea were interested in taking steps to revitalize the ancient and traditional martial art.
Taekwondo derived from other forms of martial arts, but uniquely has a style all its own. It is very different from other martial arts in a few select areas. First, Taekwondo is physically very dynamic with active movements that include a mirage of foot-work skills. Second, the kicking action has progressed and continues to transform into an unmatched level of preeminence. Third, the principle physical movements are in relation to the mind and life as a whole.
Taekwondo has flourished and spread in popularity becoming the national sport of Korea. It has now become a global sport and has gained international recognition. It is included as part of the school curriculum from first grade through college and is required in the military. In July of 1980, at the Eighty-Third International Olympic Committee Session meeting in Moscow, the World Taekwondo Federation was granted IOC recognition and became a member of the Olympic Games. It was held as a demonstration sport in the 1988 Games in Korea and served officially as a full medal sport in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
After the liberation of Korea from the Japanese colonial rule during World War II, Taekwondo began to popularize. After its growth throughout the world Taekwondo became a national martial art. The Kukkiwon was soon founded in 1972 followed by the establishment of the World Taekwondo Federation.
In 1980 the World Taekwondo Federation became an International Olympic Committee recognized sport. The sports crowning achievement came in 1982 when the IOC designated Taekwondo as an official demonstration sport for the 24th Olympiad held in Seoul, Korea and the 25th Olympiad held in Barcelona, Spain. Finally in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Taekwondo became a full medal Olympic sport and gained worldwide recognition.
Sport Taekwondo is full contact sparring with limitations. One can not use hand techniques to the face, grapple, or attack below the waist. Points are awarded to a competitor who delivers a powerful technique to the head, face, or trunk area. All competitors are required to wear protective gear when participating in sparring. For a full detail list of competition rules please visit: WTF Rules.
Some basic information regarding sport taekwondo:
Weight Classes
Traditionally, taekwondo competitions consist of 16 weight classes, eight for men and eight for women. In the Olympics, there are only eight classes — four for each gender — because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) limits the total number of taekwondo entrants to 128 (64 men, 64 women).
Weigh-in
To ensure that a competitor is eligible to compete in his or her weight class, weigh-ins are held the day before the scheduled competition. Athletes wear underclothes during the weigh-in. To help eliminate disqualifications, athletes are given access to replica scales so they can check their status in advance of the official weigh-in.
Format
The Olympic taekwondo tournament for each weight class follows an elimination format, with a random draw determining the main bracket. There will be roughly 15 entrants per weight class, with byes used to fill out the bracket as needed. After each match in the main bracket, the loser is eliminated from gold-medal contention, while the winner advances. The last two undefeated athletes meet to determine the gold and silver medallists. Beginning with the 2008 Games in Beijing, the number of bronze medals awarded will be expanded from one to two. Since the 2000 Sydney Games, the World Taekwondo Federation has conducted a single elimination tournament system with double repechage to determine one third-placed winner.
Match
The start
A taekwondo match involves two competitors, “Chung” (blue) and “Hong” (red). Before the match begins, the two competitors stand at attention and bow to each other on the referee’s Korean commands of “cha-ryeot” (attention) and “kyeong-rye” (bow). The referee will then shout out “shi-jak” to start the match.
Objective
As inferred from the definition of taekwondo — “the way of the hand and the foot” — each athlete tries to earn points by landing kicks to the opponent’s head and body, or punches to the body.
Duration
A men’s match consists of three rounds of three minutes each with a one-minute rest period between rounds. A women’s match consists of three, two-minute rounds, with one-minute rest periods between rounds.
Determining the winner
Most matches are won and lost on the scoreboard — the athlete who tallies the most points (less deductions) is the winner. Other means of determining a winner include:
Superiority (SUP). Other than in the final, if competitors are tied after three rounds, victory goes to whichever athlete scored more points (penalties are ignored). If the tie remains, the judges determine the winner based on initiative shown during the match.
Default (if the opponent earns four penalty points).
Referee Stopped Contest (RSC)
Knockout (KO) (uncommon).
Disqualification (DQQ).
Tie-breaker system in the final
If a tie occurs in the gold-medal match, superiority is not initially used to determine the winner. Instead, the two competitors will go into a fourth, sudden-death round, with whoever scores the next point being declared the winner. If neither athlete scores a point in the extra round, the referee will decide the winner based on who was superior in the round.
Judging
A referee and three judges are present for a taekwondo contest at the Games. The referee controls the match, declaring its start/end, winner/loser, plus suspensions and resumptions during the course of competition. The referee also declares warnings, penalties and deductions of points, but does not award points. All of the referee’s decisions are announced when the results are confirmed. The judges are responsible for immediately tallying all of the valid points used to determine a match’s winner.
Uniforms
In competition, a taekwondo athlete wears a white, v-neck uniform called a “dobok.” The style of the dobok is based on traditional Korean peasant garb. All contestants compete barefoot. For protection, competitors must wear a red or blue chest protector, headgear, shin and forearm guards and mouthpieces. Male athletes must also wear a groin-area protector. The headgear is worn mostly to protect against injury to an unconscious athlete falling to the mat, and the forearm and shin guards are to prevent nerve damage to the designated areas.
Competition area
Taekwondo contests take place on a 12-meter by 12-meter square mat (roughly 39-feet by 39-feet) with a surface similar to that of a wrestling mat. There is a 1-meter wide border marked at the edge of the mat and shaded a different color to alert contestants that they’re nearing the boundary line. If a contestant steps across the boundary line, the referee stops the match. If a contestant unintentionally crosses the boundary line, the referee will declare “joo-eui,” or a verbal warning. The second time this occurs, “kyong-go,” or a half-point penalty, is declared.