The Sport of Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a marital art that was developed in Korea, a combination of taekkyeon (Okinawan Karate) and others. There has been speculation of who coined the term. The International Taekwon-Do Federation claims Choi Hong Hi coined the term taekwondo, while the World Taekwondo Federation suggest it was a collaborative effort by the original nine kwans.
The goal of Taekwondo is, only on allowed areas, to give as many kicks and blows as you can on your enemy. You are given one point for a strike in the body and two for kicks to the face. The contest area should be on a 10m-square mat.
Taekwondo match at the Military World Games in 2019Taekwondo may be written as Tae-Kwon-Do, Taekwon-Do, Tae Kwon Do, and many other variations.
Similar Sports
- Judo — the objective is to throw or takedown the opposing player to the ground.
- Ssireum — a folk wrestling style and traditional national sport of Korea, with the aim to bring any part of the opponent's body above the knee to the ground.
- Karate — a martial art developed in Japan that uses punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and some open-hand techniques.
- Taekkyeon — a traditional military Korean martial art, an ancestor of Taekwondo. Points are scored by throwing (or tripping) the opponent to the ground, pushing him out of the ring, or kicking him in the head.
Related Pages
- Taekwondo at the Olympics
- Para-Taekwondo at the Paralympics
- Sport in Korea
- More about Martial Arts
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports — a list of every sport from around the world.
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Upcoming Events