What Is Taekwondo?

What is taekwondo?

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. The meaning of the word ‘Taekwondo’ can be broken down into three parts. (1) ‘Tae’ – to strike or break with the foot, (2) ‘kwon’ – to strike or break with the hand and (3) ‘do’ – the art or the way. Therefore, Taekwondo can be loosely translated to ‘the art of the foot and hand‘.

Around the world, millions of people practice Taekwondo. There are two styles of Taekwondo, namely World Taekwondo (previously World Taekwondo Federation, or WTF) and the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF).

Taekwondo practitioners wear a uniform, known as a dobok and was developed during the 1940s and 1950s by Korean martial artists with experience in martial arts such as karate, Chinese martial arts, and indigenous Korean martial arts such as taekkyon, subak and gwonbeop.

The oldest governing body for taekwondo is the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA), formed in 1959 through a collaborative effort by representatives from the nine original kwans, or martial arts schools, in Korea.

In 1971, the South Korean government officially designated taekwondo as Korea’s national martial art.

In 1972, the KTA and the South Korean government’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established the Kukkiwon as the new national academy for taekwondo. Kukkiwon now serves many of the functions previously served by the KTA, in terms of defining a government-sponsored unified style of taekwondo.

In 1973 the KTA and Kukkiwon supported the establishment of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), which later changed its name to “World Taekwondo” (WT) in 2017. WT promotes the sport-nature of Kukki-Taekwondo and its competitions now employ Kukkiwon-style Taekwondo. For this reason, Kukkiwon-style Taekwondo is often referred to as WT-style Taekwondo, sport-style Taekwondo, or Olympic-style Taekwondo, though in reality the style is defined by the Kukkiwon, not the WT.

Kyorugi – full-contact sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000. The governing body for taekwondo in both the Olympics and Paralympics is World Taekwondo.

In 1972, the KTA and the South Korean government’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established the Kukkiwon as the new national academy for taekwondo.

Kukkiwon

World Taekwondo Headquarters

Kukkiwon is based at 635 Yeoksam-dong in the Gangnam-gu district of Seoul, South Korea.

Construction of the main building commenced on 19 November 1971 and was completed on 30 November 1972 with the organisation being officially named on 6 February 1973.

Chungdokwan

Chungdokwan was the first school (kwan) to teach what became known as Taekwondo in Korea, having been originally founded in 1944 by Grandmaster Won Kuk Lee.

The term Chungdokwan stands for ‘school of the blue wave’ or ‘blue wave school’. According to the President of the Chungdokwan, Grandmaster Park Hae Man, the Chungdokwan style of Taekwondo is the same as that promoted by the Kukkiwon – the World Taekwondo Headquarters and official governing organisation of Taekwondo in Seoul, South Korea.

Chung Do Kwan technique and philosophy centered on mastering basics, developing powerful technique, pinpoint accuracy in application, strong kicking and a deep appreciation for manners and etiquette.

Chungdokwan Great Britain

TCGB is a group member of British Taekwondo – the National Governing Body for Taekwondo in Great Britain. Over the years, numerous students have competed abroad in major competitions for TCGB in both poomsae and kyorugi – many of these students are now experienced instructors within our organisation passing on their knowledge to the next generation of Taekwondo practitioners.

All our instructors have undertaken an instructor’s course and are aware of the key issues surrounding instructing, including child protection and risk assessment. In addition, all TCGB instructors have full indemnity insurance and have passed an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

We can provide...

If you are looking to train in the World Taekwondo (Kukkiwon) style of Taekwondo, we can provide you with the training needed to develop to the best of your ability in basic and advanced techniques, sparring (full-contact World Taekwondo style), poomsae and self-defence. For more information about what TCGB can offer you check out our Join Us page or email the TCGB Secretary General for an information pack (sec@chungdokwan.org.uk).

Kyorugi competition.

Poomsae competition.

If you would like more information about your nearest club please check out our Find A Club page. If there are no Taekwondo clubs listed in your area, please get in contact with us about what TCGB still has to offer. Also, if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

What Is Taekwondo?