Taekwondo

Key FactsFrom the overview, below

Origin	Korea. After liberation in 1945, the kwans — schools founded by men who had trained mostly in Japanese karate — taught their own blends under names like Tang Soo Do and Kong Soo Do. On April 11, 1955, a naming board settled on taekwondo as the unified name for the art.
The Name	Tae, to strike or break with the foot; kwon, the fist; do, the way. Kicks come first in the name and first in the training.
The Two Houses	The Kukkiwon/WT house: Kukkiwon, in Seoul, certifies black belt rank, and World Taekwondo's sparring, kyorugi, is the Olympic event; its forms are the Taegeuk poomsae. The ITF house: founded by General Choi Hong Hi in 1966, teaching his 24 tul, its sparring semi-contact and continuous, with punches to the head allowed.
Hallmarks	A kicking arsenal no other major art matches for depth: front, roundhouse, side, back, axe, hook, and spinning kicks, thrown standing, jumping, and in combination. Hands fill the forms and the basics — but the art's identity is the leg.
Headquarters	Kukkiwon opened in Seoul on November 30, 1972; it sets the technical curriculum and issues the dan certificates WT competition requires. World Taekwondo, founded May 28, 1973, writes the competition rules and holds the Olympic seat.
The World Stage	An Olympic demonstration sport at Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992, and a full medal sport since Sydney 2000.

The Syllabus at a Glance

5

Components of Training

Basics, forms, sparring, breaking, and self-defense — taught by both houses, under different Korean names and with different weight.

24

ITF Tul

Choi Hong Hi's forms library, performed with sine wave motion — the rising and falling hip movement he built into every technique.

2

Houses

Kukkiwon/WT and the ITF: two different arts that share a name, a country, and about twenty years of common history.

2

Form Libraries

The Taegeuk poomsae of the WT house and the 24 tul of the ITF. Which library you learn tells you which house you are in.

The Chapter OpenerThe overview article

Start Here — The Overview

Taekwondo: An Instructor's Overview

Two schools share the same strip mall. Through the first window you see students in V-neck uniforms kicking at an electronic chest protector that beeps when a foot lands hard enough. Through the second, students in wrap-front uniforms perform a pattern with no protector at all, and the instructor calls out the name Chon-Ji. Both signs say taekwondo. Both schools are telling the truth. They are also teaching two different arts that happen to share a name, a country, and about twenty years of common history. This overview maps the whole of taekwondo, both houses of it, so you can tell them apart and find your place in either one.

Taekwondo is a Korean striking art built around the kick. The name breaks into three parts: tae, to strike or break with the foot, kwon the fist, and do the way. Kicks come first in the name and first in the training. A developed taekwondo practitioner commands a kicking arsenal no other major art matches for depth: front, roundhouse, side, back, axe, hook, and spinning kicks, thrown standing, jumping, and in combination. Hands are not absent. Punches, knife-hand strikes, blocks, and elbow work fill the forms and the basics. But the art's identity is the leg.

Read the overview →

All Taekwondo Articles10 articles · free in full

Companion Guides — TaekwondoOne guide per article · printable

Taekwondo Quick Referenceall-levels · reference
Taekwondo First Three Months Plan & Progress Trackerbeginner · plan
WT vs ITF Decision Guideall-levels · decision
Kick Height Mobility Planbeginner · plan
Poomsae Memory and Test-Day Systembeginner · plan
Power Kicks Mechanics Playbookbeginner · playbook
Balance and Pivot Drill Bookbeginner · playbook
Sparring Range Playbookbeginner · playbook
Breaking Manual: Materials, Techniques, Holders, and Exam-Day Standardsall-levels · manual
Weak-Side Development System: Twelve Weeks to a Second Weaponall-levels · system