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TAEKWONDO (태권도; 跆拳道; Korean pronunciation: [tʰɛk͈wʌndo]; English pronunciation: /taɪ.kwɒn.doʊ/) is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae (태, 跆) means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon (권, 拳) means "to strike or break with fist"; and do (도, 道) means "way", "method", or "path". Thus, taekwondo may be loosely translated as "the way of the hand and the foot."  The name taekwondo is also written as taekwon-do, tae kwon-do, or tae kwon do by various organizations, based on historical, philosophical, or political reasons.
 

It combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and in some cases meditation and philosophy. In 1989, Taekwondo was the world's most popular martial art in terms of number of practitioners. Gyeorugi (pronounced [ɡjʌɾuɡi]), a type of sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000.

There are two main branches of taekwondo development, which are not necessarily mutually exclusive:
"Traditional taekwondo" typically refers to the martial art as it was established in the 1950s and 1960s in the South Korean military, and in various civilian organisations, including schools and universities. In particular, the names and symbolism of the traditional patterns often refer to elements of Korean history, culture and religious philosophy. Today, the Kukkiwon, or World Taekwondo Headquarters is the traditional center for Taekwondo in Korea.
"Sport taekwondo" has developed in the decades since the 1950s and may have a somewhat different focus, especially in terms of its emphasis on speed and competition (as in Olympic sparring). Sport taekwondo is in turn subdivided into two main styles; one derives from Kukkiwon, the source of the sparring system sihap gyeorugi which is now an event at the summer Olympic Games and which is governed by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The other comes from the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF).

Although there are doctrinal and technical differences between the two main styles and among the various organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance, employing the leg's greater reach and power (compared to the arm). Taekwondo training generally includes a system of blocks, kicks, punches, and open-handed strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws, and joint locks. Some taekwondo instructors also incorporate the use of pressure points, known as jiapsul, as well as grabbing self-defense techniques borrowed from other martial arts, such as hapkido and judo.

TAEKWONDO

태권도   跆拳道

Taekwondo is known for its emphasis on kicking techniques, which distinguishes it from martial arts such as karate or southern styles of kung fu. The rationale is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to execute powerful strikes without successful retaliation.

Taekwondo as a martial art is popular with people of both genders and of many ages. Physically, taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of wooden boards, bricks or tiles, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's power.

A taekwondo student typically wears a uniform (dobok 도복/道服), often white but sometimes black (or other colors), with a belt (dti 띠) tied around the waist. There are at least three major styles of do-bok, with the most obvious differences being in the style of jacket:  the cross-over front jacket that resembles traditional Asian clothing,  the V-neck jacket (no cross-over) typically worn by WTF practitioners, and  the vertical-closing front jacket (no cross-over) typically worn by ITF practitioners. The belt colour and any insignia thereon indicate the student's rank. In general, the darker the colour, the higher the rank. The school or place where instruction is given is called the do-jang (도장). The grandmaster of the do-jang is called a gwan-jang-nim (관장님); Master (senior instructor or head of do-jang) is called sa-beom-nim (사범님); Instructor is called gyo-san-nim (교사님); Assistant Instructor is called jo-gyo-nim (조교님)

Taekwondo, along with many other martial arts, is traditionally performed in bare feet, though there are specialist training shoes that can sometimes be worn.

Although each taekwondo club or school will be different, a student typically takes part in most or all of the following:

Learning the techniques and curriculum of taekwondo
 Both anaerobic and aerobic workout, including stretching
 Self-defense techniques (hosinsool 호신술)
 Patterns (also called forms, poomsae 품새/品勢, teul 틀, hyeong 형/型)
 Sparring (called gyeorugi 겨루기, or matseogi 맞서기 in the ITF), which may include 7-, 3-, 2-     and 1-step sparring, free-style sparring, arranged sparring, point sparring, and other types
Relaxation and meditation exercises; breathing control
Throwing and/or falling techniques (deonjigi 던지기 and ddeoreojigi 떨어지기)
 A focus on mental and ethical discipline, etiquette, justice, respect, and self-confidence
 Breaking (gyeokpa 격파 or weerok), using techniques to break boards for testing, training and martial arts demonstrations. Demonstrations often also incorporate bricks, tiles, and blocks of ice or other materials. Can be separated into three types:
 Power breaking – using straightforward techniques to break as many boards as possible
 Speed breaking – boards are held loosely by one edge, putting special focus on the speed required to perform the break
 Special techniques – breaking fewer boards but using jumping or flying techniques to attain greater heights, distances, or to clear obstacles
Exams to progress to the next rank

Some schools teach the "sine wave" technique when performing patterns. This involves raising one's center of gravity between techniques, then lowering it as the technique is performed, producing the up-and-down movement from which the term "sine wave" is derived. Other schools teach that one's center of gravity should remain generally constant throughout the performance of a pattern except where the pattern's description states otherwise.

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