Taekwondo

Taekwondo (also spelled Tae Kwon Do or Taekwon-Do) is the most popular of the Korean martial arts. It is also one of the world's most commonly practiced sports. The World Taekwondo Federation's form of Taekwondo is currently an Olympic sport.

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In the Korean language, Tae (태) means "to kick or destroy with the foot"; Kwon (권) means "punch or smash with the hand or fist"; and Do (도,) means "way," "path" or "art." Hence, Taekwondo is loosely translated as "the art of kicking and punching" or "the way of the foot and the fist."

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Taekwondo's popularity has resulted in the divergent evolution of the art. As with many other martial arts, Taekwondo is a combination of combat technique, sport, exercise, entertainment, and philosophy.

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Kicks are emphasized in Taekwondo, including jump kicks, spin kicks, shuffle/skip kicks, drop kicks, and combinations thereof. Although there are great doctrinal and technical differences among Taekwondo styles, the art in general is sometimes criticized for its emphasis on high kicks, which may be impractical against moving and defensive opponents. Taekwondo's proponents consider its emphasis on high, far-reaching kicks with a small, mobile stance to be an advantage in martial arts combat.

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Korean martial arts: Korean martial arts refer to any or all of the various martial arts that originated or were modified in Korea. The most famous Korean martial arts in the West are perhaps Taekwondo and Hapkido, although there has been a revival of the bladed arts of Korean swords and swordsmanship as well as an int...

World Taekwondo Federation: The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) is a governing body for the sport and martial art of Taekwondo. It was established in Korea on May 28, 1973. It is now the more popular of the two main federations (the other being the ITF)....

Taekwondo related Images and Photos (experimental)

2012 Olympics Taekwondo Pictogram Pin

Olympics London 2012 Taekwondo Coin