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.

Organizations

Although there are many different federations and associations, Taekwondo today can be broadly divided into two schools: the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and the International Taekwon-do Federation (ITF).

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The ITF had considerable success in bringing its art to the world in the 1960s, while the WTF succeeded in later taking Taekwondo to the Olympic stage. WTF rules have been adopted by the International Olympic Committee, and only WTF-trained students can take part in the Olympic Games.

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It is estimated that about 40 million people in about 140 countries practice the martial art according to ITF rules, while more than 50 million in more than 170 countries follow the WTF style, although there is much overlap.

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Since the death of its founder, Choi Hong Hi, the ITF has splintered into three major groups, in Canada, Austria, and North Korea.

Related Topics:
Choi Hong Hi - Canada - Austria - North Korea

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The WTF style is more of a sport, focusing on safe competition sparring, while the ITF style is more traditionally martial, or military, in its application. However, this varies by school and instructor.

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Apart from their history, one difference between ITF Taekwondo and WTF Taekwondo is the poomse, the pre-set, formal sequences of movements students learn. ITF has 24 patterns (called tuls), while WTF schools use the Taegeuk forms as well as Ki Cho poomse, Kibon poomse, Dan poomse, and, in schools with older Korean masters, Palgwe poomse.

Related Topics:
Patterns - Taegeuk

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