Taekwondo
Founder of Taekwondo:
Choe Hong Hee
The founder of Taekwondo is General Choe Hong Hee. He is considered the father of taekwondo and made significant contributions to the development of the sport on the world stage. General Choe developed a taekwondo philosophy based on the principles of respect, humility and self-control and founded the International Taekwondo Association (ITF) in 1966.
Taekwondo (WTF)
Taekwondo (Korean: 태권도: 跆拳道) is a martial art, an Olympic sport, and the national sport of Korea. Taekwondo is one of the most systematized and scientifically based martial arts in the world. With the help of body and soul training, this discipline inculcates physical fighting skills in a person, and aims to improve mental health and quality of life.
Taekwondo originated more than 2000 years ago. The word “taekwondo” itself was formed on April 11, 1955, when the founder of Taekwondo – General Choi Hong Hee (9 dan) – united the most important 9 schools of Korean traditional martial arts under the general name “Taekwondo”.
Thae means “kick”, kwon means “fist” or “hand strike”, do means “way” or “art”. Thus, the term taekwondo can be translated as “the way (art) of the feet and hands.” Like many other martial arts, taekwondo includes sports and health, practical and philosophical aspects. Taekwondo focuses on leg striking: the art primarily focuses on kicks in motion, using their wider range and power to incapacitate an opponent from a distance.
According to the definition of Choi Hong Hee himself, “Taekwondo means a system of spiritual training and a technique of self-defense without weapons, along with health, as well as skilled execution of strikes, blocks and jumps performed with bare hands and feet to defeat one or more opponents.”
Several taekwondo techniques:
