Tae Kwon Do
Tae kwon do is a Korean martial art that since the 1950s has become popular around the world. It is estimated that over 20 million people in 140 nations participate in the sport. The origins are unclear, and different scholars suggest Korean, Chinese, and Japanese origins. The history of tae kwon do as a modern sport begins in the twentieth century, when the Japanese banned the sport upon annexing Korea in 1910. The ban produced greater interest in the sport and caused it to be linked in the Korean mind with Korean nationalism and independence. The Korean War (1950–1953) introduced the sport to U.S. soldiers, who brought it back to the United States, initiating its emergence as a worldwide sport. In 1973 South Korea afforded the World Tae Kwon Do Federation recognition as the international governing body of the sport.
Like other Asian marital arts, tae kwon do involves offensive and defensive postures and movements classified as kicks, strikes, stances, and blocks. Advancing up through the ranks of the sport requires rigorous training that emphasizes body control, agility, balance, timing, and technique. Tae kwon do especially stresses kicking, including powerful flying kicks. This has made the sport more popular than other martial arts with women and children, who have less upper body strength than men. There are now various schools of tae kwon do, with the basic division being between those that stress competition and those that stress training and personal development.
Further Reading
Park, Yeon Hee. (1993) Fighting Back: Taekowndo for Women. East Meadow, NY: Y. H. Park.
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