From Taekwondo Wiki

Taekwon-Do (or Tae Kwon Do or Taekwondo) is a Korean Martial Art. Wether it's emphasis is on either kicks or punches depends on it's organization.

[edit] Styles

There are three main styles of Taekwon-Do:

• International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) Style: Founded on April 11th, 1955 by General Choi Hong Hi, when took Karate and a little of Taekkyon and modified their movements into a new, effective martial art. Traditional TaeKwon-Do, as it is also referred, is a martial art, with a balance between sport, self Defence, and character development.
• WTF Olympic Style Taekwondo: Created in the 1970s, when Korea wanted Taekwondo as a Olympic Sport. Olympic Style Taekwondo, loosly based on ITF Taekwon-Do, is a martial sport, which is mostly sport, with less character development and self defence.
• The ATA (or Songam Tae Kwon Do) is a well-organized martial art that is more like Karate than Taekwon-Do. It is a make you feel-good sport with more acrobatics than other Taekwon-Do styles.

[edit] History

In ancient times the fighting Korean arts were under different names in different areas of what we know now as Korea. There were three kingdoms; Koryo, PaekJe and Silla. Each one had elite military groups that emphasized the arts, military tactics, education, and of course, martial arts. These groups were called Sonbae, Soo Sa, and Hawrang. It has been found that the kingdoms would host festivals that had competitions of these martial arts. Each kingdom called their martial art with a different name but they all served the same purpose; protecting and fighting for their respective kingdoms. Moreover, eventually these arts became what we know now today as Tae Kwon-Do .

However, before the term Tae Kwon-Do was coined in order to refer to most Korean martial arts, oppression and eradication of Korean culture, language, and martial arts were attempted. In 1910 Korea was invaded and occupied by Japan until 1945. During this period, the use of Korean names, language and of course martial arts were banned, forcing the people of Korea to covertly pass down all of the aspects of their traditional lives to their kin and children. The only way for Koreans to practice martial arts in the open was to practice Japanese Karate, in stead of their Korean martial arts.

After the defeat of Japan in World War II, Korea was finally able to claim their independence and the Korean culture started to re-flourish. This was a trigger for many native Korean martial arts to resurface across all of Korea. Most Korean martial arts schools had different names confusing people as to which was the true Korean art. In 1955 General Choi Hong Hi, who was a the founder of the International Taekwon-Do Federation, suggested the name “Tae Kwon-Do” to refer to all Korean martial arts. Most masters agreed to this name due to the similarity to Taekkyon , the native Korean art that the Hwarang Knights themselves practiced. Since, then Tae Kwon-Do has spread across the world, becoming the most widely practiced martial art.

In order to understand the history of Tae Kwon-Do, we must understand the history of Korea. Close to 100 years ago the martial arts that eventually became Tae Kwon-Do were about to vanish into oblivion. However, the tenacity and indomitable spirit of the Korean people kept it alive against all odds. The necessity of defending themselves from wild animals, constant foreign threat, and upholding justice pushed the Korean people into creating fighting arts. The same fighting arts that we know now under the name of Tae Kwon-Do.