History of Tae Kwon Do

Tae Kwon Do is the modern name for Korean martial arts which can trace its history back as far as 5000 BCE. The serious student sees Tae Kwon Do as a life style. The art requires physical rigor and strict self-imposed discipline. Tae Kwon Do forms and techniques represent beauty, grace and power, and build concentration and self-esteem in the practitioner. Tae Kwon Do combines mental and physical aspects to build coordination, strength, agility, discipline and confidence.

"Tae " means to use the foot or kick, "Kwon" means to utilize the hands to strike. "Do" means the Art or literally way. Tae Kwon Do is the modern name for Korean Martial Arts that can be traced back as far as 5000 BCE. During different periods of Korean history Tae Kwon Do was referred to as Soo-Bak, Tae-Kyon, Tang Soo and etc. Tae Kwon Do warriors were instrumental in unifying the once three separate kingdoms of Korea. In the early 20th century, Japan colonized Korea and in 1955 when Korea won it's independence from Japanese colonialism, modem Tae Kwon Do was born. It is practiced in over 200 countries by millions of practitioners world wide. In 1988 Tae Kwon Do became an Olympic Demonstration Sport, and in the 2000 Sydney Games Tae Kwon Do became an official Olympic Sport with 4 weight divisions each for men and women. Steven Lopez brought home a gold medal in Tae Kwon Do sparring from Sydney.