Taekwondo Kicks
Welcome to taekwondo-kicks.com, a site dedicated to the Korean martial art. Sometimes spelled Tae Kwon Do as well as Taekwondo, the correct spelling is actually Taekwon-Do. However, as most people spell it as one word, we have adopted that convention throughout the site.
Taekwondo Kicks is the name of the site for its joint connotations of kicking within the art and the fact that we really enjoy Taekwondo enough to say that we get plenty of our kicks from it. We hope you do too and that you find this site a growing, useful resource.
This site is developed and maintained by Taekwondo-loving employees of Sandstone Limited, team development folk who kindly provide the server capacity that allows it to exist. You can check out their main site, if you like!
What is Taekwondo?
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art. It is an effective weaponless art of self-defence but it is also a competitive sport and method of maintaining all round fitness.
Tae translates to break or attack with the foot.
Kwon translates to break with the fist.
Do translates to the art or way.
So Taekwondo translates to ‘the way of the foot and the fist’.
History of Taekwondo
Taekwondo in its current form was introduced on Monday 11th April 1955 by General Choi Hong Hi.
Although this is the date that Taekwondo as a name was introduced, Taekwondo as a martial art has been practised for over 1,300 years under its ancient name Taek-Kyon.
The exact origins of this martial art are a mystery.
However, Ancient Korea was made up on three Kingdoms: Silla, Koguryo and Baekche. Silla was the smallest of three kingdoms and faced constant invasion from Koguryo and Baekche. Taek-Kyon was practised by a group of youths known as the Hwarang-Do. They created a powerful army and together they unifed the three kingdoms. Following the unification the Hwarang-Do spread the teachings of Taek-Kyon throughout Korea. However, Taek-Kyon became almost extinct during the Yi Dynasty and the Japanese occupation.
Taek-Kyon began to flourish again from 1945 following the liberation and since then it has gone from strength to strength to its current form of Taekwondo.
It is now practised in over sixty different countries world wide. It also differs from other martial arts as it is one of the most advanced in the effectiveness of the techniques used and their sophistication. It also provides an equally good physical and mental balance to its practitioners.
