Branca Taekwondo

The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Website and the Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters) Website have heaps of information about Taekwondo .

If you click on the topics below you can go to some of the information found on those websites;

FAST FACTS

· Taekwondo (TKD) originated in Korea and is best known for its dynamic Kicking Techniques.

· There are three main components of taekwondo; The Sport, The Art and Self Defence.

· The name of Taekwondo means ‘the way of kicking and striking’ in Korean.

· TKD is one of the martial arts which combines philosophy, obedience, self-discipline, respect, physical ability and exercise.

· All beginners start as white belts, they then move through the “coloured belts” from yellow, to blue, and to red

· On each of the “coloured” belts, there are three levels, as each is passed, the student obtains a stripe to denote their rank.

· After the coloured belts comes “Cho Dan Bo” which is a probationary Black Belt.

· Students stay on Cho Dan Bo for a minimum of 6 months and until they have proven they are worthy of 1st Dan (degree) black belt .

· Students remain of 1st Dan Black Belt for 1 year, on 2nd Dan Black Belt for 2 years, on 3rd Dan for 3 years and so on...

· Junior Black Belt ranks (under 15 years old) are not called Dan’s they are called Poom’s.

· TKD began in South Korea over 2000 years ago.

· Choi Hong-Hi is the founder of the modern form of the sport.

· In 1955 TKD was nominated as the most traditional of the Korean martial arts and became widely known.

· In 1988 and 1992, TKD was featured at the Olympics as a demonstration sport.

· TKD became an official medal sport for both men and women for the first time in 2000 at the Sydney Olympic Games.

Teaching the importance of strong values, good character, and healthy living.