Ancient Korean martial art received a second wind after the liberation of the country from Japanese colonial rule. Is Taekwondo an Olympic sport? Yes, besides, at present this type of martial arts is one of the most popular in the world. The World Federation responsible for the development of this sport was established in 1973 in South Korea. It is thanks to her efforts that taekwondo is now officially recognized in 207 countries of the world.
The origins of martial arts
The history of various martial arts in Korea has about two millennia. One of the types from which the Olympic sport of taekwondo originates is hvaran-do ("the art of a prosperous person"). He was trained by the royal guard, consisting of representatives of the aristocracy in the era of the ancient state of Silla. In addition, other martial arts were practiced on the territory of the Korean Peninsula, including tesudo, subak, kvonbop, tekken, tansudo, hapkido. All of them were banned during the Japanese colonial rule. Some Koreans could then practice karate, such as the founder of the Kyokushinkai style, Masutatsu Oyama (Choi Yongyi).
After gaining independence and the end of the Korean War, various schools again began to work in the country, the activities of which the state did not intervene for the first time. Only in the sixties, under President Park Chun Hee, did the government begin to finance the development of national sports in order to revive national identity.
The birth of martial arts
In the early fifties, a group of experts on the most popular Korean martial arts decided to develop a unified system, which was established on April 11, 1955. The founder of the new sport was South Korean General Choi Hong Hee, who did a lot to popularize it in the world. A group of athletes with demonstrations drove in many countries of Europe and America. In 1966, the International Taekwondo Federation (hereinafter referred to as the ITF) was organized, which is responsible for the development of martial arts, including abroad. However, a year later, the general and a group of craftsmen left South Korea for political reasons, and the ITF headquarters moved to Canada. The organization for the most part began to focus on North Korea.
The South Korean government continued to support and popularize national sports. In 1972, the Kukkivon Olympic Taekwondo Olympic Development Center was opened in Seoul. And in May, the first official world championship was held in the organization’s premises.
Establishment of a new federation
In the same year, the World Taekwondo Federation (hereinafter referred to as the WTF) was established in Seoul, the first president of which was Kim Un-yong. The key and priority direction of the organization was the development of sports and competitive component.
Thanks to the support of the government, the national martial art in South Korea began to develop very rapidly. In 1973, he was included in the compulsory school curriculum. The competitive direction began to spread rapidly around the world, gradually gaining recognition from international organizations. The main goal of the federation was to include this type of martial arts in the list of Olympic sports.
Movement towards recognition
In the summer of 1980, the WTF was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The next step was the holding of tournaments as part of the demonstration program at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and 1992 in Barcelona.
Taekwondo WTF has become an Olympic sport since 2000, when it was included in the official game program in Sydney. Since then, has always been present at all subsequent Olympics. At the competition eight sets of medals are played, four each among men and women. For all the time of participation in the competition, the leader in the number of medals in the Olympic sport of taekwondo is the South Korean team (only 19 medals of various denominations), followed by China (10), then the United States (9). The Russian team has only 4 medals, 2 silver and 2 bronze.
Current state
The Olympic sport of the WTF Taekwondo, represented in 207 countries, is the most popular all over the world. According to various estimates, approximately 70-80 million people are engaged in this type of martial arts in the world, and there are more than 3 million people with black belts. In 2018, the two largest world federations, the WTF and ITF, announced the beginning of the process of unification and the development of common rules for holding competitions.
The main efforts in the development of the Olympic sport of taekwondo were aimed at increasing entertainment, improving the rules, the judiciary and the safety of fights. Now during the competition it is mandatory to use a helmet and special electronic vests, which not only protect the fighters, but also objectively record the number of strokes.