Olympic Taekwondo

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Taekwondo was introduced into the Olympics in Sydney in 2000 after previously being a demonstration sport at Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992. Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and their national sport and South Korea have won twice as many Olympic medals in this even than the next best country. Taekwondo is loosly translated from Korean to English as "the way of the foot and fist" or "the way of kicking and punching".

There are two major systems of taekwondo named after their founding organizations: the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) and the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) whose rules are used in Olympic taekwondo competitions. A total of eight medals are awarded in Olympic taekwondo, four each to men and women in four different weight categories. The weight categories are: Flyweight (under 58kg and under 49kg for women), Lightweight (men 58-68kg, women 49-57kg), Middleweight (men 68-80kg, women 57-67kg) and Heavyweight (men over 80kg, women over 67kg).

There are several forms of taekwondo competition such as sparring, breaking, patterns and self-defense but in taekwondo at the Olympics, only sparring is used. Under WTF and Olympic rules, sparring is a full-contact competition taking place between two people inside an area measuring 10 meters squared.

Unlike karate or kung-fu, taekwondo focuses on using kicks as the main attack because the leg is the strongest and longest 'weapon' on the body. Points are awarded when a fighter lands an accurate and powerful shot to any of the legal scoring areas. A kick to the body scores one point, a kick to the head scores two points and attacks that knock an opponent down are given an extra point. Punches to the head are illegal.

There are three rounds of two minutes each with a one minute break in between and the competitor with the most points at the end of the three rounds is awarded the victory. If there is a tie, a fourth 'sudden death' round will be fought. Players who are able to knock out their opponent are declared the winner. Olympic taekwondo competitors are required to wear protective equipment including body protection, shin and forearm guards, and padded head gear.

The sport is relatively new to Olympic competition but it is growing in popularity and entertaining to watch. Even if you don't like the sport, watching the Korean fans go crazy for their competitors is almost as entertaining so if you get a chance to see taekwondo live at the Olympics, make sure to check it out.