16.32) Tae-Kwon-Do         

Intro:   One of the most popular sports and martial arts in the world.

Origin:   Korea

History:        

The five original Korean Kwans ("schools") were: Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk
Kwan (the art of Tang Soo Do), Yun Moo Kwan, Chang Moo Kwan, and Chi Do
Kwan.  These were founded in 1945 and 1946.  Three more Kwans were
founded in the early 1950's - Ji Do Kwan, Song Moo Kwan, and Oh Do Kwan.

After fifty years of occupation by Japan (which ended in 1945) and after
the division of the nation and the Korean War, Korean nationalism spurred
the creation of a national art in 1955, combining the styles of the
numerous kwans active within the country (with the exception of Moo Duk
Kwan, which remained separate - therefore Tang Soo Do is still a separate
art from TKD today).  Gen. Hong Hi Choi was primarily responsible for the
creation of this new national art, which was named Tae Kwon Do to link it
with Tae-Kyon (a native art). Earlier unification efforts had been called
Kong Soo Do, Tae Soo Do, etc. Many masters had learned Japanese arts 
during the occupation, or had learned Chinese arts in Manchuria.  Only a 
few had been lucky enough to be trained by the few native martial artists 
who remained active when the Japanese banned all martial arts in Korea.  
Choi himself had taken Tae-Kyon (a Korean art) as a child, but had earned 
his 2nd dan in Shotokan Karate while a student in Japan. 
                
Description:    

Primarily a kicking art.  There is often a greater emphasis on the sport
aspect of the Art.  Tae-Kwon-Do stylists tend to fight at an extended
range, and keep opponents away with their feet.   It is a hard/soft,
external, fairly linear style.  It is known for being very powerful. 

Training:       

Training tends to emphasize sparring, but has forms, and basics are
important as well.  There is a lot of competition work in many dojongs. 

The World Taekwondo Federation is the governing body recognized by the
International Olympic Committee, and as a result WTF schools usually
emphasize Olympic-style full contact sparring.  The WTF is represented
in the U.S. by the U.S. Taekwondo Union (USTU).

The International Taekwondo Federation is an older organization founded
by Hong Hi Choi and based out of Canada.  It tends to emphasize a 
combination of self-defense and sparring, and uses forms slightly older
than those used by the WTF.

The American Taekwondo Association is a smaller organization similar
in some ways to the ITF.  It is somewhat more insular than the ITF
and WTF, and is somewhat unique in that it has copyrighted the forms
of its organization so that they cannot be used in competition by
non-members.

There are numerous other federations and organizations, many claiming
to be national (AAU TKD has perhaps the best claim here) or international
(although few are), but these three have the most members.  All of 
these federations, however, use similar techniques (kicks, strikes,
blocks, movement, etc.), as indeed does Tang Soo Do (another Korean
art, founded by the Moo Duk Kwan, that remained independent during
the unification/foundation of Tae Kwon Do).

Sub-Styles:  None(?)