In addition to its five tenets of courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit, the sport requires three physical skills: poomsae (품새), kyorugi (겨루기) and gyeokpa (격파).

Poomsae are patterns that demonstrate a range of kicking, punching and blocking techniques, kyorugi involves the kind of sparring seen in the Olympics, and gyeokpa is the art of breaking wooden boards.

[11] Beginning in 1945, shortly after the end of World War II and the Japanese occupation, new martial arts schools called kwans opened in Seoul.

[2] In later years, the Korean government has been a significant supporter of traditionalist views as to divorce taekwondo from its link to Japan and give Korea a "legitimate cultural past".

He misrecognized the technique on display as taekkyon,[16][page needed][17][18] and urged martial arts to be introduced to the army under a single system.

Beginning in 1955 the leaders of the kwans began discussing in earnest the possibility of creating a unified Korean martial art.

This name consists of the hanja 跆 tae "to stomp, trample", 手 su "hand" and 道 do "way, discipline".

During this time taekwondo was also adopted for use by the South Korean military, which increased its popularity among civilian martial arts schools.

[9][page needed] As a response to this, along with political disagreements about teaching taekwondo in North Korea and unifying the whole Korean Peninsula, Choi broke with the (South Korea) KTA in 1966, in order to establish the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF)— a separate governing body devoted to institutionalizing his Chan Hon-style of taekwondo in Canada.

[9][page needed][16] Initially, the South Korean president gave Choi's ITF limited support, due to their personal relationship.

[9][page needed] However, Choi and the government later split on the issue of whether to accept North Korean influence on the martial art.

[9][page needed] In 1972, the KTA and the South Korean government's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established the Kukkiwon as the new national academy for taekwondo.

[22] While the Kukkiwon focus on the martial art and self-defence aspects of Kukki-Taekwondo, the WT promoted the sportive side, and its competitions employ a subset of the techniqes present in the Kukkiwon-style taekwondo.

The original kwans that formed KTA continues to exist today, but as independent fraternal membership organizations that support the World Taekwondo and Kukkiwon.

[citation needed] In 1962 Jhoon Rhee, upon graduating from college in Texas, relocated to and established a chain of martial arts schools in the Washington, D.C. area that practiced Traditional Taekwondo.

[35] Hup Kwon Do is a hybrid style of Taekwondo created by a Malayan martial artist called Grandmaster Lee in 1989.

He opened his first school in Penang, and originally developed this system as a self-defense technique, mixing Taekwondo with a multitude of other martial arts, such as Kendo, Bokken, Wado Shimpo, Kickboxing and Karate.

[36][37] Han Moo Doo is a hybrid martial art created by Korean practitioner Yoon Sung Hwang in 1989, in Kauhava, Finland.

[38][39] Han Mu Do is a martial art developed by Korean practitioner Dr. Young Kimm, who founded the World Hanmudo Association to assure the preservation of his style.

Young Kimm studied Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Kuk Sul, Hapkido, Korean Judo and Kum Do, mixing all of their techniques together to create his own style.

[40][41] Teukgong Moosool is a combat system developed in South Korea by the special forces units that is projected to stop the opponent as quickly as possible, although it was also used in sports competition.

[citation needed] A Taekwondo practitioner typically wears a dobok (도복; 道服) uniform with a belt tied around the waist.

The WT's stated philosophy is that this goal can be furthered by adoption of the Hwarang spirit, by behaving rationally ("education in accordance with the reason of heaven"), and by recognition of the philosophies embodied in the taegeuk (the yin and the yang, i.e., "the unity of opposites") and the sam taegeuk (understanding change in the world as the interactions of the heavens, the Earth, and Man).

[16][28] Choi also advocated a "relax/strike" principle for taekwondo; in other words, between blocks, kicks, and strikes the practitioner should relax the body, then tense the muscles only while performing the technique.

[citation needed] Under World Taekwondo (WT, formerly WTF) and Olympic rules, sparring is a full-contact event, employing a continuous scoring system where the fighters are allowed to continue after scoring each technique, taking place between two competitors in either an area measuring 8 meters square or an octagon of similar size.

[54] Competitors must wear a hogu, head protector, shin pads, foot socks, forearm guards, hand gloves, a mouthpiece, and a groin cup.

In the event of a tie, a fourth "sudden death" overtime round, sometimes called a "Golden Point", is held to determine the winner after a one-minute rest period.

Excessive contact is generally not allowed according to the official ruleset, and judges penalize any competitor with disqualification if they injure their opponent and he can no longer continue (although these rules vary between ITF organizations).

[63] American Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) competitions are very similar, except that different styles of pads and gear are allowed.

[citation needed] The following weight divisions are in effect due to the WT[68] and ITF[69] tournament rules and regulations: In taekwondo schools—even outside Korea—Korean language commands and vocabulary are often used.