Taekwon-Do is a martial art, a means of self defence and also a sport and that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Taekwon-Do is famous for its athletic kicking techniques, powerful patterns and fast-paced sparring matches. Taekwon-Do is made up of 10 colour belt ranks and 9 degrees of blackbelt with 7th & 8th degrees reaching the rank of Master and 9th degrees reaching Grand Master.

History

Taekwon-Do was founded on the 11th April 1955 by Grandmaster General Choi Hong Hi, 9th Degree who is forever recognised as the father of Taekwon-Do. The International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) which governs Taekwon-Do was founded by General Choi on 22nd March 1966 to promote the teaching of Taekwon-Do around the world.

About Taekwon-Do

On a competitive side, TKD athletes can compete in a number of disciplines including patterns, sparring, special-technique and power-breaking. Taekwon-Do competitions cater for students from yellow belts age 7 years old, all the way up to adult beginners. On the elite side of competition, ITF World Championships take place every 2 years with the top athletes from around the World taking part. At the most recent World Championship, Ireland ranked in first place with New Zealand 2nd and Russia in 3rd place.

Taekwon-Do is a fantastic activity to introduce children into the world of sports and martial arts as it encourages discipline, confidence teamwork and athletic development. It is also extremely rewarding for more mature members looking to improve fitness and flexibility while also learning some self defence.

About TAB and Taekwon-Do in Ireland

ITF Taekwon-Do in Ireland is governed through the Taekwon-Do Advisory Board (TAB). TAB is made up of almost 100 clubs, nationwide, with members of all ages taking part in Taekwon-Do training every week. Over 90 of these clubs are members of the Irish Taekwon-Do Association as well as this there are a number of individual and probationary members. TAB provides a Taekwon-Do specific coaching development programme for instructors, developed and delivered through our Coaching Ireland trained tutors. Through the Irish Martial Arts Commission, TAB provides many facilities and services for registered members including safeguarding training and Garda-vetting for Irish Taekwon-Do instructors and clubs.

Over the past few years, Ireland has become one of the foremost countries in ITF Taekwon-Do worldwide. Ireland hosted the ITF World Championships in 2017 in Citywest, Dublin with over 1100 blackbelt competitors attending from 61 countries. Ireland went on to claim the most medals at the event, ranking Ireland as the overall best country in ITF Taekwon-Do