Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving punching and kicking techniques. The word Taekwondo can be translated as tae, kwon, and do. 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).
Dae Sung Lee is a Korean-American master of taekwondo who holds the rank of 7th dan. Lee is a 10-time US national taekwondo team member and two-time Olympic coach. He served as taekwondo coach for the US Summer Olympic team in 1992.
Kukkiwon, also known as World Taekwondo Headquarters, and home of the World Taekwondo Academy, is where the official taekwondo governing organization was established by the South Korean government. It is supervised by the International Sports Division of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.
Taekwondo was introduced to the Philippines through the efforts of Kim Bok Man and Young Man Park. Grand Master Kim Bok Man arrived in 1970 to continue Park's legacy of propagating Taekwondo upon the invitation of President Marcos. Kim continued to pioneer Taekwondo worldwide and left the Philippines in 1971. In 1975, Grand Master Hong Sung-chon came to the Philippines to promote Taekwondo, eventually establishing the Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA). The current central headquarters of the PTA is at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. The PTA is a member of the Kukkiwon, World Taekwondo Federation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Asian Taekwondo Union.
Chung Do Kwan, created by Won Kuk Lee in 1944, is one of the first of nine schools or kwan teaching Tang Soo Do. Later, the school began to teach what came to be known as taekwondo. This style of Tang Soo Do is known for its overall power and emphasis on kicks to the head.
Park Dong-keun, also known as D. K. Park, is a South Korean Grandmaster of taekwondo. He holds the title "Grandmaster," the rank of 9th dan in taekwondo, and was Korea's only undefeated taekwondo fighter in more than 200 International championship competition. Park introduced the martial art of taekwondo to Thailand in 1966, before settling in the United States of America, and was the taekwondo coach of both the US National Team and the US Olympic Team.
Michael Anthony McFarlane OBE was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres and 200 metres. He won an Olympic silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and was the 200 m gold medallist at the 1982 Commonwealth Games and a 60 metres gold medallist at the 1985 European Athletics Indoor Championships. McFarlane won two further sprint medals at the 1986 Commonwealth Games.
Edward B. Sell was an American martial arts instructor, and the highest ranking non-Korean practitioner of tae kwon do, holding the honorary rank of 10th degree black belt in the art. Sell founded the U.S. Chung Do Kwan Association.
Kyongwon Ahn, 9th dan (Kukkiwon), is a South Korean taekwondo master who founded the United Taekwondo Association (UTA) in the United States.
Jordan first participated at the Olympic Games in 1980, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then. The nation has never participated in the Winter Olympic Games, however at the 1992 Albertville Olympics 43-year-old Mohamed Hadid competed for Jordan in the demonstration sport of speed skiing.
George Ashiru is a Nigerian Taekwondo grandmaster and sports leader, political leader, and an entrepreneur.
Jordan have competed at all-but-one Asian Games since their first participation in 1986, with the exception of the 1990 edition in Beijing. Jordan has won 53 medals, including five gold, 21 silver and 27 bronze medals. These have been won in seven sports: Taekwondo (27), Karate (13), Jujitsu (five), Boxing (five), Basketball (one), Bodybuilding (one) and Wrestling (one).
Metin Şahin is a European champion Turkish former taekwondo practitioner, who serves as the president of the Turkey Taekwondo Federation since 2003.Also In 2019, He was appointed dean to the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Selçuk University.
Tammy Leibl is a retired American female indoor volleyball and beach volleyball player. She played college volleyball at Arizona State University and won the bronze medal with the U.S. national team at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Sun-hwan Chung, also known as James Sun-hwan Chung, is one of the highest-ranking Tang Soo Do, Hapkido, and taekwondo grandmasters in the world. He is founder of the Moo Sool Do form of martial arts and is president of the World Academy of Martial Arts, LLC.
Lim Chun-ae is a South Korean former track and field athlete who competed in middle-distance running events. She won the 800 metres, 1500 metres and 3000 metres titles as a teenager at the 1986 Asian Games held in Seoul. She was South Korea's first female athletics gold medallist at the Asian Games and is the only athlete to have achieved that triple at the same games.
Brenda J. Sell is an American martial arts instructor, and the highest ranking non-Korean female practitioner of taekwondo, according to the Kukkiwon, an international ranking body within Taekwondo. She holds the rank of 9th degree black belt in the art.
Puran Andrew Gurung is an Indian Taekwondo practitioner and coach. He is a 9th dan Taekwondo professional and is known for establishing Taekwondo in India. Gurung founded his first Taekwondo gymnasium at Kalimpong in 1974 and by 1982 had become the most popular Taekwondo instructor in India. He established a vast chain of academies across the nation, and for his efforts towards promoting Taekwondo in India he was acknowledged by the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was requested to train Indian National Congress' Seva Dal cadets. In 1983, Mrs. Gandhi asked him to join INC, which he readily accepted, where he is still serves as the General Secretary (Organiser) of the Seva Dal.
Pai Yun-yiao, also known as Elva Adams, is a Taiwanese taekwondo practitioner.
Kabiraj Negi Lama is a notable figure in Nepalese Para Taekwondo. He is a successful coach who has significantly contributed to the sport in Nepal. Under his coaching, Nepal has won 10 international official medals, including 3 gold, 2 silver, and 5 bronze. He is a former Nepali taekwondo player, coach of the Nepal National Para Taekwondo Team, and the 2020 Summer Paralympics coach. He has participated in various taekwondo competitions. He is also the grandson of former minister Tilak Bahadur Negi Lama.
