Why is tae kwon do an olympic sport

In addition to the above criteria needing to be met, the sport must fit with-in the stated ideals of the Olympic Games. If a martial art is designed for warfare or street protection, then it does not meet the criteria.

So arts like Krav maga, would never be included as it is specifically designed for street warfare against terrorist. It is also necessary that those involved in the sport have enough drive to see it put into the Olympics. Japan had a deep and driving desire to see Judo included and its practitioners were equally motivated.

Taekwondo was created in part to renew Korean national sentiment and for this reason all of South Korea wanted to see this sport included. It had also become popular with practitioners all over the world which shared the desire to see its inclusion. Many martial arts are specifically designed for battle and street warfare and the very nature of their design is simply too lethal for a sporting event.

Judo and Taekwondo were specifically designed for sporting events. While they take from many war time practices, they were specifically developed for the ring. After all of these other considerations are the fact that some feel that Judo for instance, has lost its way since being added to the Olympic Games.

For some 2, years, a range of martial arts were practised on the Korean peninsula. During the early 20 th century, taekwondo become the dominant form of martial art practised in Korea. It then went international and in , World Taekwondo WT was founded. That same year, the first World Championships were held in Seoul. The aim of taekwondo is for the athlete to kick and punch their opponent, while avoiding being struck themselves.

Taekwondo requires no real equipment other than the human body, making it an economical, democratic and easy-to-deploy sport. Widely practiced in the developed world, taekwondo is also an especially ideal sport for developing countries, and is taught in refugee camps.

It teaches values of inclusiveness, leadership, respect, tolerance, excellence, and integrity.