Taekwondo is a Korean martial art which is translated as “way of the hand and foot”. As one of the most popular forms of martial arts in the world, taekwondo is practiced by an estimated 70 million people 190 countries. Taekwondo is also considered the national sport of South Korea. There are two main branches of Taekwondo: Traditional Taekwondo – which focuses on traditional self defense combat philosophies, and Sport Taekwondo – which primarily has a competitive sport focus emphasizing speed and technique for success in competition. Although we do offer outlets and training for competition, the primary focus of the art practiced at Orange County Martial Arts Center is Traditional Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is comprised of kicking techniques from the Korean art Taekkeon which span back to the 3 Kingdoms Era of Korea, along with techniques drawn from Karate and Kung Fu/Chuan Fa. In general, Taekwondo places a strong emphasis on kicking techniques due the leg's greater strength and reach. However, traditional forms of the art also focus on a range of techniques utilizing striking with an open hand, closed fist, knees, elbows and also a range of techniques that address takedowns, sweeps, throws, joint locks and pressure points.

Taekwondo came together as a modern martial art in the 1950’s in Korea. During the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945), the practice of all Korean Martial Arts was forbidden, though some martial artists continued to train in secret. Many Korean Martial Artists had gone on to study different forms of Martial Arts in Japan and China.

Karate was the most influential martial art in the formation of what would become taekwondo. Many Korean masters at the time had studied under and earned black belts in Japan from the founder of Shotokan Karate, Gichen Funokoshi. Right around the time Korea had been liberated from Japan at the end or World War II, five prominent Kwans formed in Korea by the masters who returned to Korea and began opening these schools from 1944-1946. Initially these kwans taught what they called either Tang Soo Do (translated as “way of the China hand”) or Kong Soo Do (translated as “way of the empty hand”).  Interestingly, these names are both the same translations Karate-do. "Karate-do" originally translated as “way of the China hand” but was changed in the 1930’s to mean “way of the empty hand”. The art practiced at this time is what came to be known to Americans as “Korean Karate”. In the late 1950’s, the 5 original kwans had become 9, and has chose to unite under the name of “Taekwondo”. Tang Soo Do would eventually carry on as its own martial art, but it is still commonly referred to as an ancestor of Taekwondo.

Many modern day Taekwondo Masters take exception to the term “Korean Karate”. Some masters will accept this term and agree that Taekwondo was an outgrowth of Karate, while some choose to ignore the influence Karate and instead create a much more Korean-only nationalistic history that Taekwondo was solely a modern-day version of the ancient Korean Martial Arts of Taekkeon and the art it came from, Subak. What can not be ignored is that the original forms or patterns of what would become Taekwondo came directly from different forms of Karate. In fact, some traditional Karate forms are still practiced in many Taekwondo schools today.

Starting in the late 1960’s Sport Taekwondo began to develop, which would eventually help popularize the art to become one of the most popular in the world. Taekwondo would grow to become an official Olympic sport in the 2000 games. It had previously been a demonstration sport in the 1988 and 1992 games.