History
Taekwondo was born in South Korea after 1945, when several schools (kwans) mixed the karate some masters had learned during the Japanese occupation with Korean kicking traditions such as taekkyon. The name taekwondo — "the way of the foot and fist" — was adopted in 1955.
Two organisations grew apart: the ITF, founded by General Choi Hong-hi in 1966, and the WTF (today World Taekwondo), created in 1973. The Kukkiwon in Seoul became the world headquarters for grading. Taekwondo was a demonstration sport at Seoul 1988 and has been an official Olympic sport since Sydney 2000.