Styles

The Kukkiwon (국기원; 國技院) is the style-defining organization for the style of taekwondo known as Kukkiwon-, Olympic-, or WTF-style taekwondo. For people who practice this style of taekwondo, the Kukkiwon is the organization that issues dan (black belt) certificates and ID cards. To compete in national-level and international tournaments sponsored by the World Taekwondo Federation, generally speaking one must hold a Kukkiwon-issued dan certificate. Until the signing of the Protocol of Accord in August 2014, a person had to hold a black belt certificate issued by the Kukkiwon in to compete in the Olympic games.

Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo (not to be confused with Rhee Taekwon-Do) is the style of taekwondo...

During its early years, the ATA used the Chahng-hun style of forms (also used by the International Taekwondo Federation). But although this style was widely accepted in the Taekwondo community, Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee felt that its forms did not accurately reflect Taekwondo -- particularly the strength and beauty of Taekwondo kicking techniques. As a result, he believed the forms contributed little to the Taekwondo curriculum. For example, white belts were expected to know front kicks and side kicks, but no front kick appeared until the third (yellow belt) form, and there was no side kick until the form after that!

The original International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is a taekwondo organization founded on...

The term Traditional Taekwondo (also sometimes called Classic Taekwondo) generally refers to the oldest form of taekwondo, practiced primarily in the 1950s by the South Korean military. This style of taekwondo predates even the name "taekwondo" and really represents an amalgam of martial arts styles practiced then by the Nine Kwans.