Taekwondo - London Olympics 2012
Expect plenty of excitement at ExCeL when the Taekwondo competitors take to the court at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Key facts
Venue: ExCeL
Dates: Wednesday 8 – Saturday 11 August
Medal events: 8
Athletes: 128 (64 men, 64 women)
The word ‘Taekwondo’ translates into English as ‘the way of foot and fist’ – an accurate description of the principles behind this Korean martial art. Powerful kicks and punches are, literally, the name of the game, which offers tension, drama and plenty of action.
Did you know?
Team GB won its first Olympic medal in Taekwondo at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games when Sarah Stevenson won bronze in Women’s 67kg+.
More than 60 million people in 190 countries around the world take part in Taekwondo.
In 2008, Rohullah Nikpai won Afghanistan its first ever Olympic medal when he won bronze in the men’s 58kg competition.
On average, it takes three years’ training for athletes to reach the ‘black belt’ status.
The basics
The object of Taekwondo is to land kicks and punches on your opponent’s scoring zones: one point is awarded for a valid kick or punch to the torso, two points for a valid spinning kick, and four points for a turning kick to the head.
The action takes place inside an 8m x 8m zone called a court, with each contest made up of three two-minute rounds. Over their standard white uniform, known as a ‘dobok’, competitors wear coloured protective equipment. The competitor wearing blue is referred to as ‘chung’, while the competitor in red is ‘hong’.
The eight Taekwondo events at the London 2012 Games – four weight categories for men, four for women – will be played in a knockout format. The winners of each contest will qualify for the next round, with the two finalists going head to head in the gold medal contest. All competitors who lose to one of the finalists will enter the 'repechage', which will eventually determine the winners of the bronze medals.
Olympic Taekwondo, past and present
Taekwondo made its debut as a demonstration sport at the Seoul 1988 Games, but was not officially added to the Olympic programme until the Sydney 2000 Games. At London 2012, the Taekwondo competition will be held at ExCeL, a multi-purpose events venue that will also host a number of other Olympic and Paralympic sports.
Jargon buster
Chung: The competitor wearing blue.
Dobok: A competitor’s uniform.
Hong: The competitor wearing red.
Shi-jak: The command to start fighting.
Gam-jeon: A deduction penalty.
Get involved
The British Taekwondo Control Board can provide you with the names and addresses of clubs across the UK. The World Taekwondo Federation website also has plenty of news and information about the sport.
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