Coming to blows with Taekwondo

Judo was popularized by Teddy Riner in France and Kung Fu through Bruce Lee's films. Taekwondo, on the other hand, has yet to make it to Hollywood but has slowly left its mark on the Olympics down the years. Originating in Korea, taekwondo literally means "the way of feet and fists". Its origins date back thousands of years to the era of the Three Kingdoms of Korea (First century BC to seventh century AD), when it was first appeared under the name of taekkyon.Dur

During the 20th century, taekwondo became the most popular martial art in the peninsula. With the creation of the World Taekwondo Federation in 1973, it made its way abroad, making its first Olympic appearance in 1988 at the Seoul Games as a demonstration sport. It was added to the list of official competitions at the Sydney Games in 2000.

Today, taekwondo is practiced in 206 countries. In France, there are 50,000 taekwondo practitionners! !

In taekwondo, one can use both fists and feet! The aim is to strike your opponent without being hit yourself. Two fighters challenge each other on an octagon-shaped mat for three two minute rounds.

To win, you have to score points by demonstrating your technical mastery: a kick to the head, for example, earns more points than a kick to the torso. And a return kick earns even more points!

Rest assured: fighters are very well protected, as they are equipped with helmets (homyun), chest protectors and shin guards. In fact, taekwondo has the lowest accident rate of all contact sports.

If you follow taekwondo, you'll also learn Korean! Its vocabulary is unchanged from its original language so its not always easy to find your way around. For example, before a fight, opponents greet each other with "Kyongnye!" ("Greet!") and begin with "Shijak!

Upper limb locks (maki), basic stances (seugui and koubi), kicks (tchagui), punches (jileugi) are some of the techniques used in taekwondo. To find out more, click here.

The training room is called a dojang.

Pascal Gentil won the first Olympic medal in the history of French taekwondo, a sport which was unsurprisingly dominated by South Korea. After winning bronze at the 2000 Sydney Games, the Paris native repeated the feat four years later at the Athens Games.

Since 2000, France has won seven Olympic medals, but never gold. The Tricolores will therefore be keen to shine at the Paris 2024 Games.

Magda Wiet-Hénin (-67 kg) and Althéa Laurin (-73 kg) were world champions in their respective weight categories in 2023 and have good medal prospects. As do Cyrian Ravet (-58 kg) and Souleyman Alaphilippe (-63 kg) on the men's side.

Combat, poomsae (a codified fight against several imaginary opponents), body taekwondo… As you can see, taekwondo can be practiced in many forms and at all ages! Paris boasts some thirty clubs.