Taekwondo - Home
Australian Sports Commission
Taekwondo originated in Korea and is regarded as a hand and foot fighting martial art. It is a dynamic sport drawing upon one’s mental and physical strength, and develops speed, balance, flexibility and stamina. Taekwondo was instated as an Olympic sport in 2000 where Australia won a gold and silver medal by Lauren Burns and Daniel Trenton respectively.
Being a fully contact sport, athletes are required to wear chest guards, head, arm, leg, groin and compulsory mouth guards. They typically compete over one day having 3-6 fights, each fight consisting of 3 rounds of two minutes with a 1 minute break between each round. An athlete will win a fight by having scored more points than their opponent by the conclusion. One point is awarded for a body kick, two points are given for head kick and if the player is knocked down a third point is registered. If it is a tie by the end of the third round, a fourth round is added and the winner is the person who scores the first point in that round.
AIS Taekwondo Program
The sole purpose of the program is to prepare athletes representing Australia at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
The athletes preparing for the games have access to world class training facilities, sports science and medicine expertise, a recovery centre and have toured extensively overseas in the lead up to the Games.
Ken Wallace