A Korean martial art that involves a lot of kicking.

Tae = means to jump, kick or smash with the foot.
Kwon = means to punch or destroy with the hand or fist.
Do = means art, way or method.

In short Tae Kwon Do means Foot, Hand, Way.

Taekwondo (also written as "tae kwon do", "taekwon-do" or "t'aegwondo") is a modern martial art from Korea that is characterised by its fast, high and spinning kicks.

Tae - To strike with the foot
Kwon - To destroy with the fist
Do - The art / way of...

The Korean art of kicking and punching - which would kick your arse.

A great martial art for all ages, has alot of ideas from several other types of martial arts. It's also an official Olympic sport. It's main focus is on kicks, and there aren't many different types of punches or punch combos that you learn. And whoever said that it's the weakest martial art ever, I would like to meet you so I can prove you wrong.

An umbrella term for Korean martial arts styles united in the 1950s. Some schools trace a heritage through one of the more narrowly defined "kwans" that existed before the unification. Drawing from a mixture of influences, it is best known for its explosive kicks and strikes. Most similar to karate, but tends to be less linear and more motive. A good school will do sparring (rule based, but hardens the body), breaking (accuracy), and self-defense exercises.

Unfortunately, in recent times, Tae Kwon Do's loose definition and the willingness of many to use it as mere training for Olympic-style Sparring has resulted in many poorly run schools.

As with any martial art, there are advantages and disadvantages; no single style is complete. And remember it the skill lies in the school and the artist, not the style.

Tae- to kick or destroy with the foot
Kwon- to punch with the fist
Do- art or way of the

In 1945 when Korea was liberated many seperate marital arts schools formed. General Choi Hong Hi (considered the father of Tae Kwon Do) started his own teaching a combination of Taekyon and Karate (Thus explaining TKD's similiarity to Karate). Many other schools taught this style but called it various names until 1955 when Choi Hong Hi submitted the name Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do encompasses many different styles of martial arts and is the most popular Korean martial art and even their national sport.

BTW, I'm a 3rd degree black belt and a Tae Kwon Do instructor, so while my knowledge of the history may be a little off, I know enough to say that anyone who says Tae Kwon Do is worthless is obviously a retarded douche bag. Also, I'm 17 and make $6.50 and hour, so I'm clearly not teaching TKD to "leech all your money away"

"The way of the hand and the foot".Corean martial based on the 2000 year old matial art taekyon.One of the most effectiv martial arts known for powerful and fast kicks aswell as for spectacular jumping kick technics. there are two styles of taekwondo: the full-contact tkd,which is actually more a sport then a martial art, and the so called "classic" tkd,
the true tkd, involving allso hand, knee and ellbow technics, more appropriate for the times where yo have to beat the crap out of someone while wanting to entertain your friends and impress the girls.