International Taekwondo Day

On September 4, taekwondo athletes around the world congratulate each other on International Taekwondo Day The date was chosen for a reason: on this day, Korean martial art was officially named an Olympic sport This happened on September 4, 1994, at the Paris Congress It was then that the International Olympic Committee proposed to supplement the traditional program of the games with this art of combat at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia And yet, despite such a significant event, fans of this type of Korean wrestling had to wait more than a decade until, at the General Assembly in the Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh City in 2006, the World Taekwondo Federation presented another official holiday to the calendar - World Taekwondo Day, dated 4 1st September Taekwondo, revered in Asian countries, received the title of Korean national martial art in 1971, and in 1972, Kukkiwon was founded - a training center that united all the taekwondo federations that then existed in the country and began assigning dans and issuing official certificates to its graduates Just a year later, in 1973, immediately after the founding of the World Taekwondo Federation, from May 25 to 27, the First International Championship in this type of martial arts was held in Seoul for two weight categories of fighters The event was attended by 19 countries: Austria, Brunei, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Cote d'Ivoire, El Salvador, Mexico, France, Malaysia, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Korea, Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Uganda, USA and Germany In 1975, Korean martial art was approved as an official sport by the Amateur Athletic Association of the United States (AAU), as well as the World Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) In 1976, Taekwondo was also recognized by the International Military Sports Council On July 17, 1980, Taekwondo was approved as a demonstration sport for the 1988 Seoul Games and the 1992 Barcelona Games This meant that Asian wrestling could now make a name for itself and gain popularity throughout the world As history has shown, success was not long in coming The approval of taekwondo as an official Olympic competition in 1994 gave him the opportunity to be present not only in Sydney, but also in all subsequent competitions: Athens, Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Taekwondo originated more than 200 years ago in Korea, at the same time as other Asian martial arts Despite the fact that in the 1970s an attempt was made to unify the techniques inherent in this fight, even today one can find minor differences in terms of fighting skills and abilities among people from different federations And yet, in general, this Asian martial art is famous for one important characteristic - special combinations of strikes and throws with legs and arms Just like other martial arts, taekwondo helps its practitioners improve their ability to concentrate and has a beneficial effect on their physical and mental health Taekwondo athletes have faster reactions to dangerous situations and are able to stand up for themselves and protect others Their philosophy is based on Taoism and Confucianism, which means that they are characterized by such moral principles as politeness, integrity, observation, self-control and indestructible fortitude