Taekwondo or (Korean 태권도 (hangul) / (hanja), ), also known as Taekwon-Do and Tae Kwon Do, is a Korean martial art. It combines combat and self-defense techniques with sport and exercise. Gyeorugi (), a type of sparring, has been an Olympic event since 1992. Taekwondo was developed by a variety of Korean masters during the 1940s and 50s, the most well-known being General Choi Hong Hi, as a combination of Okinawan karate, Chinese martial arts, and the ancient Korean traditions taekkyeon and gwonbeop. The oldest governing body for Taekwondo is the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) which was formed in 1959 by a collaborate effort by representatives from the nine original kwans, or martial arts schools, in Korea. The two main international organisational bodies for Taekwondo today is the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) which was founded by General Choi Hong Hi in 1966, and the World TaeKwonDo Federation (WTF), founded in 1973 by the KTA. The body known for Taekwondo in the Olympics is the WTF.
