With a history of more than 2,000 years, Korean combined all their martial arts and named it Taekwondo in 1955. Modern Taekwondo is an athletic sport. As a demonstration, Taekwondo was first time appeared in the 10th Olympics Games in Seoul. And it has been considered as a formal competition event in 2000 Sydney Olympics games.

The duration of the contest shall be three rounds of two minutes each, with a one-minute rest period between rounds.

The competition area shall measure 10mx10m using the metric system. The competition area shall have a flat surface without any obstructing projections, and be covered with an elastic mat. The competition area may also be installed on a platform 0.5m－1m high from the base, if necessary, and the outer part of the Boundary Line shall be inclined with a gradient of less than 30 degrees, for the safety of the contestants

Contestant uniform and protective equipment: 1) The contestant shall wear the trunk protector, head protector, groin guard, forearm guards, shin guards, gloves and a mouthpiece before entering the contest area. 2) The groin guard, forearm guards and shin guards shall be worn beneath the Taekwondo uniform. The contestant shall bring this WTF-approved protective equipment, as well as gloves and the mouthpiece, for his/her personal use. Wearing any item on the head other than the head protector shall not be permitted.

Permitted Techniques: 1) Fist techniques: Delivering techniques by using the front parts of the forefinger and middle finger of the tightly clenched fist.

2) Foot techniques: Delivering techniques by using the parts of the foot below the ankle bone.

Permitted Areas; 1) Trunk: Attack by fist and foot techniques on the areas covered by the trunk protector are permitted. However, such attacks shall not be made on the part of the back not covered by the trunk protector.

2) Face: This area is the fax excluding the back of the head, and attack by foot techniques only is permitted.

The valid points are divided as follows. 1) One (1) point for attack on trunk protector; 2) Two (2) points for attack on face; 3) One (1) additional point shall be awarded in the event that the contestant is knocked down and the referee counts.