As a response to this, along with disagreements about teaching Taekwondo in North Korea and unifying the whole Korean Peninsula, Choi broke with the KTA in 1966, in order to establish the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF)- a separate governing body devoted to institutionalizing his own style of Taekwondo in Canada. This was, however, met with resistance as the other kwans instead wanted a unified style to be created based on inputs from all the kwans, to serve as a way to bring on the heritage and characteristics of all of the styles, not just the style of a single kwan. General Choi, of the Oh Do Kwan, wanted all the other member kwans of the KTA to adopt his own Chan Hon-style of Taekwondo, as a unified style.

In 1959 the Korea Taekwondo Association or KTA (then-Korea Tang Soo Do Association) was established to facilitate the unification of Korean martial arts. During this time Taekwondo was also adopted for use by the South Korean military, which increased its popularity among civilian martial arts schools. The new name was initially slow to catch on among the leaders of the kwans. The name was also the closest to the pronunciation of Taekkyeon, in accordance with the views of the president. replacing su 'hand' by ж‹і kwon ( Revised Romanization: gwon McCuneвЂ“Reischauer: kkwЕЏn) 'fist', the term also used for 'martial arts' in Chinese ( pinyin quГЎn). This name consists of the hanja и·† tae 'to stomp, trample', ж‰‹ su 'hand' and йЃ“ do ' way, discipline'.Д¬hoi Hong Hi advocated the use of the name Tae Kwon Do, i.e. The name Tae Soo Do (и·†ж‰‹йЃ“) was also used to describe a unified style Korean martial arts. Until then, Tang Soo Do was used to name Korean Karate, using the Korean hanja pronunciation of the Japanese kanji (е”ђж‰‹йЃ“). Beginning in 1955 the leaders of the kwans began discussing in earnest the possibility of creating a unified Korean martial art. He misrecognized the technique on display as Taekkyeon, and urged martial arts to be introduced to the army under a single system.

In 1952, South Korean president Syngman Rhee witnessed a martial arts demonstration by ROK Army officers Choi Hong-hi and Nam Tae-hi from the 29th Infantry Division. The umbrella term traditional Taekwondo typically refers to the martial arts practiced by the kwans during the 1940s and 1950s, though in reality the term 'Taekwondo' had not yet been coined at that time, and indeed each kwan (school) was practicing its own unique fighting style. At the time, indigenous disciplines (such as Taekkyeon) were all but forgotten, due to years of decline and repression by the Japanese colonial government. These schools were established by Korean martial artists with backgrounds in Japanese and Chinese martial arts. The governing body for Taekwondo in the Olympics and Paralympics is World Taekwondo.Д«eginning in 1945, shortly after the end of World War II and Japanese Occupation, new martial arts schools called kwans opened in Seoul. Gyeorugi ( ), a type of full-contact sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000. The main international organisational bodies for Taekwondo today are the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), founded by Choi Hong Hi in 1966, and the partnership of the Kukkiwon and World Taekwondo (WT, formerly World Taekwondo Federation or WTF), founded in 19 respectively by the Korea Taekwondo Association. The oldest governing body for Taekwondo is the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA), formed in 1959 through a collaborative effort by representatives from the nine original kwans, or martial arts schools, in Korea. It is a combat sport and was developed during the 1940s and 1950s by Korean martial artists with experience in martial arts such as karate, Chinese martial arts, and indigenous Korean martial arts traditions such as Taekkyon, Subak, and Gwonbeop. Taekwondo practitioners wear a uniform, known as a dobok. The physical training undertaken in Taekwondo is purposeful and fosters strength of mind through mental armament. The literal translation for tae kwon do is 'kicking,' 'punching,' and 'the art or way of.' They are a kind of martial arts in which one attacks or defends with hands and feet anytime or anywhere, with occasional use of weapons. Taekwondo, Tae Kwon Do or Taekwon-Do ( / ЛЊ t aЙЄ k w Й’ n Л€ d oКЉ, ЛЊ t aЙЄ Л€ k w Й’ n d oКЉ/ Korean: нѓњк¶ЊлЏ„/и·†ж‹ійЃ“ ( listen)) is a Korean form of martial arts, characterized by punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques.

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