Taekwondo (Korean pronunciation: [tʰɛk͈wʌndo]; Hangul: 태권도) is a Korean martial art, characterized by its emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping and spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques. Taekwondo was developed during the 1940s and 1950s by various martial artists by incorporating elements of Karate and Chinese Martial Arts with indigenous Korean martial arts traditions such as Taekkyeon, Subak, and Gwonbeop.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. The main international organizational bodies for taekwondo today are the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), founded by Choi Hong Hi in 1966, and the partnership