Who has stood on the podium for Britain?

A bronze in Beijing, a 19 year old's gold in London, two Paralympic golds in Paris, and the bow that starts your class tonight.

Imagine an Olympic arena in London on 9 August 2012. A 19 year old from Great Britain, in a blue , the electronic body protector, is fighting for an Olympic gold medal. ^17,164 Her name is Jade Jones. ^80,91

A young woman in blue protectors driving a kick at an opponent in red on an Olympic mat.

The first medals

At Barcelona 1992, when taekwondo was only a demonstration sport, Amanda Broadbent won a bronze medal. ⁸⁰ At Beijing 2008 Sarah Stevenson won bronze, Britain's first Olympic taekwondo medal. ^17,80,91

London and Rio

Jade Jones was born on 21 March 1993, so she was 19 at London 2012. ¹⁷ She won gold, and Lutalo Muhammad won bronze. ^80,91 In Rio in 2016 she won gold again. Muhammad won silver and Bianca Walkden won bronze. ^80,91

Tokyo

At the Tokyo Games, Bradly Sinden and Lauren Williams each won silver, and Bianca Walkden won another bronze. ^80,91 At the Tokyo Paralympics, the first ever with taekwondo, Beth Munro won silver and Amy Truesdale won bronze. ^9,80,91

Paris 2024

In Paris the fights took place in an octagon inside a famous old building, the Grand Palais. ¹⁵¹ Caden Cunningham won silver. ^8,91 At the Paralympics, Amy Truesdale and Matt Bush both won gold. GB Taekwondo says Matt Bush is Britain's first male taekwondo gold medallist. ^9,91

A blue octagonal mat under the huge glass roof of the Grand Palais, with crowds on all sides.

Training in Manchester

GB Taekwondo trains about 30 full time athletes in Manchester, and runs a programme for 13 to 18 year olds. ^80,91

Athletes practising kicks on pads with coaches in a bright, mirrored training hall.

How the points work now

The rules change often, so here is the date: from 1 January 2026, a punch to the body protector scores 1 point, a kick to the body 2, a kick to the head 3, and a turning kick doubles that, to 4 or 6. ^40,42 Until the end of 2025 a turning kick to the head scored 5. ^42,43 Punches to the head are not allowed. ⁴⁰ ITF clubs spar with different rules, which you can read on the competition page.

Patterns can win medals too

Poomsae, the patterns from chapter four, is a competition of its own, where judges mark how accurate and how well presented each pattern is. ⁴⁴

Four men in poomsae uniforms standing on a podium with medals round their necks.

In your club tonight

Your class carries this whole story. The instructor calls , attention, and , bow. ^40,61,87 You wear a , the uniform, and a white belt. ^62,81 You learn your first pattern: Chon-Ji in an ITF club, or Taegeuk 1 in a WT club. ^62,80 In an ITF club you may say the five tenets that General Choi wrote. ^1,46

A meeting in Seoul in 1955, an RAF hall in Singapore, an arena in London, and your club tonight are all one story.

A line of adult students in white uniforms bowing to their instructor at the start of class.

Written from checked sources, listed on the sources page. Pictures are drawn, with computer help, under our direction; none shows a real child. Recorded chapters and words are read by a computer voice; a word not yet recorded uses your device's own voice.