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 a 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 title. ^17,164 Her name is Jade Jones, and she is about to win Britain's first Olympic taekwondo gold. ^80,91

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

Before London

The British medal story begins earlier. At Barcelona 1992, when taekwondo was still a demonstration sport, Amanda Broadbent won bronze. ⁸⁰ At Beijing 2008 Sarah Stevenson won bronze, Great 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 there, and Lutalo Muhammad won bronze. ^80,91 Four years later in Rio she won gold again, Muhammad took silver and Bianca Walkden bronze. ^80,91

Tokyo

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

Paris 2024

The Paris Olympic contests were fought in an octagon laid out inside the Grand Palais. ¹⁵¹ Caden Cunningham won silver in the over 80 kg category. ^8,91 At the Paralympics, Amy Truesdale won gold in the women's over 65 kg and Matt Bush gold in the men's over 80 kg; GB Taekwondo describes Bush as Great 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.

The programme in Manchester

GB Taekwondo runs the full time World Class Programme in Manchester, with about 30 athletes, and a development programme for 13 to 18 year olds. ^80,91 Below that sit British Taekwondo's cadet and under 21 squads, and below those the sanctioned club events where most competitors start, including "1-2-1" events, single matches with no knockout, meant as a beginner friendly first step. ^80,88 British Taekwondo has announced a Grand Prix in Manchester in 2027. ⁸⁹

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

How the fight is scored now

The rules change often, so every rule here carries its date. Under World Taekwondo's rules in force from 1 January 2026, and unchanged in the rules that take effect on 1 November 2026, a punch to the trunk protector scores 1, a kick to the trunk 2, a kick to the head 3, and a turning kick doubles those: 4 to the trunk and 6 to the head. ^40,42 Until 31 December 2025 a turning kick to the head scored 5; on 1 January 2026 WT doubled the turning kick points. ^42,43 Punches to the head are not allowed. ⁴⁰ The kicks are registered by sensors in the electronic trunk and head protectors and in the athletes' socks, which decide whether a kick landed hard enough to count. ⁴⁰ The competition page has the rest, including the ITF rules, which are different again: lighter contact, gloves and foot pads, and punches to the head allowed. ^61,65

Poomsae on the podium

Not every taekwondo medal is won by fighting. Poomsae, the patterns of chapter four, is a competitive discipline of its own, judged on accuracy and presentation. ⁴⁴ At the 2018 Asian Games poomsae had medals of its own: four adult medallists stood on the podium for the men's individual event. ¹⁵²

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

In your club tonight

A first class in Britain carries all of this. The instructor calls , attention, and , bow. ^40,61,87 You wear a , the uniform, and a white belt, 10th , in either family. ^62,81 You learn stances, blocks, punches and kicks, and then your first pattern: Chon-Ji in an ITF club, Taegeuk 1 Jang in a WT club. ^62,80 In an ITF club you may recite the five tenets General Choi wrote. ^1,46 Which patterns you learn, how you spar and who signs your black belt all depend on which family and which association your club belongs to. ^{1,40,62,80,95}

A meeting room in Seoul in 1955, an RAF hall in Singapore, an arena in London and a sports hall tonight are 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.