Tae Kwon Do has roots going back more than 2000 years. In China, monks at the Shaolin Monastery developed and taught martial arts as part of a total spiritual program and introduced this in Korea during the fought century. For centuries, the art was practiced only on temple grounds and for spiritual development. Later, in times of political strife and violence in Korea, when three kingdoms battled for dominance, the skills were passed on to the general public for self-defense. In 688 A.D., the kingdom of Silla gained control of the country and art and creativity flourished. during this time, martial arts were again linked closely to religion and patriotic ideals, and a group of Buddhist monks taught the practice to the sons of the nobility.

In 935 A.D. the Silla Period ended and Korea was under control of the warlord Kyonghum, who used martial arts to train soldiers, or warrior princes. They became devotees of martial arts and engaged in rigorous training. Then this period ended five hundred years later and the Yi Dynasty began. Buddhism was replaced with Confucianism, and interest in martial arts waned. In 1910, Japan overtook Korea and Korean culture and national identity were systematically eradicated. The martial arts all but died and many Koreans fled the country. Luckily, in their new homes in other parts of the Orient they were exposed to other forms of martial arts.

When World War II ended, Japan's occupation of Korea ended also, and fierce patriotism again flourished as citizens returned to their homeland and rebuilt their national identity. The martial arts flourished again too, but in different ways as techniques from various practices were combined. In 1946, General Choi Hong Hi developed what is now known as Tae Kwon Do and introduced it in the military curriculum. Dedicated to a rigorous practice with high standards for conduct and spirituality, General Choi encountered opposition from those who wanted to practice what he considered inferior forms of martial arts, forms without devotion to the age-old philosophies of the different practices that combined to become Tae Kwon Do. Eventually though, in 1955, General Choi's form and the name Tae Kwon Do were adopted by leading martial artists. Since then, the practice of Tae Kwon Do as we know it has spread with amazing speed and popularity. In the year 2000, Tae Kwon Do entered the Olympics as a recognized Olympic sport.