Martial art, fighting sport and game practiced by children and adults as early as the 17th century, this hybrid fighting form mixes kicking, tripping and standup wrestling without hand strikes (in competition). South Korea recognized it as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage (No. 76) in 1983. It was then inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011.
Rules
A match is traditionally won in 1 round by making the opponent touch the ground with any body part except their feet, as in Korean wrestling, albeit without grabbing clothes. A second way of winning is to kick the face with the foot. One hit is enough to win, avoiding repetitive impacts to the head.
In contrast with Taekwondo, grabbing a kicking leg and attacking the legs is allowed.
Weight categories
Taekkyeon doesn’t have weight categories traditionally. Most modern competitions use weight categories except some specific events and championships.
TK Battle categories
| < 78 kg | Gyeongnyang (lightweight) |
| >= 78 kg | Jungnyang (heavyweight) |
Daehan categories
There are several categories (coming soon)
The sport today
Taekkyeon is still an amateur sport. There are competitions organized throughout the year. Check out our 2-day trips to go watch an game. And if you feel like trying for yourself, check out our try-out experiences in Seoul.
Taekkyeon is quite discreet these days although one of its champions joined the 2nd season of 100% Physical (external link).