Random Taekwondo Athletes Generator

So you drew a taekwondo athlete

You wanted a taekwondo athlete and the tool up top gives you one, or several if you raise the number, from a list I keep by hand. It gathers leading competitors from around the world, so a pull might be an Olympic champion, a world medallist, or a rising name from a country you would not expect.

The tool is the simple part. Taekwondo is worth a word, because it is the most spectacular of the striking martial arts and one of the most genuinely global sports at the Olympics.

The way of the foot and fist

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art whose name means, roughly, "the way of the foot and fist", and the order of those words matters: this is a sport built above all around kicking. Unlike most combat sports, its scoring actively rewards the spectacular. A punch to the body is worth a single point, but kicks are worth far more, and the harder and more difficult the kick, the higher the score, so a spinning kick to the head can be worth several points at once. The result is a sport of soaring, whirling, acrobatic kicks, fighters launching themselves head-high in search of the big score, which makes it one of the most visually dramatic things on any Olympic programme. It grew into Korea's national martial art in the twentieth century and was spread deliberately around the world from there. When the tool hands you an athlete, that high-kicking art is what they have mastered.

A truly Olympic, truly global sport

Taekwondo is a full Olympic medal sport, and has been ever since the Sydney Games in 2000, contested in eight weight divisions across the men's and women's events. That Olympic status is the heart of the sport, the stage every competitor builds a career around. Its birthplace and traditional powerhouse is South Korea, which has topped the medal tables for decades, but here is what makes taekwondo special: it has spread further and more evenly than almost any other combat sport. It is now practised in well over two hundred countries, and the Olympic podium reflects that, with historic gold medals going to nations that rarely win anything at the Games. Afghanistan won its first-ever Olympic medals in taekwondo; fighters from the Ivory Coast, Jordan and beyond have struck gold. So a random pull from this tool is genuinely a trip around the world.

The stars of the mat

The list carries the names that have defined the modern sport. There is Britain's Jade Jones, who won gold at two Games running and became the face of the sport in the UK. There is the American great Steven Lopez, a multiple world and Olympic champion who anchored a whole family of taekwondo fighters, and Iran's Hadi Saei, one of the most successful of all. There is Serbia's Milica Mandić, a two-time Olympic champion in the heaviest weight class, and Thailand's brilliant Panipak Wongpattanakit. As with any sport whose competitors turn over from one Games to the next, the newer names on the list will change over time, while the legends remain. Draw one of the champions and you have pulled an Olympic great. Draw a lesser-known name and you have pulled one of the many superb athletes who have fought on the world stage.

What a random taekwondo athlete is good for

• A prompt for the dojang. Coaches and clubs can pull an athlete as a figure to study, a talking point, or a bit of fun in a training session.
• Quiz and trivia prep. Draw an athlete and build questions on their country, their weight class, their Olympic record.
• Learning the sport. New to taekwondo? A random name is a good nudge to go and read about a career and the kicks that made it.
• Dream matchups. Pull two athletes and imagine the contest, across eras or across weight classes.
• Fantasy and assignments. Handing athletes out for a game or a friendly pool.

Taekwondo questions

What does taekwondo mean?

It translates roughly as "the way of the foot and fist". It is a Korean martial art built mainly around kicking, and its scoring rewards kicks far more than punches, especially difficult spinning and head kicks, which is why the sport is so acrobatic and spectacular.

Is taekwondo an Olympic sport?

Yes, a full medal sport since the Sydney 2000 Games, contested in eight weight divisions. It is also one of the most global of all Olympic sports, practised in over two hundred countries, with medals won by nations that rarely reach the podium.

Where did taekwondo come from?

South Korea, where it developed into the national martial art in the twentieth century before being promoted around the world. Korea remains the sport's traditional powerhouse and tops its all-time Olympic medal table.

Can I pull several athletes, or narrow the pick?

Both. Raise the number for a few at once, with none repeating in a single pull, and use the text boxes to narrow things, such as a starts-with letter or a keyword the name has to contain.

References

1. World Taekwondo. worldtaekwondo.org
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica, taekwondo. britannica.com