Reino Unido
WT · Kukkiwon
El Taekwondo llegó al Reino Unido en julio de 1967 con el Gran Maestro Rhee Ki Ha, quien había enseñado la disciplina a personal militar británico en la base de la RAF en Changi (Singapur). Desde esos primeros dójanes hasta seis medallas olímpicas acumuladas, Gran Bretaña se ha convertido en la nación europea con mayor palmarés olímpico en Taekwondo. El país es especialmente notable por producir a Jade Jones, la primera atleta en defender un título olímpico de Taekwondo en dos ediciones consecutivas.
Pioneers
The Pioneers — Rhee Ki Ha Founds British Taekwondo
From RAF Changi to Heathrow: the 'Father of British Taekwondo' arrives to stay
On 2 July 1967, Grandmaster Rhee Ki Ha landed at Heathrow holding a 5th Dan, invited by British military officers who had trained under him at RAF Changi in Singapore. His original plan was to stay two years; instead, he laid the foundations of British Taekwondo. That same year he founded the United Kingdom Taekwon-Do Association (UKTA) — the first Taekwondo organisation on British soil.
Throughout the 1970s, Rhee Ki Ha expanded the practice beyond military barracks: he opened civilian dojangs, trained the first instructors born on English soil, and took the discipline to Ireland (founding the Republic of Ireland Taekwondo Association in 1972) and to the continent (founding the All European Taekwondo Association in 1979). This period was defined by General Choi Hong Hi's Chang Hun style.
“Rhee Ki Ha is internationally recognised as the 'Father of British Taekwondo' and is enshrined in the Taekwondo Hall of Fame as 'Founder of Taekwondo in Great Britain and Ireland'.”
WT Institutionalisation
WT Institutionalisation — the British Taekwondo Control Board
WTF affiliation and the first unified national championships
In 1982, the British Taekwondo Control Board (BTCB) was established as the first governing body specifically for the World Taekwondo style in the United Kingdom. That same year, the BTCB affiliated with the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), placing Great Britain firmly within the emerging Olympic circuit. In 1988 and 1992, Taekwondo featured as a demonstration sport at the Seoul and Barcelona Games, with British athletes competing in both editions.
The first major individual successes came in the 1990s, as the infrastructure built during that decade began bearing fruit in international competition. In 2000, with Taekwondo's definitive inclusion as an Olympic sport in Sydney, the BTCB's high-performance strategy was fully vindicated.
“The BTCB was the UK's first WT governing body and organised the first national championships in 1982, establishing unified training and competition standards.”
High Performance
The High-Performance Programme and the Sydney–Beijing Era
Sarah Stevenson — first world champion and first Olympic bronze medallist in British TKD
With Taekwondo's definitive entry into the Sydney 2000 programme, Great Britain formalised its first World-Class Performance Programme in 2002. In 2006, a surge of public funding allowed the programme to relocate to Manchester, where the country's first full-time training centre opened. The biggest landmark came in 2001: Sarah Stevenson became Britain's first world champion by winning the -72 kg title at the World Championships in Jeju.
Stevenson would go on to compete at four Olympic Games, culminating in Great Britain's first Taekwondo Olympic medal: bronze at the Beijing 2008 Games — a result that came about through a historic reversal of a refereeing decision in the quarterfinals, the first time in Olympic history that a Taekwondo result was overturned. The National Centre in Manchester was built with an investment of over £3 million.
“Sarah Stevenson won Beijing 2008 bronze thanks to a video review that overturned a quarterfinal refereeing decision — the first such reversal in Olympic Taekwondo history.”
Golden Era
The Golden Era: Jade Jones and the Olympic Golds
The first British woman to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals
On 9 August 2012, at the London Games, Jade Jones (born 21 March 1993 in Bodelwyddan, Wales) defeated China's Hou Yuzhuo 6–4 in the -57 kg final, becoming the first British Olympic gold medallist in Taekwondo. Four years later, at Rio 2016, Jones defended her title by beating Spain's Eva Calvo, becoming the first person in Olympic history to defend the title in this weight category. She was also the first British woman to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in any individual sport.
At the same Rio Games, Lutalo Muhammad won silver at -80 kg in a dramatic finale: leading 6–4, he was hit by a spinning head kick from Ivory Coast's Cissé in the last second, turning the scoreboard around. Bianca Walkden added her first Olympic bronze at +73 kg. At Tokyo 2020, Walkden repeated her bronze medal.
“Jade Jones was the first British woman to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in any individual sport — not just in Taekwondo.”
Renewal
Renewal and Continuity — the Generational Handover
Caden Cunningham debuts with silver at Paris 2024 — six Olympic medals accumulated
Following Jade Jones's retirement from Taekwondo in March 2025 (announcing her move to boxing), and with Bianca Walkden also stepping back from top-level competition, Great Britain began its generational transition. Caden Cunningham (Huddersfield, Yorkshire) made his Olympic debut at Paris 2024, winning silver at +80 kg — defeating the Rio 2016 champion Cissé in the semifinals before falling to Iran's Arian Salimi in the final.
British Taekwondo Limited maintains its affiliation with World Taekwondo and continues the high-performance programme in Manchester. The country has accumulated six Olympic medals in Taekwondo between 2008 and 2024, cementing a tradition of excellence unrivalled among European nations.
“With 6 Olympic medals in Taekwondo (2008–2024), Great Britain is the European nation with the most Olympic medals in this sport.”
Taekwondo en Reino Unido
- ›🥇 Campeona mundial -72 kg, Jeju 2001 — primera británica en ganar el Mundial
- ›🥇 Campeona mundial 2011
- ›🥉 Bronce olímpico Pekín 2008 — primer metal olímpico del TKD británico
- ›Cuatro participaciones olímpicas (2000–2012)
- ›MBE por servicios al Taekwondo
- ›🥇 Oro olímpico Londres 2012 (-57 kg) — primera campeona olímpica del TKD en Gran Bretaña
- ›🥇 Oro olímpico Río 2016 (-57 kg) — primera defensa exitosa de un título olímpico en TKD
- ›Primera mujer GB en ganar dos oros olímpicos consecutivos en cualquier deporte individual
- ›🥇 Campeona mundial 2019
- ›OBE (2020), MBE (2013)
- ›🥇 Tres títulos mundiales +73 kg (2015, 2017, 2019)
- ›🥇 Cuatro títulos europeos (2014, 2016, 2021, 2022)
- ›🥉 Doble bronce olímpico: Río 2016 y Tokio 2020
- ›Primera atleta en ganar el Grand Prix de las cuatro sedes en un mismo año
Sigue explorando
La historia del Taekwondo continúa en cada dojang, en cada clase, en cada estudiante.