The lowdown

Tae-kwon-do

Tae ("foot") kwon ("fist") do ("the way") literally means the right way of using one's fists and feet.

Olympic history

The sport was accepted as a demonstration event at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Games, and became an official medal event at Sydney 2000.

Taekwondo is one of two Asian martial arts, along with judo, on the Olympic program. The IOC has also approved having a Chinese wushu tournament run on the sidelines of the Beijing Games.

Hogu

Hogu is the armor worn by taekwondo combatants during sparring. Translated into English, hogu means "chest" or "chest protector".

It has been used in World Taekwondo Federation sparring since the 1950s and is considered the most important piece of sparring equipment in a fighter's arsenal.

The hogu is the most common scoring area in sparring.

Bouts

Bouts are divided into three two-minute rounds, with a one-minute rest period in between each one. In the event of a tie, a sudden-death round is added.

Dans

Athletes are ranked in terms of colored belts followed by "dans".

The minimum age for receiving the first dan is 15, with at least one year needed to graduate to second dan.

It then takes takes at least two more years to get each of the next two grades, and the time span keeps on growing. Holders of the highest grade, 10th dan, must be at least 60 years old.

Decisions

Referees can decide a winner by any of the following: A knock-out, which occurs if a contestant fails to get up after sustaining a hit; an RSC, or Referee Stop Contest, if any athlete loses consciousness during a bout; or, as is usually the case, based on who has racked up the most points.

One of the key decisions at the Athens Olympics was when Chinese referee Zhao Lei stopped the fight as Bertrand Gbongou Liango of the Central African Republic (right) was lying on the ground after receiving a reverse kick in the head by Tuncay Caliskan of Austria at the end of their under -68kg round of 16 taekwondo match on August 27.

Gbongou Liango, who remained motionless for several minutes while medical personnel attended to him on the field of play, was eventually carried off on a stretcher.