From Diana Davila,
Your Guide to Martial Arts.
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The first step toward realizing the dream of becoming an Olympian in Tae Kwon Do is to find a school that is affiliated with USA Tae Kwon Do, and teaches WTF style taekwondo. There are several different styles of Tae Kwon Do being taught, and many schools that are not affiliated with the proper organizations.
Most Olympians begin training in Tae Kwon Do as children, so if you are just starting out as an adult, it is not likely you will be able to reach elite athlete level skills. If you have a child that you have Olympic aspirations for though, you should consider starting their training at around age 6.

The road to a spot on the USA Olympic team is rather complex. There are several levels of competition leading to what is known as the Senior National Team. First, you begin competition as a junior, under blackbelt competitor. After working their way through the ranks as a junior, black belt competition begins, and that is the competition that counts.

GOVERNING BODY FOR THE SPORT

USA Taekwondo is national governing body for Tae Kwon Do in the USA. The World Taekwondo Federation is the worldwide governing body for Olympic Taekwondo.

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR THE OLYMPICS OR THE OLYMPIC TEAM

In order to qualify for the Olympic Taekwondo team, a competitor has to go through up to five greuling levels of competition, each getting smaller and more elite. The competitor not only has to win and earn their own place on the team, but also has to qualify their weight class. Not every weight class can compete at the Olympic level.

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