Taekwondo is the most popular martial art practiced in the world today. With the name broken down, "tae" means "foot," "kwon" means "hand," and "do" means "the way, or the art." It is a simple description for a system that teaches an incredible array of direct and controlled hand techniques to complement its arsenal of efficient and powerful kicks. Combining these techniques with traditional Korean teaching methods that emphasize discipline, self-control and improvement of the self, it is no wonder why Taekwondo boasts an international membership of more than 30 million members in over 156 countries.