After some Korean struggles in the 1950s, a martial art emerged with techniques that mainly came from Japanese Karate. At that time, there were already several martial arts worldwide, but in Korea, they apparently felt the closest connection to Japan. This first generation of techniques primarily consisted of arm techniques that were executed in very long stances. At the start of a technique, the arms were also positioned in such a way that long movements were made. For example, with a low forearm block, the fist came from the shoulder, and the counter arm was kept fully extended. It was a fairly static system that primarily aimed to create powerful arm techniques.

Subsequently, around 1965, a second generation of techniques was developed that placed more emphasis on leg techniques. Probably because it was so favored by the Taekwondo practitioners of that time and to give Taekwondo its own identity. The stances were shortened for this purpose, allowing for quicker kicks, and the arms also did not extend as much between the starting point and the impact point. To generate power, the use of the hips in the techniques was essential. These fast, flexible, and yet powerful techniques were successful, and Taekwondo became recognizable among all other martial arts. Open sparring tournaments even emerged, primarily aimed at showcasing these leg techniques.A disadvantage of this generation of techniques is that they are not easy to learn. It has become a complex movement that requires coordination of the entire body.

The third generation, introduced around 1980, has abandoned the principles of hip movement. All arm techniques are now based on the idea that the body makes a downward, upward, and then downward movement from which energy flows that serves the technique. Stances and holding positions remain the same, but the upper body rotates as little as possible. This is called the Sine-wave, because that downward-upward-downward movement takes the shape of a sine wave. Whether this indeed generates power is disputed in biomechanics, but it is clear that this has given Taekwon-do its own character again. The disadvantage of the Sine-wave lies in that biomechanics, because different Taekwon-do components require different principles to be effective. For example, a breaking test will not work with the Sine-Wave; for that, a technique from the first or second generation is used. It has become a model that does not cover all aspects of Taekwon-do.

All three styles are still practiced. The Sine-wave is probably the most practiced, as it is associated with the ITF world federation