Taekwondo (태권도; 跆拳道; ) is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae (태, ) means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon (권, ) means "to strike or break with fist"; and do (도, ) means "way", "method", or "path". Thus, taekwondo may be loosely translated as "the way of the hand and the foot." The name taekwondo is also written as taekwon-do, tae kwon-do, or tae kwon do by various organizations, based on historical, philosophical, or political reasons.