What is Taekwondo?

Taekwondo is a modern Korean martial art, characterized by fast, high, jumping, spinning kicks and quick footwork. It is an all-around program that offers self-defence training, physical exercise, and artistic expression; all taught by an experienced professional instructor.

Meaning of the term "Taekwondo"

Literally translated, Taekwondo breaks down to "tae" meaning to kick with the foot, "kwon" meaning to punch or strike with the hand, and "do" meaning art or way. Therefore, Taekwondo translates to "the art of kicking and punching." Its physical aspects come from the kicking and punching, while its spiritual aspects come from the art.

Many times the word Karate is used in the name of a Taekwondo school. This seems strange since Karate is a Japanese word and Taekwondo is Korean. This occurs purely as a business decision. More people are familiar with the word Karate, so when they see it they will know what a Taekwondo school is about. Also, the word Karate has fewer letters than Taekwondo. When putting up a sign on a school building for advertisement, the smaller word Karate means the letters on the sign may be larger and possibly lighted for less cost than for the word Taekwondo.

Objectives of Taekwondo

• To develop an appreciation for Taekwondo as a sport and as an art.

• To achieve physical fitness through positive participation.

• To improve mental discipline and emotional equanimity.

• To learn self-defense skills.

• To develop a sense of responsibility for oneself and others.

Introduction to Taekwondo

Although Taekwondo is modern martial art, its origins and evolution may be traced back through 2,000 years of Korean history. For centuries, martial arts have been an integral part of Korean culture and heritage; improved and passed down from teacher to student. After the end of the Japanese occupation of Korea after the end of World War II, their was a insurgence of national pride that led Korean martial artists to renew their links to Korean's ancient martial arts. This led to the development of a new Korean martial art that, in 1955, was officially named Taekwondo in 1955. Today, Koreans practice Taekwondo during military training, as well as in grade school, as a way to build a strong sense of justice, fortitude, and humility using strict discipline, physical conditioning, and mental training. Taekwondo gradually spread to countries around the world practice where it is practiced as both a traditional self-defense system, and as a competitive sport. Taekwondo is a way for people of any age to learn self-defence and increase their physical fitness while training with others who have similar interests. Taekwondo not only develops the physical being; it also develops the moral being, which involves such things as character, integrity, and honour. These moral aspects develop unconsciously while students consciously train in the physical aspects of Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is a combat sport that uses only bare hands and feet, no weaponry, to fend off attackers. Due to its numerous unique kicks, each with many variations, many people call Taekwondo the "kicking martial art." This is not to say that Taekwondo does not use hand techniques; it uses the same basic hand techniques used in other martial arts, which makes it a well-rounded empty-handed martial art. Over the last few decades, sport Taekwondo organizations have worked together to develop Taekwondo into a modern international amateur and Olympic sport, while maintaining its proud tradition as a martial art spirit.

Taekwondo is a physical science. While training, individual movements of the body are perfected so they become one. Taekwondo techniques are always evaluated and improved on the basis of their scientific applications.Taekwondo is a type physical fitness; the training required to perfect each technique requires the muscular exercise of the whole body. Taekwondo is a discipline of both mind and body. Taekwondo techniques look easy but are take time to learn. It takes concentration and effort to attain perfection; the mind and body must work in concert for a technique to be effective. Taekwondo is a martial art. Taekwondo techniques may be used with deadly effectiveness and, with training, students learn to tailor the power of their techniques to fit the situation.

Taekwondo has become one of the most practiced martial arts in the world. Its popularity may be attributed to it being an official Pan-American sport, a demonstration sport in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, and a full medal sport in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. However, its popularity is mainly due to its spectacular techniques and its being fun for all ages to learn and perform.

Taekwondo philosophy

Although the literal translation of Taekwondo is the art of kicking and punching, it is only a superficial translation. "Do" in Korean implies a philosophical approach to life, a pathway to achieve enlightenment. Taekwondo is not only a method of self-defense, it is also a way of life. Students of Taekwondo, through rigorous physical training, try to improve themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. True Taekwondo practitioners extend the art to all aspects of their lives to achieve harmony with nature and a stable and peaceful existence.

Value of Taekwondo

Taekwondo has practical value as a martial art, a self-defense system, and as a competitive sport. It also has ideological value, based upon its technical, artistic, and philosophic ideals. The technical ideal is derived from Taekwondo’s stress on performing techniques with technical perfection. The artistic ideal derives from personal expression while performing Taekwondo techniques. The philosophic ideal is attained when the technical and artistic aspects of Taekwondo bring balance and harmony to ones daily life. The ultimate value of Taekwondo is attained when the practitioner becomes aware of changes or threats in his or her environment and is able to effortlessly and properly react to them. This state of mind becomes possible through the mastery of a broad range of offensive and defensive Taekwondo skills.

Taekwondo as a life leveller

Taekwondo is a life leveller. It evens out attitudes, emotions, and actions. If you are short-tempered, it makes you more tolerant. If you are aggressive, it make you calmer. If you are meek, it makes you more assertive. If you are anti-social, it makes you more friendly. If you are weak, it makes you stronger. If you are impulsive, it makes you more restrained. These changes will occur slowly so you may not notice them, but your friends and family will notice the changes.

Basic Taekwondo training

Taekwondo training begins with basic stances, blocks, kicks, and punches. Beginning students then use these techniques in predetermined block/attack/counterattack movements in response to prearranged attacks (step-sparring). Students learn to perform these techniques deliberately and precisely by practicing patterns. Students then put all these skills together and learn to free-spar against opponents of lesser, equal, or greater skills. Students also learn self-defence techniques to allow them to respond to real life "street" situations.

Modern Taekwondo

Taekwondo has evolved in recent years into three distinct entities: Taekwondo for children, Taekwondo for women, and Taekwondo for adults. 

Taekwondo for children

Taekwondo has no age limits and is a very good sport for children. Taekwondo for children is a watered down version of traditional Taekwondo, that removes the stress on realistic self-defense. Usually no mention is made of the brutal aspects of Taekwondo techniques. Taekwondo for children is a pure sport. The stress is on helping children build themselves physically, and on instilling character, self-esteem, effort, concentration, sincerity, respect, self-control, and etiquette. It is a fun, safe system of self-improvement and personal development that is highly recommended by parents, physicians, and educators. Competition for children is basically the same as it is for adults; both wear protective equipment and use only light contact. Although people of all ages practice Taekwondo, many call it "the children's martial art" because it is so popular with, and beneficial to children. For commercial schools, children are where the money is; they build the base for school income. Without all the children, most schools could not afford to stay open. Like any other sport, children are the future champions and instructors of Taekwondo. 

Taekwondo for women

Taekwondo for women is an extension of the aerobics craze of recent years. Just like the different styles of Karate, there are different styles of aerobic Taekwondo, such as Tae Bo, cardio kickboxing, aerobic kickboxing, Tae Aerobics, etc. Students go through the motions of kicking and punching, but there is no stress on technique or power, only on continuous motion. Aerobic Taekwondo is not just for women, men and children also practice it, but it was designed to attract women. Since it is just the latest exercise fad and does not have the discipline required of Taekwondo, it will gradually lose its appeal, just as the previous fads it replaced. To cash in on the latest craze, most dojangs teach classes in aerobic Taekwondo as a part of their curriculum. One advantage to teaching it in a dojang is that students may develop an interest in Taekwondo and decide to study the art itself.

Taekwondo for adults

Taekwondo for adults is for men and women who want to learn Taekwondo for self-defence, fitness, or weight control. This is the traditional Taekwondo that stresses discipline, speed, power, and combat techniques. It includes free- sparring techniques as well as combat techniques for real-life self-defence situations.

Things you will do in Taekwondo class

General exercise

You will perform various types of general exercises, such as push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts, etc., to develop strength, flexibility, and conditioning. 

Stretching

You will stretch at the start of training classes to warm up and loosen ligaments, muscles, and joints.  At the end of class, while your body is warm and loose, you will perform serious stretches to increase your flexibility. 

Floor drills

Floor drills are moves or techniques done while moving up and down the dojang floor.  The instructor "calls out" the moves and the class immediately performs them. Floor drills help develop technical preciseness in techniques and build strength and stamina. Floor drills help to develop discipline, since students must remain focused to correctly respond to given commands.

Target drills

Target drills are techniques performed against a hand target held by a partner. They permit students to practice full-power techniques against a moving target.

Wall drills

Wall drills are techniques performed while moving down the length of a dojang wall or while standing still and using the wall as a support. The wall is used for balance while learning new kicking techniques. Students concentrate on achieving perfection of technique.

Bag drills

Bag drills are techniques performed against a heavy bag, either a Wave master or a hanging bag. They permit full-power techniques to be tested against a solid object.

Pad Drills

Pad drills are techniques performed against a heavy pad held by a partner. They permit full-power techniques to be performed against a moving, resisting object.

Pattern training

Pattern training involves a series of predetermined moves applied against an imaginary opponent or opponents. Traditional patterns were developed to reflect the history of the development of Korea and it’s people. Pattern training helps students develop proper blocking and striking techniques, proper stances, focus on target area, breath control, flexibility, agility, mental discipline, and strength.

Step-sparring

In step-sparring, students work with a partner to practice blocks and attacks in a more realistic manner.  Movements may be predetermined or the instructor may direct the training by assigning the attacks and blocks.  It teaches students ways to defend themselves against a variety of attacks or attackers, builds confidence with techniques that provides power, speed, and accuracy, and increases knowledge of opponent's vital areas. Multiple attackers may also be used. 

Free-sparring

In free-sparring, students learn to develop mental approaches and fighting techniques in a free flowing sparring environment. It gives students an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills developed they learned, in mock combat. Precise control is used to prevent injury. As skills and experience increase, blocks and attacks become "second nature;" they occur without conscious thought. 

The basic types of free-sparring are: 

•       Class sparring where you try new techniques and work with your partner to develop your sparring skills. 

•       Test sparring where you work with your partner to highlight each others sparring skills for the testing judges. For the best results a variety of techniques need to be demonstrated in a fluid, controlled manner. Partners should work at a balance of steady blocks, attacks, and counterattacks. 

•       Point sparring where you try to "outplay" your opponent in a competition and score more points than he or she. Little to no contact is allowed.

•       Semi-contact sparring is a type of tournament sparring where light contact is required to earn a point. 

•       Full-contact sparring where competitors try to knockout their opponents or have their opponents submit. 

•       Self-defense sparring where you practice realistic street techniques with your partner. It helps students develop their action and reaction skills. Students develop defenses and counterattacks to holds, takedowns, hand and foot strikes, and weapons.

Semi-free sparring

Semi-free sparring is a mix between step-sparring and class free-sparring.  It is a series of instructor determined moves where both sides attack and counter attack.  It helps improve sparring techniques.

Board breaking

Board breaking, using either wood or plastic re-breakable boards or some other material, gives students an opportunity to demonstrate power, gain confidence in their skills, and to gauge the effectiveness of their techniques.  A 12"x 12"x 1" pine board is said to be the same strength as a lower rib.

Forging

Some school may use forging. Forging is conditioning body parts to toughen them so they may be used for extreme breaking techniques or for self-defence. This may include repeated striking of a hard, but padded object, plunging the hand into deep sand, or two students performing simultaneous full-power blocks against each others arms.

Just Do It

Taekwondo may be just what you need. The only way to find out is to take the first step and go to a class. Most instructors have a free introductory class so you may judge if Taekwondo, or their school, is right for you. When you first see some of the things that Taekwondo students do, you may think it is impossible for you to do them. When you think something is impossible for you, just remember, that with small changes, the word impossible becomes "I'm possible." With small changes to your life, you may achieve things you thought were impossible.