Taekwondo is one of the most systematic and scientific Korean traditional martial arts, that teaches more than physical fighting skills. It is a discipline that shows ways of enhancing our spirit and life through training our body and mind. Today, it has become a global sport that has gained an international reputation, and stands among the official games in the Olympics.
Taekwondo is very different from many such oriental martial arts. First, physically it is very dynamic with active movements that include a mirage of foot skills. Second, the principle physical movements are in simpatico with that of the mind and life as a whole. Third, it possesses dynamic poses from another perspective.
Taekwondo can be characterized by unity: the unity of body, mind, and life, and the unity of the pose ["poomsae"] and confrontation, and cracking down. When you do Taekwondo, you should make your mind peaceful and synchronize your mind with your movements, and extend this harmony to your life and society. This is how in Taekwondo the principle of physical movements, the principle of mind training, and the principle of life become one and the same.
While Taekwondo sets itself apart from other martial arts with it's varied and powerful kicking techniques, it is through the tennants each student is expected to live and train by that distiguishes itself...courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self control and indomitable spirit.
A Brief History
The modern philosophy of Tae Kwon Do comes largely from the 7th century Hwarang-do, which means "Way of the Flowering Manhood", a corps of noblemen in the kingdom of Silla, the smallest of the three kingdoms on the Korean peninsula. These young men studied the martial and cultural arts and led Silla to unify the Korean peninsula for the first time in history. The five principles they lived by were:
Be loyal to your country
Be obedient to your parents
Be honorable to your friends
Never retreat from adversity
Never take a life unnecessarily
Toward the end of the 10th century, Silla was overthrown and the kingdom of Koryo was founded. For the next 500 years it was compulsory for all young men to learn martial arts such as Tae Kyon and Soo Bak. Then the old arts declined amid their mountain refuges. During the Japanese occupation from 1910 through 1945, the practice of all martial arts was banned in an attempt to suppress the Korean nationalist spirit. Following WWII came a flowering of Korean martial arts and, in 1955, Tae Kwon Do acquired its modern name. Since then it has spread throughout the world and is called by some the fastest growing sport in the world. Today Tae Kwon Do is practiced worldwide in more than 120 countries.
Modern Tae Kwon Do is the most popular martial art form practiced in the United States today. Young and old alike find benefits in learning this ancient art form. Some practice to obtain physical conditioning, increased mental alertness, self-defense skills, or gain new confidence. Others enjoy the sport aspect of Tae Kwon Do which made its Olympic debut in the 2000 Sydney Summer games.
