Taekwondo began as a self-defense martial art called “ Subak “ or “ Taekkyon “ and developed as a way of training our body and mind in the ancient kingdom of Koguryo, under the name of “ Sunbae “. Taekwondo is also one of the most systematic and scientifically proven martial arts to-date, its teaching is more than physical fighting skills, it also emphasizes self-discipline that shows ways of resp
ect to the elder, masters & fella mates who embarked on this program, it also train our mind & soul. Today Taekwondo has become a global sport that has gained an international reputation and become the official games in the Olympics. 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. In 1989, Taekwondo is the world’s most popular martial arts in terms of number of practitioners. There are two main branches of Taekwondo development, which are not necessary mutually exclusive :
A ) “ Traditional Taekwondo “ typically refers to the martial art as it was established in the 1950s and 1960s in the South Korean military
B ) “ Sports taekwondo “ has developed in the decades since the 1950s and may have a somewhat different focus, esspeciall;y on speed and competition ( as in Olympic sparring )
It develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility and stamina, it is suitable for both genders of all ages, an example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of wooden boards, bricks or tiles with requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus on one’s power. Since 2000, Taekwondo has been one of the only two Asian martial arts ( the other been Judo ) that are included in ther famous Olympic games, now Taekwondo was practiced in more than 123 countries with exceeding 30 million practitioners and 3 million individuals with Black belt throughout the world. Althought each Taekwondo class or school will be different, a stident typically takes part in most of all of the following trainings :
Learn the technique and curriculum of taekwondo
Both anaerobic and aerobic workout including stretching
Self-defense techniques ( hosinsool )
Patterns, also known as “ Poomsae “
Sparring which may include 1-step, 2 steps, 3 steps and 7 steps
Relaxation & meditation exercise like breathing control
Throwing and falling techniques
A focus on mental and ethical discipline, etiquettes, justice, respect and self-confidence
Using special technique to break tiles, bricks and board in black belt grading
Teaching on power breaking, speed breaking and special technique breaking
