When most people think of martial arts, the first thing that comes to mind is sparring. Yet, sparring is only one of the five components constituting the physical composition of Taekwon-do; moreover, the category of sparring can be further classified into several different styles, including step sparring, which is considered the foundation for free sparring.

Taekwon-Do was developed in the 1940’s as a method of hand to hand combat training for soldiers, all of whom were male, so it is somewhat understandable that it has an overall male focus. However, since most schools have female students as well as male, it is important for us, as instructors, and for the ITF as an organization, to acknowledge where bias exists in our martial art and take steps to address it.

Learning through play Thesis for VII Dan Fabián Izquierdo, Argentina What I explained to the father of Taekwon-Do at that time was that I had not invented a single new technique, but that what was…

In the world of martial arts, Taekwondo is widely recognized for its range and the advantages of its foot techniques. Taekwondo’s arsenal of foot techniques is so great that in order to cover it completely, a separate book in which each technique is described from the point of view of biomechanics (the physics of the human anatomy) would be needed.

To the uninitiated, martial arts invariably presents itself as an area of involvement for either young children seeking some form of self-protection from such things as bullying (on their part) or a means of instilling a form of discipline and physical fitness (on the part of their parents). For the older person, of whatever gender, the aspect of protection for themselves and others they may be responsible for, plus the added benefits of overall fitness and resulting personal self-confidence, this can act as a lure to investigate the world of martial arts as opposed to just attending a gym to improve their health (weight-wise) and fitness

The idea of this work is to reflect and be able to think about certain individual and group psychic processes that occur during the transmission of our art. We will not only look at it from the point of view of transmitting our martial art based on its principles and philosophy, from the appropriate teaching methodology, but also from the effects that the practice of Taekwon-Do produces in terms of boosting self-esteem and the relationship this has with the management and control of aggressiveness.