“What is Taekwon-Do, fundamentally? What is its nature and substance, its
reason for being?” Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman philosopher and emperor, might ask such a question of General Choi Hong Hi, founder of Taekwon-Do, in the hereafter.
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
To achieve a black belt in any martial art is a great achievement. And the day of the grading itself is something you will remember for your entire life. You have already put in years of dedicated practice toward obtaining the required standard, but the last six months leading up to the grading are the most critical. I have seen many people come from nowhere to amazing in 6 months, through systematic, organised training. This e-book will show you how to do it.
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.
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.
When I started practicing Taekwon-Do in 1986 as a police officer complying with the rules and regulations of the Ethiopian Police Force, I did not expect to reach the 7th Degree or Master’s degree that I am currently competing for. But as much as I understood the art of Taekwon-Do, I had a strong desire and vision to reach the heights of the art in my country – Ethiopia. So, with all the effort and sacrifice required to master the art, I was able to complete my training time and practice better alongside my regular work.
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.
Our journey Thesis for VII Dan Edwin & Ron Van Der Lee. The special relationship between identical twins is that, if there’s anyone else in the world that’s going to be the confidant that you…
The theory of power, Taekwon-Do training secrets and breaking techniques Thesis Jack de Smit The Encyclopedia written by Founder General Choi Hong Hi provides an explanation of the key skills required to apply 100% of…
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…