Taekwondo is an approach to the martial arts, that teaches more than physical fighting skills. Taekwondo, is and art that teaches ways of increasing our spirit and life through training our body and mind. Taekwondo has grown into a worldwide sport that has acquired an international appeal, and is among the games of the Olympics.
What is meant by the word Tae Kwon Do?
It is composed of three distinct parts “Tae-Kwon-Do”, though it is one word in Korean. “Tae” means “foot,” “to step on,” or “leg”; “Kwon” means “fight,” or “fist”; and “Do” means the “way” or “discipline.” If we put these three parts together, we can see two important ideas incorporated within TaeKwonDo.
First, Taekwondo is the enlightened way of applying “Tae” and “Kwon” which are your “fists” and “feet”, or all of your body parts that are represented by fists and feet.
Secondly, it’s a path to ensure control of a fighting situation and in the end producing peace. This idea comes from the meaning of Tae Kwon “to put fists under control”. Thus Taekwondo’s ultimate definition is: “the right way of using all of your body parts to elminate fights and help to work torwards a world with peace.”
Taekwondo has developed along side the history of Korea and has , been represented by a few different labels in throughout the course of it’s history. In Korea, Taekwondo began as a defense martial art called “Subak” or “Taekkyon,” and developed as a way of training both mind and body within the ancient kingdom of Koguryo, under the name of “Sunbae.” In the Shilla period, it had become the staple of Hwarangdo and at that time was responsible for creating the countries leaders.
Taekwondo today is similar to arts in other Asian countries and shares concepts and ideas with them, because throughout its history it has incororated many varying styles that were in the countries that surrounded them, like China and Japan.
But Taekwondo is very different from many oriental martial arts in a couple respects. First, physically it is extremely active with active movements that include an assortment of foot skills. Secondly, the aim is is to have the physical elements and movement blend with the students life as a whole not to be seperate.
Third, it possesses dynamic poomsae (see poomsae in the martial arts) from another perspective. Taekwondo can be characterized by unity: the unity of body, mind, and life, and the unity of the poomsae and confrontation. When you study Taekwondo, you should make your mind peaceful and synchronize your mind with your moves, and spread this harmony to your life and society as a whole. This is how the principle of physical moves, the principle of mind training, and the principle of life become one and the same.
Taekwondo is a way of life, just like any other apect of ones life like haveing a job, raising a family, or fighting for a cause. What differentiates Taekwondo from other styles is that it is an activity for survival in extremely life changing situation in ones life. One must always overcome the enemy that is trying to cause harm. But overcoming your opponent isn’t enough to promise one’s own security, because the enemy may retrieve their senses and attack again. In addition, there can be many other opponents than the one that was just overcome. One can’t ever feel safe unless that person obtains unwavering sense of peace. To internalize this persistent or long-lived peace, one must obtain wholeness. This is the aim of Taekwondo. Otherwise Taekwondo would be no different from any other street-fighting skills.
Taekwondo pursues harmonious growth and improvements of life through its unique activities. This is why one could say Taekwondo is a way of life. To ultimately enable oneself to lead more valuable lives, we would do well by learning and living the guiding principles entrenched in Taekwondo.
The Martial Arts Zone