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Taekwondo
From MartialWiki English
| Taekwondō | |
| 태권도 | |
| "Way of the Foot and Fist" | |
| Also known as | Tae Kwon Do; TKD |
| Origin | South Korea |
| No. of practitioners | 70 million + |
| Primary focus | Striking |
| Influenced | Hapkido |
| Related to | Tang Soo Do |
| Similar to | Savate |
Today regarded as one of the world's most popular martial arts, Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In general, it focuses on offense — particularly kicks thrown from a mobile stance, employing the leg's greater reach and power compared to the arm. Though traditionally associated with military roots (and still used by the South Korean military as part of its training), modern Taekwondo tends to be more competition-orientated and emphasises control and self-defense. In 2000, Taekwondo became one of only two Asian martial arts to be represented in the Olympic Games.
Contents |
[edit] Concept
Although there are doctrinal and technical differences between the two main styles and among the various organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance. The rationale is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to execute powerful strikes without successful retaliation.
Traditional taekwondo is typically not competition-oriented but stems from military roots with great emphasis on offense. Modern Taekwondo, on the other hand, tends to emphasize control and self-defense.
[edit] Philosophy
Since taekwondo developed in several different kwans, there are several different expressions of taekwondo philosophy. For example, the tenets of the ITF is said to be summed up by the last two phrases in the ITF Student Oath: "I shall be a champion of justice and freedom," "I shall build a better and peaceful world". Alternatively, the WTF philosophy is based on Eastern principles of "Sam Jae" [Three Elements], "Eum" [the Negative or Darkness] and "Yang" [the Positive or the Brightness] with "Sam Jae" referring to "Cheon" [the Heaven], "Ji" [the Earth], and "In" [the Man]. The origins of these concepts originate from the Chinese classic "Book of Changes" which is considered to be one of the main canons of East Asian Philosophy.
[edit] Etymology
In Korean, tae 태 跆 means "foot" or "kick"; kwon 권 拳 means "hand" or "punch"; and do 도 道 means "way"; so taekwondo is loosely translated as "the way of punching and kicking" or "the way of the fist and foot".
[edit] Technique
Taekwondo is known for its emphasis on kicking techniques, which distinguishes it from martial arts such as karate or southern styles of kung fu. One defining kick of taekwondo is the back kick.
[edit] History
tae kwon do is a korean art of self defense created in 1955 by gen. choi hong hi who combined the elements of tae-kyon (korean art)and shotokan kara-te(japanese art)to create tae kwon do.
[edit] Culture
[edit] Ranks, belts and promotion
Taekwondo ranks are separated into "junior" and "senior" or "student" and "instructor" sections. The junior section typically consists of ten ranks indicated by the Korean word geup 급 (also Romanized as gup or kup). The junior ranks are usually identified by belts of various colors, depending on the school, so these ranks are sometimes called "color belts". Geup rank may be indicated by stripes on belts rather than by colored belts. Students begin at tenth geup (usually indicated by a white belt) and advance toward first geup (usually indicated by a red belt with a black stripe).
[edit] Competition
Taekwondo competition typically involves sparring, breaking, patterns, and self-defense (hosinsul). However, in Olympic taekwondo competition, only sparring is contested; and in Olympic sparring WTF competition rules are used.
[edit] Korean language commands
| Word | Hangeul | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Charyeot | 차렷 | Attention |
| Gyeongnye | 경례 | Bow |
| Baro | 바로 | Return |
| Swieo | 쉬어 | At ease, relax |
| Kihap | 기합 | Spirit Yell |
| Junbi | 준비 | Ready |
| Sijak | 시작 | Begin |
| Kalyo | 갈려 | Break (separate) |
| Gyesok | 계속 | Continue |
| Geuman | 그만 | Finish (stop) |
| Dwiro dora | 뒤로 돌아 | Turn around (about turn) |
| Haesan | 해산 | Dismiss |
[edit] Genealogy
When the occupation ended in 1945, Korean martial arts schools (kwans) began to open in Korea under various influences. There are differing views on the origins of the arts taught in these schools. Some believe that they taught martial arts that were based primarily upon the traditional Korean martial arts taekkyon and subak, or upon a variety of martial arts such as taekkyon, kungfu and karate. Others believe that these schools taught arts that were almost entirely based upon karate.
[edit] Notable practitioners
- General Choi Hong Hi, sometimes called the "father of taekwondo"
- Dong Keun Park, legendary Taekwondo Champion of the 1960s
- Orly Taitz, Jewish-Russian-American lawyer and dentist
[edit] Fictional
- Baek Doo San and Hwoarang from the Tekken series of video games.
- Dae-Suk Park from "Urban Reign" series
[edit] Get involved
[edit] Australia
- Melbourne Taekwondo Centre - Information and club locations throughout Melbourne.
[edit] Links
[edit] Footnotes & references
<references/>
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