The Martial Art Of Taekwondo

The Martial Art Of Taekwondo

In prior months we have covered some other common forms of martial arts like karate and kickboxing. Today we’d like to talk about another one, which you’ve no doubt heard about in many movies, TV shows, and probably even within your personal friend group: taekwondo.

What Is Taekwondo?

Like many similar martial arts, taekwondo was developed in Asia, though its history does not go back as far as the more traditional styles like karate. Starting in Korea after the Second World War, the name roughly translates to “The Way of the Trampling Fist”, and was brought into being as many separates styles in different schools across Korea. In 1952 the South Korean president saw a demonstration of the style, and saw in it a way for Koreans to remember their own ancient discipline, taekkyeon; within a few years, the schools had begun to unify their teachings and combine old and new techniques very effectively, eventually settling on the name taekwondo. 

While slow to gain popularity, soon enough the military was using the discipline as their standard for hand-to-hand combat, and by the 1960s, new associations and federations were established and spreading around the world – including the International Taekwondo Federation (Also known as ITF and is pictured performing above along with World Taekwondo) in Toronto. In 2000, it was added to the Olympic Summer Games as one of only two martial arts, alongside judo, and today it is popular in many countries with many offshoot styles.

Martial Arts With A Kick

While some martial arts are all about redirection of momentum, stance ability, blocks, and so on, taekwondo is well known for its emphasis on kicks of all kinds. Fighters can jump and spin, landing kicks with plenty of force to all parts of the body, including the head – in fact, World Taekwondo competitions award extra points for strikes of those type. Because of this reliance on fast, manoeuvrable movements, taekwondo is seen as more of an agile, swift martial art.

You might have also heard of their Theory of Power, which is the idea that speed is more important than actual size when it comes to how powerful a strike can be. Taekwondo’s form is recognizable by the amount of rotation and turning its fighters do when striking, in order to counterbalance the striking force and create an even bigger hit. The discipline also believes strongly in considering equilibrium, breath control, concentrated strike areas, reaction force, and mass with every strike. They emphasize the practice of breaking boards or bricks as a test of how accurate, quick, and powerful a fighter’s blows can be.

One particularity of taekwondo is that formally, it is not a weapon-based martial art, and is not part of the curriculum of most programs (though some schools do incorporate staff, knife, or stick training).

The Five Tenets Of Taekwondo

Though there are many different styles and practices of modern taekwondo, the core beliefs of all of them refer back to the Five Tenets of Taekwondo:

1. Courtesy
2. Integrity
3. Perseverance
4. Self-Control
5. Indomitable Spirit

These five concepts guide how all students are to act and train as they become more educated, and reflect the idea of an ultimately peaceful society as an overarching goal for taekwondo in the world. In this way, the sport is very much like all martial arts in how it manifests – including our very own kung fu! 

If you are looking for martial arts in Calgary you should call us today and we can help guide you in the right direction.