Truro Taekwondo Club - What is Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art – translated literally Tae mean “break with the foot”, Kwon “break with the hand” and Do means “way of life”.

Taekwondo as we know it today emerged in the 1950s but it's origins can be found in a mixture of different martial arts styles from across Asia – from Karate, Hapkido to a variety of Chinese styles such as Koong Soo (Empty Hand Technique).

It emphasises the unification of body, mind and spirit with the aim of achieving the perfect human character, social responsibility and appropriate use of force. Taekwondo focuses on fast and powerful kick and punch techniques combined with footwork, jumps and blocks.

The 5 key areas of Taekwondo are:

Theory and Korean language
Sport sparring
Breaking
Patterns
Self defence

Each of these areas are assessed as the student progresses through the grading system.

Theory and Korean language largely deals with the application of techniques, understanding and being able to use basic Korean language with reference to Taekwondo and understanding that Taekwondo is not just about fighting but also is a way of life.

Sport sparring is semi-contact within the ITF. Protective gear is worn at all times and the aim is to score points – not to injure or knock out the opponent.

Breaking is used to show that the techniques that are learned would be effective in a “real situation”, it is carried out with wooden or breakable plastic boards of a known thickness that must be broken to command using a variety of kick and punch techniques.

Patterns - there are 24 patterns in ITF Taekwondo which are learned between 9 th Kup and 6 th Degree. These forms represent a mixture of different techniques and applications that the practitioner learns as they progress through the ranks. They are usually named after significant luminaries in Korean history and culture.

Self defence is one of the main goals of most martial arts and one of the main reasons many people choose to get involved in one. Taekwondo aims to teach reliable and effective ways to get out of real situations based upon the theories within the art.

ITF (International Taekwondo Federation) is the governing organisation of the ITF style of Taekwondo. There are other styles practiced – notably WTF (World Taekwondo Federation).
Further reading material can be found on barrel.net and wickidpedia's definition for Taekwondo

What is Taekwondo?