literally means, "Way or Art of hand and foot".
Tae means "to smash, kick or destroy with the foot"
Kwon means "to smash or destroy with the hand"
Do means "way or art".
It is, however, more than this it is the scientific use of the body in a method of
self-defence,
conditioning the body, both physically and mentally,
to gain maximum uses of its facilities.
Myles MacRae teaches ITF Tae Kwon-Do, which is the original Tae Kwon-Do as taught
by
the late founder of the art, General Choi Hong Hi (1918-2002).
An average Tae Kwon-Do class lasts for around 1hour, and can include:
* Warm up and stretching
* Pattern training
* Destruction
* Sparring - free sparring and set-sparring
* Close Combat - Self defence
It is a common mistake for people to assume that Tae Kwon-Do is 'all kicking'. However there
are many more hand techniques
(blocks and strikes)
in
Tae Kwon-Do than kicks.
To get the best idea about Tae Kwon-Do we recommend coming along and watching a class -
or joining in.
The History of Taekwondo
On April 11th, 1955, the name Taekwon-Do was officially adopted for the martial art
General Choi Hong Hi had developed using elements of the ancient Korean martial art of
Taek Kyon and of Shotokan karate, a martial art he had learned
while studying in Japan.
The philosophical values and the goals of Taekwon-Do are firmly rooted in the
traditional moral culture of the Orient. On the technical side, defensive and offensive tactics
are based on principles of physics, particularly Newton's Law, which explains how to generate
maximum force by increasing speed and mass during the execution of a movement. Wanting to
share the results of his philosophical reflections and his technical experiments, General Choi
planned
and wrote a unique reference work, the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do. In its fifteen
volumes, he explained in detail the rules and practices of this art. Always striving for
excellence, General Choi presented Taekwon-Do as in a state of continuous evolution,
open to changes that would improve its effectiveness.
He wrote that anyone who believes he has fully discharged his duty will soon perish.
Likewise, any undertaking that is perceived to have reached its objectives is likely to
lose momentum, stagnate, and die. Since the beginning, Taekwon-Do has never stopped
evolving, driven by the strong will and a lot of hard work by its Founder. The leaders of
the ITF today also recognize the need to evolve and they are equally passionate about the
future of the organization. |
