Taekwondo

The Korean national sport martial art, taekwondo, is one of the world's most commonly practiced martial arts, and is currently an Olympic sport. One of the reasons it is so popular is because of its effectiveness as a form of self-defense. In the Korean language, Tae means "kick or destroy with the foot," Kwon means "punch or smash with the hand or fist," and Do means "way or art." Together, Taikwondo is taken to mean "the way of the foot and the fist."

Taekwondo is known for its use of leg and jumping techniques, which distinquishes it from other martial arts such as karate or kung fu. The reasoning for this is because the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and therefore kicks have the greatest potential for successful strikes. Even so, hand techniques, anti-weapon techniques, and some grappling are also taught. Taekwondo was designed to be effectively used regardless of a practitioner's height, weight, age, or gender.

Taekwondo, like many other martial arts, teaches five tenets which emphasize mental as well as physical discipline: courtesy, integrity, perservance, self-control, and indomitable spirit. The breaking of boards, concrete blocks, and other strong objects are all exercises in mental discipline.

Along with the forms recognized for modern competition, there are a large number of traditional forms which are becoming rare in competiton, yet continue to be used by traditional Korean masters and their students. Those trained in these forms, which emphasize powerful kicks, punches, blocks, fierce concentration upon imaginary opponents, and accurate stances, do quite well using these techniques in competitions.

Even though each taekwondo school will teach variations in techniques, a taekwondo student will take part in most or all of the fundamentals, which are: learning techniques; exercising; sparring; relaxation exercises; breaking boards or concrete blocks; regular gradings (progressing through belt colors); and learning taekwondo history and theories.