The philosophy of Taekwondo

Taekwondo is the Martial art of South Korea.
Translated, the three characters in the word Taekwondo mean: Foot—Fist and Path the way you use your feet and fists.
But there is much more to this martial art than just combat technique.
Master Pang Hyun Kang:
“Tae means “foot”, kwon means “fist” and Do speaks about the path, the way of life.
It means that using your feet and fists, you can train your spirit and your body. And with it you can learn how to be an authentic human being.”

Pang Hyun Kang:
“There are different answers to the question of what the philosophy of Taekwondo is. It’s about politeness, cooperation, patience, self- improvement, but above all Taekwondo teaches how to gain self confidence.”

The techniques that preceded Taekwondo date back thousands of years, but Taekwondo itself was officially founded in the 1950s.

Pupils and masters show their level by their belts, from white to black, including ten different “Dans”.
But to be promoted a pupil must also know and respect the spirit of this martial art.

Almost every man practises Taekwondo
in South Korea. Usually they start as kids about the age of seven or eight in the Dojangs.
Girls, if they want to practise it, follow the same
metods and go to the same classes.
Both boys and girls train together and learn the basic techniques, but also basic spiritual concepts using systems adapted to their age.

Yoo Pyeong Hee:

“It’s more difficult to teach children than other pupils such as adults or teenagers. But children are pure. The are empty, so they can learn, assimilate things better. They have unlimited potential.”

Taekwondo is deeply embedded in Korean culture. Not only as self defence but as a whole way to develop body and mind.For example, several universities include Taekwondo in their programmes.
Not just to get a major degree in this martial art before possibly becoming an instructor, but also to help students to improve their skills and have better integration.

Choi Kwan Geun:

“Pupils learn about solidarity between them. And students from different studies, other than Taekwondo, gain self esteem and they can express themselves better in their classes.”

70 million people practise Taekwondo in 190 countries. To preserve and demonstrate its traditional values Jeonju and Muju this year hosted
the third edition of Taekwondo World Culture Expo.

More than 1,000 participants came from 42 countries.

Daniel Formichi:
“We learn about a culture, a language and a sport at the same time.
We work with flexibility and endurance, things that make up the practice of Taekwondo today.”

Andrew Leonard:
“It’s giving me a lot of focus mentally and physically and I have become stronger and faster.”

Taekwondo became very popular as a sport worldwide in the nineteen eighties especially after appearing in the Olympic Games in Seoul 88.
But with this fast development as a sport
some masters beieve Taekwondo is losing part of its traditonal values. Others do not agree.

Grandmaster Lee was born in Korea but is now an American citizen. He is confident about the future:
“It’s a growing pain. Taekwondo is growing too rapidly and we’re losing things at the moment.
But I believe that later on people will start to realize that we’re losing some valuable things
and they’ll want them back”

So, evolving Taekwondo is fighting to keep its original values. One example is mixing Taekwondo and music to make apprenticeship more effective without changing the spirit of the martial
art.

Copyright © 2009 euronews