WHAT IS TAEKWONDO?
"Tae" means "foot," "leg," or "to step on"; "Kwon" means "fist," or "fight"; and "Do" means the "way" or "discipline." By putting these three parts together, you can clearly see that there are two important concepts behind "Tae Kwon Do".
Taekwondo is one of the most systematic and scientific Korean traditional martial arts, that teaches more than physical fighting skills. It is a discipline that shows ways of enhancing spirit and life through training the body and mind. It has become a global sport that has gained an international reputation, and stands among the official games in the Olympics.
Taekwondo is very different from other oriental martial arts:
Taekwondo is one of the most systematic and scientific Korean traditional martial arts, that teaches more than physical fighting skills. It is a discipline that shows ways of enhancing spirit and life through training the body and mind. It has become a global sport that has gained an international reputation, and stands among the official games in the Olympics.
Taekwondo is very different from other oriental martial arts:
- Physically it is very dynamic with active movements that include a mirage of foot skills
- The principle physical movements are in sync with that of the mind and life as a whole
- It possesses dynamic poses from another perspective
- Taekwondo is the right way of using fists and feet, or all the parts of the body that are represented by fists and feet
- It is a way to control or calm down fights and keep the peace. This concept comes from the meaning of Tae Kwon 'to put fists under control'. Thus Taekwondo means "the right way of using all parts of the body to stop fights and help to build a better and more peaceful world [1]."