Introduction to Tae Kwon Do

Tae Kwon Do, magnificent yet beautiful piece of martial arts, a martial art of justice and valor. Formed during the 19^th centuries in the North Korea and created by a Korean general named General Choi Hong Hi. Tae Kwon Do was been translated into English according to its original names in Korean language: as “Tae” means strike or break with foot; “Kwon” means as strike or break with fist and “Do” means as ways, methods or arts. Thus Tae Kwon Do was loosely translated into “The Ways of Kicking and Punching” or “The Ways of Foot and Fists”. Tae Kwon Do was the most popular martial arts in the world. It is combine by many other arts such as: combat tecniques, meditation, self defense, sports, exercise and philosophy.  The South Korean Military also used Tae Kwon Do as its training. Gyuerugi was a type of sparing that has list into the Olympic event since 2000.

  

Formally, there were two main styles of Tae Kwon Do. Ones comes from the Kukkiwon, the source of the sparring system such as the Sihap Gyuerugi which was now an event in the summer Olympic Games and which has governed by World Tae Kwon Do Federation(known as the WTF.) The others comes from the International Tae Kwon Do Federation (better known as ITF.) The is also a more recent form called Songham Tae Kwon Do or the American Tae Kwon Do Association(ATA) and other viriations of it such as STF (Songham Tae Kwon Do Federation) and WTTU (World Traditional Tae Kwon Do Union).

  

Separated from the various Tae Kwon Do organization, there have been two main branches of the Tae Kwon Do development:  that are Traditional and Sport. The terms tradition Tae Kwon Do refers to the martial arts that have been established in the 1950s and 1960s; in particular, the names and symbolism of the traditional patterns often refer to elements of Korean history. Sport taekwondo has evolved in the decades since then and has a somewhat different focus, especially in terms of its emphasis on speed and competition (as in Olympic sparring), whereas traditional taekwondo tends to emphasize power and self-defense. The two are not mutually exclusive, and the distinctions between them are often blurred.

Although there are doctrinal and technical differences between the two main styles and among the various organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance, employing the leg's greater reach and power (compared to the arm). The greatest difference between various styles, or at least the most obvious, is generally accepted to be the differing styles and rules of sport and competition. Taekwondo training generally includes a system of blocks, kicks, punches, and open-handed strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws, and joint locks. Some taekwondo instructors also incorporate the use of pressure points, known as jiapsul, as well as grabbing self-defense techniques borrowed from other martial arts, such as Hapkido and Judo.