What is TaeKwon-Do?

TaeKwon-Do is a martial art popular with people of both genders and many ages. Physically, TaeKwon-Do develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of wooden boards, bricks or tiles, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one’s power.

TaeKwon-Do is known for its emphasis on kicking techniques, which distinguishes it from martial arts such as karate or southern styles of kung fu. The rationale is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to execute powerful strikes without successful retaliation. Historically, the Koreans thought that the hands were too valuable to be used in combat.

TaeKwon-Do, along with many other martial arts, is traditionally performed in bare feet, though there are specialist training shoes that can sometimes be worn.

Although each TaeKwon-Do club or school will be different, a TaeKwon-Do student can typically expect to take part in most or all of the following:

• Learning the techniques
• Both anaerobic and aerobic workout, including stretching
• Self-defense techniques
• Patterns
• Sparring which may include 7-, 3-, 2- and 1-step sparring, free-style sparring, arranged sparring, point sparring, and other types
• Relaxation and meditation exercises
• Throwing and/or falling techniques
• Breaking
• A focus on mental and ethical discipline, justice, etiquette, respect, and self-confidence
• Exams to progress to the next rank

Breaking consists of using techniques to break boards for testing, training and martial arts demonstrations. Demonstrations often also incorporate bricks, tiles, blocks of ice or other materials. Breaking can be separated into three types:

• Power breaking – using straightforward techniques to break as many boards as possible
• Speed breaking – boards are held loosely by one edge, putting special focus on the speed required to perform the break
• Special techniques – breaking fewer boards but using jumping or flying techniques to attain greater heights, distances, or to clear obstacles

One source has estimated that as of 2009, TaeKwon-Do was practiced in 123 countries, with over 30 million practitioners and 3 million individuals with black belts throughout the world.