Never seen Tae Kwon Do before?

Tae Kwon Do is a martial art that, without the use of weapons, teaches the practitioner techniques for defense and offense. Regardless of age or sex, Tae Kwon Do teaches to use hands and feet in any defensive situation.

Functions

1. As a form of physical exercise Tae Kwon Do has a great effect on children's growth and development as well as youths' and elders' physical fitness. The technique and form of Tae Kwon Do are designed to develop control of all parts of the body. In addition, Tae Kwon Do demonstrates poise, allows flexibility in all joints of the body, and helps relieve fatigue and stress.

2. As a martial art Tae Kwon Do involves attacking opponents with bare hands and feet. The one distinguishing factor that Tae Kwon Do has from other martial arts is its powerful and diverse foot techniques, which make this martial art one of the world's most powerful sports. Even though Tae Kwon Do involves no use of weapons, it has the ability to knock down an opponent in one single blow. But, Tae Kwon Do emphasizes mastering defense techniques, which come from the Tae Kwon Do thinking of respecting peace and justice. Tae Kwon Do teaches practitioners to practice the attitude of self-discipline to defend oneself and never attack or defeat others.

3. As a modern sport Tae Kwon Do has new merit. Spectators have created quite a following in places such as Olympic Games and Pan American Games. One would have a difficult time finding another sport that could compare to the gracefulness, accuracy, and power that is seen when thousands of practitioners perform, as was done in the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Tae Kwon Do has also grown into a popular international sport due to increased development of rules and protective gear that reduces injuries.

As an educational tool Tae Kwon Do not only improves a person's physical well being, but his/her mental state as well. Through Tae Kwon Do a practitioner practices the art of self-perfection and understands the techniques in pursuit of the virtue of human life. In the school (dojang) the student not only develops his/her body, but his/her mind as well. With the physical exercise of stretching, strengthening, drilling, and sparring, Tae Kwon Do students learn respect for their instructors, senior students, classmates, and themselves. The development and cultivation of good character and a correct attitude is the central theme in the teaching of Tae Kwon Do.

Poomse is a pattern of a systematic series of techniques that allows the practitioners to practice defense and offense techniques by themselves against an imaginary opponent.

Gyoroogi is the actual sparring against an opponent applying offense and defense techniques that one has learned through Poomse.

Tae Kwon Do competition is conducted by two players, Chung (blue) and Slong (red). Only punching and kicking techniques are allowed during competition, and one can only attack the front part of the body. Headgear, chest protector, groin guard, forearm and shin guards help prevent injuries during competition.

Kyukpa is the self-measuring technique that measures one's precision of Tae Kwon Do training. Because offense techniques can be fatal to the human body, practitioners can experience the accuracy of these offense techniques, and have the concentration of power and strength of will power by breaking solid objects such as boards and bricks.

Unique to the practice of Tae Kwon Do is the system of ranking and promotions. Each student begins training as a white belt and is promoted to yellow, green, blue, red, and then finally black belt. These ranks under black belt are called Gup (or class) and range from 9th Gup (lowest) to 1st Gup (highest). In contrast, black belt is divided into 1st Dan (degree) to 9th Dan (from lowest to highest). It will take a diligent student from 2 to 5 years to attain 1st Dan - black belt. Students under 15 years old reaching the degree level receive Poom (children's degree).

In the training school, the dojang, there are no age, sex, or racial barriers; everyone begins their training with a white belt. The instructor allows each practitioner to progress at his/her own rate in accordance to his/her ability. During this learning the student can expect to develop strength, stamina, speed, flexibility, coordination, and balance. But to fully master the sport, one must also develop the important mental characteristics: patience, humility, self-control, perseverance, concentration, and respect.