Tae Kwon Do

“The art of the foot and fist,” best describes the martial art also known as Tae Kwon Do. This particular art of combat hails in South Korea back in the 20^th century. In the same period, martial arts schools were founded to teach the local art of foot and fist combat. Later on, Tae Kwon Do became well renowned worldwide. Martial arts masters were deployed in many different countries to share their fighting expertise. No wonder, it was declared as the most popular martial art of the world based on the growing number of practitioners in 1989.

The onset of the 21^st century paved the way for Tae Kwon Do sports. In fact, it was held as an official Olympic event that commenced in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The sport is further subdivided into two faculties governed by two individual entities known as the World Tae Kwon Do Organization (WTO) and the International Tae Kwon Do Federation (ITF). WTO is concerned in the promotion of Tae Kwon Do as a global sport. On the other hand, ITF works hand in hand with the International Olympic Committee thereby assuming the competitive perspective of the sport.

Tae Kwon Do has been popularized by distinctive kicking techniques. This fact is grounded on the belief that the legs are the most powerful weapons of a fighter. Powerful kicks are even regarded as the most effective means to beat the opponent. Consequently, there are 13 different varieties of kicking styles known as “Chagi.” Basic moves consist of front snap kick (extreme linear kick), side piercing kick (powerful side kick), roundhouse kick (horizontal snap kick), and reverse side kick (true back kick). The list also includes axe kick, crescent kick, hook kick, jump kick, reverse turning kick, etc. Nonetheless, the fighter makes use of front and rear legs to perform all of these power kicks.

Apart from Tae Kwon Do kicks, the sport also takes pride of hand attacks in terms of fighting up close. Most likely, these are executed in a swift manner to prevent defensive attempts coming from the opponent. Common hand positions used in offensive fighting combinations include forefist (knuckle strike), hammer fist (hammer strike), back fist (swing-back strike), and knife hands (chop strike). Some other hand strikes are fingertips, knife hand, palm heel, thumb, elbow strike, and four-knuckle strike. In the same way, the hands may also be used in blocking opponent’s aggression such as single forearm block, low block, rising block, and palm block.

There are also many other fighting techniques in Tae Kwon Do routines. These consist of breaking skills (destruction of inanimate objects), self-defense skills (defense via injury and incapacity), and some other fighting patterns (systematic combinations). Along the sparring process, competitors observe certain sparring stances like attention stance, close stance, back stance, fighting stance, and cat stance. This way, the fighter can optimize offensive and defensive strategies in the match.

Given the extensive set of skills involved in the sport, trainees can get a share of total body workout. Skills training usually employ leg and arm exercises to develop competence on fist and feet combat. The intense physical engagement can also provide sufficient body building activity to keep one’s physique in good shape. Furthermore, the training also entails strict discipline to condition the mind and the spirit. Upon mastery of Tae Kwon Do skills via convergence of mind, body, and spirit, the fighter can surely advance to senior black belt rank. That means the trainee has successfully surpassed the entry-level white belt rank as well as the junior red belt rank.