What is Tae Kwon Do all about?

All about Tae Kwon Do

What is Tae Kwon Do?
Tae Kwon Do is a modern martial art, well known all around the world for it’s lightning fast, often high, spectacular spin kicks. Tae Kwon Do has been around for many years, originally founded in Korea.  It translates to “the art of punching and kicking”, or, “the art of unarmed combat”.

The four disciplines of Tae Kwon Do
This martial art  has four disciplines - patters, self defense, break test, and sparring. It is the combination of these disciplines that make up the art form. All four of them are important, especially for those looking to advance in belt ranking. To advance in a belt, there are certain tests that students need to pass.

Good for all ages
One of the great things about Tae Kwon Do is the fact that there are no age limits, and it can easily be learned by young children. Children of all ages will quickly learn fast reactions by playing games, learning respect, and they will also learn their strengths as well as their weaknesses.

Competitions
Competitions are a bit different for children than they are for the adults  Even though the participants will wear full body protection, including head gear, children can only kick and punch to the body, as no shots to the head are allowed. The Competitions in Tae Kwon Do is what makes this art very popular. You may have seen it on the tv during the Olympics.

A Tae Kwon Do championship, being run in Argentina.

Photo credit Claudio.Ar

In order to participate in a competition, students will need to have a certain level of experience. Competitions can be within one training center, pitting student against student under the watchful eye of the instructors, or they may involve students from other centers. Friendly competitions are a great way to learn.

Great for self defense
All things aside, the art of Tae Kwon Do is a useful martial art to know. Students will learn kicking, punching, blocking, and the spectacular movements the art is known for. Tae Kwon Do is practiced all around the world, as it is fairly popular, so you can hopefully find a training center near you. Tae Kwon Do teaches excellent self defense and has all the regular benefits of learning a martial art that I've spoken about previously.