The philosophy of Tae Kwon Do is to build a more peaceful world. To accomplish this goal Tae Kwon Do begins with the foundation, the individual. The Art strives to develop the character, personality, and positive moral and ethical traits in each practitioner. It is upon this "foundation" of individuals possessing positive attitudes and characteristics that the "end goal" may be achieved.
Tae Kwon Do strives to develop the positive aspects of an individual's personality: Respect, Courtesy, Goodness, Trustworthiness, Loyalty, Humility, Courage, Patience, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-control, an Indomitable Spirit and a sense of responsibility to help and respect all forms of life. This takes a great deal of hard training and many do not reach far enough to achieve perfection in all of these aspects. However, it is the physical, mental, and spiritual effort which the individual puts forth that develops the positive attributes and image of both the individual and how he or she perceives others.
By helping mold an individual into a well-rounded and responsible person, the individual can pass onto others, through both his teachings and his personal actions, the principles he has learned through his Tae Kwon Do training. Individuals unite and become a family, families come together and form a community, communities merge and develop into a nation, and nations are what make up our present-day world. In order to help build a more peaceful world, Tae Kwon Do starts with one person at a time. Gradually groups form, dojangs (schools) emerge, organizations develop, until Tae Kwon Do's philosophy has influenced, in a positive way, enough persons, families, communities, and nations, to someday bring about, or at least help bring about, the unification of nations dedicated to helping each other.
The task is not easy. Just like the metamorphosis an individual goes through from white belt to black belt and eventually Master, so the transition of the unification of nations united by laws of peace, is a long and hard task. Tae Kwon Do strives for this unification. Race, creed, and nationality have nothing to do with Tae Kwon Do. They are all one in the same. Tae Kwon Do reaches toward the total development of the individual and the founding of a peaceful world. No matter what color a persons skin, no matter what his religion, no matter where his national boundaries we all seek one thing, Peace. This peace can only be achieved if each person has found peace within himself.
When Fred Karimian started The Ohio State University Jeet Kune Do club in 1982-83 (which later became the Do-Jung-Ishu Club) he said the basic goal of the club is to show what he knew about martial arts and fighting. A part of that goal as he often said, speaking with an Iranian accent, “…is not to become so famous.” Fred did become well known as a fierce fighter and he could have easily become famous, but he chose another path and continues to this day to be very successful in his finance career and as a husband and father.
Tan, Kevin S. Y. “Constructing a Martial Tradition: Rethinking a Popular History of Karaet-dou.” Journal of Sport and Social Issues 26, no. 2 (2004): 169-192, doi: 10.1177/0193723504264772.
One of the most relaxing forms of martial arts, T'ai Chi, can help to overcome such problems as arthritis, rheumatism, back problems, lack of balance, high blood pressure, stress, post-traumatic stress, lack of energy, and more. T'ai Chi is a non violent form of the martial arts whose roots are derived from the Chinese and correlated with Traditional Chinese Medicinal techniques. There are many forms of T'ai Chi, including T'ai Chi Chuan and T'ai Chi Chih; all of which have been studied for thousands of years to improve the Chinese way of life. There have been many records of the origin of T'ai Chi reaching as far back as over 3500 years ago. In addition to a Chinese Martial Art, T'ai Chi has origins related to Taoism, which revolved around calmness, "tranquillity of mind," and the improvement of health and persona (wysiwg://25/http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/tai-chi.html). Monks employed T'ai Chi as means of be coming more in tune with their bodies and their environment. Therefore, this martial art helped them to "defend themselves against bandits and warlords through physical health and spiritual growth" (http://www.maui.net/~taichi4u/overview.html).
mind. In a general sense, many view martial arts as a sport that involves hurting one another. On
To a person not conversant with this art, Jujitsu may be considered as a foul or derogatory term in Japanese. However, Jujitsu us one of the most effective and deadly forms of martial arts taught today. Unique among other forms of combat, Jujitsu holds the position of a “parent art”, of from which other forms of martial arts such as Aikido, Judo and several Karate styles were extracted. Jujitsu is a combination of all levels of combat. It incorporates chokes, striking, grappling, nerve and pressure point attacks, joint locks, redirection of momentum and throws.
Thousands of years ago different styles of Korean martial arts where combined to create Kuk Sool Won (Tan). However, it was not until the war of World War II that Kuk Sool Won really came into affect (Hallander, "Come" 20). The outlawing of guns caused criminals to carry knifes; and therefore, law enforcement officers in Korea were taught Kuk Sool Won as self-defense (20).
First I got my white belt in the other side I was kind of nervous because everyone their are strangers to me. The first thing I did was breaking boards with a front kick. And I thought that was easy. I started taekwondo when I was 9 years. Why wanted to be a blackbelt you ask here's your answer to protect myself. Taekwondo made me focus on my education more. My journey to black belt did not start with me walking by the academy and enrolling as is the experience of many students. I was told to either put in a 110 percent effort in it, or to have a seat. Basically, my mom told not to make any arguments. I decided to push myself more than I can ever imagine to being the
A. Confucianism B. Taoism C. Buddhism D. Implementing the Philosophies V. A Better World and Taekwondo Whether people practice taekwondo for sport, recreation, art, or just for a hobby, there are five tenets that govern the practitioner's. life. It is a good thing. Those five tenets are: Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self. Control, and the Indomitable Spirit.
Even though Kempo is a martial art style that combines the Five Animals of Shaolin Kung Fu., everyone should join because it helps people learn self-defense, improve self-confidence, become physically fit, have mutual respect for others, and it is cheap at most if not all kempo academies.
Simpkins, Dr. Annellen and Alex. "The Way of Virtue." Tae Chun Do Webpage. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. .
I believe that Philosophy is the study of different ways of thinking. In philosophy, you should question everything and never take anything for face value. There are always two sides to every coin as there are different ways of looking at things, is what philosophy teaches us. In philosophy, you must throw off all the limitations you have set on yourself when dealing with how you view things and how things seem to be.
I am a martial artist. When I first started, I might have said I take karate. Here in America, both of those statements are technically true. We tend to generalize all martial arts as “karate.” In reality, only some of what we see is actually karate. The word karate is Japanese, as is the style, and it means “the way of the empty hand.” It was created in the 15th century by Okinawan peasants who were not allowed to have weapons by royal decree. Thus they developed ways of protecting themselves without the use of weapons, or by using regular objects such as sticks (Hassell 14). Today there are many, many styles of this art. There are many other styles, such as tae kwon do, kung fu, capoeira, and many more. They can be very interesting, and are beneficial to participate in for many reasons. However, it is not for everyone. I hope to offer some information on how these arts work, and why joining is a good thing, but only after some thought.
Khantipalo, Bhikkhu. "The Buddhist Monk's Discipline: Some Points Explained for Laypeople." Access to Insight. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Have you ever walked into a karate school and wondered what all of the rigid hierarchy and bowing is all about? Are you currently a new member of a karate studio and are wondering what all of the foreign words and chanting means? Or are you an avid student who still wonders what it all means when you enter your "Mini Martial Arts Experience" every Wednesday evening at 6pm? Lots of people share your confusion and many people wonder if it is all necessary.
According to Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzo, “Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.” This is a valuable saying because it conveys great wisdom. Mastering may be defined as acquiring a set of skills and developing them into perfection. To add, this quote suggests two different ideas of mastery. “Mastering others is strength” suggests the idea of mastering through acquiring learned skills. Learned skills develop by examining qualities in other people. When Tzo says “mastering yourself is true power,” he suggests that mastering may also be developed through one’s natural skills. These are skills that are inborn and characterized with talents that give you unbound potential. Mastery that stems from one’s natural skills over learned skills is of greater competence because it creates stronger leadership, better mental and emotional well-being, and refines one’s vocation in life.