by ·Comments Off on Why Sports Isn’t Helping Promote Taekwondo as a Martial Arts
Olympic Taekwondo Ditches Sport's Traditions

source: Chron.com

Early in October 2011, there was news posted on the web titled “Olympic Taekwondo Ditches Sport’s Traditions.”  In this article, they noted that just a year before, the governing body for Taekwondo changed the rules for sparring so that judges award more points for head shots.

In my own personal opinion, the way Taekwondo has evolved in sports, not just in the Olympics, isn’t helping promote it as a martial arts.  I’ve personally seen it detract from the traditional teachings of martial arts.

In the referenced article, competitors who make it to black belt say that they simply focus on training to fight and not even think about other parts of the art, to include forms (or “poomsae” in Korean).  This behavior is contrary to traditional teaching of Taekwondo as a whole.

People have seen evidence of this trend seen as early as the 2008 Olympics.  In one sparring match, a Cuban competitor wasn’t happy with a referee’s call, and decided to kick the referee on the face.  That Cuban fighter (I call him fighter because he isn’t a martial artist) has long been banned from Taekwondo competition.  That was a sad day in Taekwondo, an art known to help build stronger inner character for those who truly practice it.

I know of at least a couple of schools in my state where their main focus is sparring.  One of them is no longer in business, while the other remains open.  If all the focus is on sparring, then it is no longer a martial art.  They should explicitly be advertised as Sports Taekwondo instead of just plain Taekwondo (or Tae Kwon Do) so people will know it is sports and not a martial arts.

The sport itself detracts from realistic fights since it focuses on kicks.  The hands are mainly there to block or to help set up for a kick.  Never in my life have I seen anyone score with a punch; judges award points for kicks only.  This is why Taekwondo is widely known as a style that uses lots of kicks.

Note that the sport of Taekwondo has its place.  For my students, it allows them to compete and test their skills with other kids whom they’ve not sparred before.  It also helps them experience winning and losing, and in the process exercise the application of Taekwondo tenets–courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit, and victory.

If things are to improve in the sports of Taekwondo, techniques of both the hands and the feet must be awarded points.  After all, isn’t Taekwondo the art of using the hands and feet for self-defense?

What do you think?  Do you agree?  Please comment below.

 

by ·Comments Off on Is Taekwondo Good for Kids?
Taekwondo child bowing to show respect

Taekwondo child bowing to show respect

As a parent, you might have this lingering question–“Is Taekwondo good for my child?”

The simple answer to this “yes”, for the following reasons:

  • Respect.  Taekwondo teaches kids to show respect; at our Taekwondo school, the student begins by bowing to staff, students, and guests as soon as they enter the training hall.
  • Motor Skills.  Children perform drills which help them become more coordinated–helping them improve their motor skills.
  • Self-defense.  Kids learn that Taekwondo is only for self-defense.
  • Agility and Skill.  Kids learn about the Olympic sport of Taekwondo and through training improve their agility and skill.
  • Self-confidence.  Through training and testing, children are able to build their self-confidence.
  • Leadership.  As children move up in rank, they learn to set goals and objectives to reach their goals.  At higher belt levels, they are taught to lead the class through warm up exercises.
  • Code of Conduct.  Kids learn about the tenets of Taekwondo–courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit, and victory.
If your kids take Taekwondo, how has it change them?  Please share your thoughts by posting comments below.

by ·Comments Off on About Taekwondo Belts: Why are there so many Taekwondo Belts?
Taekwondo Belts: Uncovering the meaning of Taekwondo Belts

credit: Graeme Weatherston

Are you confused by Taekwondo belts?  When you go to a Taekwondo event and see the many rainbow of Taekwondo belt colors, do you wonder why there are so many?

Well, this article should help clear things up.

In Taekwondo, the core belt colors are:

  • White (typically mapped to the lowest belt rank)
  • Yellow
  • Green
  • Blue
  • Red
  • Black (generally mapped to the highest belt rank)
Most traditional Taekwondo schools use these as the base color.  However, some schools take the liberty of using other colors, such as orange, purple, and brown.
Anyway, these belt colors represent a student’s rank (GUP in Korean).  Typically, the lowest rank is mapped to white belt.  In Taekwondo the lowest rank begins at 10th gup.  In our school, it goes in this order (from low to high):
  • 10th gup – white belt
  • 9th gup – senior white belt (white belt with a black strip going across)
  • 8th gup – yellow belt
  • 7th gup – senior yellow belt  (yellow belt with a black strip going across)
  • 6th gup – green belt
  • 5th gup – senior green belt  (green belt with a black strip going across)
  • 4th gup – blue belt
  • 3rd gup – senior blue belt  (blue belt with a black strip going across)
  • 2nd gup – red belt
  • 1st gup – senior red belt  (red belt with a black strip going across)
  • Bo dan – black belt candidate (red/black belt; red on top/black on bottom half)
  • 1st dan (or poom if student is 15 years old or younger) – black belt
  • 2nd dan (or poom if student is 15 years old or younger) – black belt
  • 3rd dan – black belt (two of our instructors are at this rank)
  • 4th dan – black belt (one of our master instructors is at this rank)
  • 5th dan – black belt (our chief master instructor is at this rank)
  • it goes up as high as 9th dan (black belt)
If you keep rank in mind when looking at belt colors, it may help a bit in reducing confusion, but since most people are visual, knowing the core belt colors and how they fit in the general ranking scheme helps.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them below.

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Taekwondo is Exercise

Taekwondo is great for health and fitness

Is it true that Taekwondo is good for health?

The answer to this is yes.  Like any physical activity, having exercise in one’s life is good for the heart, muscles, bones, and to some degree spiritual and mental fitness.

Unlike other physical activity, Taekwondo as a martial arts also provides one with core values to strengthen one’s character.  No other physical activity builds one’s core like Taekwondo.

When you practice Taekwondo, you exercise your mind, body, and spirit.

The mind is kept active through the knowledge one gains about martial arts and how one is taught to have “victory”–a code of conduct which reflects positive mental attitude.

The spirit, which is ones inner motivator, is strengthened through the reinforcement or teachings on core values–the six tenets of Taekwondo (courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit, and victory).  When one has strong spirit, one is able to motivate himself or herself to achieve goals and objectives.

Last but not least, the body is regularly exercised through calisthenics, aerobic, strengthening, and stretching exercises.  The exercises are done in such a way where all parts of the body work in an integrated fashion to give it natural strength.

No other fitness activity can deliver like Taekwondo!

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As some of you know, the speed kicking record was held by Luan. It stood at 202 kicks in 60 seconds. He set this record several years ago, back when the school was at Lower Sacramento Road.

Well, most recently (about 3 weeks ago), Patrick smashed that speed kicking record–delivering a whopping 214 kicks in 60 seconds!

Congratulations Patrick!

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Last Saturday, 06 Nov 2010, all 5 Koryo Family Taekwondo Center kids claimed gold at the 2010 All California Taekwondo Championships held at Bethel High School, in Vallejo, California.

Here are the breakdown of results:

  • Angel:  sparring (1st place), forms (2nd place)
  • Diego:  breaking (1st place), forms (3rd place)
  • Ivan: breaking (1st place), sparring (2nd place), forms (3rd place)
  • Jordan:  breaking (1st place), sparring (3rd place)
  • Sofica: forms (1st place), sparring (2nd place), breaking (3rd place)

Congratulations on a job well done!

Below is the second round of Angel’s 2nd match:

by ·Comments Off on Koryo FTC families and friends raise $2400 for charity
St Jude Childrens Research Hospital

St Jude Children's Research Hospital

A million THANKS to all the students and instructors who participated in our ‘RUN for a CURE’ fundraiser at KORYO Family Taekwondo Center, and a huge THANK YOU to all their families & friends who supported them.

With your help, we raised a total of $2400 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Great job, everyone!!!

This is one way we can give back to the community, whether it is local, national, or worldwide in scope.  What we give comes back to us tenfold, in some positive way or form.

by ·Comments Off on 2010 Nor-Cal Taekwondo Championships Results
Koryo Family take

Each of our kids take home a gold medal!

This Saturday’s tournament made for a long day, but it was well worth it! Our kids–Ivan, Sofia, and Partick showed indomitable spirit, determination, and courage for the events where they competed.

Ivan, Sofia, and Patrick all did forms and sparring. Partick also did board breaking. In forms, both Ivan and Sofia took home the gold. Patrick took home the silver in his group. In sparring, Ivan took home the bronze, Sofia and Patrick took home the silver. In board breaking, Partick’s advance breaking technique got him the gold. Good job kids!

Here’s a summary of the our team’s efforts:

  • Ivan (forms: gold, sparring: bronze)
  • Sofia (forms: gold, sparring: silver)
  • Patrick (forms: silver, board breaking: gold, sparring: silver)

Please make sure to congratulate them for a job well done.

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Members and family at the anti-bully campaign

Members and family at the anti-bully campaign

Family and members pose for a picture after a successful demonstration by the members.

On Saturday, 25 Sep 2010, a group of students and family members participated in a community sponsored anti-bullying campaign.  The event was held at the Impact Teen Center, 725 N. El Dorado, Stockton, CA.  The kids performed to show their various skills in forms, weapons, self-defense, board breaking, and kicking combinations.  Awesome jobs kids!  You looked good out there.

Thank you to the students, the parents who supported them, and Sabumnim Jamie for putting the demonstration together.  This is just one of the many ways the kids are learning to support their community–especially for such a good cause like this anti-bully campaign.

By the way, this event would not been possible without the coordination efforts of Mrs. Forlanda, Koryo FTC Program Director, and the support of Gloria Allen, our local Stockton Unified School District board member.  So a big “thank you” to both for making this opportunity possible.

Here’s a video of the demo:

by ·Comments Off on A Blast from the Past: 2008 Hanmadang

Some of you may remember this…

In July 2008, Koryo Family Taekwondo master instructors competed in the 2008 World Taekwondo Hanmadang which was held in Anaheim, California.  Below is a short slide show/video which highlights the Hanmadang as an unforgettable experience for Koryo Family Taekwondo Center.