The Tenets
COURTESY (Ye Ui)It can be said that courtesy is an unwritten regulation prescribed by ancient teachers of philosophy as a means to enlighten human beings while maintaining a harmonious society. It can be further be as an ultimate criterion required of a mortal. Taekwon-Do students should attempt to practice the following elements of courtesy to build up their noble character and to conduct the training in an orderly manner as well:
1) To promote the spirit of mutual concessions 2) To be ashamed of one's vices, contempting those of others 3) To be polite to one another 4) To encourage the sense of justice and humanity 5) To distinguish instructor from student, senior from junior, and elder from younger 6) To behave oneself according to etiquette 7) To respect others' possessions 8) To handle matters with fairness and sincerity 9) To refrain from giving or accepting a gift when in doubt INTEGRITY (Yom Chi) In Taekwon-Do, the word integrity assumes a looser definition than the one usually presented in Webster's dictionary. One must be able to define right and wrong and have a conscience, if wrong, to feel guilt. Listed are some examples where integrity is lacking: 1) The instructor who misrepresents himself and his art by presenting improper techniques to his students because of a lack of knowledge or apathy. 2) The student who misrepresents himself by "fixing" breaking materials before demonstrations. 3) The instructor who camouflages bad technique with luxurious training halls and false flattery to his students. 4) The student who requests ranks from an instructor, or attempts to purchase it. 5) The student who gains rank for ego purposes or the feeling of power. 6) The instructor who teaches and promotes his art for materialistic gains. 7) The students whose actions do not live up to his words. 8) The student who feels ashamed to seek opinions from his juniors. PERSEVERANCE (In Nae) There is an old Oriental saying, "Patience leads to virtue or merit, One can make a peaceful home by being patient for 100 times. Certainly happiness and prosperity are most likely brought to the patient person. To achieve something, whether it is a higher degree or the perfection or a technique, one must set his goal, then constantly persevere. Robert Bruce learned his lesson of perseverance from the persistent efforts of a lowly spider. It was this perseverance and tenacity that finally enabled him to free Scotland in the fourteenth century. One of the most important secrets in becoming a leader of Taekwon-Do is to overcome every difficulty by perseverance. One who is impatient in trivial matters can seldom achieve success in matters of great importance. SELF CONTROL (Guk Gi) This tenet is extremely important inside and outside the do-jang, whether conducting oneself in free sparring or in one's personal affairs. A loss of self-control in free sparring can prove disastrous to both student and opponent. An inability to live and work within one's capability or sphere is also a lack of self-control. "The stronger person is the person who wins over oneself rather than someone else." INDOMITABLE SPIRIT (Baekjool Boolgool) "Here lie 300, who did their duty," a simple epitaph for one of the greatest acts of courage known to mankind. Although facing the superior forces of Xerxes, Leonidas and his 300 Spartans at Thermopylae showed the world the meaning of indomitable spirit. It is shown when a courageous person and his principles are pitted against overwhelming odds. A serious student of Taekwon-Do will at all times be modest and honest. If confronted with injustice, he will deal with the belligerence without any fear or hesitation at all, with indomitable spirit, regardless of whosoever and however many the number |
About Taekwondo
Taekwondo, translated as, "The Way of the Hand and Foot", has a long history of being a self defense martial art, using only the hands and feet to fight off ones assailants. Taekwondo is primarily a defensive martial art, but it also embodies the "Way" of the martial artist.
Although the name Taekwondo was first introduced in 1944 by General Choi, the art can be traced back to murals painted on tomb walls dating back to between AD 5 and AD 427. Taekwondo developed out of blending the ancient Korean foot-fighting techniques and Japanese Karate. Both styles dating back thousands of years. One of the most significant ways in which Taekwondo differs from other fighting forms is that a great deal of emphasis is placed upon using the legs to fight with. Indeed the flying kicks unique to Taekwondo have been said to have originated as a way of kicking mounted soldiers off horseback. The oldest Korean martial art was an amalgamation of unarmed combat styles developed by the three rival Korean Kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje, where young men were trained in unarmed combat techniques to develop strength, speed, and survival skills. The most popular of these techniques was ssireum and subak with taekkyeon being the most popular of the segments of subak. The Northern Goguryeo kingdom was a dominant force in Northern Korea and North Eastern China prior to common era and again from the 3rd century to the 6th century CE. Before the fall of Goguryeo Dynasty 6th century CE, the Shilla Kingdom asked for help in training its people for defence against pirate invasions. During this time a few select Silla warriors were given training in taekkyeon by the early masters from Koguryo. These Shilla warriors then became known as the Hwarang. The Hwarang set up a military academy for the sons of royalty in Silla called Hwarang-do, which means "the way of flowering manhood." The Hwarang studied taekkyeon, history, Confucian philosophy, ethics, Buddhist morality, social skills and military tactics. The guiding principles of the Hwarang warriors were based on Won Gwang's five codes of human conduct and included loyalty, filial duty, trustworthiness, valor and justice. Taekkyeon was spread throughout Korea because the Hwarang traveled all around the peninsula to learn about the other regions and people. In spite of Korea's rich history of ancient and traditional martial arts, Korean martial arts faded into obscurity during the late Joseon Dynasty. Korean society became highly centralized under Korean Confucianism and martial arts were poorly regarded in a society whose ideals were epitomized by its scholar-kings. Formal practices of traditional martial arts such as subak and taekkyeon were reserved for sanctioned military uses. However, taekkyeon persisted into the 19th century as a folk game during the May-Dano festival and was still taught as the Military Martial Art under the last emperor of the Choson Dynasty. During the occupation, Koreans who were able to study in Japan were exposed to Japanese martial arts. Others were exposed to martial arts in China and Manchuria. When the occupation ended in 1945, Korean martial arts schools (kwans) began to open in Korea under various influences. There are differing views on the origins of the arts taught in these schools. Some believe that they taught martial arts that were based primarily upon the traditional Korean martial arts taekkyon and subak, or that taekwondo was derived from native Korean martial arts with influences from neighboring countries. Still others believe that these schools taught arts that were almost entirely based upon karate. In 1952, at the height of the Korean War, there was a martial arts exhibition in which the kwans displayed their skills. In one demonstration, Nam Tae Hi smashed 13 roof tiles with a punch. Following this demonstration, South Korean President Syngman Rhee instructed Choi Hong Hi to introduce the martial arts to the Korean army. By the mid-1950s, nine kwans had emerged. After the liberation of Korea at the end of the second world war there were five main martial art academies in Korea, all practicing Taekwondo but in slightly different ways. These families or styles of Taekwondo art were known as: Mooduk Kwan Jido Kwan Changmu Kwan Song Kwan Chung Do Kwan. Syngman Rhee ordered that the various schools unify under a single system. The name "taekwondo" was submitted by either Choi Hong Hi (of the Oh Do Kwan) or Song Duk Son (of the Chung Do Kwan), and was accepted on April 11, 1955. As it stands today, the nine kwans are the founders of taekwondo, though not all the kwans used the name. The Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed in 1959/1961 to facilitate the unification. In the early 1960s, taekwondo made its début worldwide with assignment of the original masters of taekwondo to various countries. Standardization efforts in South Korea stalled, as the kwans continued to teach differing styles. Another request from the Korean government for unification resulted in the formation of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association, which changed its name back to the Korea Taekwondo Association in 1965 following a change of leadership. The International Taekwon-Do Federation was founded in 1966, followed by World Taekwondo Federation in 1973. We are proud members of the Jun Tong Taekwondo Federation: http://www.juntong-taekwondo.com/index.php 
Attention stance
Also known as: Charyot Seogi - In this stance, the legs are straight and touching each other, with toes pointing forward. The arms are straight and held stiffly at one’s side. In ITF style Taekwondo, the feet are put at a 45 degree angle as opposed to straight in WTF style. This is the stance that all bows come from. 
Closed Stance
Also known as: Moa Seogi - Found in ITF taekwondo. This is mostly seen as a ready stance at the beginning and end of patterns, but can also be seen less frequently during pattern execution. Feet are placed together, and weight is distributed evenly between them. 
Front stance
Also known as: Gunnun Seogi - In this stance, the legs are held one in front and to the side of the other, in a wide and deep pose with hips facing forward. The front leg is bent and the other is straightened. This is a very firm and steady stance, one of the first learned by beginners, and is often used in poomsae / tul.There is a variant of this stance called Nachuo Seogi or Low Stance which is One foot length longer (as illustrated). The stance can be either Full, Half or Reverse half facing. 
L-stance
Also known as:Niunja SeogiIn this stance, one foot is in front of the other, with the back foot pointed 90 degrees perpendicular, and the front foot pointed straight. The majority of the body weight is placed on the back leg.The weight distribution is 70-30, So when performing this stance one should just be able to see the toes of one's back foot over the knee. All techniques in L-Stance can only be half facing. 
Ready stance
Also known as: Naranhi Seogi or Parallel Stance In this stance, the legs are straight, with toes pointing straight forward, feet shoulder width apart. The arms are held in front of the body, with closed fists and elbows slightly bent, hands about six inches away from the navel. This is the position that all poomsae forms start from, and return to. Not all ITF tul start and finish in this stance, but it is still used as a ready stance in the Chang Hon pattern set. 
Rear foot stance
Also known as: Dwitbal Seogi In this stance, the legs are held bent and close together, with the back foot perpendicular to the body and the front foot straight and en pointe. The weight distribution is 90% on the back leg and 10% on the front leg. This stance is found in the higher level forms. 
Sitting stance
Also known as: Annun Seogi or middle stance In this stance, the legs are in a squat position, with feet far apart facing forward and knees bent. This stance can also be used as a stretch. The object is typically to keep the back straight while lowering the buttocks down to the ground with the legs spread keeping shins perpendicular to the floor. Weight is evenly distributed 50-50. |
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