Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Allen Taylor--1st Dan

August 10, 2013
Philosophy of Taekwondo

Taekwondo has the potential to help one's personal growth both mentally and physically. Taekwondo is a Martial Art whose tenets are: Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, and Self Control. When one starts his/her journey in this martial art the individual starts with White Belt meaning "innocence as that of a beginning student who has no previous knowledge of Taekwondo. This beginning student has embarked on a journey they are not sure what they are beginning.
When I first began taekwondo I wanted to learn to be an effective fighter and be able to defend myself or my family if a situation ever arose that needed it. I thought Taekwondo would be a good style to teach me those skills I needed. As I continued training in taekwondo I found out there is more to the art than just being able to defend oneself.

One of the first things you learn when starting taekwondo is its tenets (mentioned earlier). As you proceed in taekwondo you learn that these tenets are more than just something to memorize but is part of what makes a good taekwondo practitioner. A seasoned martial artist cannot be filled with arrogance because he needs to know his strengths as well as his weaknesses. Courtesy is important for the student to know, there is a ranking system and to be able to have respect for higher ranking students, instructors, and everyone in general. Integrity is important for the student so they are a good representation of taekwondo, to know right from wrong and to want to do right. Perseverance is a necessity as a taekwondo student, because one must wait and practice to become a black belt and than to continue with the art to get better. One must also persevere through one's struggle with certain obstacles such as a technique or physical limitations. Self Control is very important because it is needed as the student progresses. One cannot loose self control towards someone or it could be dangerous for the student or others.

Another important part of Taekwondo is Forms. The more time spent in Taekwondo the more forms you will learn. When first learning a new form you are trying to memorize specific movements that make up the form. As you practice the form more you begin to understand the movements and how they are effective. The movements also become more natural the more they are practiced. When first beginning, the instructor is the one who will check your form to make sure you are doing it correctly. As a student becomes more seasoned then the student will check his own form and keep improving his or herself. A different perspective can be taken while doing a form and think while doing the form. A form is never really mastered but one can grow greatly by doing forms.

Training in forms carries over to ones life. One must observe his or her life from many different perspectives to get a true view of what is real. One may see their life as something when it might be something entirely different because they have never taken the time to really look at it. When living life one must also look at correct things, be able to observe their life and make adjustments where needed and this is why forms are so important to a martial artist.

Taekwondo will push people mentally and physically. If someone is over weight or just out of shape it will push the person's body to its limits from the amount of exercise the person will do. This martial art will work ones muscles that are normally not worked and the cardiovascular exercise experienced will strengthen the heart helping the person to be in better shape. With being healthier one will most likely be happier and more confident in what they do which leads to more success in their life.

The martial art will also push one mentally. Besides being in better shape which helps one to be happier, there are many other ways that taekwondo helps one mentally. The fear of public speaking is the number one fear of people and it is followed by the number two fear which is death. When practicing taekwondo there are many times one must preform forms, movements, board breaks, and many other things in front of a crowd. This pushes a person to overcome this fear.

Taekwondo trains a person in many different ways and will teach them things along their journey, which will help them in other aspects of their life.