Posts Tagged ‘29th Infantry Division’
What Taekwondo Can Do For You! Lessons for Life.
What Taekwondo Can Do For You!
Lessons for Life.
Taekwondo is a Korean Martial Art. “Tae” means foot, “Kwon” means hand and Do means “the Way”. Literally translated it means The Way of the Foot and Hand. The word “Taekwondo” was coined in 1955 by a South Korean Brigadier General named Hong Hi Choi. Taekwondo was born out of an indigenous Korean Foot-Fighting art called Tae Kyeon and Japanese Karate (which the General learned while imprisoned by the Japanese Government during their occupation of Korea). General Choi headed up the Military School of Taekwondo called the Oh Do Kwan (meaning School of My Way). The Famous South Korean 29th Infantry Division (also known as the White Horse Brigade) was the vehicle through which he developed Oh Do Kwan Taekwondo Training for the R.O.K. Armed Forces. At the same time a colleague of his, Won Kuk Lee, was training civilians in South Korea at the Chung Do Kwan School of Taekwondo (Chung Do Kwan means School of the Blue Wave). Master Lee’s Chung Do Kwan was the largest and most popular civilian Taekwondo School in Korea.
In the late 1950?s and early 1960?s, American Armed Forces were called to South Korea to help control the attempt of Communist North Korea to dominate the Democratic Republic of South Korea. While stationed in South Korea, many U.S. GI’s learned Taekwondo from the South Korean soldiers. Upon returning to the States, they began teaching Taekwondo themselves to Americans. Most notably, Chuck Norris, actor and martial artist, came back and began teaching Taekwondo to movie stars and film directors in Hollywood, California. This eventually led him to his now highly successful career in acting.
Today, Taekwondo is taught in countries all over the world. It is the most popular and most widely practiced of the Asian Martial Arts. Taekwondo is recognized as not only the most effective and scientific method of learning self-defense but also as a fun and exciting means to teach our youth values such as respect, discipline, patience, courage, and effort. Adults practicing Taekwondo can expect reduced stress levels in their lives, keep fit and feel better, increase their energy and self-esteem, and enjoy the comradery and friendship of other adults with an interest in Taekwondo.
As you can see, Taekwondo is not just a sport. While it does have a competition aspect, this is just one small facet of the Art. Furthermore, the competition aspect of Taekwondo was not developed to win medals at all, but rather to test one’s skills in a situation that, as closely as possible, resembles an actual self-defense scenario; it was meant to make a student face his or hers own fears and learn to control them under pressure.
In reality, the Art of Taekwondo in its entirety is a way of thinking and acting. It is a way of life that all students can enjoy. The utmost purpose of Taekwondo is to develop an individual’s self-confidence and self-esteem; to help him or her realize their full human potential, not just physically, but mentally and spiritually as well! It challenges each individual to develop, to the fullest, their personal abilities.
Taekwondo’s purpose is to strengthen the individual physically and spiritually through its rigorous training methods and morally and ethically through its philosophy. As Taekwondo accomplishes this end we will begin to see stronger families which lead to stronger communities and ultimately to a more peaceful world for us all. This is the promise of Taekwondo, the Art. And everyone, young or old, male or female, weak or strong, big or small, may enjoy the benefits attained from practicing Taekwondo’s physical and philosophical lessons.