Taekwondo is a modern martial art, characterized by it's fast, high and spinning kicks. There are multiple interpretations of the name taekwondo. Taekwondo is often translated as 'the way of hand and foot'. My definition of the name Taekwondo is
Tae = 'to strike or block with the foot' or 'to kick', it also means 'jump'
Kwon = 'Fist', 'to strike or block with hand'
Do = 'The way of' or 'art'.
Put this together and Taekwondo means: "The art of Kicking and Punching" or "The art of unarmed combat".
The sport has been founded in Korea and is one of the popular modern martial arts.
Disciplinces of Taekwondo
Taekwondo has four disciplinces which are explained in a seperate page/chapter of this site. The four displinces are:
Patterns
Sparring
Self-defence
Breaktest
It is the combination of these four disciplines that makes the art called taekwondo.
Objectives of Taekwondo
to develop an appreciation for Taekwondo as a sport and as an art
to achieve physical fitness through positive participation
to improve mental discipline and emotional equanimity
to learn self-defense skills
to develop a sense of responsibility for one self and others.
Taekwondo for kids
Taekwondo has no age limits and is a very good sport for children. They learn fast reactions through games, learn to respect others and learn to know their abilities and disabilities.
