Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a martial art that came to us from Korea. There are several types of taekwondo. The most common in the world is the WTF sports taekwondo, a little less well-known is its combat direction.
The WTF Taekwondo Sports Center is Kukkiwon, the only training center located in Korea. The WTF Taekwondo Summer Olympics program is a traditional sport.
The history of taekwondo dates back several millennia. Usually, there are four stages in the development of this sport: ancient times, the Middle Ages, modern times and modernity.
At the first stage of development, people did not have any means in order to protect themselves, except for their hands and body. Therefore, people developed methods of dealing with opponents with their bare hands. Taekwondo of ancient times was the basis of martial art, which allowed the use of one’s own power, using arms and legs, without weapons in any critical situation.
Taekwondo is the oldest Korean martial art, it was based on the unification of the fighting styles of fighting without weapons, and soon began to develop as an independent martial art.
Since the 4th century, taekwondo has been an indispensable element in the training of young warriors. This sport quickly gained popularity among the people, as it developed the strength, speed and survival skills of soldiers in battle.
During the reign of the Joseon Dynasty, the history of Korean traditional martial arts almost stopped under the influence of Confucianism, which negatively perceived martial sports. But, it is worth noting that taekwondo was still preserved, albeit for special military use.
At the time when Korea was occupied by Japan (1910-1945), Korean martial arts had to go underground, the colonial regime purposefully suppressed Korean national elements in all spheres of culture. After the surrender of Japan in 1945, Korea began to gradually revive its national characteristics; many taekwondo schools opened.
The Cold War between the USSR and the USA divided Korea into North and South. The authorities of both republics were united in their desire to stop the tradition of martial arts, in part to turn taekwondo into a sporting look that would be used only for the purpose of mass physical education.
Officially, taekwondo as a martial art was first registered in the 50s of the last century. He led the work on the codification of this style of wrestling, Lieutenant General Choi Hong Hee, and he is considered the “father” of taekwondo.
Today, the WTF sports taekwondo has branches in more than a hundred countries of the world, including the CIS and Eastern Europe. A huge number of athletes are engaged in such a sport.
Taekwondo teaches how to fight in any environment, with any number of opponents. A significant part of taekwondo techniques cannot be used in competitions; they are trained only with the use of special techniques so as not to cripple a partner.
In taekwondo, many strong techniques have been developed with kicks, and in one jump, a professional can see several delivered blows in different directions. It is difficult to name another single combat, in which there would be so many kicks in a jump.
There is an opinion, unjustified, that hands in taekwondo do not receive much attention. Of course, remembering this type of martial art, first of all, powerful kicks are recalled, but hands in this type of martial arts train no less, punches in taekwondo are also very effective. In addition to great military power, taekwondo is a very spectacular kind of martial arts, which will not leave indifferent any spectator.
Taekwondo for self-defense A special section in taekwondo is devoted to self-defense of a person – methods of action on pain points on a person’s body, his actions in case of captures, throws, fighting in prone, sitting positions, methods of capturing weapons from an attacker. But, most taekwondo schools are engaged in sports training, paying absolutely no attention to self-defense techniques. This often leads to the fact that a taekwondo student switches to other types of martial arts, which, in his opinion, are more suitable for self-defense.
Most of those who come to taekwondo are engaged in obtaining sports results, although this martial art is primarily intended for self-defense. Most of the equipment used for self-defense is excluded from the sports version of taekwondo.
