The sport
A Korean martial art with roots going back more than 2000 years. The name means foot (tae), fist (kwon) and way (do).
As the name suggests, taekwondo is an all-round sport where you train hard and learn to defend yourself using your whole body.
In practice that means training flexibility, balance, fitness, stamina, speed and strength — in a way where you see progress quickly. Taekwondo also trains the mind, with a strong focus on discipline, dedication and respect, both for yourself and for the people you train with.
You can happily train without any ambition to compete. But if you want to, there is every opportunity to enter competitions at home and abroad — taekwondo is an Olympic sport.
Taekwondo is a healthy, rewarding sport practised all over the world by the old, the young and everyone in between. Besides getting fit and learning to defend yourself, you get a wide and close-knit circle of people of all ages who share the same interest.
The four areas
Broadly speaking, taekwondo falls into four areas. You need to practise all four to be put forward for a grading.
Poom
Here you learn the strikes, kicks and blocks we use in taekwondo, and how to coordinate hands and feet so the techniques come out correctly. This is your foundation. Every basic technique has a Korean name, which gradually becomes a natural part of training.
Poomsae
Sequences of basic techniques put together. The word roughly means "basic techniques combined", and it is also called imaginary sparring, because you picture an opponent. The techniques have to be powerful and flowing, so it resembles a real fight.
Kyorugi
Here you learn timing and distance, and how to move in relation to your opponent. As in poomsae you move fluidly and strike with power — this time against a real opponent. In time you develop a style of your own.
Hosinsul
The focus here is techniques that work under stress, so you can defend yourself. It does not have to look pretty — the point is to get out of a dangerous situation.
Ki is Korean for energy. What all four areas have in common is that ki is a natural part of the training. If your ki is strong, your strikes, kicks and blocks will be strong too. For higher grades it matters especially to show strong ki in training — that is how you set the example for newer students.
Next step
You can read about taekwondo, but it makes far more sense standing on the mat. The first 2 weeks of training are free.
