Tae-Kwon Do is the Korean martial art of self-defense. Tae means foot. Kwon means hand. Do means art. Literally translated, Tae-Kwon Do utilizes the feet, hands and mind as a system of self defense.
History…. There is over 50 centuries of Korean history throughout which the beginnings of Tae-Kwon Do developed. The earliest recordings are mural paintings during the Koguryo dynasty in 37 B.C. Discovered in 1935, the mural depicts two men facing each other in the TaeKwon-Do fighting stance.
Tae-Kwon Do developed to defend against a better equipped enemy. The ancient farmers had no weapons. The farmers could only use what they had….feet, hands and self-confidence. Jumping techniques allowed farmers to protect themselves from enemies on horseback. Korea was liberated after World War II from the Japanese and the Koreans began to practice their art as a national endeavor. The Korean War allowed more exposure to the art by American servicemen. Today, Tae-Kwon Do is a world wide sport and system of self-defense with deep philosophy.
The martial arts represent the only sport with a build in motivation system. The achieving of the next color belt gives one a sense of self-satisfaction and demonstrates a measurable degree of training. The Black Belt is a journey from all the color belts to the absorption of all the knowledge and training to that point in time. This is the same as the color spectrum wherein black represents the absorption of all the colors of the rainbow!