Thursday, 12 July 2012

Introduction to Taekwondo

Hello everyone, I'm Nicole Tan From Ngee Ann poly's Information Technology. Throughout the next few weeks I will be sharing with you more about Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is a sport that originated from Korea as far back as 18.B.C. It is a combination of combat techniques, self defence,sport,meditation, philosophy and exercise. Taekwondo is well-known for it's emphasis on kicking techniques rather than punching.

Today,Taekwondo is practised by many all over the world and here is a short video to introduce you what you would do in a Taekwondo training:


Taekwondo is divided into 2 main sections:
1. Kyorugi (Sparring)
Kyorugi is the fighting section of Taekwondo. It is to test your opponent's ability using your skills by fighting it out in the court. You win a match by either scoring the most points or by knocking out your opponent.
2.Poomsae (Pattern)
It is a series of movements joined together.
In order to promote from one belt to another, you would have to go through a pattern tests where you will demonstrate your proficiency of your pattern
Learning of the fundamentals starts here where you will learn basic kicks, punches and blocks which can be used to improve your flexibility and develop sparring techniques. Patterns are also used to increase your belt level. You will go through a promotion test called 'grading' which is held once every 3 months. In each grading you will do a different pattern for different belts.
Below is a picture of the different belt colours:
White belt being the lowest belt
Black belt being the highest belt. 
Do leave a comment and look out for my next post to find out more about Taekwondo.
-Nicole Tan