Issue 088
May 2012
No martial art kicks harder than taekwondo. FO gives you the essentials on Korea’s most popular export.
1. The chosen ones
Taekwondo is Korea’s oldest martial art and is one of the most famous forms of fighting in the entire world. The system was originally taught to the country’s most intellectually and physically gifted young men who were recruited for a special elite group known as the Hwarang. Back then, the training of these chosen few included horseback riding, swordsmanship and archery.
2. Unified in uniform
The South Korean military have employed their nation’s trademark combat technique as the force’s official martial art, teaching it to all their soldiers. The name ‘taekwondo’ was not actually established as the official title of the kick-oriented martial art until 1955 when the South Korean president ordered for it to be taught in the army and for all the individual martial arts schools to unify under one name.
3. WTF
The World Taekwondo Federation is the main governing body of taekwondo competitions. Under WTF rules (we know, we think it’s funny too), sparring is full contact and a win can be achieved by either points or knockout. Other organizations include the ITF, AAU, LOL and ROFL... okay, we made the last two up.
4. Let the games begin
Taekwondo was made an official Olympic sport at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Competitions are contested under WTF rules and the sport has become arguably the world’s most popular Olympic combat sport. That is until MMA finally hits the scene... Ah, the power of dreams.
5. Lethal legs
Taekwondo is predominantly a kicking-based combat style and is known to have some of the best kicks in all of martial arts. In fact, tests have shown that a taekwondo round kick can deliver around 2,300lb of force and travel at speeds of approximately 214km per hour, making it faster and more powerful than the kicks of capoeira, karate and Muay Thai.
6. High flying
As well as having all the usual orthodox kicks in its arsenal (round kick, side kick, front kick etc.), taekwondo boasts a few of its own trademark techniques. These tend to be much more flashy and include moves like the tornado kick, which involves a 360-degree spinning jump kick to the head. Sounds hard, looks even harder.
7. The 10 levels of black
Like the majority of traditional martial arts, taekwondo follows a colored belt ranking system. Colors progress from white (beginner) to black (expert), with a progressive spectrum of colors in between. There are 10 levels of black belt, known as ‘degrees’ or ‘dans’. A 10th-dan black belt is reserved for grandmasters (usually deceased) who have made an outstanding contribution to taekwondo.
8. Kicking in class
Many Korean universities give students the option of majoring in taekwondo and even have a doctoral program in the art. The taekwondo curriculum is much like that of any other academic subject, involving research and writing, with the addition of around four hours of training per day.
9. All-star alumni
A lot of MMA’s top stars began their martial arts careers by training in taekwondo. Successful mixed martial artists with a background in the discipline include Anthony Pettis, Anderson Silva and Bas Rutten, the latter of whom has used his devastating kicks to destroy more livers than alcohol.
10. Keep your enemies close
Korea has one of the lowest rates of gun crime in the world due to their very strict gun laws. Because of this, most violent crimes are done either unarmed or with close-distance weapons like knives and blunt instruments. To combat such crimes, all of the nation’s top bodyguards are well versed in taekwondo.
Pro tip
Taekwondo may have the best kicks in the biz, but the emphasis on leg-techniques means that the hands are left somewhat neglected. If you want to become a truly well-rounded fighter in the stand-up department then you should also train a discipline like boxing or kickboxing so that you develop your hands to an equally high level of skill as your legs.
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