Taekwondo 태권도Taekwondo Preschool
Promotion from one geup to the next can proceed rapidly in some schools, since schools often allow geup promotions every two, three, or four months. Students of geup rank learn the most basic techniques first, and then move on to more advanced techniques as they approach first dan. Many of the older and more traditional schools often take longer to allow students to test for higher ranks than newer, more contemporary schools, as they may not have the required testing intervals. View Taekwondo belt levels »
Taekwondo Uniform
( 도복 dobok )
When you reach senior belt you are expected to guide the junior belts when they are beginning Taekwondo such as showing by example.
A taekwondo student typically wears a uniform ( 도복 dobok ) where "do" means "way" and "bok" means "clothing". The dobok is often white but sometimes black (or other colours), with a belt (ddi 띠) tied around the waist. There are at least three major styles of dobok, with the most obvious differences being in the style of jacket: (1) the cross-over front jacket that resembles traditional Asian clothing, (2) the V-neck jacket (no cross-over) typically worn by World Taekwondo (WT) practitioners, and (3) the vertical-closing front jacket (no cross-over) typically worn by International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) practitioners. The belt colour and any insignia thereon indicate the student's rank. In general, the darker the colour, the higher the rank.
The uniform ( 도복 dobok ) is modeled on the Japanese dōgi that is used in Judo, which was developed by Kano Jigoro. The dobok may have the reverse in a different colour than the rest of the dobok. They are made in a variety of materials, ranging from traditional cotton to cotton-polyester blends.
The pants of the dobok may be wider and longer than the traditional Japanese keikogi. Due to this, practitioners often wear a dobok modeled after the Korean hanbok. The dobok of World Taekwondo (WT) - style usually have v-neck jackets, also tailored after the design of the hanbok. Traditional taekwondo practitioners may wear doboks that are identical or very similar to the gi, with a cross-over jacket front. In International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) style, practitioners typically wear a newer design with a vertically closing jacket front. This dobok comes in many colours, though white and black are the most common.
Taekwondo Basics
Here is where you can learn more about Taekwondo 태권도. Knowing the fundamental basics is very important for your learning path as you build your skills and knowledge. There are certain rules that need to be followed to show respect to the master ( 사범님 sabeomnim ), the instructors ( 교사님 gyosannim ), other practitioners and to the martial arts. They vary between schools but many have similar rules and guidelines. For more information View Taekwondo Basics »
There are five tenets defined in the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) and several more in World Taekwondo (WT).
Integrity ( 염치 yeom-chi ): "Although it may be similar, this form of integrity takes on a more wider role then defined in the common dictionary. In taekwondo, integrity means not only to determine what is right or wrong but also having the conscience to feel guilt if one has done wrong and to have the integrity stand up for what is right." View Taekwondo Tenets »
RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dobok", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
