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 »
About Taekwondo Oath
When you reach senior belt you are expected to guide the junior belts when they are beginning Taekwondo such as showing by example.
The philosophy of taekwondo is summarized in the oath.
I shall observe the tenets of Taekwon-Do.
All students must swear to carefully observe, acknowledge and live by each one of the taekwon-do tenets. Here is a brief and basic explanation of each:
I shall respect the instructor and seniors.
A student vows to respect their instructors and those senior to them (both in age and rank). An instructor must also act respectfully to all students and persons in order to be respected and therefore not misusing Taekwon-Do.
I shall never misuse Taekwon-Do.
One will never misuse Taekwon-Do to harm other, for their own personal gain or for any other manner that is unjust (this one is particularly important in any martial art, not just Taekwon-Do, as a trained martial artist could easily kill a person in unarmed close combat).
I shall be a champion of freedom and justice.
The 4th line, “I shall be a champion of freedom and justice” can apply to many areas of life and although many may think one would have to do something amazing to achieve this, this part of the oath can be respected by even the littlest things in ones daily activity. If one becomes more open-minded to understanding others ideologies or the way others go about their lives instead of being quick to judge, then maybe the world would be a more understanding and accepting place. Thus allowing people to have the freedom they deserve. By accepting this belief one is bringing justice to this world and therefore being a champion of justice. As we often see, conflicts can occur over common misconceptions of information. One must understand the full story and have all the facts before he can truly make a proper judgement.
I shall build a more peaceful world.
The final line of the oath is “I shall build a more peaceful world”. One can also easily obtain this goal by going about their daily lives in a more peaceful manner. If everyone did this, the world would obviously become a more peaceful place. As we often see, conflicts can occur over common misconceptions of information. One must understand the full story and have all the facts before he can truly make a proper judgement. However, this does not mean a student cannot defend themselves against aggression directed towards themselves as that would defeat some of the purpose of Taekwondo, an art of unarmed self-defence. That does not mean though however a student can provoke aggression towards another individual, as that would breaking the oath. As we often see, conflicts can occur over common misconceptions of information. One must understand the full story and have all the facts before he can truly make a proper judgement.
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).
Indomitable Spirit ( 백절불굴 baekjul-boolgool ): "To have indomitable spirit means to have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, no matter what odds you are up against, and to always give 100% effort in whatever you do." View Taekwondo Tenets »
RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "International Taekwondo Federation Philosophy", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
