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 »

European Taekwondo Union (ETU)

Two of the most popular systems of taekwondo are named solely after their respective organizations: the World Taekwondo (WT) and the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF).

The European Taekwondo Union (ETU) is the official governing body for all Taekwondo matters in Europe as a regional organization of the World Taekwondo (WT). It comprises the National Taekwondo Federations of all the European member nations and regulates all Taekwondo matters on a continental basis. The first participating countries in the ETU were Spain, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands, Turkey, Greece, Denmark and the UK. The first president was Antonio Garcia de la Fuente. The First European Championships of the ETU were held in Barcelona on May 22–23, 1976. After being considered only a demonstration sports event twice - in Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992 - the World Taekwondo (WT) style (Olympic Style Taekwondo) - was incorporated as a full Olympic discipline in Sydney in 2000.

Members of the European Taekwondo Union (World Taekwondo (WT) Style) uses the Hyeong Poomse style of teaching Taekwondo.

The 5 Tenets of ETU (World Taekwondo (WT) Style) Taekwondo

Etiquette
Modesty
Perseverance
Self Control
Indomitable Spirit

The ETU (World Taekwondo (WT) Style) Taekwondo Student Oath

to observance the tenets of Taekwondo
to have respect for instructors and fellow students
to never misuse the art of Taekwondo
to be a champion of freedom and justice
to help build a more peaceful world

Advancement

Advancing through the belts is done by a system of gradings. Gradings are typically held in 3 month cycles at regional training centres. Grading systems will typically consist of line work, patterns, theory, and sparring. Students can typically advance through the belts at a rate of 1 geup every 3 months. Although it is possible for students who perform exceptionally well during their grading to 'double promote', this means that they gain 2 geup instead of one. This is however not very common and is only done if the student has exhibited complete understanding of the material they are being tested on as well as control and maturity. A double promotion is not possible for a student of red belt (2nd geup) because their instructor is not permitted to grade them for their black belt.

ETU uses the following system of Belt Gradings:

10th geup - White belt (white signifies innocence, as a student with no previous knowledge of Taekwondo)
9th geup - White belt with yellow tag
8th geup - Yellow belt (yellow signifies earth, from which the metaphorical plant sprouts forth and takes root as the foundations of Taekwondo are laid)
7th geup - Yellow belt with green tag
6th geup - Green belt (green signifies the plant's growth as skills are developed)
5th geup - Green belt with blue tag
4th geup - Blue belt (blue signifies heaven, towards which the plant is growing as training progresses)
3rd geup - Blue belt with red tag
2nd geup - Red belt (red signifies danger, cautioning the student to exercise control and warning opponents)
1st geup - Red belt with black tag
1st Dan - Black belt (black is opposite to white and signifies maturity and proficiency in taekwondo)

Training Safety Precautions

Starting with coloured belts taekwondo students must learn Breaking ( 격파 gyeokpa ). As they progress through the ranks, the breaks they perform increase in difficulty as do the number of boards. Wooden boards are the most common breaking item in most martial arts.

There are safety concerns with taekwondo breaking ( 격파 gyeokpa ), so one should seek out a certified Master Instructor ( 사범님 sabeomnim ). There are many small bones of the foot ( 발 bal ) and hand ( 손 son ) which need to be very carefully and slowly conditioned for safety. Repeated damage to the extensor capsules of the knuckles can lead to long term problems with dexterity. View Breaking ( 격파 gyeokpa ) »

* Please see a certified Master Instructor ( 사범님 sabeomnim ) for training. Proper guidance and instructions are needed to ensure safe training.

Quiz

Question. What is the korean terminology for Blocking?

In martial arts, blocking is the act of stopping or deflecting an opponent's attack for the purpose of preventing injurious contact with the body. A block usually consists of placing a limb across the line of the attack. Blocks are considered by some to be the most direct and least subtle of defensive techniques.

Question. What is the name of Taegeuk #4 in Korean?

Taegeuk 태극 (in World Taekwondo (WT)) refers to a set of poomse 품새 used to create a foundation for the teaching of taekwondo. A poomse or form is a detailed pattern of defense-and-attack motions and techniques used in traditional martial arts. Each taegeuk form symbolizes a specific state thought to be indicative of the belt the student currently holds, and is represented in World Taekwondo (WT) by trigrams similar to those found in the four corners of the South Korean flag.

Question. What is the korean terminology for Back Stance?

Back Stance is specifically focused on shifting weight to the back leg, as it offers much more control, and makes it easier to kick off the front leg. To perform the stance ( 서기 sogi ), the body faces to the side, with the front foot facing forward and the front leg bent. The back leg is bent slightly and the foot is turned outwards perpendicular to the front foot making the letter "L" for this stance ( 서기 sogi ).

Did you know?

Impact Surface Area

Various surfaces of the body may be engaged as the blocking and striking surface depending on which area of the body is being targeted. This leads to a large array of blocking and striking positions. More information on Impact Surface Areas »

Surface	Korean	Description	Tutorial
Fist ( 주먹 jumeok ) - is an action where a hand has the fingers curled into the palm and the thumb retracted, displaying the knuckles.	주먹 jumeok	A fist ( 주먹 jumeok ) is an action where a hand has the fingers curled into the palm and the thumb retracted, displaying the knuckles. The act of creating a fist is known as 'making a fist' or 'clenching a fist'.	Tutorial »
Hammer Fist ( 메주먹 mejumeok ) - is an action where a hand has the fingers curled into the palm and the thumb retracted, using the bottom of the hand as the striking surface.	메주먹 mejumeok	A Hammer Fist is an action where a hand has the fingers curled into the palm and the thumb retracted, using the bottom of the hand as the striking surface. The act of creating a fist ( 주먹 jumeok ) is known as 'making a fist' or 'clenching a fist'.	Tutorial »
Hand Blade ( 손날 sonnal ) - striking surface extends with the muscle at the side of the hand located between the base of the small finger and the wrist.	손날 sonnal	By tucking the thumb into the palm, a striking surface called the knife hand or hand blade ( 손날 sonnal ) is formed. The striking surface extends with the muscle at the side of the hand located between the base of the small finger and the wrist.	Tutorial »
Ridgehand ( 손날등 sonnal-deung ) - reverse knife-hand is formed, extending a few inches along the inside of the hand below the first knuckle of the index finger.	손날등 sonnal-deung	By tucking the thumb into the palm, a striking surface called the ridgehand ( 손날등 sonnal-deung ), or reverse knife-hand is formed, extending a few inches along the inside of the hand below the first knuckle of the index finger.	Tutorial »

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles "Hand", "Fist (hand)", "Knife Hand", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Taekwondo Organizations

Two of the most popular systems of taekwondo are named solely after their respective organizations: the World Taekwondo (WT) and the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF). The major technical differences among these many organizations revolve around the patterns, sparring rules for competition, and philosophy. View Taekwondo Organizations »

Original Taekwondo Kwans ( 관 )

In addition to these private organizations, the original taekwondo schools ( 관 kwans ) that formed the organization that would eventually become the Kukkiwon 국기원 continue to exist as independent fraternal membership organizations that support the World Taekwondo (WT) and the Kukkiwon 국기원. The official curriculum of the kwans is that of the Kukkiwon 국기원. The kwans also function as a channel for the issuing of Kukkiwon dan and poom certification (black belt ranks) for their members. View Taekwondo Kwans ( 관 ) »

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "European Taekwondo Union", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.