The video below provides a very detailed demonstration of how to tie the martial arts belt. It shows you in various angles: front, back, and side.
How to Tie Your Belt
Importance of Perseverance
Running uphill is a good analogy to perseverance– keep moving even when you feel like giving up
Perseverance is the third tenet of Taekwondo. Aside from being respectful or nice to others (courtesy), or being responsible or doing what is right (integrity), applying perseverance can help you succeed in life.
The dictionary defines perseverance as:
“steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement”
The one thing this makes clear is that perseverance is the act of being persistent at some purpose or action despite hurdles, obstacles, or discouragement.
At Koryo Family Taekwondo Center, we regularly review the meaning of perseverance, what it means, how it applies to life, and share examples of it.
Our curriculum is extensive. This means that some students may not pick them up right away. It is through this learning moment where we teach them perseverance. We help them understand that the only way they will fail at something is if they give up. As long as they continue to try their best, they will eventually succeed.
We also remind our students that persistence isn’t enough. If at first they don’t succeed, they will need to look at what went wrong or what they did wrong. Once they understand this and learn from it, then and only then should they try again–only this time, they correct the mistakes of the original action.
Through perseverance, we remind our students that the only limitation they have are the ones they put on themselves. If they put their mind to it, be persistent, and learn from mistakes, there are no limits to what they can achieve.
This is why perseverance is such an important tenet of Taekwondo.
Potluck on 15 Dec 2012
On 15 Dec 2012, not only will we have the last promotion testing for the year, but we will also celebrate the holidays with a potluck starting immediately after the testing.
There will be a sign up sheet during class starting on Monday, 03 Dec 2012, but if you prefer, you may fill out an online form here.
Halloween 2012
This year’s Halloween event came and went way too fast. Everyone had great fun, and of course, got a nice bag of treats.
We would like to thank the parents, grandparents, and guardians for supporting the kids in this event. This year we had a lot of treats for everyone.
Congratulations to Imanol for winning the best costume in this year’s best costume event. See if you can spot him below:
Happy Halloween everyone!!~!
Integrity: The Second Tenet of Taekwondo
Integrity
At every class we mention “integrity” in the process of reciting the 6 tenets of Taekwondo. What is this thing called “integrity”?
For kids, this is such a big word and seems like an abstract concept. However, it doesn’t have to be abstract.
Integrity, in simple terms is all about staying true to yourself and others. Here are a few more things about what integrity is.
Integrity is…
- Promising your mom that you’ll clean your room, and you did!
- Picking up and giving back money that someone else dropped, and nobody around noticed.
- Playing dodge ball, getting hit, and admitting you did even when no one else noticed.
- Admitting you did something wrong even when the consequences might hurt.
- Owning up to your responsibilities.
- Giving credit where credit is due, especially when credit is due elsewhere.
- Paying the $10 you owe someone on or before the due date.
Can you think of other good examples of integrity? If so, just comment below.
Courtesy: The First Tenet of Taekwondo
Showing respect is showing courtesy
We recite the tenets of Taekwondo every day.
“Courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit, and victory.”
Last week we discussed the first tenet of Taekwondo–courtesy.
What does “courtesy” really mean? In simple terms, it means being nice to others.
However, it goes beyond this. It also means being respectful of others. In other words, treat others as you would like to be treated–the golden rule. This would mean that you would want others to be nice and respectful to you. So you should in turn treat others nicely and respectfully if you wish to be treated that way.
For a child, all this don’t mean much unless you can show examples of “courtesy”. Below are examples that show acts of courtesy.
- Opening a door for someone
- Helping someone pick up their things after they dropped them
- Helping Mom around the house
- Saying “thank you” when someone does something nice to you
- Saying “sir” or “ma’am” when talking to elders
- In a bus, giving up your seat to an older person or someone who can’t stand for an extended period
- Sharing toys with other kids
Can you name a few more examples that show good examples of “courtesy”?
The Uniform: How to Wash It
The Uniform
The traditional Taekwondo uniform is white. That color has remained the same from the start. The one challenge everyone has with washing the uniform is trying to make sure it doesn’t shrink and making sure it doesn’t get discolored. This post shall give you pointers to help make sure your uniform doesn’t go to waste as a result of one bad washing.
First of all, your belt is part of your uniform. Do not wash your belt. This is the only part of your uniform you should leave alone. The reason for this is tradition. When you train, you put your blood, sweat, and tears into it. Some of this is absorbed by your belt. Over time, your belt will get dark. In the olden days, this is how people got their black belt.
Of course if you used your white belt and waited for it to turn black, I would imagine a strong odor would be emanating from it. Fortunately, in modern times, we periodically replace belts with the appropriate color soon after passing a promotion test. Bottom line, don’t wash your belt.
Your uniform is another matter. It is white, and normally you would wash whites in hot water, and introduce from bleach at the same time to help keep it white. Unfortunately, uniforms made of 100% or even those with 50% cotton, tend to shrink when washed in hot water. Here are some suggestions on dealing with Taekwondo’s white uniforms:
- Anything with 50% or higher cotton content should be washed in cold or warm water. Add bleach if there is no other color that would bleed from the bleach. This means you probably have to wash them separately from your normal white clothes.
- Uniforms with a small amount of cotton can be washed in hot water. They don’t tend to shrink. Add bleach if necessary to keep it looking white.
If you aren’t sure about the cotton content of your uniforms, just wash them in warm or cold water and add bleach to help turn it white and to help kill germs and bacteria that normal hot washing would clear.
How do you wash your white Taekwondo uniform? Do you have any tips to share? If so, please comment below.
5 Key Things To Remember When in Forms Competition
Forms (or poomsae) Competition
Taekwondo forms (or Poomsae) competition can easily be won if you keep these key things in mind:
- Know your Taekwondo Forms inside and out; there should be no chance that you forget parts of your form.
- Maintain a good pace for executing the form; this way, you can showcase your skill and balance.
- Keep your balance; at no point in time should you show imbalance during your Taekwondo forms performance.
- Keep your movement precise, quick, and snappy.
- Make your kihop (shout) stand out from the rest.
If you heed these five key things, you should be on your way to placing in the top three. These 5 key things I’ve learned over the course of time teaching and judging forms.
What is your opinion about this?
About Re-Breakable Boards
Board breaking requires skill. In order to attain that skill, it requires practice. To properly practice, you will need many boards to break.
There lies the challenge. Where can you find or buy wooden boards to break? Home Depot? Lowes? You probably could, but it could cost you. Fortunately , there is such a thing called “re-breakable boards.” And guess what? You can buy them here at the school!
In this article, I will discuss two type of re-breakable boards and their differences. The first type is what I would call the “hook in” type (see blue board below). The second is what I would call the “dovetail” type (see orange board further down below).
Note that all re-breakable boards come in different colors. The colors typically represent the skill level necessary to break such a board. As such, the darker the color, the harder it is to break.
Hook-in Type Re-breakable Boards
Let’s start with the hook-in (blue ones below) re-breakable boards.
Blue Re-breakable Board (front) |
Blue Re-breakable Board (top) |
I’m not really sure how they measure the strength of these boards, but this type of board has many different board thickness. As the level required to break it increases so does the color and the thickness. Thus, a yellow (around 1/4 of an inch in thickness, at least) board is relatively easy to break compared to a black one which is around 5/8 of an inch think, at least.
The good thing about these boards is that they tend to properly represent the difficulty in breaking the boards since their thickness varies–the thinner the easier to break. However, over time they get real easy to break that even a little toddler can break a real thick black board. This is because as the board gets used, the parts that hook into each other develop cracks which make it easy to break the board.
These boards may be good for 50 to 150 breaks. After that, you can break them with minimal effort.
Dovetail-type Re-breakable Boards
From my own experience, these boards are tough to break and the board thickness doesn’t really vary as the breaking difficulty increases. So if you took one of these boards–say an orange one–you may have to be a an adult at the green or blue belt level to break it. So from my experience, the level of difficulty in breaking these type of board do not properly match up with their color.
Orange Re-breakable
Board (front)
|
Orange Re-brakeable |
The good thing about these boards is that they tend to last. They last significantly much longer than the “hook-in” type. My estimate is anywhere from 250 to 500 breaks. It may even be longer. The orange board illustrated above have seen many breaks. It has outlasted 2 or 3 equivalent “hook-in” re-breakable boards.
Summary
Depending on what your goal is, you may acquire the “hook-in” or the “dovetail” type re-breakable boards.
If you want realistic board breaking feel, get the former. But if you want something that lasts, get the latter.
In either case, practicing board breaking can help improve your breaking skill especially since you need to hit the center of the board to break it, and it can potentially save you money compared to buying real boards to break.
Can Gear Affect Competition Performance?
Taekwondo Gear
If you or someone close to you competes in Olympic-style sparring, you know that they have to wear some form of gear–specifically Taekwondo sparring gear. The same is true for someone competing in forms; they have to wear a WTF sanctioned or endorsed uniform.
Sparring Gear
Can the right Taekwondo sparring gear make a difference in one’s sparring performance?
First of all, in order to compete in an Olympic style Taekwondo sparring competition that is officially endorsed by the USAT (USA Taekwondo), you’ll need to get sparring gear that meet the following requirements:
- World Taekwondo Federation Certified equipment
- blue, red, or white head gear
- blue or red chest protector
- note: in newer tournaments, the event provides equipment that has electronic sensors for automatic electronic scoring; in this case, you don’t have to bring gear, but I wouldn’t go t one without set, just in case.
On top of these minimum requirements, you’ll want to make sure the following are also true:
- Each piece of equipment is of proper size
- Each piece of gear has the correct protection coverage
- The gear fit and feel well (i.e. not distracting)
One of the most significant piece of equipment is the groin protector. If this piece of equipment doesn’t fit right, the competitor will be constantly distracted by the crotch discomfort. Remember, trying to keep up with the opposing guy is tough enough, and definitely adding a constant distraction will not help the situation any, but would certainly put the opponent at an advantage.
Bottom line: make sure you have the right certified equipment, and that they have the proper protection coverage, color, and most importantly, fit.
Taekwondo Uniform for Forms Competition
Having the right gear for forms (or poomsae) competition is just as important. In this case we are looking at the uniform being worn in competition.
It might sound irrelevant, but the right uniform can either enhance or detract from one’s performance.
Here are points to remember when competing in forms (these are some of the things judges look for):
- Snappiness of technique
- Performer’s balance
- Correctness and accuracy of the form
- Form presentation
Snappiness of Technique
The right uniform can enhance the snappiness of your kick, punch, block, or strike. In general, a uniform that is heavy will help produce more snap–that’s assuming there is snap in the technique to begin with. Look at and try various uniform. Your find that the ones that are heavier and have already been broken in will provide the maximum snap.
Performer’s Balance
I’ve seen poomsae or forms competitors having to adjust their pants because it is too long or it is hanging too low. When your feet ends up stepping on your pants, that can cause you to lose balance. Make sure your uniform fits you well, especially the length of your pants. The last thing you want to worry about is slipping on your own pants; this can definitely make the judges deduct points from the lose of balance this causes.
Correctness & Accuracy of the Form
Aside from losing balance, having improperly fitted competition Taekwondo uniform can cost you or your student in terms of form correctness and accuracy. Imagine having to adjust the pants or the top in the middle of a performance because they are too big or too long. This can happen to the less experienced poomsae or forms competitor.
Form Presentation
Judges are human. All humans are subjective to some degree, and even though they try to be objective, little things can sway them to be more subjective when judging you. Thus, if you are using a uniform that makes you look sharp, it can only add to your advantage in convincing the judges you are the best. Note that you’ll have to reinforce that look with your very confident actions in coming up and leaving the floor.
Summary
There are two areas in Taekwondo competition where the proper gear or equipment can help enhance your performance:
- Sparring
- Forms or poomsae
In Taekwondo sparring, having the right gear can help make sure you can compete (that’s because the more serious competition events require that you have WTF endorsed or certified gear). With the right size, fit, and protection coverage, the gear is the last thing you have to worry about because it isn’t distracting, but simply doing its job of protecting you.
Poomsae or forms competition is slightly different. The right uniform can actually help accentuate your performance quality. If you already have good form, a better uniform should be able to enhance your snap. In addition, a properly fitted uniform can help prevent balance and accuracy issues with too big or too long uniform. Lastly, a nice looking uniform can help accentuate your presentation.
