Hwa-Rang Taekwondo Federation
TAEKWONDO - THE MARTIAL ART
Translated, Taekwondo means “Art of the hand and foot,” and originally
comes from Korea where it is still practiced as a national sport. Taekwondo
is one of the world’s newest martial arts; formally getting it’s
name in 1953. However; it’s roots are based on techniques tested for thousands
of years. Today there are hundreds of thousands of Americans studying Taekwondo.
The Hwa-Rang Taekwondo Federation stands for excellence,
providing instructor training, belt rank testing, and supervision of competitive
contests. This center is proud to be an accredited member of the HTF family.
TAEKWONDO BENEFITS
Who can benefit from Taekwondo training? Everyone can! The HTF has practicing
students from four years old to in their seventies. Taekwondo offers something
that no other sport can. It’s a “learning style” athletic
activity that develops a combination of balance, coordination, and flexibility
while instilling a sense of self-discipline that can carry over into all aspects
of life. The number of women in Taekwondo has more than tripled in recent years,
and today represent more than 30% of all practicing students. Much of this interest
can be attributed to the nature of Taekwondo techniques. In self-defense, striking
and kicking are instinctive and these types of techniques can be readily adapted
to a woman’s physical structure. As we age, our flexibility and agility
often tends to decrease. This decreased level of flexibility can have a negative
effect on the activities we do or the style of life we lead. When people first
see Taekwondo techniques, they are fascinated by the strong, high kicks, often
over their heads. Not everyone can achieve super flexibility, but the flexibility
gained by practicing Taekwondo techniques can benefit anyone no matter what
age they start. So why has Taekwondo grown so popular? Because it’s a
comprehensive martial art that can benefit anyone, and help them meet their
own individual goals.
TAEKWONDO TECHNIQUES
When Americans first started signing up for Taekwondo lessons some 40 years
ago, most of them were primarily interested in learning self-defense. Today,
many Americans practice Taekwondo for physical fitness. Practicing the Taekwondo
techniques of blocking, punching, kicking, and striking provides a powerful
limbering and toning exercise. The principles of Taekwondo techniques are based
on the design of your body. For power, you develop the larger, powerful muscles
of the torso. The speed of techniques come from the fast, agile muscles of the
arms and legs. When you learn to coordinate this speed and power through your
smallest muscles, you can develop the concentration to focus all your body’s
strength into a small, hard striking surface like the edge of the hand, or the
heel of your foot. When used in a self-defense situation against the soft and
vulnerable parts of an attacker’s body, this power can be incredible.
TAEKWONDO FOR YOUR CHILD
A lot of parents shudder in disbelief when their child mentions the word Karate
or Martial Arts. Broken furniture, mangled brothers and sisters, and holes in
the walls are usually the first images that pop into a parent’s head.
Dispelling these myths and misunderstandings are generally the right place to
begin when you first start inquiring about martial arts. Taekwondo is unique
in athletics because it is a Total Learning style activity. Children learning
Taekwondo begin practicing the basic skills that are the foundation of the sport.
These skills, which help build their coordination and balance, let the children
become active in their sport as they progress instead of just sitting on the
bench. The discipline you see in our class often turns into self-discipline
outside the class. Usually, when children first start Taekwondo, it’s
the parents who love the discipline and the child is drawn by the fun and challenge
of the martial art. A lot of parents, for example, notice subtle changes in
their children’s school work, their self-control and patience with other
children. Another benefit associated with our style of training is improved
self-confidence. Any child can do Taekwondo and everyone improves their own
abilities while learning to deal effectively with peers and adults. Athletic
ability increases the longer a child takes lessons. As they do, the child’s
overall coordinated movements soon turn into a knowledge of self-defense that
can last a lifetime. Don’t be concerned if your child is a little nervous,
or thinks the techniques look too difficult; they will be in class with other
beginners just like themselves. The instructors will do everything possible
to make sure this nervousness disappears as quickly as possible.
TAEKWONDO - GETTING STARTED
New beginners start class everyday. Each new student starts slowly and progresses
at their own rate of speed. Don’t be concerned if you’re out of
shape or think the techniques look too difficult, you’ll be in a class
with other beginners like yourself. We hope we have supplied some sensible reasons
for studying Taekwondo; America’s most popular form of martial art. Again,
thanks for taking the time to inquire, we really hope you'll decide to join
us.
