taekwondo homework

8/6/2019 Taekwondo Homework

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(title):

(Major): Law

(studentID NO.): 201132111

(Name): Lukas Baumann

(Professor's Name):

(due date): 2011/05/18


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Introduction

What is Tae Kwon Do?

Taekwondo is an ancient Korean Martial Art and an Olympic sport. It is amental and physical discipline designed over 2000 years with the ultimate goal

being mental and physical healthy. Furthermore Taekwondo serves as a means

of self-defence, giving one the assurance of being able to do so if the need

arises.

Participation in Taekwondo has increased considerably as people have realized

the benefits of active leisure time over the past decades. Reasons for the

increased participation in taekwondo include:

Improving physical fitness Learning self-defence techniques

Mastering mental discipline

Producing harmony of body and mind

Strengthen your mind and body through increased physical coordination

and mental discipline

The Five Tenets of Tae Kwon Do

Courtesy: Showing courtesy to all, respecting others, having manners as well

as maintaining the appropriate etiquette at all times, both within and outside the

dojang

Integrity: To be honest and good. , 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.

Perseverance: To never give up in the pursuit of one's goals. Students should

welcome challenges, because challenges cause us to grow and improve.

Self-Control: To have control of your body and mind. A Taekwondo student

should practice controlling his actions and reactions.

Indomitable Spirit: 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 toalways give 100% effort in whatever you do.


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There is strong belief that Taekwondo training provides specific health benefits.

Evidence out of researches suggests that Taekwondo and similar types of martial

arts training including Karate, Kung Fu, Aikido or Tai Chi are associated with

wellbeing related concepts, such as depression, self-confidence and physical and

mental health.

For example, a study conducted by McGowan and Jordan (in 1988) revealed

that Karate students were less prone to depression when compared to non-Karate

students. Similarly, Richman, Rehberg and Trulson (in 1985,1986) found out

that advanced Taekwondo participants exhibited significantly higher self-esteem

levels relative to beginners.

Of course training martial arts training also has a positive influence on peoples

well-being by moderating the negative effects of life stress on health.

As everybody knows, stressful life events have been shown to be related to theemergence of a variety of health problems. Numerous studies have demonstrated

that stressful life events (negative events like too much work every week) were

linked to the onset of coronary heart disease. The relationship between stress

and illness seems to be reduced with stress-moderating resources, as marital arts.

Quality of Life

Many practitioners testify to general, beneficial aspects derived by theirparticipation and training in Taekwondo. Even the social interaction that can be

gained through training has been found to be a buffer against the stresses of life

for adults, with long-term continued practice also fostering greater

independence. Yet children can also reap the benefits too. With progressive

training children become more enthusiastic, optimistic, and self-reliant.

However, this latter research finding was conducted on a sample consisting

totally of young males, therefore it would be interesting to find out if there are

any benefits specifically attributable to young females. There are many

anecdotal reports from parents explaining how their children (both males andfemales) do better at school, both behaviourally, academically and at home

Self Concept

Training in Taekwondo can also increase one's self-concept (i.e. the beliefs that

you have about yourself, as opposed to understanding who you are via other

people's opinions of you). For instance, it has been found that women training in

Taekwondo have a greater physical, personal, social, identity and satisfactionself-concept. The same could be said for men as well as children. However, to

date there is no research to back this up.


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Similarly, individuals who are more self-confident and compete in Taekwondo

tournaments are more likely to win their bout. Unfortunately, there is no

research to date which focuses on the increased self-confidence of people simplytraining in traditional Taekwondo, which many instructors and students can

testify to.

Control of Aggression

Despite being taught techniques which can debilitate their opponents, children,

adolescents and young adults who practice traditional Taekwondo have shown

that with continued promotion through the belt ranking system, there is adecrease in their aggression. It should be emphasised that traditional Taekwondo

training which incorporates not only the fighting strategies, such as sparring and

self-defence, but also elements such as forms, step exercises,

meditation/relaxation training and basic skills (blocks, kicks, strikes) training,

produces decreases in aggression. When the emphasis of training is on the

fighting elements such as sparring and self-defence, practitioners actually

exhibit increases in aggression. This is why it is fundamental for intending

Taekwondo students to know beforehand what they wish to get from their

training, and to peruse the right style of club suited to their needs.

One idea that may be interesting to follow now that Taekwondo has become an

Olympic sport, and therefore some clubs have emphasised the sport side of

Taekwondo which is focussed upon sparring techniques, is whether tournament

participants display differences in aggression compared to their fellow club

members who solely participate in traditional training.


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Personal Feeling about Taekwondo

I myself can underline all these positive effects about martial Arts. I started themartial Art Karate in the age of 7. After a few years I decided to change to a

harder sport with real contact. Since Im 12 years old I train kickboxing now.

Furthermore I had Judo 2 years in school.

Thats one of the reasons why I decided to attend the Taekwondo course during

my exchange semester in South Korea. Since I know a lot about martial arts I

really enjoy the Taekwondo course. It also reminds me on my old Karate times,

where we had to learn the so called Katas. They are similar to Taek-one or

Taek-two. Furthermore Karate and Taekwondo pays a lot of attention to correctmovement, breathing and self-confidence. Thats one of the facts which I really

like, especially in the modern society where everything is in hurry and a kind of

impolite. I hope I can use the gained experience here when Im back in

Germany. That means to be more self-confident in that way and may take some

time of in another martial Art to escape the stress of everyday life. To be honest

another reason why I attend this course, is to keep in good shape when I come

back to my sports gym in Germany. Especially the stretching parts are essential

for every martial Art. I already got some new inspirations which I can surely use

back in Germany. Unfortunately there is Taekwondo available in my region, sothe only substitute could be Karate or Kung Fu. Anyway I really enjoy this

course and Im happy to be able to attend it.

At least Im able to improve my Korean, learn Korean commands and attitudes.

I get in contact with different Korean students and also improve the relationship

to the foreign exchange students because I share some new experience (like

stretching, giving massage, walking on someones back) with them in a different

environment. Im happy to participate in this course and get to know another

field of the Korean society/culture.

taekwondo homework

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