What is Tae Kwon Do??

Question

I'm ready to join a martial arts program. I want to know what to expect before i make the move.

I been really stressed...anxious and had a bad year. Most of my life I was never in control and lately it all came to a head and I felt like i was just born relearning everything. im working on it all day by day...im doing a lot better but i need something more. I'm working on getting better all on my own...with obviously the help of a few people. I always wanted to do something in martial arts. I feel now is the perfect time for it. I'm a 21 year old female by the way.

What is Tae Kwon Do?

What is the difference between all the different names?

What should I expect going into it?

Answer 1

LOL at the first answer LMAO, way to know nothing.

Tae Kwon Do is a korean martial art developed by Choi Hong He. He was a man who was very weak at a young age. He used to get in trouble and was bad at school so he quit school and went into this specific field. His mentor was a martial artist who knew the art of the foot. To build Choi Hong He and his health he began teaching it to him. Over the years he developed his own style which later became known as Tae Kwon Do-The way of the foot and fist. After his death the organization of Tae Kwon Do split into:

ITF:

ITF means International TKD federation. I believe 3 ITF organization exists, all claiming to be the true organization.

Kukkiwon:

Kukkiwon is an organization located in Korea that serves as the head branch for Tae Kwon Do.

WTF:

WTF means world TKD federation. It is a widely used as a sport and is the style used in the Olympics for Tae Kwon Do.

Kukkiwon is affiliated with WTF, it is the only organization that is. ITF is its own sporting organization.

hope that helps.

Answer 2

I train in traditional combat Chung Do Kwan. When competitions are approaching we train under WTF rules. It's a martial art emphasizing on kicks. The style I take is as strong as Muay Thai if not better.

Answer 3

LOL at the first answer. That's not right at all.

Taekwondo, literally translated, means "the way of the foot and fist". It's a form of martial arts invented by General Choi Hong Hi, based on shotokan karate and tang soo do. It's famous for focussing a lot on kicks and is a striking martial art.

Expect a lot of stretching - flexibility is important in tkd, and you can gradually increase this through lots of training. There'll also be warm ups that increase your strength and stamina. During class, you'll do patterns, drills and sparring. You'll also learn breaking eventually as well. Don't worry if you have no experience - you'll get better as time passes. You'll also have to learn some Korean terminology, but you'll pick most of this up during class.

If you want to do well in any martial art, it requires years of commitment. Good luck!

Answer 4

Tae Kwon Do is a Korean adaptation of Karate. Once the Japanese occupation of Korea ended, the remaining Karate schools adapted the style and eventually bore TKD.

The difference between all the different names (of martial arts in general) is just a distinguishing mechanism. Each style has its own name, often a style will have sub styles (like ITF and WTF styles in TKD). There isn't really a single rule to determing what each style is based on the name because of the varying origins of each art.

Do a search of styles offered in your area. Write down the styles and research each a little online. Pick the ones that interest you (if you are like me, they pretty much all will) and begin trying each school out. Don't be afraid to ask for a week's free lessons to test out the style, program and school. This will give you a better understanding of what the styles are than reading online.

Answer 5

Its the art of kicking and punching, ITF style more like Karate from where its roots lay. WTF is more sport orientated

Answer 6

well tae kwon do is really a striking martial art. Tae kwon do focuses a lot on kicking even though it translates to  the art of hand and foot or something like that most of tae kwon do is kicking.

if by different names you mean WTF and ITF ITF is more traditional and WTF is more sporting. if you ment different martial arts then there are not many martial arts (or at least not any i can think of right now) that focus this much on kicking except capoiera.

you should expect doing a good warm up lots of stretching and then kicks punches and then maybe katas or bag work.

Answer 7

Tae Kwon Do is a korean martial art that uses lots of kicks.  There are 2 kinds of Tae Kwon Do.  Olympic style (WTF), and traditional (ITF)

the difference is the way you learn to fight.  WTF teaches point sparring and flashy techniques as it's focus.  ITF teaches conditioning the body, and real strikes.  Either way you can't go wrong with a good instructor

Answer 8

tkd is a form of kickboxing made by korean street fighters back a couple hundred years. its main purpose was.. fighting. but there are many forms. it is the art of kicking and punching. tdk is performed by people like chuck norris.. and rob van dam.  

Answer 9

Tae Kwon Doe is a type of martial arts, It is north korean, all of the different martial arts havve something different about them the meaning of tae kwon doe is the art of hand and foot fighting i couldnt tell you what the others are like.  If you go into tae kwon doe expect a work out.  It is very challenging, be prepared to memorize forms, its kind of like a dance except with kicks, punches, blocks, etc.

Hope i helped