The Tae Kwon Do Student

Any student of Tae Kwon Do as Martial Art knows that Tae Kwon Do is a way of life. No one can get successfully involved with Tae Kwon Do without it affecting other areas of their life positively.

It is therefore important that potential students take the following principals into consideration before starting to practise Tae Kwon Do, and it is equally important that existing students remind themselves of these principals on a regular basis.

As in all Martial Arts, ethics are of great importance. One can look at individual ethics, treat a fellow-man right, or one can look at social ethics, as part of a whole.

Ethics basically all comes down to one point, the difference between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. We practise Tae Kwo Do, often seen as an aggressive sport, but does this mean that we can be aggressive? Do we want to be aggressive? The answer is NO!

We wear protection, because we don’t want someone else to be injured, nor do we want to get hurt ourselves. Tae Kwon Do is not a destructive and aggressive sport, but a sportive one. As I see it, taking part in a competition is not to hurt your opponent, but to test your strength, in both physical and mental ways.

Tae Kwon Do students can improve themselves physically, and mentally by training. The final goal is to achieve harmony with nature and oneself. Balance is gained by controlling both evil and good forces: A true Tae Kwon Do student knows how to behave in all situations.

Tae Kwon Do  is not only a way to improve skills of self defence, but it’s a way of life. Practicing Tae Kwon Do gives the student more self-confidence, but this should not result in a false sense of superiority.