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Taekwondo is a
Korean martial art.
Literally
translated, TAE means to strike with the foot, KWON means to
strike with the hand, and DO means the “Way” or Art.
Therefore, Tae Kwon Do is “The Art of Kicking and Punching”.
ATTENTION: NOT ALL TAEKWONDO SCHOOLS ARE
THE SAME!
Many
schools teach Taekwondo in a manner that is very traditional.
The focus of this training revolves around the practice of
forms, known as Poom'se or Hyung in korean and Kata in
Japanese. Forms practice is like "moving meditation"
requiring total focus on your movements. This type of
practice can help a student develop focus, balance, and proper
breathing. Traditional techniques may not be suitable for
sparring or self defense the way they are most commonly
taught creating a false sense of security for students who
think that what they are learning will work in a street
encounter or even in a sparring match.
Other schools
are very sport oriented concentrating on either point style
sparring or the popular "Olympic Style" sparring. While this
type of training does help develop quick reflexes, distance
control, and timing it does not necessarily prepare you for
a real self defense situation. The training is also specific
to the particular rules of the style of sparring. For
example: In "Olympic Style" sparring hand techniques are not
allowed to the head. Therefore if you only train this way
you would not be prepared to defend against punches to the
head. In point style sparring a referee stops the match each
time a point is scored making this unrealistic compared to a
street encounter. There is nothing wrong with either type of
sparring as long as you keep in mind that is is a sport with
specific rules that must be followed.
At Self Defense America our
Taekwondo program is taught in a very modern and practical
manner. It incorporates powerful kicking techniques as well
as effective hand techniques including those techniques found
in Boxing. Our classes focus on developing the techniques
and skills by using training aids such as Heavy Bags, Focus
Mitts, and Kicking Shields. Our classes are very interactive
and students train with partners which gives an "aliveness"
to the training. Our training focuses on the practical
application of the techniques for self defense.
Sparring is
also a big part of Taekwondo training in a lot of schools.
We feel that sparring is a valuable training tool when learning Taekwondo. Sparring helps develop defensive reflexes that
enable you to react quickly to an attack. It also provides
you with the opportunity to use your techniques against a
"live" opponent allowing you to experience what a fight
would be like, but in a safe and controlled manner. Because
we know that some students are a bit scared to spar at first,
we created a unique sparring program that allows
students to train at a level where they feel comfortable.
Safety is
always our first concern which is why every student has to
demonstrate sufficient skills at each sparring level before they will
be allowed to progress to the next level. You don't
have to keep progressing to the next level, you can stay at
the level where you feel comfortable, making our sparring
classes fun and enjoyable for everyone.
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