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Firstly I would like to say congratulations to all those who graded at the weekend and thank you to all the parents who made it possible for those students to attend. Mr & Mrs Khafagy were very impressed with the high standard of the club and are already looking forward to the June grading, just as I am. I believe that the progress made by the club in the first 6 months has been fantastic & it is just the start of bigger things to come!
For this months newsletter I thought I would concentrate on giving you all more of an insight into the world of TaeKwon-Do.
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A TaeKwon-Do student also has to learn and adopt the 5 Tenants of TaeKwon-Do(The ones we say at the end of every lesson), these are Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control & Indomitable Spirit. A serious student of the Martial Arts should apply these into their daily lives as they are also a valuable part of the Student Oath that General Choi created for TaeKwon-Do. Amongst many things that General Choi wrote in the Encyclopaedia of TaeKwon-Do, he wrote down some guidelines for Students to observe whilst learning TaeKwon-Do, here are a few:
- Never tire of learning. A good student can learn anywhere, any time. This is the secret of knowledge.
- Always set a good example for lower ranking students. It is only natural they will attempt to emulate senior students.
- Always to loyal and never criticise the instructor, TaeKwon-Do or the teaching method.
- If an instructor teaches a technique, practise it and attempt to utilise it.
- A student must always to eager to learn and ask questions.
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 TaeKwon-Do is the Korean Military Martial Art of Self Defence, the founder was a man called General Choi Hong Hi and he brought TaeKwon-Do into the world on 11thApril 1955. Along with hundreds of techniques ranging from kicks to hand techniques, he also created sequences, which are called Patterns. There are 24 patterns in TaeKwon-Do, each one for every hour of the day or ‘’All My Life’’ as General Choi stated. These patterns are set choreographed movements against imaginary attackers and they increase in difficulty the higher the rank of the student.
From White Belt to Black Belt there are 10 different patterns, starting from Saju Jirugi to Chon Ji and upwards to Choong Moo (Black Tag). Each Pattern is significant to the belt of the student; there are 19 different belts in TaeKwon-Do, 10 colour belts and 9 Degree’s in the Black Belt.
Each belt is a follow on from the previous colour and it can be represented like a flower blossoming. White Belt is the seed being planted,Yellow Belt is the root, Green Belt is the stem growing upwards, Blue Belt represents the sky the flower is growing towards, Red Belt is flow of blood or danger as the flower blossoms and finally Black Belt is impervious to darkness and fear. A Students belt must be tied around the body once & each side of the belt must be the same length. Each sides represents the body & the mind, therefore it is important that both sides are equal.
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The Philosophy of Taekwon-Do, by General Choi Hong Hi
In recent years, there has been an upsurge in violence and a loss of morality on all levels of society. There are of course a number of reasons for this. Many psychologists today feel that this problem stems from frustration. Analysts, on the other hand, point out that these misguided people are indeed a disillusioned segment of society searching for values and relevance in what they consider a deceitful, materialistic, and absurd world of wars and decadence. Unfortunately, however, instead of constructively channeling their extraordinary energy and potential, far too many strike out in blind anger, destroying rather than building, or merely running away from it all by isolating themselves with drugs and their own worlds of fantasy.
Presently, the tendency of “the stronger preying on the weaker” appears to be at its peak. The utmost purpose of Taekwon-Do is to eliminate the above by discouraging the stronger’s oppression of the weaker with a power that must be based on humanity, justice, morality, wisdom and faith, thus helping to build a better and more peaceful world. It is my sincere hope that through Taekwon-Do, anyone can garner enough strength to become a guardian of justice, to challenge social disunity and, to cultivate the human spirit to the highest level attainable.
“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
This is not a quote from General Choi, but a personal favourite that I try and adopt into my training.
Mr. C
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