Taekwondo Ranks and Belts (II)

To advance from one rank to the next, students typically complete promotion tests in which they demonstrate their proficiency in the various aspects of the art before a panel of judges or their teacher. Promotion tests vary from school to school, but may include such elements as the execution of patterns, which combine various techniques in specific sequences; the breaking of boards to demonstrate the ability to use techniques with both power and control; sparring and self-defense to demonstrate the practical application and control of techniques; and answering questions on terminology, concepts and history to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the art.

 For higher dan tests, students are sometimes required to take a written test or submit a research paper in addition to taking the practical test. Promotion from one geup to the next can proceed rapidly in some schools, since schools often allow geup promotions every two, three, or four months. Students of geup rank learn the most basic techniques first, and then move on to more advanced techniques as they approach first dan.

 Many of the older and more traditional schools often take longer to allow students to test for higher ranks than newer, more contemporary schools, as they may not have the required testing intervals. You can buy Olympic Taekwondo Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange. Sport Ticket Exchange offers you all sorts of Olympic Tickets especially Olympic Taekwondo Tickets at affordable rates.

Taekwondo Ranks and Belts

Taekwondo ranks are typically separated into "junior" and "senior," or "student" and "instructor," sections. The junior section typically consists of ten ranks indicated by the Korean word geup also Romanized as gup or kup. The junior ranks are usually identified by belts of various colors, depending on the school, so these ranks are sometimes called "color belts". Geup rank may be indicated by stripes on belts rather than by colored belts. Students begin at tenth geup often indicated by a white belt and advance toward first geup often indicated by a red belt with a black stripe.

The senior section is typically made up of nine ranks. These ranks are called Dan, also referred to as "black belts" or "degrees" as in "third Dan" or "third-degree black belt". Black belts begin at first degree and advance to second, third, and so on. The degree is often indicated on the belt itself with stripes, Roman numerals, or other methods; but sometimes black belts are plain and unadorned regardless of rank.

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Taekwondo Safety

Although taekwondo competitors have an apparently substantial risk of injury, most injuries are minor. A 2009 meta-analysis reported that an average of about 8% of competitors is injured per exposure to competition; age, gender, and level of play did not significantly affect the injury rate. The legs are the most common location for injuries, and bruising is the most common injury type.

Injuries may occur if students are taught to block punches in a formal manner chamber position, perfect angles, etc. even when sparring. When comparing the speed of a punch and the reaction time and time taken to block effectively, it is difficult to block a punch. Many Taekwondo schools teach students blocking for grading and class work and dodging or parrying for sparring. You can buy Olympic Taekwondo Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange. Sport Ticket Exchange offers you all sorts of Olympic Tickets especially Olympic Taekwondo Tickets at affordable rates.

World Taekwondo Federation

Under World Taekwondo Federation and Olympic rules, sparring is a full-contact event and takes place between two competitors in an area measuring 8 meters square. A win can occur by points, or if one competitor is unable to continue (knockout) the other competitor wins. Each match consists of three semi-continuous rounds of contact, with one minute's rest between rounds. There are two age categories: 14–17 years and 18 years and older.

Points are awarded for permitted, accurate, and powerful techniques to the legal scoring areas; light contact does not score any points. The only techniques allowed are kicks delivering a strike using an area of the foot below the ankle and punches. In most competitions, points are awarded by three corner judges using electronic scoring tallies. Several A-Class tournaments, however, are now trialing electronic scoring equipment contained within competitors' body protectors. This limits corner judges to scoring only attacks to the head. Some believe that the new electronic scoring system will help to reduce controversy concerning judging decisions, but this technology is still not universally accepted. Beginning in 2009, a kick or punch that makes contact with the opponent's hogu (the body guard that functions as a scoring target) scores one point; if a kick to the hogu involved a technique that includes fully turning the attacking competitor's body, so that the back is fully exposed to the targeted competitor during execution of the technique (spinning kick), an additional point is awarded; a kick to the head scores three points; as of October 2010 an additional point is awarded if a turning kick was used to execute this attack. Punches to the head are not allowed. As of March 2010, no additional points are awarded for knocking down an opponent.

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International Taekwondo Federation

International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) is a Taekwondo organization founded on April 11, 1955, by General Choi Hong Hi in Seoul, South Korea. The ITF exists to promote and encourage the growth of the Korean martial art of Taekwondo. Since South Korean Government abandoned ITF, it established World Taekwondo Federation to continue the mission of Taekwondo's globalization. Once General Choi Hong Hi was exiled out of South Korea, he returned to North Korea and introduced the organization which settled there.

In 2001, the ITF Congress voted for General Choi Hong Hi as President for four years of the six-year term, then for his son (Choi Jung Hwa) to serve as President for the remaining two years. This was overturned (whether legally or illegally is disputed) by General Choi, causing a rift between himself and his son. Choi Jung Hwa split away from his father and created another organization, which Choi Jung Hwa claimed to be the true ITF. While the majority of the TKD world stayed with General Choi, many others decided to follow Choi Jung Hwa. General Choi subsequently died in June 2002, having never reconciled with his son. On his deathbed in June 2002, General Choi allegedly said that he wanted a man known as Chang Ung, a North Korean IOC member, to take over as President. An Extraordinary Congress of the ITF was called with Chang Ung declared as the new President; but the legality of this Congress is disputed. Those claiming that the Congress was illegal (i.e. against the ITF's Constitution) held another Congress, at which Master Trần Triệu Quân (an 8th degree black belt) was elected as President. Thus there are now three organizations claiming to be the ITF.

ITF's main functions are to coordinate and approve tournaments and seminars, set standards for teaching, collaborate with affiliated member organizations, and service members in regards to rank and certifications. You can buy Olympic Taekwondo Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange.  Sport Ticket Exchange offers you all sorts of Olympic Tickets especially Olympic Taekwondo Tickets at affordable rates.

Taekwondo Features (II)

A taekwondo student typically wears a uniform (dobok ), often white but sometimes black (or other colors), with a belt (dti 띠) tied around the waist. There are at least three major styles of do-bok, with the most obvious differences being in the style of jacket: (1) the cross-over front jacket that resembles traditional Asian clothing, (2) the V-neck jacket (no cross-over) typically worn by WTF practitioners, and (3) the vertical-closing front jacket (no cross-over) typically worn by ITF practitioners. The belt color and any insignia thereon indicate the student's rank. In general, darker the color higher the rank. The school or place where instruction is given is called the do-jang. The grandmaster of the do-jang is called a gwan-jang-nim; Master, the senior instructor or head of do-jang is called sa-beom-nim; Instructor is called gyo-san-nim; Assistant Instructor is called jo-gyo-nim.

Taekwondo, along with many other martial arts, is traditionally performed in bare feet, though there are specialist training shoes that can sometimes be worn. Olympic Taekwondo Tickets are being sold rapidly at Sport Ticket Exchange.  Sport Ticket Exchange offers you all sorts of Olympic Tickets especially Olympic Taekwondo Tickets at affordable rates. You have also opportunity to Sell Olympic Tickets against handsome returning.

Taekwondo Features

Taekwondo is known for its emphasis on kicking techniques, which distinguishes it from martial arts such as karate or southern styles of kung fu. The rationale is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to execute powerful strikes without successful retaliation. Historically, the Koreans thought that the hands were too valuable to be used in combat.

Taekwondo as a martial art is popular with people of both genders and of many ages. Physically, taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of wooden boards, bricks or tiles, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's power.

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History of Taekwondo (III)

In the early 1960s, Taekwondo made its début worldwide with assignment of the original masters of taekwondo to various countries. Standardization efforts in South Korea stalled, as thekwans continued to teach differing styles. Another request from the Korean government for unification resulted in the formation of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association, which changed its name back to the Korea Taekwondo Association in 1965 following a change of leadership. The International Taekwon-Do Federation was founded in 1966, followed by World Taekwondo Federation in 1973.

Since 2000, Taekwondo has been one of only two Asian martial arts (the other being judo) that are included in the Olympic Games; it became a demonstration event starting with the 1988 games in Seoul, and became an official medal event starting with the 2000 games in Sydney. In 2010, Taekwondo was accepted as a Commonwealth Games sport.

One source has estimated that as of 2009, Taekwondo was practiced in 123 countries, with over 30 million practitioners and 3 million individuals with black belts throughout the world. The South Korean government in the same year published an estimate of 70 million practitioners in 190 countries. Olympic Taekwondo Tickets are being sold rapidly at Sport Ticket Exchange.  Sport Ticket Exchange offers you all sorts of Olympic Tickets especially Olympic Taekwondo Tickets at affordable rates. You have also opportunity to Sell Olympic Tickets against handsome returning.

History of Taekwondo (II)

During the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910–1945), all facets of ethnic Korean identity were banned or suppressed.Traditional Korean martial arts such as taekkyeon or subakwere banned during this time. During the occupation, Koreans who were able to study and receive rankings in Japan were exposed to Japanese martial arts. Others were exposed to martial arts in China and Manchuria.

When the occupation ended in 1945, Korean martial arts schools (kwans) began to open in Korea under various influences. There are differing views on the origins of the arts taught in these schools. Some believe that they taught martial arts that were based primarily upon the traditional Korean martial arts taekkyon and subak or that taekwondo was derived from native Korean martial arts with influences from neighboring countries. Still others believe that these schools taught arts that were almost entirely based upon karate.

In 1952, at the height of the Korean War, there was a martial arts exhibition in which the kwans displayed their skills. In one demonstration, Nam Tae Hi smashed 13 roof tiles with a punch. Following this demonstration, South Korean President Syngman Rhee instructed Choi Hong Hi to introduce the martial arts to the Korean army. By the mid-1950s, nine kwans had emerged. Syngman Rhee ordered that the various schools unify under a single system. The name "taekwondo" was submitted by either Choi Hong Hi (of the Oh Do Kwan) or Song Duk Son (of the Chung Do Kwan), and was accepted on April 11, 1955. As it stands today, the nine kwans are the founders of taekwondo, though not all the kwans used the name. The Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed in 1959/1961 to facilitate the unification

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Basic History of Taekwondo

The oldest Korean martial art was an amalgamation of unarmed combat styles developed by the three rival Korean Kingdoms of Goguryeo,Silla, and Baekje, where young men were trained in unarmed combat techniques to develop strength, speed, and survival skills. The most popular of these techniques was subak, with taekkyeon being the most popular of the segments of subak. Those who demonstrated strong natural aptitude were selected as trainees in the new special warrior corps, called the Hwarang. It was believed that young men with a talent for the liberal arts may have the grace to become competent warriors. These warriors were instructed in academics as well as martial arts, learning philosophy, history, a code of ethics, and equestrian sports. Their military training included an extensive weapons program involving swordsmanship and archery, both on horseback and on foot, as well as lessons in military tactics and unarmed combat using subak. Although subak was a leg-oriented art in Goguryeo, Silla's influence added hand techniques to the practice of subak.

During this time a few select Silla warriors were given training in taekkyeon by the early masters from Koguryo. These warriors then became known as the Hwarang. The Hwarang set up a military academy for the sons of royalty in Silla called Hwarang-do, which means "the way of flowering manhood." The Hwarang studied taekkyeon, history, Confucian philosophy, ethics, Buddhist morality, social skills and military tactics. The guiding principles of the Hwarang warriors were based on Won Gwang's five codes of human conduct and included loyalty, filial duty, trustworthiness, valor and justice. Taekkyeon was spread throughout Korea because the Hwarang traveled all around the peninsula to learn about the other regions and people.

In spite of Korea's rich history of ancient and traditional martial arts, Korean martial arts faded into obscurity during the Joseon Dynasty. Korean society became highly centralized under Korean Confucianism and martial arts were poorly regarded in a society whose ideals were epitomized by its scholar-kings. Formal practices of traditional martial arts such as subakand taekkyeon were reserved for sanctioned military uses. Civilian folk practice of taekkyeon persisted into the 19th century. Olympic Taekwondo Tickets are being sold rapidly at Sport Ticket Exchange.  Sport Ticket Exchange offers you all sorts of Olympic Tickets especially Olympic Taekwondo Tickets at affordable rates. You have also opportunity to Sell Olympic Tickets against handsome returning.