What does Roundhouse, Chop, Side, Turning Back, Jumping front kick ,Blocks and Sparring all have in common. NO, they are not the ingredients my Dad puts in his spicy Chile!! It is the Korean Martial Art called Tae Kwon Do.
Taekwondo means, the way of the foot and the fist. It is a form of self defense using only your bare hands and feet. No weapons are ever used in Taekwondo. It is similar to Karate using many jumps and kicks. Taekwondo dates back over 2000 years but has become one of the most popular sports in the world Over the past 50 years. Taekwondo is participated by more than 40 million people in 142 countries in the world!
Taekwondo is now an official Olympic event and was introduced at the Sydney Australia Olympic games in the year 2000. The first person to win an Olympic Gold medal in the Taekwondo heavy weight division was a women, her name is Arlene Limas from the United States.
Sometimes young kids like myself are accused of not having discipline and respect towards our elders. Taekwondo helps us to conmmunicate, concentrate and to become more self confident.
Some of you may know the name Chuck Norris. He is one of the famous masters of Taekwondo and is a television and movie star. In 1996 Chuck Norris was awarded an 8th degree Black Belt which is the highest level in Taekwondo. The most important lesson Chuck Norris learned was discipline and respect and I think these are great qualities to have.
Taekwondo has many kicks, special moves and special clothing which I will explain some of them to you. The Roundhouse and Chop Kick are the basic kicks you learn when you begin taking lessons in Taekwondo. The Turning back and Jumping front kick are the more difficult kicks to learn. These are difficult because your jumping in mid air and you can lose your balance easily, but with practice and hard work you can master these kicks. Other special moves include Blocks which use hands, arms and knees to force incoming attacks away from your body. The special
clothing used in Taekwondo is a full body protector called a HOOgoo. Also, other potective equipments are head, groin and shin guards.
My final point I want to tell you about Taekwondo is YELLING!!!! When doing powerful moves, kicks and punches you can let out a loud YELL for example EEEEEEHHHHHHHHH! ! ! ! ! ! !! This can startle your opponent or audience which
allows you to catch him or her off guard. Yelling also helps to tighten your stomach muscles and can protect you from your opponents' attacks.
In connclusion, the most important fact in Taekwondo is both a superior art of self defense and a technique of mental discipline and respect. Taekwondo is a great sport which includes both your mind and your body. Taekwondo is a lot of fun. I've been taking Taekwondo for 6 months and have learned many of the techniques I have described to
you today. I hope you have all learned something today on Taekvvondo and I Thank you for your attention.
