For you who might know what TKD stands for, it expresses the Korean Martial Art Tae Kwon Do. The name implies the coordination of the foot (Tae), hand (Kwon) and art, thought, mind (Do) and is one of the oldest martial arts, dating over 2.000 years back in the centuries.

This is the beginning of my TKD journey

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I always get depressed when my birthday arrives. That was also the case in 2016, on my special celebration day.
I had some friends and family over, who had prepared a cake for me. But my head was full of thoughts.
Thoughts of goals I had set for me, but were never approached. I needed to get out, to breath, to do something for me; so I did.

I got ready, I said bye and while everybody was staring at me leaving … I closed the door behind me;

And minutes later I opened the door to a whole new world that was standing before me.

The Dojang¹

I was thinking for a very long time that I wanted to start sports again (after a compulsory absence of years), but I just could not make it happen.
So that day was meant to be the day that I first got into a Tae Kwon Do training.

Everybody welcomed me and it almost instantly felt the right place to be.

What Tae Kwon Do means

Literally translated it means foot, hand, mind. The name tae kwon do (or taekwondo) is used since 1955 ² and it refers to the way to use all three of them (foot, hand, mind) together wisely.

Why I love training taekwondo?

A sport for everyone!

It is a sport that everyone can do; age, weight, height do not matter and everybody can practice taekwondo for staying fit.
You would not believe the diversity in my class :))

Coordination & Concentration

I am sure that many of you reading this (author not excluded) have often been absentminded, perhaps even stumble on objects you cannot see or maybe you can find it hard to concentrate. Taekwondo is a sport that helps to increase the coordination and concentration.

It has helped me a lot finding a better balance in my movements, to hit less obstacles on my way (ouch!) and to coordinate my moves in all aspects of my life.

The Team

Taekwondo is both a self and a team sport. You operate & practice individually but you are in a team that everybody helps one another.

It is a sport, why a hobby too? Why a passion?

It is more than a sport, than a hobby, more than a passion. It helps me communicate with myself. It helps me improving myself (in all aspects) day by day. The point is never in surpassing someone else, the goal is to become a better you and to do your best in reaching your target.

Levels are counted with the different kind of belts (for which you are examined) and are little goals. As my Master sais:

Belts are nothing else than small goals. Black Belt though, is ‘responsibility’ Black Belt is the ‘darkness’ out of which you will discover the light.

Isn’t this sport very aggressive?

Actually no, it teaches you to be patient, to be self-possessed, to avoid fighting.

Self control is very important when performing a move, because if you do not have it, it can get you or others hurt. Having more power as the time passes, actually makes you a more responsible person because with power comes responsibility

Is it fun?

Absolutely! For you who might not know it, there are many different things you can do during your training in TaeKwonDo .. (Well it depends on the master, on your age, if you are in championships etc, but in any case the variety is vast)

Isn’t it a very old art? You said more than 2000 years old?

Yes, but it keeps evolving; There are organizations in Korea and all over the world that are motivating young people to start working out. There are many championships all around the world
Last Year the first World TaekWonDo Beach took place in Rhodes, Greece and this year it will be held in Rhodes again! (and as a matter of fact with the Greek Tourism Organization assistance)

Is there only one style of Taekwondo?

Actually there are two of them. ITF (International Taekwondo Federation) and WT (World Taekwondo). I practice the second one, who actually is also an Olympic Sport.
The differences between them and more about the WT, I will present in the future, because I am planning to make a tribute to WT, to its history and philosophy..

What you should know

1. There is the “sparring matches”³, where someone can take part in games being organized often
2. There is the ‘traditional taekwondo’⁴ where athletes fight in their ‘poomsae performance’, dealing with a number of ‘invisible’ enemies and showing a defined pattern of defese & attack motions
3. There is the ‘free style’ poomsae,⁵ where the athlete is showing their skills by performing a predefined pattern of moves (their own ‘choreography’)
4. There is the ‘breaking’⁶ technique where (real) wood is being broken to show the power in a kick or in a fist

Is there any thing else that motivated me?

I was thinking of starting taekwondo for sometime and it was when I saw this video, that I first felt that this was something worth trying … Besides, you need to hear your instinct and you have to give it a try :)

I am sure there are more exciting hobbies out there, but I just had to share this..
If my post will be able to motivate at least one person to start a sport and invest their time for their health, I will be very happy!

Thank you very much for reading; This post is an entry for the contest by @anomadsoul :)

Extra Tips:
Be healthy and if you smoke; just quit
Pick a gym that is close to your home
If you pick a martial art, make sure that you are inspired by the Sensei
Your Sport/Martial Art should be fun, if not; consider changing it!

_{Image credits: Photo dojang https://www.pexels.com/photo/graduation-day-taekwondo-dojo-gym-369291/
Image credits: PixaBay}