I never imagined that I would come to enjoy and love Tae Kwon Do so much. I started practicing with Master Park Hyeon Seo and Master Park Chan Mo a year ago just because my amazing three children are awesome taekwondists (Yael and Itay are black belts and Dalit is orange belt). If tomorrow I manage to perform the 4th Poomsae (Tae Geuk Sa-Jang) correctly, several steps with kicks, some self-defense (and attack) exercices, plus the Kibon Il (키본 1), Kibon Y (키본 2), Kibon Sam (키본 3), and Kibon Sa (키본 4) (with all the names of the positions said in Korean -so hard to memorise!), I will then be blue belt. For me this is a great challenge, because I suffer from fibromyalgia for ten years (I was officially diagnosed only 2 years ago) and I'm extremely proud of myself for doing Tae Kwon Do in spite of my chronic condition. 

One can translate Tae by "foot or to kick", Kwon by "fist or to punch" and Do by "art, way, spirit, discipline, mentality, education". But as Yeon Hee Park, Yeon Hwan Park and Jon Gerrard say in their amazing book TAE KWON DO: "Tae Kwon Do is not just self-defense training or punching and kicking (...) "Do" in Korean implies a philosophical viewpoint or way of approaching life (...) the essence of Tae Kwon Do cannot be seen, touched, smelled, tasted or heard. It can only be experienced".

Tae Kwon Do "is a unique [Korean] martial art incorporating both the quick, straight-line movements that characterize the various Japanese systems and the flowing circular movements of most Chinese styles" (Park et al.) But TKD has the most powerful kicking techniques: fast and very impressive (quite difficult if you are a 47-year-old mother of three with fibromyalgia, but truly fun and exciting to learn and to practice): ahp cha-gi (front kick, my favorite one); neryo cha-gi (axe kick); yop cha-gi (side kick, extremely difficult but very powerful); dolryo cha-gi (round kick, very cool); dwi cha-gi (back kick); and some other spectacular kicks with jumps.    

Now, a bit of history. TKD comes from Taek Kyon, a Korean martial art that existed in 50 BCE. In 57–18 BCE, Korea was divided into three kingdoms: Silla, Koguryo and Baekche. Although Taek Kyon "first appeared in the Koguryo kingdom, it is Silla's warrior nobility, the Hwarang, who are credited with the growth and spread of the art throughout Korea" (Park et al.). The Silla warriors learnt the art of Taek Kyon to fight Japanese pirates, and also studied Confucian philosophy and Buddhism. The codes of Taek Kyon reflected the 11 commandments of modern Tae Kwon Do, which are:

-Loyalty to your country
-Respect your parents
-Faithfulness to your spouse
-Respect your brothers and sisters
-Loyalty to your friends
-Respect your elders
-Respect your teachers
-Never take life unjustly
-Indomitable spirit
-Loyalty to your school
-Finish what you begin 
(Park et al. xii)

It's important to remember that the central tenets of TKD are loyalty, respect, courtesy, perseverance, and justice (Park et al. 176).

In 935–1392 Taek Kyon was known as Subak, and from 1397 this martial art was learnt by the common population.  

In 1909 Japan invaded Korea (until 1945) and prohibited the practice of Subak, but Subak grew clandestinely. In 1943 Judo, Karate and Kung-fu were introduced in Korea. After the end of WWII, there were many kwans (schools) with different styles. In 1953 the Korean war ended, and in 1955 the different styles were unified under the name of Tae Soo Do. Finally in 1957, the name was changed to Tae Kwon Do. 

Now, dear taekwondists: practice, enjoy, sweat, grow and glow! 

Antonia Tejeda Barros, Madrid, December 13, 2022