| Frequently Asked Questions |
| What is Taekwon-Do? |
| Taekwon-Do is the Korean art of self-defence. It
is a martial art designed to allow people to defend
themselves from attack. Taekwon-Do means
"foot fist art" or "The
way of the foot and fist". It is a system of
movements incorporating many different styles of
attack and defence - each with its own strengths and
weaknesses. |
| Who created it? When? |
| Taekwon-Do was primarily created by Major General
Choi Hong Hi of the Republic of Korea. Some of the
techniques were originally based upon the simple
kicks in Taek Kyon, an ancient Korean art. The
General started developing Taekwon-Do in the Korean
Army where he amalgamated the various schools of
martial arts in Korea into one art form. He then
applied scientific principles to the techniques and
developed Taekwon-Do further. In 1955 he named
Taekwon-Do and in 1982 he considered Taekwon-Do to be
a complete martial art - that is not to say that it's
development is finished but that its development was
now in a position to be launched. |
| Does Taekwon-Do work? |
| Taekwon-Do is only ever as effective as the
person practicing it. Remember that no matter how
good that you are you will never be able to
completely defend yourself against EVERY attack. You
can however use Taekwon-Do to limit the number of
people capable of successfully attacking you. You
should always bear in mind that there is always
someone bigger and better than you. |
| Which martial art is the best? |
| Martial arts are all different and some suit
other people better than others. Each has its own
weaknesses and strengths. Which one is the best will
often depend upon the person practising it. For
anyone to say that their art is better than another's
would be both arrogant and rude. You should rather
look for the martial art that is best for YOU. |
| What style do you practice? |
| We practice the only style, that is, ITF
Taekwon-Do. Any other martial art calling itself
Taekwon-Do is not True and Original Taekwon-Do as
created by General Choi Hong Hi. |
| What can I expect on my first
day? |
| You can expect to work hard. You will learn the
five basic stances (Attention, Parallel, Walking,
Sitting and L-Stances) along with a number of basic
kicks, punches and blocks. You may also be shown a
brief demonstration of what the more senior students
do to give you an idea of what is to come. As a
beginner you will not be expected to keep up with the
more experienced practitioners but you will be
expected to try. Remember that from day one onwards
everything becomes harder, more complicated and
becomes even more difficult (but remember, it also
become more satisfying too!). I do not want to
discourage you but this is a self-improvement program
and the results you gain depend upon the effort that
YOU put in - we cannot do it for you, commitment from
you is the only thing that will ever allow you to
progress. |
| What is the difference between ITF and
WTF systems? |
| The difference between the two is, in many
circumstances, very little. It is a question of
focus. WTF concentrates on the sport element of
Taekwon-Do whereas ITF concentrates on all areas of
self-defence. ITF is concerned with enabling people
to be able to defend themselves against an attack,
where WTF is more concerned with performing well in
competitions. Competition is a small part of ITF
ideology. |
| Where and when do you train? |
| Our training times are on the front page as
sometimes they do change. |
| Is Taekwon-Do difficult? |
| Taekwon-Do is hard and challenging. You will need
to work hard and concentrate during training if you
wish to improve yourself. Like many things that are
challenging Taekwon-Do is also very rewarding and
satisfying, and those few (and they will be few)
moments when everything "clicks"
make it all worth while - you want to have that
feeling again and when you get it you know that what
you are doing is right, that you can defend yourself
should you be attacked. |
| How does ITF sparring differ from WTF
sparring? |
| ITF sparring should be non-contact or
semi-contact for higher belts (depending upon the
school and instructor). WTF sparring is full contact
but does not include punches to the head (ITF does).
This difference is actually very important and it has
led the different styles to grow apart. You can
almost always tell which someone practices just by
watching the first few seconds of any match. It is
that obvious. There are arguments on both sides as to
which is better - WTF claims to be more realistic
whereas ITF claims to be safer and more practicable.
I think most people will agree that there are merits
to both arguments. We practice ITF style sparring
because quite simply it is safer and we have very few
injuries as a result. |
| What are patterns? |
| They are a pre-arranged sequence of attacks and
defences against a series of imaginary opponents.
They are used to perfect fundamental movements. They
are a very useful means of remembering all the
techniques that you know (not as easy as it sounds)
and practicing them on a regular basis. One benefit
of patterns that I think is often overlooked is that
you are forced to change directions into different
stances and blocking at the same time. It may well be
necessary for you to turn and look at someone, change
stance and block at the same time. This is not easy.
The first time someone ever attempts this usually
results in an interesting stance, non-existent block
and they are generally looking at their feet instead
of at their opponent! People who claim patterns are a
waste time generally (in MY opinion) do not
appreciate the benefit that they gain from them. |
| How does the Belt Ranking System Work In
Taekwon-Do? |
| You will (hopefully) progress as follows: White
Belt, White Belt with a Yellow Tag, Yellow Belt,
Yellow Belt with a Green Tag, Green Belt, Green Belt
with a Blue Tag, Blue Belt, Blue Belt with a Red Tag,
Red Belt, Red Belt with a Black Tag Boosabum - Asst.
Instructor, Black Belt Ist Degree Novice,
National Instructor, Black Belt IInd
Degree, Black Belt IIIrd Degree Sabum -
Instructor, Black Belt IVth Degree Expert,
International Instructor, Black Belt Vth
Degree, Black Belt VIth Degree Sahyung -
Master, Black Belt VIIth Degree, Black
Belt VIIIth Degree Saseong - Grand Master
Black Belt IXth Degree |
| Can girls do Taekwon-Do? |
| Taekwon-Do is designed for the human body. It is
open to everybody regardless of race, religion,
gender, ideology whatever. We have a number of female
members who have graded and done very well, gender is
no barrier (in fact, most females are more flexible
than males which makes kicking even easier for
them!). |
| Can foreign students train with? Can you
send an invitation to train with you? |
| Our classes are open to anyone and everyone who
is willing to learn. However, we cannot invite
foreign nationals to attend our classes formally. A
number of people ask for VISA purposes and we are not
in a position to do this. If you wish to attend then
you should contact the Aberdeen University directly,
we cannot help. |