Taekwondo te Jitsu for all ages
Taekwondo /ˌtaɪˌkwɒnˈdoʊ/ (Korean 태권도 (跆拳道) [tʰɛk͈wʌndo]) is a Korean martial art. It combines combat and self-defense techniques with sport and exercise. Gyeorugi (pronounced [kjʌɾuɡi]), a type of sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000. Taekwondo was developed by a variety of Korean masters during the 1940s as partial combination of taekkyeon, Okinawan karate and other traditions.
The name taekwondo was coined by Choi Hong Hi who is claimed to be the founder and creator of taekwondo by the International Taekwondo Federation.[1] The World Taekwondo Federation claims that taekwondo development was a collaborative effort.[2] There are two main branches of taekwondo development, although they are not mutually exclusive.
Traditional taekwondo typically refers to the martial art as it was established in the 1950s and 1960s in the South Korean military, and in various civilian organisations, including schools and universities. In particular, the names and symbolism of the traditional patterns often refer to elements of Korean history, culture and religious philosophy. Traditional Taekwon-Do may refer to International Taekwon-Do Federation. The symbolism is replicated in the Korean flag.
Sport taekwondo has developed in the decades since the 1950s and may have a somewhat different focus, especially in terms of its emphasis on speed and competition (as in Olympic sparring). Sport taekwondo is in turn subdivided into two main styles. One style is practiced by International Taekwon-Do adherents and was created in 1955 by Choi Hong Hi. The other style derives from Kukkiwon, the source of the sparring system sihap gyeorugi. This style is now an event at the summer Olympic Games and is governed by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The Kukkiwon - or World Taekwondo Headquarters - is the traditional center for WTF taekwondo and was founded in 1973 by Dr. Kim Un Yong.
Although there are doctrinal and technical differences between sparring in the two main styles and among the various organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks and punches thrown from a mobile stance. Taekwondo training generally includes a system of blocks, kicks, punches, and open-handed strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws, and joint locks. Pressure points, known as jiapsul, are used as well as grabbing self-defense techniques borrowed from other martial arts, such as Japanese judo, or Korean hapkido, or Korean wrestling or ssireum.
In Korean, tae (태, 跆) means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon (권, 拳) means "to strike or break with fist"; and do (도, 道) means "way", "method", or "path". Thus, taekwondo may be loosely translated as "the way of the foot and the hand."[3] The name taekwondo is also written as taekwon-do, tae kwon-do or tae kwon do by various organizations.
Jujutsu (/dʒuːˈdʒʌtsuː/; Japanese: 柔術, jūjutsu About this sound listen (help·info), Japanese pronunciation: [ˈdʑɯɯ.dʑɯ.tsɯ]) is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon or only a short weapon.[1][2] The word jujutsu can be spelled as jujitsu, ju-jutsu or ju-jitsu.
"Jū" can be translated to mean "gentle, soft, supple, flexible, pliable, or yielding." "Jutsu" can be translated to mean "art" or "technique" and represents manipulating the opponent's force against himself rather than confronting it with one's own force.[1] Jujutsu developed among the samurai of feudal Japan as a method for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon.[3] Because striking against an armored opponent proved ineffective, practitioners learned that the most efficient methods for neutralizing an enemy took the form of pins, joint locks, and throws. These techniques were developed around the principle of using an attacker's energy against him, rather than directly opposing it.[4]
There are many variations of the art, which leads to a diversity of approaches. Jujutsu schools (ryū) may utilize all forms of grappling techniques to some degree (i.e. throwing, trapping, joint locks, holds, gouging, biting, disengagements, striking, and kicking). In addition to jujutsu, many schools teach the use of weapons.
Today, jujutsu is practiced in both traditional and modern sport forms. Derived sport forms include the Olympic sport and martial art of judo, which was developed by Kanō Jigorō in the late 19th century from several traditional styles of jujutsu, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which was in turn derived from earlier (pre–World War II) versions of Kodokan judo.