Naturally, when people find out I teach Tae Kwon-Do, their first question is “did you ever have to use it?” The next question is, “why is Tae Kwon-Do supposed to be the best?” The answer is simple albeit long. I will try to condense the answer for you without omitting any important facts. in the late 40’s and early 50’s General Choi (North Korean Army) wanted to design a martial art that would be the best form of hand-to-hand combat ever known to mankind. He and other men (martial artists from other arts) designed Tae Kwon-Do by taking the best of what was available from other arts. He also enlisted doctors, physiologists and other experts, to make sure the body was being used to its maximum potential. Long story made short…by 1955, they had designed a martial art that was the best form of hand-to-hand combat and self-defense. It was (and still is) taught to armed services and special forces in just about every country worldwide.
Do not mix up our martial art with Olympic Tae Kwon-Do which is NOT a martial art…it is a sport, just like tennis or soccer. (By the way, my 1 Dan is in Olympic Tae Kwon-Do so I am not “speaking out of school”) With all the hype about MMA, UFC and other sports, remember, they are just that…a sport. They have rules and they have cycles of who is dominating by how the sport evolves. For a very long time a Karate practitioner was dominant. As of late, the better kickers have been winning but that may change as the sport changes.
Our style of Tae Kwon-Do is the ORIGINAL, designed by Gen. Choi in 1955 and was designed to stop or even kill the enemy with one blow. Today, of course we are always aware of controlling this power which allows us to train safely; and the most devastating techniques are still reserved for high ranking practitioners.
Yes, we go to tournaments to enjoy the competition, but that is 10% of our program. We are a true martial art school. We are proud to NOT be a sport Karate or Mixed Martial Art school. (Just a side note…we are actually considered a mixed martial art school because we teach kicking, punching, grabbing, joint locks, body manipulation, sweeps and take downs, etc.) However, tournaments do provide us with fine tuning our techniques under pressure, sharpening our defenses and just have a great time. But we are a MARTIAL ART school.
Yes, Master Gorino’s Pil-Sung Tae Kwon-Do is MMA, we are Karate, we are Self-Defense, we are physical and mental fitness, we are disciplined, we are truly martial arts. I am proud of what we are and as always, promise to keep our dojang the very BEST place to train.
Now go do 1000 kicks and I’ll see you at the dojang! Pil-Sung!
