Brief History

"Tae" means "foot" or "to strike with the

feet". "Kwon" means "hand", or "to strike
with the hand". "Do" means discipline, art,
or way. Hence TaeKwonDo (foot-hand-way)
means literally "the art of the feet and the
hands" or "the art of kicking and
punching". Different schools and/or styles
may impose different variations on the
formal definition however. For example,
some styles add the words "self defense"
to the literal definition and/or throw in
some form of the phrase "physical and
mental training".
Before I get into the history of Taekwondo,
I would like to define what it means. I read
the definition from many books and the
one that I like best comes from the
book Comprehensive Asian Fighting
Arts (1) written by Donn F. Draeger and
Robert W. Smith. "Taekwondo is an emptyhand combat form that entails the use of
the whole body. Tae means "to Kick" or
"Smash with the feet," Kwon implies
"punching" or "destroying with the hand or
fist," and Do means "way" or "method."
Taekwondo thus, is the technique of
unarmed combat for self defense that
involves the skillful application of
techniques that include punching, jumping
kicks, blocks, dodges, parrying actions
with hands and feet. It is more than a
mere physical fighting skill, representing
as it does a way of thinking and a pattern
of life requiring strict discipline. It is a
system of training both the mind and the
body in which great emphasis is placed on
the development of the trainee's moral
character."
Basic Commands in Korean.
cha ryuht
choon bi
kalyeo
seijak
kae sok
kyung nae

:
:
:
:
:
:

attention
ready
break (or stop)
begin
continue
bow

Countings :
1:hanah
2:dool
3:set
4:net
5:dasot
6:yasot
7:iglop
8:yadol
9:ahop
10:yool
My Personal Stretching & Warm-Up
Routine

Here is my personal 10-15 minute

Taekwondo stretching routine used in the
beginning of our Taekwondo classes. It
focuses on warming up your muscles &
tendons and stretching most of your body
in order to prevent injuries and improve
flexibility. This page was designed to
illustrate a typical stretching session for
new Taekwondo students and to give
some stretching ideas for more
experienced Taekwondo students. You
should spend at least 20-30 seconds on
each stretch (don't rush because a five
second stretch doesn't help anyone). Also
remember to change things up frequently
so your classmates/students don't get
bored with the same old stretching
routine!
Warm Up - Take 2-3 minutes to slowly
warm up your muscles, loosen your joints
and boost your heart rate. Also "cold"
muscles/tendons can be more easily
injured during stretching.
Jogging
Jumping Jacks
Running in Place
Stretching - Make sure you target all of the
main areas of the body with special focus
on the typical Taekwondo problem areas
such as calf, groin and hamstrings. For
instructions on how to perform any of
these stretches, please visit our
Taekwondo Stretching page.
Wrist Stretches
Shoulder Stretch
Toe Touches
Ankle Rotation
Crossed Leg Stretch - From a sitting
position and with one leg remaining flat on
the ground, you bring your other
knee/ankle to your chest.
Lying Down Hamstring Stretch
Mid-Session Torture um, I mean
Strengthening Section :) - This segment
adds some variety and fun into the
stretching session and gets people talking
& laughing or is that cursing?
Pushups
Plank
Alternatives - Crunches, Reverse
Crunches, Bird Dog, Russian Twist, etc.
Stretching - Second half of the stretching
session. For instructions on how to
perform any of these stretches, please
visit our Taekwondo Stretching page.
Sitting Hamstring Stretch - Sit down with
your legs straight out and grab your
toes/foot.
Butterfly Stretch
Splits - Spread your legs as wide as
possible and then reach down & touch one
foot, then the other and finally down the
middle.
Lying Down Quadriceps Stretch
Back Extension Stretch (also known as the
Cobra Pose)
Child's Pose with Arms Extended
Cool Down - Allows your
classmates/students to catch their breath

before the "real" class begins. It also

signals the instructor that the stretching
session is coming to an end (so he/she
had better get ready to lead the class).
Knee Rotation
Hip Rotation
Trunk Rotation
Shoulder Rotation
Chain Breakers - Cross your arms in front
and then open them as wide as possible
(so your shoulder blades touch). Repeat.
Neck Rotation
Finish
You should have a formal ending to the
session. At our school, we first tell
everyone to turn around and fix their
uniforms. Then we instruct them to turn
around & face the Master and bow to the
Master. The Master acknowledges the
class and asks them to bow to & thank the
stretching leader. Everyone claps and we
get ready for the regular class to begin.
Taekwondo Strength Training Exercises
To excel at Taekwondo, you must not only
improve your flexibility but also your
Taekwondo strength. This page deals with
exercises that can improve your overall
Taekwondo strength - resulting in better
breaks, harder kicks and stronger
punches! Focus on doing many repetitions
versus just one rep at the maximum
weight. You want strength & endurance.
These Taekwondo strength training
exercises concentrate on your lower body,
upper body & arms and core/abdominal
area. Remember to first check with your
doctor before starting any exercise
program.
For stronger & faster Taekwondo kicks, you
need to work on areas such as your quads,
hamstrings & calves. Here are number of
exercises that can improve your kicking
power.
Calf Raises - After I tore my calf muscle, I
have been religiously using calf raises in
order to strengthen my calf muscles for
Taekwondo.
Hamstring Exercises - Given that people
suffer numerous hamstring injuries in
Taekwondo, I have also created a
hamstring exercise page with numerous
hamstring strengthening exercises (such
as leg curls). This will help you to achieve
higher & more powerful kicks (with
hopefully less self-inflicted injuries).
Lateral Jumps - Lateral jumps are also a
great conditioning exercise.
Leg Extension Exercises
Leg Press

Lunge - The lunge exercise helps your leg

strength and flexibility.
Plyometrics - Plyometrics provides
advanced training for explosive
Taekwondo kicking power.
Squat Thrusts - Squat thrusts help to build
explosive leg power as well as working on
other areas of your body (i.e. chest). This
is an exhausting exercise that I "enjoyed"
in the Marine Corps.
Squats Without Weights
Step Ups
Other Basic Exercises
Barbell Squat
Barbell Step-Up
Barbell Lunges
Calf Press
Deep Knee Jumps - Be careful with your
knees. Don't bend too much if you have
knee problems.
Horse Stance - Just widen your legs, bend
your knees and HOLD IT. This stance will
work on endurance and leg power. FYI This is a common stance in Taekwondo.
Knee Extensions with Ankle Weights
Leg Lifts - A single leg lift is safer than a
double leg left. Double leg lifts can put
excessive strain on your back.
Single Leg Squat
For more explosive punches or Taekwondo
kicks (i.e. spinning hook kicks), you need
to work on your torque or twisting power
in order to have more powerful "windups". You will need to exercise areas such
as your stomach, lateral obliques (side
muscles) and lower back. Here are a
number of useful Taekwondo "core"
exercises. Also you will need to perform a
variety of these exercises because you
need to work all of your core muscles.
Bicycle Crunches - This page shows you
how to perform a bicycle crunch. Bicycle
crunches are supposed to be one of the
very best core exercises for fast
improvement to your core strength.
Crunches - This page provides instructions
for traditional crunches.
Reverse Crunches
Leg Raises
Plank Exercises - Plank exercises are one
of my favorite Taekwondo core exercises!
For a more advanced plank exercise, you
can try to lift an arm and an opposite leg
(i.e. right arm and left leg) when you are in
the plank position. The "instability" of this

advanced plank makes the exercise even

more effective.
Russian Twists
Side Plank Exercises
Sit-Ups - Yes, the standard sit-up that you
learned in school is a solid core exercise.
However, be careful and do not pull on
your neck when doing this exercise. A
safer method is to cross your arms on your
chest versus holding the back of your
head. Also keep your knees bent (versus
your legs being flat on the ground).
Superman Exercises
Other Basic Exercises
Incline Sit-Ups - Incline sit-ups are a more
intense form of sit-ups. Buy an incline
board and use gravity & your body weight
in order to create a more challenging core
exercise (versus standard sit-ups).
Bicycle Exercise
Bird Dog
Captain's Chair
Crossover Crunch
Crunch with Heel Push
Exercise Ball Crunch
Long Arm Crunch
Oblique Crunch
Plank Exercises
Segmental Rotation
Vertical Leg Crunch
Woodchops
For more powerful Taekwondo punches &
blocks, you need to strengthen areas such
as your triceps, biceps, forearms,
shoulders and back.
Pull-Ups - Buy a pull-up bar & place it in a
door frame and do this exercise at home.
This is an excellent Taekwondo strength
exercise.
Push-Ups - Here are instructional videos
for a variety of different push-ups (i.e.
traditional, triangle/diamond, elevated and
plyometric) that you can use to build your
Taekwondo upper body strength.
Other Basic Exercises
Bench Press
Bicep Curls
Lat Pulldown - Needs an exercise machine.
Triceps Extensions
Triceps Kickbacks
Bent-Over Row with Dumbbells
Dumbbell Flys
Chest Dips
Taekwondo is known for its powerful kicks.
Therefore to master Taekwondo, we will
help you learn all of the Taekwondo kicks
below. Each of these pages provides free
video and/or written instructions that will
help you to learn these Taekwondo kicks.
Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Axe Kick - A high axe kick is useful to

striking your opponent's head or collar
bone.
Back Kick - The back kick is my favorite
Taekwondo kick. Very powerful.
Crescent Kick - This page covers inner and
outer crescent kicks.
Front Kick - A front kick is useful for hitting
your opponent in the groin or doing a snap
kick to the chin.
Hook or Whip Kick - The hook kick is a
deceptive kick if executed properly.
Push Kick - The push kick is a great
defensive Taekwondo kick in order to
knock your opponent off balance.
Roundhouse Kick - This basic Taekwondo
roundhouse kick is probably the most
frequently used kick in Taekwondo, esp.
for sparring.
Front Foot Roundhouse Kick - This is where
you use your forward foot to execute a
roundhouse kick (versus using your rear
leg).
Side Kick - A Taekwondo side kick is an
effective self-defense kick, especially if it
is aimed at the knee.
Advanced Taekwondo Kicks
Butterfly Kick - The butterfly kick is a great
kick for demonstrations but not practical
for real-world situations.
Butterfly Twist - An advanced and more
acrobatic version of the butterfly kick.
Double Roundhouse Kick - This kick is
often used in Taekwondo sparring.
Downward Roundhouse Kick - You will
need to be very flexible to master the
downward roundhouse kick.
Flying Back Kick - A flying back kick is a
more advanced version of a jumping back
kick. Lots of fun to perform this kick.
Flying Front Kick - This page will also help
you with a "jumping front kick".
Flying Side Kick - The flying side kick is
another fun "flying" martial arts kick. Kids
love to hit a practice dummy with this
flying kick.
Hopping or Step Behind Side Kick - The
Taekwondo step behind side kick is a great
way to close the distance with an
opponent & land a powerful kick.
Jumping Double Roundhouse Kick - The
jumping double roundhouse kick is a very
effective Taekwondo kick for sparring. Less
useful in real life.
Jumping Back Kick - A jumping back kick is
a useful counter kick for sparring.
Jumping Spinning Crescent Kick
Jumping Spinning Hook Kick - I always find
the Taekwondo jumping spinning hook kick
very difficult to execute. :)
Knee Strike (Vertical) - You can not use
knee strikes during Taekwondo sparring.
However, knee strikes are very effective in
"real life" combat.
Round Knee Strike - Instead of striking
your target with a vertical knee strike, you
are hitting with a lateral knee strike.
Scissor Kick - The scissor kick allows you
to strike two targets at the same time.
Shin Kick - In Taekwondo, you are usually
taught to strike an opponent with your
instep or the top of your foot while doing a
roundhouse kick. In contrast, if you use a
shin kick, you will hit an opponent with the

dense bone of your shin (versus your

instep or the top of the foot).
Spinning Crescent Kick - The Taekwondo
spinning crescent kick is a more powerful
version of the traditional crescent kick.
Spinning Hook Kick - If done correctly, the
Taekwondo spinning hook kick is a very
deceptive and devastating kick.
Spinning Roundhouse Kick - The spinning
roundhouse kick is a more powerful
version of the regular roundhouse kick.
Tornado Kick (or Jumping Spinning
Roundhouse Kick) - Here are some video

instructions for a tornado kick. If used

properly, this Taekwondo kick can result in
some spectacular knockouts during
sparring (see the video on this page).
540 Kick - 540 kicks are spectacular
spinning kicks. However, be care as you
can damage your knee if you land
incorrectly.