Baltimore Martial Arts Academy

2008 Bejing Olympics Tae Kwon Do

TaeKwonDo literally means the art ( Do) of kicking ( Tae) and punching ( Kwon). But this is only the barest, most basic definition of an intricate and complex art. Tae Kwon Do is a system of un-armed self-defense in which the practitioner uses parts of his or her body as weapons. Traditional Tae Kwon Do incorporates throws, joint locks, knife defense, board-breaking, sparring, forms or (Poomse). It also emphasizes kicking techniques that emphasize speed, power and precision. Practitioners of Tae Kwon Do can expect to see improvements in there focus, increased cardiovascular, balance, discipline, and better overall well-being.

Zac Harting, Tae Kwon Do Instructor at the Baltimore Martial Arts Academy

Instructor

Zach Harting began in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 11. He trained under Grand Master Ken Gemmill in Belair, MD. Zahc earned my 3rd dan Black Belt in 2008. His training background includes a mixture of sport and traditional Tae Kwon Do. Zach has competed for years at the state and national level in Olympic style full contact sparring, forms as well as full contact Karate tournaments. Zach also cross trains in Wing-Chun Kung Fu, Judo, and is now learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Sensei Gary Berger.

Disciplines of TaeKwonDo

Taekwondo has four disciplinces which include patterns (forms), sparring, self defense & breaking. Patterns are like dance routines or techniques strung together. Typically a student must learn a new pattern to earn his or her new belt. Sparring is a controlled form of combat where students wearing protective gear attempt to strike one another in the chest or show controlled strikes to the head. Self Defense includes realistic techniques for life threatening encounters. Breaking is another aspect of Tae Kwon Do where practitioners hone their skills for breaking boards, bricks and other items. It is the combination of these four disciplines that makes the art called taekwondo.

Objectives of Tae Kwon Do

1. to develop an appreciation for Taekwondo as a sport and as an art
2. to achieve physical fitness through positive participation
3. to improve mental discipline and emotional equanimity
4. to learn self-defense skills
5. to develop a sense of responsibility for one self and others.

Tae Kwon Do Sidekick

Tae Kwon Do for Kids

Taekwondo has no age limits and is a very good sport for children. They learn fast reactions through games, learn to respect others and learn to know their abilities and disabilities. Competition rules are a bit different for children then they are for adults. Although children wear full body protection (preferably thicker than the protection for adults) only kicks and punches to the body are allowed, no kicks to the head.

Is Tae Kwon Do dangerous?

Although WTF Taekwondo is a full contact sport where it is allowed to kick to the head (throwing punches to the head are not allowed), it is not very dangerous to practise Taekwondo. During training, there is no need to actually win so contact is light. During competition, full protection is used to protect the competitors.

To avoid head injuries, a competitor is not allowed to participate in a competition for three months (this time-period seems to vary) if one was knocked out by a kick to the head. If the same incident happens again after these three months, you are not allowed to participate for half a year. Another K.O. to the head after this half year period results in a permanent exclusion of competitions.

ITF Taekwondo is so-called semi-contact. It is not allowed to attack the head with full force. However, it is allowed to throw punches to the head, by using the so-called “killing-blow”, stop just an inch before the target. To avoid injuries, ITF uses gloves at sparring-competition.

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