Taekwondo’s ancestral beginnings date back to approximately 500 B.C. Taekwondo is defined as the study of how to use your hands and feet. The Korean translation for Taekwondo is: “Tae” means foot, “Kwon” means hand or fist and “Do” is “the way of” or "to study." The ancestral beginnings of Taekwondo indicate that it was developed as a basic source of empty hand self defense. In more modern times, many of the Asian nations adopted forms of Taekwondo as their primary hand-to-hand combat training for military and police use. Since these times, Taekwondo has developed into a worldwide practice.

Taekwondo came to the United States in the mid 1950’s. It was first taught as a very effective means of self-defense. As Taekwondo began to prove itself as a means of self-protection, many military and local law enforcement programs took notice and began including it in their basic hand-to-hand training.

In the early 1960’s, master instructor Jhoon Rhee began a campaign to popularize Taekwondo. He performed many demonstrations, even performing for US Presidents and congress. Through these very popular demonstrations, Master Rhee caught the eye of many Americans. It is at this time that we first start seeing Taekwondo schools opening in the larger US cities.

Jhoon Rhee took on the challenge of teaching Taekwondo to members of Congress in Washington D.C. This program was started to advance the acceptance of Taekwondo and its benefits. Free Taekwondo classes are still offered to Congress by Master Rhee.

In the 1970’s, Taekwondo practitioners started taking their skills into the competition environment. Tournament rules were developed and the Taekwondo athlete was born. As a sport, Taekwondo rose to international popularity more quickly than any other. In the 1988 Olympic Games, held in Seoul Korea, Taekwondo was débuted as a demonstration sport. The results were hugely successful for the Taekwondo community. Spectators and elite athletes alike embraced this new sport as Olympic material. Since then, Taekwondo has been made a full medal Olympic sport with some of the largest international crowd attendance.

After proving itself as means of practical self-defense and an Olympic sport, Taekwondo began to prove its worth to the general public. Kids and adults, athletes and non-athletes, moms and dads have seen the benefits that come from practicing Taekwondo. It is a sport that works for anyone of any physical level.

Taekwondo’s real secrets of success with the general public are its philosophy and belt ranking system.

The philosophy of Taekwondo is imbedded in its five tenets: Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control and Indomitable Spirit. These five rules define how we treat ourselves and others in our classes and community. They are taught as our basic and guiding philosophy.

Courtesy: Treating others with respect and kindness, treating others the way in which we wish to be treated.
Integrity: Always conducting ourselves with total honesty, with the recognition that if we cannot be honest with ourselves first, it will be impossible to be honest with others.
Perseverance: Understanding that anything worth having is usually hard work. We must possess self-determination that does not allow us to quit.
Self Control: Exercising control of our own emotions.
Indomitable Spirit: Possessing a spirit that can never be defeated, always believing in ourselves no matter what anyone else or the odds say.

With these philosophies as an integral part of the physical training, we see a very unique athlete begin to develop. Parents are encouraged to work as teammates with Big Sky Martial Arts to emphasize the importance of such ideals in their children. Adults will find these words motivating and guiding in times when they least expect it.

Taekwondo’s belt ranking system demonstrates the benefits of goal setting. From white to Black belt there are 10 “colored” belt ranks. Black belt offers another 10 levels.

Within the ten colored belt ranks, there are four to six levels of each, making a total of 54 levels. Each level is directly associated with achievement and understanding of the pertinent curriculum. Most students will complete all these levels within a 4 to 5 year period.

In completing this “colored” belt ranking system the student will be able to show a level of proficiency which will qualify them to test for a 1st degree black belt. A 1st degree black belt can demonstrate basic knowledge and skill sets within Taekwondo.

Working towards a higher level of Black belt is very different from the colored rank system. There are 10 levels of Black belt and no sublevels as in the colored belt. The time between levels of black belt will range from 2 years between your 1st and 2nd degree black belt, to 9 years from your 9th to 10th degree black belt.

Once a Black belt, the level of understanding each technique is raised to a new high. Black belt students will revisit what they learned as a colored belt to attempt to truly understand and master the material. As Black belt students become more proficient and rise in rank, they will begin to instruct under the supervision of a master instructor.

At 4th degree Black belt, one may earn the right to become a master instructor of Taekwondo. It is at this point the individual will no longer be required to teach under the supervision of another master instructor.

Taekwondo is a vastly popular national, international and Olympic sport. The largest junior sporting event in the world is the United States Taekwondo Junior Olympics. At this event, over 5,000 young athletes come to compete for one week.

There are as many as 20 rings going at the same time for up to seven days, in venues like the Minneapolis Metro Dome. Competitors range in ages from 6 to 17 and belt ranks of green to Black.

The highest level junior athletes travel internationally as part of the US Junior Taekwondo team and are allowed to try out for the US Senior National and even the US Olympic team. There are many other national and international events designed for both young and older athletes.

Local competitions are where students learn about competition. For the individual interested in competition, age is not a limiting factor. Big Sky Martial Arts has produced some of our nation’s finest junior (ages 6-17), senior (ages 17-32) and executive senior (ages 32 and up) athletes.

There are two main events at any local or national level tournament, forms and sparring. Forms or Poomse (Korean word for forms) are a choreographed set of movements. Each belt level has a specific form a competitor must practice and perfect.

Competitors are broken into groups according to age, gender, weight and belt rank. Each individual in this group will have to choose between one of two possible forms (poomse) to perform. The competitors may be asked to perform their poomse solo or with another competitor from the group. There are five judges who award scores on a 5.0 to 10 scale. The judge’s scores are based on the following criteria: completing the form correctly; proper technique; power and speed; interpretation of the form; and a display of the attitude and ethics of Taekwondo. Forms/Poomse are a beautiful aspect of Taekwondo, requiring great dedication to each and every movement.

Sparring is the combative portion of Taekwondo. The competition ring is either an 8 X 8 meter ring for local or state tournaments or a 12 X 12 meter ring for national and higher level events. The ring is simply a flat matted area in which the contest will take place.

All sparring competitors are required to wear protective equipment. The list of equipment includes: shin and instep guards; groin protection for males; trunk (chest) protector; forearm guards; head gear and mouth guard. All equipment used must be approved by the World Taekwondo Federation for safety and durability. In addition, as in the poomse competition, all competitors must wear a clean white uniform and their appropriate belt.

The way in which an athlete earn sparring points varies slightly from junior to senior competitor. Junior athletes earn points by kicking or punching to the body. One point is given for each clear uninterrupted kick or punch to the body with some level of force. The level of force required to earn a point is somewhere between medium to full contact. Senior level competitors, in addition to kicking and punching to the body, are also allowed to kick to the head for two points.

Athletes may kick and punch the other player only in designated areas of the body or head. Any other acts – such as pushing; holding; punching or kicking illegal zones; stalling; poor sports person attitudes – all result in a half-point deduction. More severe illegal acts – such as intentionally punching to the face, hitting a down player, poor sportsmanship – can result in the loss of a full point or even disqualification.

The occurrence of injury in very minimal. Competitors are grouped by weight, gender, belt rank and level of experience and the protective gear is specifically designed for the safety of the athlete. In the ring, the center referee’s primary purpose is to maintain a safe environment for the athletes. The competition ring is set up with three score judges seated in a triangle configuration for best view of the entire ring. Each scorer has two electronic control pads, one red and one blue (competitors wear red or blue chest protectors). Each control pad has two triggers buttons: one for one-point techniques and one for two-point techniques. Any two of the three judges must push one of these buttons within one second of another judge to create a score. Points are displayed on a video screen for all (competitors, referees, spectators, etc.) to see.