When General Choi Hong Hi first formulated the martial art of Tae Kwon Do according to his moral beliefs, he based it on more than just physical training.  It was training for both the mind and the spirit as well.

General Choi set out five tenets, or principles, by which Tae Dwon Do students should attempt to live their lives.  These tenets were designed to help Tae Kwon Do students become better people and to help them make the world a better place.  The five tenets are: courtesy (ye ui), integrity (yom chi), perseverance (in nee), self-control (guk gi), and indomitable spirit (baekjul boolgool).

 THE FIVE TENETS OF TAEKWONDO

COURTESY (YE UI)

Courtesy in Tae Kwon Do training means being polite and respectful to both your instructor and fellow pupils.  Respect for your instructor is particularly important in Tae Kwon Do.  He or she should be referred to as Sir, Miss, or Master.  Your instructor will have reached his or her grade through many years of diligent training, so you should treat him or her with due respect.

You should also never question in public anything your instructor says.  If you disagree with something he or she has said or done, wait until the end of the session and talk to him or her about it in private.  You should also adhere to the Tae Kwon Do rules and etiquette at all times, both in the dojang (training hall) and out of it.

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INTEGRITY (YOM CHI)

Integrity relates to having a conscience and knowing right from wrong.  A Tae Kwon Do student should not practice the art for the wrong reasons.  Tae Kwon Do should be studied to make yourself a better person, to get fit, or for self-defense purposes-not to boost your ego or to be used to harm someone else.  Students who want to learn Tae Kwon Do for reasons other than to improve themselves or to make the world a better place will quickly be discovered and banned from their club.

PERSEVERANCE (IN NEE)

A student of any martial art must persevere.  You must be patient when learning a new art, technique, or skill.  Many of the arts, techniques, and skills that you will learn will be difficult, and it will take many hours of practice just to become proficient-let alone an expert.  You should always set goals for yourself and try to reach these goals throughout your training.  You should also be aware, however, that the learning process lasts forever. You will never perfect any technique; no matter how high your grade is or how good you become, there will always be room for improvement.  A dedicated Tae Kwon Do student will recognize this fact and always strive to better him- or her self.

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SELF-CONTROL (GUK GI)

Because Tae Kwon Do is a physical martial art that involves lethal kicking and striking moves, you should always exercise self-control when practicing.  During training, you should never try to hurt your partner. You should look after each other and try to work together so you can both improve your skills.

Training sometimes involves free sparring, which is essentially a form of free fighting.  You must never lose control in such a situation, as your practice partner is also, likely, your friend.  Even on the street, in a self-defense situation, you should always maintain self-control.  Your aim is to protect yourself from injury, not to cause injury to your attacker.

 INDOMITABLE SPIRIT (BAEKJUL BOOLGOOL)

The last tenet of Tae Kwon Do is that you should have an indomitable spirit.  This means having a big heart, as well as the ability to tackle any situation, no matter how highly the odds are stacked against you.  A student who acts against injustice regardless of the odds is said to have an indomitable spirit.  This spirit comes from inside, from the energy force in the center of your body.  You may be born with this spirit, but you can also develop it through training.  The principle of indomitable spirit almost certainly stems from the principle to never retreat in battle, which was originated by the Buddhist monk Wong Kwang.

THE BELTS

Advancement in Tae Kwon Do is represented by the different colored belts worn by the students. The novice begins with a white belt and advances through progressively darker colored belts until achieving the level of black belt. More than simply indicating a student's rank within the system however, the various belt colors also reflect the central philosophy of Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do seeks to attune itself with nature; thus the philosophy of the art is based on the cycle of life. Essentially the cycle of life is that living things are born, grow to maturity, leave behind the seeds of new life, then move on to the next plane of existence. Each belt color symbolizes one of the stages in this process.

	White              Lack of color, signifying purity and innocence.        No knowledge of Tae Kwon Do.
	Yellow             The color of the rising Sun, which causes newly sown seeds to germinate and begin to grow. Basic techniques begin to be learned.
	Orange            The Sun, deepening in color, rises in the sky, giving its energy to the new growth.  Techniques begin to take form.
	Green              The color of growing things driving upward. Power begins to be developed.
	Purple            The color of the sky toward which growing things are
	Blue                reaching. Mental and physical power begins to stabilize.
	Brown           The color of the Earth in which growing things are rooted.
	Brown Tip       Mental and physical power stabilizes.
	Red                The color of blood-the essential force of life. Perfection of
	Red-Black      character begins to be exhibited by maturity, honor and respect.
	Black              All colors combined. The final stage, where mastery of technique is reflected by calm dignity and sincerity.

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Republic of Korea South Korean Flag

The Korean National flag is called Taegukki. The origin comes from the old oriental philosophy called the theory of Um-Yang, in Chinese pronunciation Yin-Yang. Yin means dark and cold, while Yang means bright and hot. A very old book called Chuyok or Iching in Chinese, which was written by the Chinese several thousands years ago, claims all objects and events in the world are expressed by the movement of yin and yang. For example, the moon is yin while the sun is yang; the earth is yin and the heaven is yang; a woman is yin and a man is yang; the night is yin and the day is yang; the winter is yin and the summer is yang, etc. Yin and yang are relative. Yin and yang are opposite and struggle with each other while they cooperate in harmony. The upper half circle, red, of Taeguk means yang and the lower half circle, blue, means yin. They stand for the state of harmony of yin and yang.

The white color of background stands for the peace and the purity of the Korean people who have loved to wear white colored clothes.

The symbols in the four corners, called Kwae, mean the principle of movement and harmony. These are Kun meaning heaven, Yi meaning fire, Kam meaning water, and Kon meaning earth. Each of them symbolizes a different state of movement.

To conclude, the symbols, Yin, Yang, Kun, Yi, Kam, and Kon, express the principle of the movement of all objects in the universe and the movement of the universe itself. It also stands for peace and harmony.

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