Issue: 8 of TkdTimes. A Free eZine from The Taekwondo Network. To help me make this newsletter as helpful and relevant as possible, I would enjoy your feedback. Simply email me your comments to TkdTimes@Taekwondo-Network.com. I really appreciate it when you contact me directly.

If you enjoy TkdTimes, please email this copy to a friend. You can help me spread the joy of tae kwon do around the world. The more of us who walk the path, the greater the journey.

Oh, if you need the link to the free clip art page again, here it is and thank you for signing up for the eZine.Free Clip Art

Meditation and Tae Kwon Do

Phew...that sounds like a huge and difficult task. And while meditation can and will bring you to enlightenment, it's a long road with many steps. Even if you are not interested in the metaphysical implications of meditation, meditating regularly has undeniable health benefits.

As martial artists, we meditate for a very specific reason: to focus the mind completely on the physical task at hand. Taekwondo requires concentration to learn and perform, hence, meditation and tae kwon do belong together.

We meditate prior to class to calm our minds and seek the state of ill yo or "oneness". This is the place where our thoughts and actions are the same. Where we are completely in "the moment", capable of tuning out all the extraneous and focus solely on what we are doing.

Meditation and tae kwon do go hand in hand. If you can learn to add meditation to your training, you will experience an incredible growth in learning and ability.

This is an important topic and I will come back to visit it often. But for now, if you do not know how to meditate, visit the page linked below. At the bottom of the page are some special links to sites exclusively dedicated to meditation.

Soon, I will have an e-book for you on Meditation and Tae Kwon Do to help you understand the basics and the significance of adding meditation to your training.

Meditation and Tae Kwon Do

Words We Use

In our daily tae kwon do training, many Korean terms are used. It's important that we as students make an effort to learn these terms and understand their importance in our training.

S(h)i-sohn or shee sun This expression means "right seeing". In taekwondo it says literally that we must use our eyes; our eyes lead the way. When concentrating on our movement and forms, the alert eyes prepare the body to follow in action. Where your eyes go, your body will follow.

TKDspace.com

Use this invite link to join TKDspace.com for free. Invite

What's Happening at
The Taekwondo Network?

Lots of visitors to The Taekwondo Network take the time to share their style.

You can take the poll now by visiting the tae kwon do styles page and share your style.

Here are the current standings:

WTF 26.4%
ITF 23.3%
ATA 14.0%
ITA 6.2%
Tang soo do 2.3%
Moo duk kwan 4.7%
Oh do kwan 7.8%
Chung do kwan 8.5%
Other 7.0%

As most students who study tae kwon do know, WTF, ITF and ATA are the most popular styles around the globe and in the USA. Our informal poll is definitely falling in line with those results.

Your Feedback

Emmelin wrote: This is the best site I've found and I'm so proud of your accomplishments with this sport! Anyway, my 8 yr old is testing for his black belt and we're supposed to find out why TKD is more popular than any other martial arts and I can't figure it out. The reason why he wanted to do it in the beginning is so he can be a power ranger and I don't think that answer would fly as a black belt. HELP!

Thank you,

Emmelin

My response: Emmelin,

I have never read an official account of "why" although there are many claims that taekwondo is the most popular martial art in the world including here on my site!

My personal observation has to do with the World Taekwondo Federation's lobbying to include taekwondo in the Olympics as a medal sport. Since taekwondo has become part of the Olympic program, it has experienced a surge in popularity due directly (in my opinion) to more people around the globe learning about TKD as a sport.

Unfortunately, too many people now associate Kukkiwon with the Olympics which is not correct. They also associate taekwondo with Olympic sparring which is also a limited view of the art.

I like to think that whatever brought people into the dojang, it's the high quality of taekwondo "the art" that has continued to increase it's popularity. Once a student gets a real feel for the study of taekwondo, they become hooked on all the fabulous benefits. Many students never even learn to spar effectively or how to compete in sparring which is fine. There is so much more to the art than what the world sees in the Olympic games.

That is my educated opinion on the "why". Hope this helps your son with his testing qualifications. I would love to know how the test goes. If you take some good video, let me know and I'll post it on the site.

Good luck,

Kalynn

Nominate Your Master

Tae kwon do Master

Soon, I will create an invitation page where you can write about your Master directly online for more immediate publishing. Stay tuned for more details next month.

"Nothing contributes so much to tranquillize the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye."-Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

To your continued success...

Kam sa ham ni dah,

Kalynn