Tenets of Taekwon-Do - Tunbridge Wells Taekwon-Do

The Tenets of Taekwon-Do (Taekwon-Do Jungshin)

The tenets of Taekwon-Do are one of the most important yet often overlooked parts of the martial art. Below is part of an article by Mr Simon Cox (2nd Degree), which he wrote in 2006.

Grand Master General Choi, Hong Hi wrote that “the utmost purpose of
Taekwon-Do is to eliminate fighting by discouraging the stronger’s
oppression of the weaker with a power that must be based on humanity,
justice, morality, wisdom and faith, thus helping to build a better and
more peaceful world”. From this statement it can be inferred that
Taekwon-Do is intended to be practised within a moral and ethical
framework, and this framework is illustrated, in its most basic form,
in the Tenets of Taekwon-Do.

The Tenets of Taekwon-Do (Taekwon-Do Jungshin) by Simon Cox

The Tenets – Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control and an
Indomitable Spirit – are a set of guidelines intended to govern life
both inside and outside of the do-jang. They are essential for students
during the hours they spend training, but it can also clearly be seen
that they are desirable general character traits, and as such students
should keep them in mind at all times.

Courtesy (Ye Ui)
“Treat your enemies with courtesy, and you’ll see how valuable it
really is. It costs little but pays a nice dividend: those who honour
are honoured. Politeness and a sense of honour have this advantage: we
bestow them on others without losing a thing” – Baltasar Graci=E1n y
Morales

Courtesy can be seen as acting politely, honourably, and with respect
towards others. Courtesy should be given to all, regardless of their
actions towards you. A courteous man is less likely to draw others into
conflict with him as a result of his actions than a discourteous man.

Taekwon-Do students should attempt to practice the following elements
of courtesy to build up their noble character and to conduct their
training in an orderly manner as well.

1) To promote the spirit of mutual concessions
2) To be ashamed of one’s vices, contempting those of others
3) To be polite to one another
4) To encourage a sense of justice and humanity
5) To distinguish instructor from student, senior from junior, and
elder from younger
6) To behave according to etiquette
7) To respect others’ possessions
8) To handle matters with fairness and sincerity
9) To refrain from giving or accepting a gift when in doubt

Integrity (Yom Chi)
“Every man, at the bottom of his heart, wants to do right. But only he
can do right who knows right; only he knows right who thinks right;
only he thinks right who believes right” – Tiorio

Integrity is the steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.
One must be able to define right and wrong and have a conscience, if
wrong, to feel guilt.

It is very hard to define integrity, as it is hard to state
definitively a universal moral or ethical code. As such it is perhaps
best to illustrate with a list of some examples, in this case related
to Taekwon-Do, where integrity is lacking:

1) The instructor who misrepresents himself and his art by presenting
improper techniques to his students because of apathy or a lack of
knowledge
2) The student who misrepresents himself by “fixing” breaking materials
before demonstrations
3) The instructor who camouflages bad technique with luxurious training
halls and false flattery to his students
4) The student who requests rank from an instructor, or attempts to
purchase it
5) The student who gains rank for ego purposes or the feeling of power
6) The instructor who teaches and promotes his art for materialistic
gains
7) The student whose actions do not live up to his words
8) The student who feels ashamed to seek opinions from his juniors

“The Heaven is not for any
particular person but is for everyone”

Perseverance (In Nae)
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems
longer” – Albert Einstein

Perseverance is a steady persistence in adhering to a course of action,
a belief, or a purpose.

Many of the goals we set for ourselves are distant, and this can mean
that we feel defeated when experiencing difficulty when only part of
the way towards achieving that goal. Taekwon-Do is full of long-term
goals and targets, and a lack of patience and perseverance can be a
huge impediment to improvement. It is important to remember that no-one
is born knowing Taekwon-Do; all the people that we see doing
spectacular kicks, performing beautiful patterns, breaking so many
boards, they all had to learn to do so. A certain amount of natural
aptitude will only go so far – most of what we see is the result of
countless hours of hard work.=20

If you desire success of any kind, this should be true throughout your
life, for all matters.

Self-Control (Guk Gi)
“To win one hundred victories in one hundred wars is not the ultimate
skill. To stop the enemy without fighting is the ultimate skill” – Sun
Tzu

Self-control is the ability to think your emotions, desires and actions
through and recognise that they may have consequences further than
those immediately at hand.

A loss of self-control in free sparring can prove dangerous to both
student and opponent, whilst a lack of self-control in everyday life
can have dire consequences: although self-defence may sometimes be
necessary, excessive force should never be.

Indomitable Spirit (Baekjul Booljul)
“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it” – Jean
Baptiste Moli

An indomitable spirit is one incapable of being overcome, subdued, or
vanquished. This applies both to one’s own life, by not allowing
adversity, obstacles or temporary failures to divert one’s attention
from a goal, and to others, by not allowing inhumanity or injustice.

A serious student of Taekwon-Do will at all times be modest and honest.
If confronted with injustice, he will deal with the belligerent without
any fear or hesitation at all, with indomitable spirit, regardless of
whosoever and however many the number may be.