As taekwondo practitioners you are supposed to develop mind, body, and spirit through taekwondo training. To this end, you need to build character and strengthen individual personalities by following basic beliefs such as courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit. These are called the Five Tenets of Taekwondo. The Five Tenets are not spiritual or religious in nature. They are just qualities a good taekwondo-in should strive to have.
We all know that courtesy is one of the most important parts of taekwondo. Every time people ask me what courtesy is all about,
the first word coming out of my mouth is ‘respect.’ Can there be courtesy without a feeling of respect? I truly believe you cannot fully accomplish courtesy without respect. In fact, there are two kinds of respect: one for yourself and the other for others. You can't have one without the other.
Someone who respects himself would always act in ways that brings honor to himself, his family and friends. He or she tries very hard in school and take care of important things like staying healthy, helping out at home and being respectful to others. Through self-respect, you learn to take better care of yourself and others. In other words, you cannot respect others if you do not first respect yourself.
By now, you may ask me how you can show your respect for others. In Korean culture, the act of bowing is to show respect. They are really big on showing respect to authority figures like school teachers and elders in your neighborhood.
In the dojang, courtesy means bowing to your instructors and senior students.
When you do this, they will always bow back and show you that they too respect you.
Bowing is the most common way taekwondo-in show respect to each other.
Outside the dojang, courtesy means acting with a certain amount of humility. For example, you are expected to call senior citizens, "Sir" and "Ma'am". It also means letting the elderly, the very young, and the disabled go ahead of you in line at a grocery store.
Respecting others and even yourself is an important element in taekwondo training and it will eventually help you get along with others in the dojang and in society alike.
If you want to be a well-rounded taekwondo-in, you shouldn't only work on your technical skills. I've told you again and again, taekwondo is more than just punching and kicking.
The ultimate goal of taekwondo is to mold yourself into a good and balanced human being. Through taekwondo training, you will eventually turn out to be a man or woman of absolute integrity.
Integrity requires you to commit yourself to ethical and honest behavior in all aspects of your life, even when it's not easy or convenient.
Instead of offering excuses, you must hold yourself responsible for your actions and their consequences.
In the dojang, integrity is a clear commitment to learning taekwondo and teaching it responsibly. As a practitioner, you ought to give your best effort all the time. It means you train hard even if no one is looking and even when you're not being judged or competing with others.
Integrity also means representing your dojang in an honorable way at competitions even if you won't win any awards.
From these small steps, you are simply making a commitment to choose the "right" action.
All else will follow from that.
Remember that the price of integrity is high at first, but you know, deep down in your heart that you've done the right thing! And that's better than anything you can buy at Wall-Mart!
Everyday outside the dojang, you are faced with all kinds of challenges to your integrity.
Although, you may not identify yourself as a taekwondo practitioner wearing a T-shirt, saying "Taekwondo practitioner in training," you still have responsibilities and obligations in daily life, too.
Let's say, you get an extra five from the cashier because he miscounted the changes or your friend asks you to look the other way while she shoplifts lipstick. What would you do if these kinds of small challenges happened to you?
You would decide "everyone's doing it and it doesn't make any difference any way." But it does make a difference. You'll know you're not acting with integrity.
The fact is that taekwondo practitioners are representing their art and their school even when they're outside the dojang.
You wouldn't want to embarrass your art or school by behaving in any way that may be considered dishonorable, unethical, or lacking in integrity.
To have true integrity, you have to act in the right way even about these small challenges.
Understanding these responsibilities and taking them seriously is important in taekwondo training.
Perseverance is the willingness to keep trying even when something seems impossible to do. In taekwondo, it means trying the techniques over and over again until you master them. Otherwise, you'd all take one look at the jump-spinning-wheel kick and say, "nah, that'll never happen." It also means continuing to attempt to break the board even if you missed the first two times. In everyday life, perseverance is crucial to success in anything you try. Before you commit yourself to a goal or a project, make certain that it's worthwhile, and that your goal is something that you truly want to achieve. Perseverance means keep trying it, even if it does take you weeks, months, or even years to reach your goals. Remember That Persistence Beats Talents
Self-control means having control over your mind and body. It means staying calm and using your head - not your punches or kicks - when you get upset. Often people act out their negative emotions by yelling at others or punching the wall. Instead, learn to control your emotions and express them calmly. When other people lose control because they are scared or angry, taekwondo-in must stay calm and use his or her mind to respond to fear and anger. By using your mind, you can figure out the smartest answer to your problem. Self-control is one of the most important things you will get from your taekwondo training. It helps you make healthier choices and lead a less stressful life.
As talked about before, perseverance means to never give up. If you persevere,
you are showing indomitable spirit. No matter how hard it may seem, a person
with indomitable spirit keeps trying and trying.
In short, Indomitable spirit is ‘winning spirit.’ It helps you keep an unconquerable,
courageous attitude no matter what happens. This positive, optimistic perspective
allows you to remain focused and undiscouraged even if you fail.
Therefore, a taekwondo practitioner believes there is nothing he can't do if he puts
his mind to it. Indomitable spirit means having the right attitude whether you win or
lose.
Indomitable spirit and perseverance are closely connected.
A person with an indomitable spirit perseveres.