As we begin a new year, I reflect back on the many conversations I have had with prospective tae kwon do students—and since many of them were children, with their parents as well. In many cases, the parents had heard that ‘martial art training is good for children,’ particularly in terms of physical development, character development, and self-defence skills. But that was often all they knew, and many of them had various preconceptions about what martial art training involved or could help achieve. (I suspect that many people did not even take the first step to inquire with a tae kwon do school because of a view that ‘martial art training promotes violence,’ or due to cultural biases against anything Asian.) In any case, I often found myself raising two main points in these conversations.
With quite a few people, I would commend them for taking the first step to ask about the training. For new adult students in particular, we need to recognise that it is a brave step to try something new. It is not easy to move from a position of competence (e.g., career status as an established expert) to an inherently humble position—a novice, a beginner. Moreso if the training is in a mixed-age environment where the adult beginner may be a generation or two older than some of the other students. For new child students, it can still be a daunting step to move from well-known learning environments to something that, at first, seems so completely different. We need to acknowledge the personal courage it takes to even ask about martial art training, let alone to actually start doing it.
With almost all people, though, I would then at some point ask: what do you want to achieve?
There is a lot of information out there, and there is also a lot of misinformation out there. I would find that most prospective beginners (or their parents) would consider ‘martial arts’ as being ‘sports.’ There is nothing wrong with such a categorisation (indeed, Australian governments and business entities generally handle martial art activities as sporting activities), but it does need to be considered: is the prospective student seeking to learn tae kwon do (or any other martial discipline) as an aesthetic art (primarily mental), a physical sport (primarily athletic), a self-defence skill (primarily combative), or some combination of these or other aspects?
As a traditional tae kwon do instructor, people might be tempted to assume that I perhaps take a negative view towards martial sports. If so, that would be incorrect. When I began my training in tae kwon do, I was in a school affiliated with the then World Taekwondo Federation (WTF; now simply World Taekwondo, or WT)—the international governing body for tae kwon do as a sport. Although most of my training there was actually in a traditional manner, I did have the opportunity to participate in sporting aspects, including full-contact sparring in the complete set of protective gear to be used in Olympic taekwondo. Let me tell you, it is not easy! Although over the longer term I pursued tae kwon do as a traditional martial art, I have always advocated to my students that they respect the physical and mental demands that serious competition involves, and the generally higher level of physical conditioning needed.
Regardless of one’s philosophical view, many martial arts are practised as handled as sports: we have judo and tae kwon do in the Olympic games, not to mention archery, boxing, fencing, and javelin throwing. (We have also seen karate appear as a demonstration sport.) Over the past couple of decades, the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) has of course developed a higher profile in public consciousness.
If you are a prospective martial art student, whether of tae kwon do or some other art, I encourage you to think soberly about what you want to achieve—and then find a school, club, or other martial organisation that will help you towards your goal. I teach tae kwon do as a traditional martial art for both personal development (moral character, self-discipline, critical thinking, and wisdom) and self-defence (wise lifestyle, sound decision-making, and physical skills), all in a respectful and privacy-conscious setting.