Caiden Starts Taekwondo

Caiden has shown an interest in martial arts, so Dave and I decided it was time to enlist him in some martial arts courses. We first started with Taekwondo (a Korean based martial arts and is loosely translated into "the way of the foot and fist") and then he can move on to other forms of martial arts like jiu jitsu. It's really convenient as the instructors come to his school two times a week, and they we take him to the studio on the weekend.

I started doing a little reading on taekwondo and it's actually quite interesting as there is some contention on the origin of taekwondo as well as what distinguishes this form of martial arts from others. Interestingly, the Koreans felt that the leg is the longest and most strongest weapon an artist has so there is a heavy emphasis on kicking as it is the part of human body that has the "greatest potential to execute powerful strikes without successful retaliation". According to wikipedia, the Koreans felt that the hands were too valuable to be used in combat.

Also according to wikipedia, Caiden should:

Physically, taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of boards, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's strength.

We hope Caiden will learn to discipline his mind, body and spirit; find a way to challenge anger and frustration; as well as learn defensive skills and keep him in shape. Caiden really enjoyed the fighting stances (which his instructor stated he did very well and that made him proud), and he also found out that he has inherited my flexibility :) He couldn't wait to come home and show me what he learned.

This was in the beginning of class, where Caiden was more reserved and shy (remember he is like me)
As Caiden stayed longer he became more comfortable
and started getting into it more...
This is Caiden getting ready to use the focus pads for kicking

A taekwondo student typically wears a uniform (dobok 도복), often white but sometimes black or other colors, with a belt (tti 띠) tied around the waist. The belt indicates the student's rank. The school or place where instruction is given is called the dojang 도장.

While this was Caiden's first day, he did not get his uniform until the end of his day, so all of the pictures Dave took for me he is the one in his school uniform rather than in white. He is just starting out so he will have a white belt, but informed me today that there are many different colors as he gets better and he wants to get the different colors. :)

According to homeoftaekwondo.com, the there are a 6 different color belts, however there are various levels within each color belt. The color significance of the belts is described below:

What do the belt colours represent?

White – Represents the innocence of students at the start of the foundation level who has no experience of Tae Kwon Do.

Yellow - Represents the earth from which a plant evolves and takes root. This symbolises the evolutionary path of Tae Kwon Do.

Green – Represents the continuous growth of knowledge and skill as the Tae Kwon-Do skills begin to develop.

Blue - Represents the Heavenly sky towards which the plant grows and matures into a tall. This signifies the continuous progression of Tae Kwon Do.

Red - Represents Danger, it signifies the use of control the student must develop, warning the opponent to keep their distance.

Black – This is the opposite of white, symbolising the maturity and proficiency in Tae Kwon-Do, it also represents the wearer's imperviousness to darkness and fear.

We are very proud of Caiden and look forward to his progression within Taekwondo!!!