Tae Kwon Do

Taekwondo
by Niko Kopaliani
August 4, 2016

Taekwondo has been around for a long time. Do you know what Taekwondo is? It is a martial art from Korea. Taekwondo means “fist kick art.” In this report, I will be writing about sparring, USA Taekwondo State Championships and USA Taekwondo National Championships.

Niko at the 2016 USA Tae Kwon Do National Championship

Sparring is fighting with gear on to protect you. In sparring, you can get hurt if someone kicks you where you don’t have gear on. In sparring, people yell. It is called k’ihap. If someone attacks, you can k’ihap and scare them away.

If you want a chance to go to the Olympics for taekwondo, you start by going to the State Championships. State Championships has 3 subjects: sparring, breaking, and forms. In breaking, you break boards with kicks and punches. Forms are combinations of punches and kicks that you need to memorize. If you win at the State Championships, you go to the National Championships.

National Championships is very serious. On July 4 and 5, 2016, I competed in the Kukkiwon National Championships in Virginia. It requires strength. If you want to win, you need a lot of confidence. The National Championships is very difficult because there are a lot of people to compete against. My mom told me, “It’s OK if you don’t win. Just do your best.” The National Championships is fun because replica watches you can visit places during your trip. My family and I went to the ocean while waiting for the nationals to begin. You can practice Taekwondo on the beach. Therefore, you will have a better chance of winning.

You should try Taekwondo because you can learn self-defense. If someone is ever attacking, you can knock him out then call the police. You can do a trial at a Taekwondo school to see if you like it.