Taekwondo is a Koreanmartial art, characterized by itsemphasis on head-height kicks, jumping and spinning kicks, and fast kickingtechniques. The name Taekwondo means the way of the foot and fist (Ronald A. Southwick). Various martial artists combinedthe elements of Karate and Chinesemartial arts with traditionalKorean martial arts traditions in the 1940s and 1950s. Taekwondo, usually wasthought by most people as just a way of fighting and as being a brutal sport.People consider it brutal because of the kicks, punches, throws, and arm and wristlocks as they usually are not open minded enough to see the way it benefitspeople especially children. Although a majority of it includes fighting,taekwondo also helps a person with self-confidence, self-defence anddiscipline. The eye is a sensory organof sight.
Our eyes are responsible for four-fifths of all the information ourbrain receives. Various structures in the eye enable it detects light and turnsinto an image that can be recognised by the brain. Among the structures arecornea, lens, and retina. When the opponent image light rays reflect off andenter the eyes through the cornea, the cornea bends, or refracts, the rays thatcan pass through the round hole of the pupil. The iris will the open and close,making the pupil bigger or smaller to adjust the light entering the eye. Thelight rays then pass through the lens, which changes shape, so it can furtherbend the rays and focus them on the retina. The retina, which sits at the backof the eye is a thin layer of tissue that contains millions of tinylight-sensing nerve cells. These nerve cells are called rods and cones becauseof their distinct shapes.
Cones are concentrated in the centre of the retina,in an area called the macula. When there is bright light, cones provide clear,sharp central vision and detect colours and fine details. Rods are locatedoutside the macula and extend all the way to the outer edge of the retina. Theyprovide peripheral or side vision. Rods also allow the eyes to detect motionand help us see in dim light and at night. These cells in the retina convertthe light into electrical impulses.
The optic nerve sends these impulses to thebrain, which produces an image (Ker Than. May 5, 2016, How the Human Eye Works.Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/3919-human-eye-works.
html). The ear is oneof the sensory organs that help us to hear. An interesting point to note isthat the ear not only helps in hearing but also helps us to maintain thebalance and equilibrium of our body.
Without the ear, we would not be able tobalance our body with respect to the gravitational pull of the earth. The innerear is the part that helps us to balance our body. The inner ear is involved inboth the functions of hearing and balancing. Two structures of the inner ear help to maintainbalance and equilibrium. The three semi-circular canals that are interconnectedand positioned at right angles to each other just like a gyroscope. Thevestibule has the saccule and utricle that connects the semi-circular canals tothe cochlea. The semi-circular canals and the vestibule of the inner eartogether help to maintain the balance and equilibrium of the body. Extremevibrations can rapture the eardrum and ossicles causing hearing loss.
Therefore, protective gears should be wear during a sparring. (Nithya Venkat. September30, 2016. How Does the Ear Help to Maintain Balance and Equilibrium of theBody? Retrieved from https://owlcation.
com/stem/How-does-the-ear-help-to-balance-the-body.) In terms of sparring, it is dividedinto one-step sparring and free sparring. One-step sparring consists of twopartners exercising pre-arranged, attack and counterattack techniques. One-stepsparring is the first step in order to be able to do free sparring. Practicing one-step sparring requires a highlevel of concentration and cooperation on both people.
The attacker mustperform each attack with proper execution and consistent timing. The defendermust react to the attack and counter attack without hesitation. Techniquesshould be practiced extensively to a point where they develop a sub-motorpattern that reacts out of instinct, without having to stop and think. In freesparring, only light to medium contact is made. Protective gear is worn in accordancewith World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) standards. Only yellow belts and aboveare eligible to participate in contact free sparring.
Hand and foot techniques areexecuted according to World Taekwondo Federation rules in order to score pointsagainst your opponent. Although students are attacking and defending with greatspeed and power, the emphasis is on controlled techniques, skills applicationand safety. Each sparring round is formally begun and ended with a bow ofmutual respect. (Wallace Taylor, January 2010). Side kicking or also known as “yeopchagi” is a sideway kick with the hip turned slightly over, kicking legdiagonally across the body, then extend the leg toward the target.
The kick isvery powerful and can be done fast if trained correctly. It is difficult tododge sidekicks in taekwondo. In the mechanism of side kicking, the first stepis the athlete stands in the L-stance forearm guarding block and the right footforward. Both feet should be slightly pointed inwards and the toes of the footat the front should be lined up with the heel of the back foot. Both knees areslightly bent.
The term ‘starting posture’ comprises information on the stanceand the place where the attempted attack starts. The athlete moves the back foot forward in the direction of the intendedimpact. The hands are held up in a guard. When the feet have touched theground, the ankle joint tenses and the athlete energetically pushes the right footoff the ground. As a result of the right foot take offthe force pushes the foot upwards.
Further movement is facilitated by themuscles of the lower limb taking control over the movement. Medial hamstring,adductor muscle, quadratus femoris and lateral flexors of the spins contracts. Theright quadriceps relaxes.
Therefore, the knee and hip joints are extended (JHum Kinet, 2011). In the comparison of athlete versusthe non-athletes, non-athletes tend to get an injury faster than athletes astheir muscles durability and flexibility is not trained. Furthermore, it takesmore time for the injury to heal for non-athletic person. Most athletes, have aspecial recovery sessions. That is how they are much stronger in the case ofmuscles durability. Athletictypes have better overall health and has less percentage to develop certaindiseases such as type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis.
Regular exercise boosts yourimmune system and lowers the risk of serious health conditions such as cancerand heart disease. Taekwondo can also maintain cholesterol levels and bloodpressure. People who are in good shapephysically have greater aerobic capacity, meaning their lungs and heart areable to provide more oxygen to muscles. They have also learned how to breatheproperly during exercise through training and coaching. Oxygen diffusion rateof athletic person is higher because of their lung capacity such as the ribcage enlargement and diaphragm contractions, which decreases the pressure inlungs thus increase rate of diffusion. They also do the proper warm upexercises before competing. As long as there is enough oxygen, the body willnot generate lactic acid to get the energy it needs.
Athletes also know how topace themselves and not sprint more often than necessary. Frequent sprintingwill result in lactic acid build up. Every person wants to feel safe andable to protect him or herself and loved ones. For this reason, many peopleturn to martial arts. Taekwondo emphasise all the tools and techniques neededto protect themselves if necessary. In addition to blocking, kicking andstriking techniques, students will learn grabs, throws, and techniques to defenceand free themselves from an attacker.
