A tenet is defined as “a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true; especially : one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession”
The 5 Tenets of Taekwondo are the guiding principles of the philosophy behind the martial art “The way of the hand and the foot.”
Courtesy (Ye Ui) – Taekwondo students should be polite to one another and to respect others. Students should address instructors as ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’ and bow to the instructors before and after classes. Instructors who have earned the rank of 4th Dan or above are addressed as ‘Master’. Our two Masters in our class are Master Wilkins and Master Beyer. Instructors who are 1st through 3rd Dan are addressed as ‘Mr.’ or ‘Ms.’ in front of their last name. Children address all adult students, regardless of rank, in the same manner.
Integrity (Yom Chi) – One who has integrity is able to define what is right or wrong and have the conscience, if wrong, to feel guilt. Taekwondo students should strive to be honest and to live by moral principles. Bottom line: do not lie. In some schools, ‘Honesty’ is listed as a core tenet before Integrity, but we at Quick Kicks believe that if you have integrity, you will be honest, so there is no need to list ‘Honestly’ separately.
Perseverance (In Nae) – Perseverance means having patience. One of the most important secrets of becoming a leader in Taekwon-Do is to overcome every difficulty by perseverance. Confucius said,” One who is impatient in trivial matters can seldom achieve success in matters of great importance.”
Self-Control (Guk Gi) – Without self-control, a Taekwondo student is just like any fighter in the street. Loss of self-control is disastrous both in sparring and personal affairs. “The term of stronger is the person who wins over oneself rather than someone else”. What this means is that we’re not learning Taekwondo so we can go out and beat people up. That’s not who we are, and that would make us bullies. We’re learning in order to defend ourselves and defend others who can’t defend themselves, and to protect against bullies.
Indomitable Spirit (Baekjul Boolgol) – A true student of Taekwondo will never give up, not even when faced with insurmountable odds. The most difficult goals can be achieved with indomitable spirit.