Taekwondo and Developing Physical Fitness

By Nathaniel McKernan, 1st dan

The five components of health related physical fitness are improved through martial arts training at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute. However, we might as well ask the question, “What are the five components of health related physical fitness?”
They are:

• muscular endurance-- the ability to use your muscles for a long time; 
• muscular strength-- the ability to perform feats that requires strength; 
• flexibility-- the maximum range of motion that your joints can reach;  
• body composition-- the optimum body fat ratio;
• cardio-respiratory endurance-- ability to perform feats of either physical endurance or strength and be able to bring oxygen into the lung at the same time.  

All of these components of physical fitness are part of the Taekwondo training.

Now, just in case you didn't know, Taekwondo is a martial art which demands physical fitness and abilities in order to get good at the martial art.  You have to work hard and improve the body.  And, when you work hard at something like Taekwondo, you get a good workout.  And, to become even better at Taekwondo, you will begin the whole cycle again.  So as you work hard in Taekwondo classes at our Westminster location, you will improve the five components of health related physical fitness.

But how?  Well, let’s start with muscular strength.  In Taekwondo, we always do our exercises-- jumping jacks; push ups, etc. and these exercises help build up muscular strength over time.  But it is not just exercises that gives you muscular strength;  doing classes over a long period of time builds muscles.  Think about it, if you were to do kicks over and over again, or push-ups over and over again, you would build up muscular strength.  I myself can vouch for this.  When I first started, I could not do a single push-up (actually, for the first three years, I was doing a bad imitation of a push-up for building arm strength) and doing multiple amount of kicks made my leg muscles sore.  Now,  it’s a different story.  I can do push-ups and also do many kicks without my muscles being sore.  However, it took effort to get that strength.  Working hard in each class helped build muscular strength.

Now, what about muscular endurance?  What about the ability to keep your muscles going even when you are tired?  This is probably the easiest physical benefit you would achieve.   At first, it is difficult to keep one's muscles going during class because you have not developed very good muscular endurance yet.  Even really fit athletes sometimes have trouble because, odds are, they don't practice muscular endurance for all body muscles and Taekwondo uses all the body muscles.  However, over time, you will develop strong muscular endurance.  On that same note, you accomplish the same for cardio respiratory endurance.  For breathing, it would be very similar to muscular endurance; you would be able to breath better during long workouts then when you first started.  I am a living testimony.  When I first started, my muscles were aching and I was breathing hard after only 75 jumping jacks.  However, through years of continued participation, I am now able to do many more jumping jacks without breathing hard or getting sore muscles.  However, getting good at both does require you to try hard.  Just like muscular strength, the more effort you put in, the better you will get.

Next up is flexibility.  I am pretty sure you might have seen those gymnast be able to do those splits in mid-air and other feats and you probably thought “Could I ever be that flexible?”  Well, it is possible, and you can get it from continued participation in Taekwondo.  On your first day, you probably could not kick very high.  However, after continued participation, your kicks start to get higher, and higher, and higher.  Eventually, you would be able to kick so high that you would be considered “flexible.”  How?  Simple.  Stretching.  Every time we do class, we stretch to make ourselves more flexible.  And every time we stretch, our muscles extend a bit.  After a while, you would begin to realize that you are kicking a bit higher.  And, after more stretching, you would eventually be able to kick higher than you thought possible. This increased flexibility will also carry into other aspects of your life!

Last of all, there is body composition.  It is pretty much common knowledge that working out helps you get the best lean  body weight to fat ratio.  Well, Taekwondo demands physical exertion!  Or, in simpler terms, when you practice Taekwondo, you sweat.  That’s called a workout.  And when you workout, you get less fat.

So as you can see, classes at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute, including the Westminster location, does address all the five components of health-related physical fitness.  By doing Taekwondo, you can improve in all these areas.

Kicking and Screaming? How Kids Taekwondo can Help Your Child Overcome Obstacles

Hard Work in Class Pays Off!

It is not uncommon in our modern world for children to have difficulty navigating the vast amount of stimuli and remaining focused and alert. There are many different theories when it comes to parenting a child with certain challenges, and many professionals agree that the right kind of physical exercise can go a long way to helping your child gain self-confidence and concentration in other aspects of their life. Lakewood taekwondo classes at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute can take these benefits to another level. Kids’ taekwondo can help teach self-discipline, focus, and respect, along with physical strength, balance, and agility.

Even if your child already excels in these areas, they can still get a lot out of martial arts training. For families in Green Mountain and Lakewood, martial arts classes can be a great outlet for stress and an excellent opportunity for kids to find a competitive sport that allows them to advance and challenge themselves as they grow. With over thirty years of history teaching kids and adults the benefits of taekwondo and other martial arts, the Colorado Taekwondo Institute consistently guides strong participation in local and national tournaments. Here are just a few of the things your child will be able to develop as they learn and grow in the ancient art of taekwondo.

Physical Development
Martial arts shouldn’t be confused with fighting or self-defense. Generating focused power in the feet takes a high degree of discipline and training, and the results can lead to healthy muscle tone, physical stamina, and a great sense of physical balance. In martial arts, strength comes from practice and discipline, harnessing the lower-body power we are born with.
Taekwondo refers to the idea of the feet and hands, and being able to develop the same type of control and accuracy with strikes from the foot, as punches from the fist. Not a violent act, taekwondo kicks simply help students realize the full potential in the full body strength as they develop the skills to advance through their classes. For kids in Lakewood, taekwondo classes can follow them into adulthood.

Behavioral Benefits
The emotional benefits of taekwondo training may prove to be even more beneficial for your child than the development of physical strength. By utilizing the entire body in a focused and disciplined manner, taekwondo is a great way to relieve stress and help kids find an acceptable outlet for common frustrations that arise. According to Alison Hendrie of parenting.com, martial arts training can help children with ADHD or other attention and hyperactivity develop the underdeveloped aspects in their brain to overcome the challenges they face.

For all children, Green Mountain and Lakewood martial arts training helps to build respect, listening skills, social responsibility, and teamwork. Taekwondo, like many types of martial arts traditions, placing a high emphasis on meditation and calm, skills that children can transfer to other aspects of their lives, including school, where many parents can see their child able to boost their grades and improve their behavior in the classroom environment.

Goals to Grow On
Masters in martial arts often train for decades before they reach their status in order to be able to share their gifts with students. Their advancement is a lesson for beginners that there is virtually no end to the goals young children can set for themselves in taekwondo training. Even as beginners begin to build their skills, they can participate in tournaments to compete and display their developing techniques.

The Colorado Taekwondo Institute has nine different belts that can be achieved through mastering techniques and displaying the type of self-discipline and respect necessary to advance in their training. Beginners first earn their white belt which signifies purity and planting strong roots, with advancements likened to the development of a strong tree that takes years to reach full maturity, and the noted “Black Belt”.

A Safe Release in a Violent World
If your preconception of martial arts is derived from television or movies, you may equate it with violence or fighting. The truth is that kids’ taekwondo training promotes non-violent conflict resolution and other skills that breed a sense of peace in well-being in youngsters. Children learn self-control and discipline that help them avoid situations of physical confrontation and manage their stress and frustration as an invaluable asset that can help keep your kid safe.

Your child doesn’t think about the many benefits they might get from taekwondo and other martial arts. The greatest benefit that can keep them coming back, striving for the next goal and honing their techniques, is that taekwondo is fun. When children find a controlled way to have fun and be part of a team, they’ll want to keep coming back, year after year.


Sources:
http://www.parenting.com/article/karate-kids-the-benefits-of-martial-arts
http://www.taekwondo-information.org/benefits-of-taekwondo-for-children.html

CTI Taekwondo: A Journey to 30 - Something Again

By Jim Intriglia, orange belt

“Hey Dad, want to go with us on a day hike to the Square Top summit by Guanella Pass? It'll be fun! So were the thoughts of my seventeen year-old son, Dakotah. It was my son’s birthday; he was looking for something unique and fun for us to do on this special day

I thought back in the not too distant past, when the family drove up to Mt. Evans one bright sunny day. Upon arrival at the summit of Mt. Evans, I stepped out of the car and took a few steps. It then occurred to me that I could barely breathe. After walking a short distance, I suddenly began to feel dizzy, and though I would pass out at any moment. I sat down and tried to catch by breathe and shake the feeling of dizziness that was growing worse by the minute.

When I last visited Mt. Evans, I was 49 years old, weighed 235 pounds and sported a 38 inch waist. With a BMI index over 30, I was considered obese for my height (6’ 0”) and in poor physical shape. I suffered from asthma and was just diagnosed with sleep apnea a few years before, due mostly to being obese. Skipping forward to the present day, at 53 years of age, I weigh 213 pounds, have a 36-inch waist, and a BMI of 28. So what changed? In 2009, I decided to get back in shape, so I joined the Colorado Taekwondo Institute (Conifer campus) and began training.

Fast-forward to the present day, and back to my son’s question as to whether I wanted to hike to Square Top, at  an elevation about 13,800 feet above sea level. The last time I had completed such a day hike in the high country, I was thirty-something and in much better shape. I tipped  the scales at only 190 pounds. “I dunno, son. I am in much better shape since I began Taekwondo two years ago, but I don't know if I am in any kind of shape to do even a short high-altitude day hike. What's the elevation at the top of “Square Top”?

“13, 800 ft,” my son replied, “but you don't have to hike all the way up to the top if you don't feel up to it.”. So off we went, accompanied by a good friend, his seven-year old son, and their trusty mountain-hiking St. Bernard, Gracie.

Arriving at the top of Guanella Pass, we parked the Jeep and had a look at the peak we were going to attempt to top that day.

“That looks to be a good half-day hike to the top”, I shared with our group. “It's actually a couple of hours hike... not very far; a good preparatory hike for a fourteener”, said Deron, our good friend and hike guide for the day.

Looking at the summit and the long trail to it, I thought of the last time I had successfully completed a day hike like this: ten or fifteen years ago.

It wasn't long before I was caught-up in all of the beauty that surrounded us as we hiked to the summit. After hiking about an hour, we arrived at the steep part of the ascent to Square Top. “Now it will get a little tougher”, our friend Deron observed. As we hiked toward the top, I was looking mainly down at the ground, figuring out where I should place my foot next to get a good grip on the ever-increasing slope.

As we ascended, my breathing was quickening, though my muscles were not all that stressed. My day pack didn't seem all that heavy, even after walking a mile or so on varying terrain. We still had a hour or so to go, and I was still concerned that I would not be in any kind of shape to make it all the way to the top.

“That wasn't so bad, was it Dad?”

Huh? What? I glanced at my watch and realized that an hour had passed. Wow - how time flies when you are having fun!

I was having no trouble breathing, the muscles in my legs were barely tired, and I had barely broken a sweat during our trek. Glancing up at my son, I realized we had nearly reached the summit.

“What's our altitude?” I asked. “13,400 ft; I scouted a path to the summit; it about a hundred yards ahead,” said Dakotah.

Three hours later, we were all back at our vehicles looking at where we had all been-- the summit of Square Top, Guanella Pass. This hike was a piece of cake compared to one of our typical Taekwondo workouts, I thought to myself.

From my trek in the mountains, I learned that my Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo training had conditioned me in mind, body and spirit, much more than I had expected. I surely would have never been able to complete such a day hike several years ago, before I began training at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute. I am thankful for the results I have achieved thus far, and look forward to getting into even better shape as I progress in the CTI Taekwondo program.

A Lifestyle Choice

Student Doing a Block at Camp MSK

By Kelsey Smith, blue belt

It isn't a feeling or an attitude: it's a lifestyle choice.

The first thing you need to understand is that "integrity" is more than being honorable or honest. It isn't an attitude or feeling you can have fleetingly; in short, integrity is something that affects all aspects of your being, and everything that you do. It isn't a feeling or an attitude: it's a lifestyle choice.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines integrity as "(a) firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values: incorruptibility." This is a good definition, but it does not emphasize the weight of of the importance that integrity holds. It is not something that can be done half-time or with half-effort. It's all or none, plain and simple. Integrity is a trait that affects all of our choices, our ideas, and our judgement. You either have integrity, or you don't. There is no in-between.

Like I said before, integrity affects everything, from being honest about our age, to honoring the societal rules and etiquette and having the courage and honesty to admit when you've done something wrong. Holding yourself to a higher level of honor and honesty at all times is only a part of integrity. There is also the matter of how you treat yourself. How can you treat others with respect and honesty if you don't respect or be honest with yourself?

I try to hold myself with integrity, but it's difficult. One such occasion where I was tempted to just let my integrity hit the ground was during a gym class basketball tournament. The winners would receive 50 points of extra credit, guaranteeing a passing grade in the class. My team was in one of the final rounds. The opposing team lost control of the ball, and just as it was about to go out of bounds, I touched the ball, trying to catch it. The referee didn't see me touch the ball, and called it an out on the opposing team. But I knew that wasn't right. It was their ball. My team members told me not to tell, to just let it drop this one time. They needed those 50 points, they said. Don't make us lose, they said. But I wouldn't hear any of it. If I let this go, what else would I be excusing? I had to maintain integrity at all times, not just when it was convenient for me. I went to the referee and told him about the ball. In the end, we lost the tournament that day. But I didn't lose my integrity.

It's hard. It's going to push you to the limits of what you know is right, and what you know you want. There will be hundreds of times where you want to just "forget" integrity and let things be as they are. But despite these temptations, you must push through, and hold to your integrity. Because at the end of the day, either you have it, or you don't. And as a member of Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo, I want to have the honor of being able to say that I am one of the handful left in this world who believe in true integrity.

Source:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integrity

The Basics of Free Sparring

As we all know by now sparring is one area in our training that can be one of the most stimulating experiences in our Moo Sul Kwan martial arts training. Sparring is not only one of the most difficult things we do but it is as close as we can get to a real life situation where we would need to have the proper reflexes to defend ourselves. In order to obtain these specific reflexes we cannot simply hop into the sparring ring and expect them to come to us naturally. Even as upper belts, we still need to practice many different combinations, thousands of times before we can expect them to work in the sparring ring effectively.

It is nearly impossible to be successful in a sparring match by throwing single moves at a time. Combinations are what will always score the points. The idea is to have enough moves in the combinations that you throw to overwhelm your opponent so you can get in and score your point. Predicting a sparring match is much like predicting the future, it is near impossible, which is why you never know what the outcome will be. However, if you practice certain combinations that work for you, then you are more likely to use these moves in the match as reflexes as opposed to surprising yourself about what moves you throw.

Martial Arts Kids Sparring

As we have heard many times, sparring is much like a chess game, where we need to stay two steps ahead of our opponent. To do this takes a great deal of practice. Make sure to keep your “wall” in between you and your opponent. Do not let them cross this line unless you have a plan and do not cross this line yourself until you know that they are not expecting it.  Get your opponent to react to you by never stopping and always faking.

It is important to remember that each sparring match varies from one opponent to the next. There are many parts of sparring, however, that remain the same throughout each match. Maximum speed with controlled power is needed in order to get in and score the point and get out without being touched. Immediate reactions are always needed because, again, sparring matches are unpredictable. And also remember to always spar your match, have your opponent react to you.

It all comes down to practice! If you practice you sparring exercises then your sparring will improve. These are the basics of sparring.