Future of Taekwondo

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To these we must add more specific training such as the Ki, the search for spiritual enlightenment, the comparison with other martial arts, etc.

Society cannot function properly without values. Taekwondo can contribute to the development of an individual and a citizen by demonstrating the following values:

- Courtesy

- Indomitable spirit

- Humility

- Respect

- Fighting spirit

A practitioner of Taekwondo is a disciplined citizen, respectful of and attentive to others, a fighter in his professional and private life, non-violent.

In Taekwondo, there is the Do (the way) too often forgotten in the shadow of the sporting aspect.

If we don’t refocus Taekwondo on its martial and cultural aspects, Taekwondo will grow weaker and the Korean masters and experts, in spite of their discoveries and growth in teaching, will be put aside.

This sport, in fact, is not an Asian invention, but a western one. It was invented at the time of Ancient Greece. We inevitably think of the Greek Olympic games, even if they were conducted with more of a religious goal than the sporting goal we know today. It was at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century that Taekwondo was constructed in Europe. If Taekwondo is to be viewed simply as a sport, one day it will escape the Koreans, as judo has escaped the Japanese; however, to position it as a martial art on a spiritual level is to continue to control it, as people with still see Korea as the model, as a source of spiritual enrichment.

Taekwondo cannot be reduced to physical combat or striking with rackets or paos.

We must rediscover the essence of Taekwondo that I knew when I started in the 70s.