LEE'S TAE KWON DO ACADEMY RULES & REGULATIONS
1.) At no time will any student enter the Do Jang with shoes on.
2.) Students who enter or leave will acknowledge with a bow.
3.) Students late for class will ask for the instructor's permission to join class.
4.) Never question or contradict the word of your instructor.
5.) No jewelry or chewing gum will be allowed in class.
6.) Talk on the floor only when asking the instructor a question.
7.) During the class period, there will be no talking or laughing.
8.) No profanity will be allowed in the Do Jang.
9.) Students are not permitted to smoke in the Do Jang. Remove your belt from your uniform if you must eat, drink or smoke.
10.) When entering the office, knock, bow and enter.
11.) The Master Instructor will be addressed as Kwan Jang Nim.
12.) Never smoke in the presence of the Kwan Jang Nim.
13.) Black Belt holders will be addressed as Yu Dan Ja.
14.) Students will address each other as Mr., Mrs., Ms. or Miss.
15.) Whenever the Kwan Jang Nim is conducting class, no student will approach him directly. Approach the senior black belt holder and first ask his permission.
16.) Show respect and affirmation between senior and junior ranks.
17.) You will conduct yourself outside of class as a lady or gentleman, being a good representative of Taekwon-Do at all times.
18.) Taekwon-Do will be used only as a means of self-defense: to protect yourself, your family or the weak.
19.) Failure to comply with the above may result in dismissal from class, a period of probation, loss of grade, suspension from activities or academy dismissal.
School Rules and Regulations: All student's should review the rules and regulations frequently and new student's should educate themselves as to the school rules as soon as possible.
CHILDREN'S HOME RULES
1.) Children will greet their parents when entering the home and tell them good-bye when leaving the home.
2.) Children will at all times be respectful to their parents and grandparents.
3.) Children will at all times be truthful.
4.) Children will strive for a good relationship with their brothers and sisters.
5.) Children will willingly help with household chores.
6.) Children will report to their parents when they have completed assigned tasks.
7.) Children will be responsible for the upkeep and neatness of their own room.
8.) Children will practice daily cleanliness in the matter of hair, teeth and body.
9.) Children will abide by their parent's decisions.
10.) Children will not interrupt adult conversations.
11.) Children will refrain from rowdy behavior at home.
12.) Children will possess an active mind, body and spirit.
13.) Children will diligently study their schoolwork both at school and at home.
14.) Children will at all times show respect for their school teachers and their peers.
Children's Home Rules: Tae Kwon Do doesn't stop once you leave the dojang. Apply the principles of respect and discipline at home as well.
KOREA AND IT'S FLAG
The Korean name for Korea is "Hangeuk" and its people are called "Hangeuksaram". The ancient name for Korea is "Choson", which means literally "the land of morning calm" and comes from the "Choson" (or "Yi") dynasty of Korea's history (1392-1905). The name "Korea" comes from the "Koryu" dynasty of Korea's history (935-1392) during which westerners had their first contact with Korea. The national anthem of Korea is "Aeguk Ka" ("Love of Country"). It was written during the Japanese occupation of Korea (circa 1905-1945) and was later set to music by Ahn Eak Tai.
The Korean flag is called "Taeguk-ki" and was adopted in August of 1882, not long after the "Hermit Kingdom" opened its front and back doors to foreign aggressive powers. The central theme of the flag is that although there is constant movement within the sphere of infinity, there is also balance and harmony. The flag consists of three parts: a white field (or background), a red and blue circle in the center of the flag (containing a "yin-yang" like symbol), and four black trigrams surrounding the circle in each of the four corners of the flag.
The circle in the center is called "Taeguk" and means the origin of all things in the universe. The red and blue paisleys within the circle represent eternal duality (heaven-earth, fire-water, good-evil, male- female, dark-light, life-death). The blue portion of the circle is called "um" and represents the negative aspects of this duality; the red portion of the circle is called "yang" and represents the positive aspects. "Um-yang" is the Korean equivalent of "yin-yang".
The four black trigrams come from the Chinese book of "I Ch'ing". The trigrams also carry the idea of opposites and of balance. Each trigram (or "gye") consists of three parallel lines, some of which are broken (split), and some of which are unbroken (solid). Each gye has a specific name and represents one or more concepts: In the upper lefthand corner is "K'un" which consists of all solid lines and represents heaven, east, and spring; In the lower righthand corner is "K'on" which consists of all broken lines and represents earth, west, and summer; In the upper righthand corner is "Kam" which consists of one solid line sorrounded by two broken lines and represents water, north, and winter; In the lower lefthand corner is "I" which consists of one broken line sorrounded by two solid lines and represents fire, south, and autumn.
THE HISTORY OF TAE KWON DO
The earliest records of Martial Arts in Korea practice date back to about 50 B.C. It was then known as "Taek Kyon". Evidence that Martial Arts was being practiced at that time can be found in tombs where wall paintings show two men in fighting stances. Others reject this evidence, saying that the men could have been dancing as well.
At that time there were three kingdoms:
1. Koguryo
2. Paekje
3. Silla
Silla unified the Kingdoms after winning the war against Paekje and Koguryo. The Hwa Rang Do played an important role at this unification. The Hwa Rang Do was an elite group of young noble men devoted to cultivating mind and body and to serve the kingdom, Silla. The best translation for Hwa Rang is "flowering youth". The Hwa Rang Do had an honor code and practiced various forms of Martial Arts, including Taekyon and Soo Bakh Do. The honor code of the Hwa Rang is the philosophical background of modern Tae Kwon Do.
What followed was a time of peace and the Hwa Rang turned from a military organization to a group that specialized in poetry and music. Later, Wang Kon founded the Koryo Dynasty, an abbreviation of Koguryo. The name Korea is derived from the name Koryo.
During the Koryo Dynasty, the sport Soo Bakh Do became popular. The sport was then used as a military training method. During the Yi Dynasty, the emphasis on military training disappeared. The King replaced Buddhism with Confucianism as the state religion. According to Confuscanism, the higher class should read poetry and play music. Martial Arts was something for the common, or even inferior man.
Modern-day Tae Kwon Do is influenced by many other martial arts. The most important of these sports is Japanese Karate, because Japan dominated Korea during 1910 until the end of W.W.II. Many Korean soldiers were trained in Japan. After the war, Korea became independent. During the occupation of Korea, the Japanese tried to erase all of the Korean culture, including the martial arts. The influence that Japan has given to Tae Kwon Do is the quick, straight line movements that characterize the various Japanese systems.
At the end of W.W.II, several Kwans arised. These Kwans were "Chung Do Kwan", "Moo Duck Kwan", "Yun Moo Kwan", "Chang Moo Kwan", "Oh Do Kwan", Jo Do Kwan", Chi Do Kwan" and "Song Moo Kwan". The Kwans united in 1955 as Tae Soo Do. In the beginning of 1957, the name Tae Kwon Do was adopted by several Martial Arts Masters, for it's similarity to Tae Kyon.
General Choi Hong-Hi required the Army to train in Tae Kwon Do, so the first students were Korean soldiers. The police and the Air Force had to train in Tae Kwon Do as well. At that time, Tae Kwon Do was a Korean version of Shotokan Karate. In 1961, The Korean Tae Kwon Do Union arose for the Soo Bakh Do Association and the Tae Soo Do Association. In 1962, the Korean Amateur Sports Association acknowledged the Korean Tae Kwon Do Union, changing the name to Korean Tae Kwon Do Association (KTA) in 1965. General Choi, President of the KTA left Korea and established the International Tae Kwon Do Federation (ITF) in America.
Demonstrations were given all over the world. It took a while before real progress was made, but eventually, in 1973 the World Tae Kwon Do Federation (WTF) was founded. In 1980, WTF Tae Kwon Do was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and became a demonstration sport at the Olympics in 1988. There have been several attempts to unify the ITF and the WTF. Unfortunately, these have failed.