South Korean troops teach taekwondo to Lebanese children.
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and combat sport known for its devastating high kicks, but in which hand strikes are also permitted.
In 1955, Korean martial artists chose it as their country’s definitive martial art, and in 2000, it was recognised as an Olympic sport.
Li said that he and the other two trainers hope to teach their Lebanese students patience, self-control, respect for others and protection of the weak — all principles of the sport.
“Through taekwondo we want to spread a message of peace, friendship and trust,” said Kim Ki-Boem, one of the other trainers.
- Lee and Chan’s Forbidden Kingdom gets a good review.
“Forbidden Kingdom” is no “Crouching Tiger,” of course. It’s not art by any stretch, but it is a sincere and accomplished effort to make popular Chinese entertainment not only accessible to Western sensibilities, but as professionally enjoyable as it can be done.
- MMA not sanctioned in Montreal. However this has not stopped one person from training in the sport.
What the Ontario ban means for fighters like Bocek is that, not only must he travel outside the province to compete, he also feels the need to do the same to train. Currently it’s at the gym of another UFC fighter, Dan Henderson, in Temecula, Calif.
“There’s nobody in Toronto for me to train with,” Bocek said. “There’s not a facility where all the guys can get better together.”
- Karate and judo being taught to underprivileged women.
Learning Judo and Karate has worked wonders for young rural girls. With confidence levels soaring after training in the art of self-defence under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, 1,000-odd girls from a rural hinterland of Bihar now want to do the ‘Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan’ in real life.
- Seabees are the first non-marines to become Marine Corp martial arts instructors.
This was the first time Navy personnel have received training from the Marine Corps’ Martial Arts Center of Excellence, or MACE, based in Quantico, Va. Twenty-three Seabees signed up for the program; 16 made it to graduation.
That’s almost a 50% failure rate. Given Marine Corp training this does not surprise me at all.
- Columnist tries to debunk the stereotype that karate is violent.
Karate is a defense, and should never be used as an offensive weapon. So why are there so much negative vibes against karate? To me, it is because those who are strongly against the sport have never set foot inside a dojo (martial arts school).
This is also why karate and taekwondo are often unfairly criticized as being ineffective means of self-defense. Most karate and taekwondo curriculum teach that you only attack after being attacked. From a purely combative perspective this may not be the most effective means to hurt someone. However, from a moral/philosophical and legal perspective this is some pretty good advice.
Finally, I’ll close this post with a little Jim Carrey Karate.
It’s a classic for sure!
~BCP
