Taekwondo in Nigeria

Foot, fist and way

Taekwondo in Nigeria

Taekwondo is one of the fast-rising sports in Nigeria, and just like its counterparts like judo, karate and kickboxing, the game or sports of taekwondo is recently been practised by many. It is a self-defense art that first originated from Korea, it is recognized as one of the most popular martial arts in the world, with roots in Korean fighting traditions said to date back over 2000 years, although modern taekwondo was formalised in Korea in the 1950s.

The name was obtained or derived from the description of "art" which is made up of three Korean/Chinese words; Tae meaning foot, Kwon meaning fist or hand, Do meaning way. The sport has spread across the globe and is been rank the highest martial arts in the world today.

This type of sport is similar to karate because people fight with arms, legs and feet. The Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA) formed in the year 1959 and is the oldest governing body for taekwondo and its origin.

The national governing body for taekwondo in Nigeria today is the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) which grew out of the Nigerian Taekwondo Association (a member of the world federation since 1987) and was later led by the former national champion George Ashiru, its president from 2013. Taekwondo has been an Olympic medal event since 2000.

The function of this art is to help increase the mental and physical health of an individual.

Benefits of taekwondo

There are so many benefits of sports which does not only serve as a physical exercise but also provide the body with the tool for wellbeing, some of the benefits of taekwondo include;

• General Body Fitness: Taekwondo is a sport that aids in general body fitness. It builds up the muscles tone and physical fitness. It keeps one fit and agile all day long. It strengthens the body and boosts a healthy lifestyle which leads to a happier and longer life.
• Self-Defence: Taekwondo is the best antidote for self-defence. An athlete that is skilled with the art of Taekwondo can control situations to his/her advantage. It enables one to spur out your inner physical strengths, such as power in the legs while trying to defeat your opponent.
• Self Assurance: Taekwondo is a sport that helps to boost self-assurance or self-confidence. It inculcates a sense of control in a life of an individual or athlete to move further in all areas of life. Self-assurance does not flow naturally for many but can be developed within a period of time. Taekwondo increases your confidence knowing the fact that you can defend yourself in any situation.
• Self Esteem: The training of Taekwondo develops an athlete self-esteem by increasing the physical and mental abilities.
• Physical Coordination: Taekwondo helps to increase the physical coordination of an individual such as flexibility, balance and mental acuity.
• Taekwondo helps to sharpen the mind and keep you focused.
• Taekwondo gives one the courage to face his/her fears and weakness and be able to conquer them.
• It creates mental discipline: Training your body and mind in the techniques of Taekwondo develops your mental discipline.
• Taekwondo builds up integrity, respect, honour, support and cooperation through its training.
• Finally, Taekwondo is a sports activity with so much fun to derive from it.