#taewondo

[onlyincanadayousay2]

Walk off the Earth - TAEKWONDO

[sristiglobalschool]

Namaste parents, We are so proud to announce that our Champs participated in the " VIFA 5th level national championship in Tayecondo. This is just the beginning of many successes to come to your passion, dedication & enthusiasm .... congratulations on the special movement 😀 The matches were nothing short of epic, as participants showcased their mastery of the Tayecondo martial art. The Vifa Cup Sristi Global Kids Tayecondo Championship came to a triumphant end as cheers and applause filled the arena. Team Sristi Global School

[felipenericlinicaderehab]

Sesión de #TaeWonDo por la mañana para que los chicos ejerzan una disciplina corporal de estiramiento, esfuerzo y valor; creando un vínculo terapéutico para la salud de cada uno de ellos. #Instagram @felipeneri_rehab.clinica #Twitter @ClinicaNeri #Facebook @felipenericentro #Tumblr felipenericlinicaderehab.tumblr.com #WhatsApp [phone] #Webpage felipe-neri-clinica-de-rehabilitacion.negocio.site #Adicciones #CentroDeRehabilitacion #SustanciasNocivas #ComportamientoAutodestructivo #Familia #Emociones #ClinicasDeRehabilitacion #AyudaAlProjimo (en Lomas De Casa Blanca Calle 7) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg0iQi9j6jh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[denisjungiyorinori]

🥋🇧🇷🥇TAEKWONDO MASCULINO Edival Marques, o Netinho, conquista a medalha de ouro no Taekwondo na categoria até 68 kg no Masculino. #JogosPanAmericanos #Lima2019 #JugamosTodos #Taewondo (em Lima, Peru) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0fM9oeFcFG/?igshid=1ktypnido4gxh

[denisjungiyorinori]

🥋🇧🇷🥈 TAEKWONDO MASCULINO Paulo Ricardo de Melo conquistou a medalha bronze na categoria até 58kg no Masculino. #JogosPanAmericanos #Lima2019 #JugamosTodos #Taewondo (em Lima, Peru) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0cTWMsBVsH/?igshid=rmcc8nmwnawf

[denisjungiyorinori]

🥋🇧🇷🥈 TAEKWONDO FEMININO Talisca Reis conquistou a medalha de prata no Taekwondo da categoria até 49kg no Feminino. #JogosPanAmericanos #Lima2019 #JugamosTodos #Taewondo (em Lima, Peru) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0cS1rWB77-/?igshid=qpxashyd2rhf

[christianfresco]

Con questa medaglia chiudo questo 2018 che sportivamente mi ha regalato tanto. Ho gettato le basi per un 2019 che dovrà essere ancora più significativo, partiamo infatti da qui per arrivare più in alto. #running #taewondo #itftaekwondo #mtb #bdc (presso #werunrome) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDxJpoHs5r/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=v0w02rqqb9t6

[onetwothreekimchi]

Week 4: Korean Sport - Taekwondo

I’ve been so excited about this week’s activity in part because I’ve never done taekwondo before, but also because I’ve always wanted to try on the crisp, white uniforms (dobok) worn for the sport.

With our white (beginner) belts strapped on comfortably, we were given a brief history of taekwondo by Master Kim, our instructor for the day. He explained that together, the words tae (foot), kwon (fist) and do (’the way of’) describes ‘the way of kicking and punching’ that has roots as far back as the Korean ‘Three Kingdoms’ era about 2,300 years ago. Modern taekwondo, as we know it however, has a surprisingly short history as it only came into existence in 1955 when a group of martial art masters came together to unify their various styles, and it only been an official Olympic sport since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Master Kim wasted no time in putting us to work, starting with a high-intensity warm up (I was already drowning in sweat at this point) before demonstrating a number of drills that required us to punch, kick and block. The five principals of taekwondo - respect, honesty, humility, perseverance and self-control - were apparent in the ceremonial acts of standing at attention, bowing to the teacher, and punching in unison, giving us a glimpse of the amount of discipline required to train in the sport. Bringing together everything we learned, we ended the session with several really useful self-defence moves that involved combinations of kicks and punches to throw our opponent off-balance. The class was a real eye-opener - I left the session super sweaty, but buzzing off an endorphin high from all the fun I was having.

This week’s homework got me thinking about the representation of women in sports as portrayed in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, a coming-of-age drama based loosely on the real-life story of Korean weightlifting Olympian Jang Mi Ran. Actress Lee Sung Kyung plays Kim Bok Joo, an aspiring weightlifter with a tomboy-ish and bubbly personality who, along with her tight-knit weightlifting team at her sports college, muddles through the growing pains of being a young adult. On first impression, I was pleasantly surprised that both genders are equally represented - there’s a male and a female coach, and Bok Joo’s team is an equal split between men and women too. There’s a great sense of camaraderie between the athletes as they’re often shown eating and training together, cheering each other on.

However, while Jang herself was consulted during the script-writing process, being a romantic comedy meant that weightlifting as a sport actually takes a bit of a backseat in the show. Instead, as I was watching, what I couldn’t help but notice was that Bok Joo’s identity as a weightlifter actually served to magnify the issue of body confidence, and the intense scrutiny that surrounds women’s bodies in South Korea.

For starters, the media was abuzz around how Lee gained more than 5kg for the role. Some media outlets and netizens criticised the casting of Lee for the role because despite her weight gain, she her slim build still wasn’t representative of real female weightlifters such as Jang, who competed in the +75kg category. At the same time, it was also seen as a risky career move for Lee, a model-turned-actress, as she would have to sacrifice her figure for what would be her first lead role in a drama. Luckily, it was a gamble that eventually paid off, as the drama aired to critical acclaim, winning two MBC Drama Awards and gaining a huge cult following among young viewers. 

Interestingly, the issue of weight is an ongoing theme in the drama itself when Lee’s character, Bok Joo develops a one-sided crush on a doctor at a weight loss clinic. She signs up for his slimming program in secret just so that she can continue to meet him, which obviously starts affecting her lifting as she needs maintain muscle. A particularly poignant scene at the end of episode 9 sees Bok Joo’s secret exposed in the most painful way - halfway through a weightlifting competition, she spots her doctor crush cheering for her in the audience. She narrates: “We lift heavy lumps of metal. In that moment, we can’t help but show our veins popping out, our faces getting red, our double or triple chin, and our belly fat sticking out from the belt. It’s so ugly. It’s not something we want to show the guy we like.”

The raw look of conflict on her face is especially heartbreaking, because despite completing her lift successfully and winning the tournament, her tears came from a place of humiliation and embarrassment. It’s not that she’s ashamed of her own strength, but at that moment, she firmly believed that to follow her dream as a weightlifter would also means giving up the hope of ever appearing attractive in front of someone she likes. Sadly, Bok Joo’s belief is still a deep-set one in many parts of Asia: that being muscular and athletic is at odds with being attractive and feminine. For many women, especially in South Korea, there’s a huge pressure to conform to a set of very narrow beauty ideals: namely, that they should be tall, slim and pale. What Bok Joo doesn’t realise is that her strength is precisely what makes her special and lovable.

As such, I felt this drama was groundbreaking in many ways. It’s probably the only K-drama or K-movie that I can think of that has female protagonist specialising in such a male-dominated sport. Weightlifting is portrayed as a profession that both men and women can participate in, and that women are respected for their physical strength (not in spite of it) and treated just like their male counterparts. I was also impressed with how they tackled the issue of body confidence in a very positive way. Unlike other K-dramas like Oh My Venus and 200 Pounds Beauty which features plus-size female leads who only find love and happiness after losing weight, Bok Joo finds someone who loves her for her strength and her athleticism. More importantly, she also learns to love herself for who she is, muscular thighs and all - and that’s probably a lesson in body positivity we should all be learning too.