four

THE CLASS

Now that you’ve found the right dojang and have signed up for class, here’s what you can expect during the first days of training and beyond.

BEFORE CLASS

You will probably want to show up to your class a few minutes early, if possible. This will give you time to warm up and prepare for your lesson. However, this is not the proper time or place to catch up with friends—save that for after class, once you’ve left the dojang. While inside the dojang, your mind should be focused on taekwondo.

You should always try your best to be on time for class and give your sabumnim warning if you know you must be late. If you arrive after class has already begun, try to be as quiet and respectful as possible. This means that you shouldn’t interrupt your sabumnim, even if it’s to apologize for being late. The proper time to say you’re sorry is after class, once your sabumnim has a few free minutes. However, you should always bow upon first entering the dojang— even if you’re late.

Bowing

Bowing (kyung nay in Korean) is one way taekwondo students show respect. Whenever you come to your taekwondo school you must bow to your master instructor, to any black belts, and to all of your fellow students. When you do this, they will bow back, showing that they respect you, too.

To bow correctly, you have to put your feet together and stand at attention like a soldier. Then, you should bow slowly and as low as you can. Do not look at the person you are bowing to—this means that you don’t trust him and have to keep an eye on him. By not looking at the person you bow to, you are showing him respect, as well as trust.

Medidtation

Meditating is a time to focus your thoughts and mentally prepare yourself for practice. Some people like to picture their favorite places in nature—like a forest, mountain, or the ocean— when they meditate. Think of what makes you calm and happy.

After you bow to your instructor and to your fellow students, you also bow to the Korean and your national flags. This is to show that you respect the role that both of these countries play in your life. You respect Korea because it is the home of taekwondo, and you respect the country you live in. There may also be a picture of a famous grandmaster at your dojang—if there is, you will also bow to the picture to show respect for the grandmaster.

When class is about to begin, the sabumnim will clap loudly and say “chul sa.” This means stop whatever you are doing and quickly, but calmly, get in line. Students will line up in order of rank—the most advanced student will stand at the front of the class, while the beginners will stand at the back of the class. The highest-ranking student will give some commands in Korean, starting with doe rha and kyung yet, which mean to turn and bow to the flags, and turn and bow to the instructor. It’s okay if you don’t understand the words—just do what you see everyone else doing. Next, the student will say “an jo!” This means sit down. Then, he will say “cham sun,” which means meditate. You should close your eyes and try to calm your thoughts. When your sabumnim claps, you should open your eyes again. Finally, your sabumnim will say “e la sutt,” which means stand up.

DURING CLASS

The instructor will walk everyone through the warm-up exercises, which will include some stretching. Then, the class will begin. If this is your first class, you may be told to walk around and observe the other students while they practice their kicks, punches, blocks, and forms. Or you may be asked to sit out of the way while the more advanced students practice combinations. Try not to get impatient; before you know it, you’ll be learning these exact same moves—and you’ll have a head start if you watch carefully and learn from others.

Blocking Practice

Blocks are a very important part of the taekwondo defense. During a typical class, your instructor will call out a block—such as a low block, outer block, or rising block—and the class will stand in rows and practice this block. There should be plenty of room between each person so that no one will accidentally get hit, and the rows should be straight and neat. Again, the most advanced students will be at the front of the class, and the beginners will be at the back. The rows move forward, practicing the blocks, until the front row reaches the wall. Then, everyone will turn around and practice the blocks going the other way.

Kicking Practice

Since the essence of taekwondo is its kicks, a lot of time will be spent working out your legs. Usually, your sabumnim will start the kicking part of class by having everyone practice the basic kicks, which include the front kick, side kick, and roundhouse kick. All students, from beginners to advanced students, will practice these same kicks. Don’t be discouraged if the advanced students are able to kick much higher, straighter, or faster than you; remember, they started out just like you’re starting out, and with a lot of practice you’ll be able to kick like that, too!

Taekwondo Class

Each taekwondo class is made up of twelve basic parts, or elements. Some days your class might spend more time on a certain element, some days less. But you will work on each of these twelve elements throughout your time at the dojang.

1. Bowing

2. Warming up

3. Blocking practice

4. Kicking practice

5. Punching practice

6. Forms practice

7. Self-defense training

8. One-step sparring

9. Three-step sparring

10. Sparring

11. Board-breaking practice

12. Meditation

Poomse (Forms)
Practice

Poomse —“forms” in Korean—are important parts of offensive and defensive taekwondo moves. With poomse, students are able to combine the various kicks, blocks, and punches that they learn.

There are two different ways to teach poomse in class. One way is for everyone to practice poomse together, starting with the most basic. Then, as the poomse become more advanced, the students who don’t know them will sit down and watch the advanced students practice.

The other way is for your sabumnim to call on individual students and have them demonstrate the poomse they are working on.

Whenever you advance in taekwondo and get a new belt color, you learn a new poomse that you must practice and master.

Self-Defense Training

Self-defense is a very important part of all martial arts, so a portion of your class time will involve learning specific defensive techniques. Students will usually pair off, and one student will play the offensive role—that means he or she is the one attacking— while the other student will play the defensive role—that means he or she avoids or breaks the attack. Once again, you may just have to watch at first, since you won’t yet know the defensive moves. But soon you’ll learn how to block a strike, how to break a hold, and how to evade an attack.

Sparring Practice

You probably won’t practice sparring for some time. Sparring is basically practicing different kicks, punches, blocks, and poomse. Some of the more advanced students might demonstrate their skill in these areas by practicing no-contact sparring. This means that while they perform punches and kicks, they don’t actually touch their opponent—or if they do touch their opponent, it is only very lightly. No-contact sparring is a good way to practice your moves and judge how an opponent will react, without worrying about hurting someone or getting hurt. However, you can only practice sparring if your sabumnim gives you permission—he will tell you when he feels you are ready. Be patient, and in the meantime watch the advanced students sparring, and try to learn from them.

Board-Breaking Practice

Board breaking is a great way for students to demonstrate how much power is behind their kicks and punches. You won’t be breaking boards as a white belt, but by watching the more advanced students practice board breaking you should be able to observe how much power you’ll gain during the course of your training.

END OF CLASS

The class ends like it began—by lining up in order of rank, bowing to the flags and bowing to the instructor. However, this time, when you bow to your sabumnim, you will also say, “Gamsa hamnida,” which means “Thank you for teaching us.” Your instructor will say, “Chun mun a yoe,” which means “You’re welcome.”

You will also meditate again at the end of class. This may be a bit harder to do now that your adrenaline is pumping, but it’s very important to calm your body and focus your mind before leaving class. Close your eyes and take slow, deep breaths. Now you are ready for life outside the dojang.

If this was your first class, you may get home and feel like you’ve already forgotten everything you just learned. Don’t worry! The more you practice, the better you’ll remember. Also, you may wake up the next morning feeling very sore. This is so because your body needs time to adjust to the new moves. Make sure you take your time stretching and warming up before and after each practice. Before you know it, you’ll be performing kicks, punches, and blocks with ease!

Safety

At first, it may seem like things inside the dojang are pretty strict: You have to wear a uniform; you have to bow and be respectful to your sabumnim; and you can’t wrestle around or joke with your friends. But you’ll quickly realize that all of these rules are for the best; without them, people could very easily get hurt.

Words to Know

Chul sa: Line up

Doe rha: Turn toward (the flag or your instructor)

Kyung yet: Bow

An jo: Sit down

Myung sang: Meditate

Ela sutt: Stand up

Gamsa hamnida: “Thank you for teaching us.”

Chun mun a yoe: “You’re welcome.”

Here are some other safety tips to keep in mind when practicing taekwondo.

• Keep your nails short: This may sound silly, but it can be really dangerous to have long nails or ragged nails—you could cut or scratch yourself or other students while practicing. Also, you might not be able to make a fist properly. So be sure to keep your nails trimmed neatly.

• Remove all jewelry: Before practicing, take off your watch, rings, or other jewelry that you have on, as they could get caught in someone’s hair or uniform, or even cut someone. If you have any jewelry that can’t be taken off—such as earrings that need to be kept in—then be sure to cover these items with athletic tape. You may feel and look a bit silly, but it’s better than hurting yourself, or someone else.

• Take your time and be precise: Once you’ve been to class a few times, you’ll probably be one of the students practicing your techniques. An easy way to hurt yourself, or someone else, is to practice your kicks and punches too fast, or sloppily. You should be slow and precise in whatever you do, and you should never try to show off—you won’t learn much that way, and you could even wind up hurting yourself. Try not to watch other students while you practice, unless you’re hoping to learn from them. Remember, the class is not a competition, and it’s important for you to have a solid foundation if you want to advance.

WHAT’S NEXT?

It’s important for you to keep in mind that taekwondo is not a sport in the same way that football, baseball, and soccer are sports. Martial arts are ways of life—this means that while you learn kicks and punches, you also learn how to treat others with respect, how to be humble (which means you don’t show off), and how to work hard. All of these things take a lot of time to learn, and you’ll have to practice for years before you know the moves—and the way of life—of a black belt. Be patient, and treat each class as an important step along the way.

Training Tip

The dojang is not a playground. You should never run around inside the dojang, or yell or be rowdy. You should always listen to your sabumnim, as well as to the students who are more advanced than you.