The Tenets of Taekwondo - Courtesy
The Tenets of Taekwondo are typically recited at the beginning and/or the end of each class as a group. The first tenet is… Courtesy. The definition of Courtesy is “The showing of politeness in one’s attitude and behavior toward others.” As students of Taekwondo, we strive to follow these general guidelines associated with “Courtesy”…
We promote mutual concession and understanding.
We are polite to one another at all times.
We encourage the sense of justice and humanity.
We distinguish senior from junior & elder from younger.
We act according to decent manners & accepted etiquette.
We respect the possessions of others.
We handle matters with fairness and sincerity.
Basically, we should display Courtesy at every opportunity not because we are being observed, or because we will be reprimanded if we don’t… but simply because it is just the right thing to do and it is how we should treat others around us. In today’s fast-paced world, it can be difficult to always display genuine courtesy but fortunately we are already armed with valuable tools that will help us in our actions. As martial arts students we are trained to focus and compose ourselves, think, remember, and then perform to the best of our abilities when we demonstrate a movement, free spar, or board break… these same steps apply to our actions when we are outside the classroom!