Aside from the romantic epilogue, Tkd is an effective martial art that does train the mind and body wkth razor precision. It is one of the most precise and focussed art I have studied. If you want your kids or yourself to have great control over oneself and ones environmental circumstances, then taekwondo is a perfect pill. Imho
Actually in Belgium real scientific research has been done to the benefits of TKD. http://www.sekwondo.be/
I would like to know who told you this as a black belt in ITF I have never been that fast nor have I ever seen a person who can strike so fast that the strike is not seen. One would have to be moving at the speed of light to make this claim. and everything else in this quote is rubbish. If a person studies any art they should be able to defend
Korea's greatest gift? I'd have to say "Hapkido or Kimchee" instead The whole Taekkyeon influence would seem to be exaggerated at best - Karate would be the main influence. I'd recommend Dakin Burdick's research for more info excerpt All that said, as far as the 'practical benefits' go, I love Taekwondo... it's a nice system of martial arts that generally teaches good striking/kicking, movement, breathing and how to use it against a resisting opponent (usually with full contact against limited targets). There are ways to adapt it to being more 'relevant/self defense oriented/ practical/etc', but the core system is good.
I agree about taekwondo kicks. What’s a shame is the impact of competition rules on how a lot of taekwondo’s taught. E.g. because neither sweeps nor kicks below the waistline score points, people can get into the habit of “foot fencing”. Also, I think the lack of hooks and uppercuts in competition can compromise “the art of hand”. That said, all martial arts have their pros and cons. Taekwondo certainly has plenty to offer (amazing kicks, fitness, etc).
TKD is certainly known for its legs and they can be spectacular, but all benefit from it? Sorry but that’s a categoric “no” because there are equally effective and valid options available such as Muay Thai, Karate etc and kicking distance and timing is altered by rule set and physiology of the exponent TKD has the capacity to be a great art in its own right - just don’t try and shoehorn it into everything as a bolt-on, because it doesn’t always fit
TKD like the Shotokan Karate that it was copied from, are great martial arts - mainly applicable for sports use and if that's your interest then that's great.
i am currently doing tkd and i love it all the taeguek forms a amazing and koryo is amazing i love wtf taekwondo. my master said he'd teach me haedong gumdo next(korean swordfighting) im really exited