Tae Kwon Do Equipment

Why you need the best Tae Kwon Do equipment? Tae Kwon Do (TKD) is a combat sport created in Korea and though previous forms existed earlier in Korea's history the form of TKD; we know today was developed and came into being shortly after the Korean War. It is a fun and intense combat sport, but before you can begin competing in tournaments you need the right Tae Kwon Do equipment. To look at TKD you can clearly see it's many outside influences including Karate and other Japanese martial arts, but it emphasizes kicks. It is now the national sport of Korea and has grown in popularity enough to be featured as an Olympic sport. Before you can start kicking ass and taking names you need to train, and you need the right equipment.

Like any sport TKD has plenty of things to wear for working out or to show pride in your sport. There are all kinds of t-shirts that you can wear with pride in both English and Korean. There are warm up suits for other kinds of workouts like running and weight lifting as well. Of coarse there are gi's which are lighter then Judo gi's and are closer to the ones warn in Karate, because there is no grappling in TKD. For under the gi there are sports shorts and sports bras for female practitioners to wear during workouts. The belt showing rank goes around the outer portion of the gi with colors of belts varying by school, and is separated into "junior" and "senior" or "student" and "instructor" sections.

Because safety is important in any combat sport there is a variety of Tae Kwon Do equipment designed to keep a student safe. For the hands there are hand raps and cloth fist and forearm guards as well as elbow protection. Since kicks are such a big part of TKD, there are shin and ankle guards for leg protection. Furthermore, to prevent injury; there is head gear and chest protectors. To protect vulnerable areas there is also groin protection and mouth guards like in other sports. All of this equipment is worn in competition and often in training as well. Because protection is worn all the time it removes some of the combat effectiveness this form of martial arts has and prevents students from learning how to defend themselves in a real life combat situation. Still it is a fun sport and a beginning for self defense training

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