Discourse Community

Growing up I have been part of many different communities. I have enjoyed several different activities such as basketball, football, soccer and the one that I am a true expert at is Taekwondo. I started doing Taekwondo in the 6th grade. Moving from a foreign country, made me really appreciate the sport because it had help me settle in into American culture rather quickly. Being part of the team made me feel Important and unique because in the United States Taekwondo is big but not as big as some of the other sport that I stated earlier.

Learning the coded language provides you with the necessary skills to become a true Taekwondo fighter. In life people take part in many different activities; during these activities you experience a variety of things. While experiencing you become part of their discourse community. In my ventures I have had many different hobbies. Taekwondo was one of the sports that I have participated in. In the art of Taekwondo there is a lot that goes on such as, competitions: forms, style, sparring, and even the language. I began to learn these special traits when I started Taekwondo three years ago.

When you enter a Taekwondo “dojo”, that means school, the first thing you do is “bow”. Bowing is a sign of respect, and that is exactly what they are all about. When I first started Taekwondo it felt like I was a human being that landed on a planet of aliens. It is obligated that you have knowledge of the art if you are planning to make it on top or even fit in the discourse community. Knowing the specific terms, techniques and the, language, requires hours of practice and hanging around other experts. Of course starting out you weren’t expected to know anything, so they have trainers to get you adjusted.

The first thing I learned was “yes sir”; anything that was asked had to be responded with a “yes sir, no sir, yes ma’am, or no ma’am”. If those exact words didn’t come out your mouth push-ups would be your punishment. When you are taking classes there are different words you use for different punches, kicks, and blocks. Some words that are very important were “Sa bao nim” meaning teacher, “Chagui” equals kick, and “makgui” translates to block. As time went by I started to ease in day by day into their small discourse community.

The language got easier and became part of my expertise. The initiation process for this sport is not very complex. It is a matter of earning different ranks, learning the terminology, and being able to work as a team. The ranking system involves different colored belt. A beginner starts with a white belt and as you become more experienced, you will receive higher ranked belts ending with a black as the most experienced. While you go trough the rankings you become more of a connoisseur of the sport. Learning the terminologies is also attached to your ranking.

Earning the different ranks didn’t require a multitude of things. Simply testing for your knowledge of the obligated materials and terminologies will decide your promotion. If all requirements were met you would move up a rank. All these advancement are also made while being in a team-structured environment. Time to time, we host many different events such as a potluck for the parents and kids to come and enjoy their selves as one Taekwondo family. Children begin at an early age; the youngest child that I have witnessed in our “dojo” (school) was two years old.

As the kids get older they began to practice the regular rituals of being a true Taekwondo martial artist. After Practicing Taekwondo for a while, trainers develop ways of passing their talents on to the yougins. We also follow each other’s body language so we could tell what move to make in a “sparring match” meaning fighting match. Into our discussions we utilize ‘KO’d,” “disqualified,” “king ho’s”. The words that we use are so close to other martial arts, we inherit words such as “sensei” meaning master and “cha-ryot,” meaning attention. After all, almost all words are attached with a physical move.

It is essential to know the body language because sometimes you might encounter an opponent that knows the same spoken language. When in such situation you rely on mainly body language and signs directions from your coach when to indicate when to attack. Scoring a point takes precision and skills. There are many ways of scoring a point. In the years that I have practiced the sport, these are the basics. The first way that I learned of scoring a point is kicking your opponent in the stomach area. Another way of getting a point is to also strike your rival with a kick in the head.

Knocking your rival several times could earn you a point as well. This last one is not very common, however, there are sometimes where your opponent is very clumsy and that is where you use your talent. As far as skills go there is a special move that is called a “V step kick” that I use very often. The “V step kick” could be very helpful. When you perform this move, your opponent thinks that he or she is able to kick you. However, you have put yourself into a position to wait for his attack to counter so you can earn a point of your own. Our school is not very big at attacking in sparing matches.

If you take part in our discourse you will know that our team has a “wait for——–it,” and “hit don’t get it“ policy. Many others prefer the offensive style of fighting but for us we are focused on mainly being on the defensive side. Being a defensive fighter has its ups and downs but almost all our fighters have succeeded with this technique. When you fight defensively; you conserve power, stamina and speed. We strongly believe if you “wait for————-it”, meaning staying calm, and relax to execute a counter attack is way better than attacking vaguely. Even our offense is designed to be similar to a defensive attack.

Our offense is based on the “ hit don’t get hit” policy. When attempting the “hit don’t get it” you attack striking your opponent then quickly retrieve. If performed right, the “hit don’t get hit” will earn you a point or two without allowing your opponent to even score a point. Our offense is based with vigorous steps and precision with vivid views, when well executed it is guaranteed to work. With coordination, communication, and competence, your fighting will acquire wins. Our Taekwondo team has built up a reputation for winning sparring matches in tournaments.

In the course of arriving in a tournament they know that we are here to increase our winning record. Our fighters were so good at times we as fighters even forget about loosing. When we finally took a loss it was very hard for us to accept. We did not appreciate losing at all: we were very furious when it happened. As a result, we established a “you win some and you lose some” attitude that basically means it is not the end of the world to lose a match. After a loss we were taught to analyze what happen so we can elevate from it. After a while, we became aware that it is alright to ose. All we had to do was not create the same mistakes that were already made. We developed that learning from your mistakes is a key to a future win. When it comes to fighting everyone wants to win. In the sport of Taekwondo it is not all about that. It is a matter of showing good sportsmanship and having the best attitude as you can. Everything in Taekwondo is associated with Learning whether it is learning the language and how to use it, or simply Learning how to throw a punch. Taekwondo also provides you with self-respect, self-control and self-confidence to live a regular life.