Tenets of Tae Kwon Do

Use these tenets to help provide you with a general guideline of how you ought to conduct your life as a martial artist.

  1. Courtesy
  2. Integrity
  3. Perseverance
  4. Self Control
  5. Indomitable Spirit
  6. victory

Courtesy (Yae Yi)

Be polite and nice to others; example:  say “please” or “thank you” as appropriate.

Integrity (Sung Sil)

Having strong ethical values; example:  you return a wallet that was dropped by a stranger.

Perseverance (In Nae)

On the road to success, you will find challenges and experience failures; to persevere you must try and try, never letting setbacks keep you down; example:  you are learning to ride a bike and you keep falling down, but you keep trying and eventually learn to ride without falling.

Self Control (Ja Jae)

Ability to control one’s mind and body; example:  anger can sometimes result in unintended actions; therefore, never act when angry.

Indomitable Spirit (Bool Gul Ye Jung Sin)

Never let overwhelming odds keep deter you; continue to face the challenge with inner strength; example:  the soldiers who landed on the beach of Normandy in WWII had this because knowing that their chance of surviving the landing was low under heavy enemy fire, they eventually took control of that beach.

Another aspect of this is in risk taking.  Take risks and set goals; no one has ever achieved some level of success without taking risks.

Victory (Sung Ri)

Think positively; by thinking positively you can solve problems or win over situations placed before you; example:  Your boss gives you a project that must be done in one week, but you know you don’t have enough resources to complete the project in one week.  A person that doesn’t use “victory” as a guide for their general behavior will probably tell their boss that it can’t be done.  On the other hand a victory-minded person will say “yes, it can be done under the following conditions…”