Not to be afraid anymore (the best ways for self-defense): Taekwondo

Taekwondo (태권도; 跆拳道; Korean pronunciation: [tʰɛkwʌndo])^[a] is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae (태, 跆) means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon (권, 拳) means "to strike or break with fist"; and do (도, 道) means "way," "method," or "art." Thus, taekwondo may be loosely translated as "the art of the foot and fist" or "the art of kicking and punching."
As many other arts, it combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and in some cases meditation and philosophy. In 1989, Taekwondo was claimed as the world's most popular martial art in terms of number of practitioners. Gyeorugi (pronounced [ɡjʌɾuɡi]), a type of sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000.
There are two branches of taekwondo development:

"Traditional taekwondo" typically refers to the martial art as it was established in the 1950s and 1960s in the South Korean military; in particular, the names and symbolism of the traditional patterns often refer to elements of Korean history.
"Sport taekwondo" has evolved in the decades since then and has a somewhat different focus, especially in terms of its emphasis on speed and competition (as in Olympic sparring). Sport taekwondo is in turn subdivided into two main styles; One derives from Kukkiwon, the source of the sparring system sihap gyeorugi which is now an event at the summer Olympic Games and which is governed by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The other comes from the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF).

Although there are doctrinal and technical differences between the two main styles and among the various organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance, employing the leg's greater reach and power (compared to the arm). Taekwondo training generally includes a system of blocks, kicks, punches, and open-handed strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws, and joint locks. Some taekwondo instructors also incorporate the use of pressure points, known as jiapsul, as well as grabbing self-defense techniques borrowed from other martial arts, such as hapkido (another Korean martial art) and judo (a Japanese martial art).

History

The oldest Korean martial art was an amalgamation of unarmed combat styles developed by the three rival Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje, where young men were trained in unarmed combat techniques to develop strength, speed, and survival skills. The most popular of these techniques was subak, with taekkyeon being the most popular of the segments of subak. Those who demonstrated strong natural aptitude were selected as trainees in the new special warrior corps, called the Hwarang. It was believed that young men with a talent for the liberal arts may have the grace to become competent warriors. These warriors were instructed in academics as well as martial arts, learning philosophy, history, a code of ethics, and equestrian sports. Their military training included an extensive weapons program involving swordsmanship and archery, both on horseback and on foot, as well as lessons in military tactics and unarmed combat using subak. Although subak was a leg-oriented art in Goguryeo, Silla's influence added hand techniques to the practice of subak.
During this time a few select Silla warriors were given training in taekkyeon by the early masters from Koguryo. These warriors then became known as the Hwarang. The Hwarang set up a military academy for the sons of royalty in Silla called Hwarang-do, which means "the way of flowering manhood." The Hwarang studied taekkyeon, history, Confucian philosophy, ethics, Buddhist morality, social skills and military tactics. The guiding principles of the Hwarang warriors were based on Won Gwang's five codes of human conduct and included loyalty, filial duty, trustworthiness, valor and justice. Taekkyeon was spread throughout Korea because the Hwarang traveled all around the peninsula to learn about the other regions and people.
In spite of Korea's rich history of ancient and traditional martial arts, Korean martial arts faded into obscurity during the Joseon Dynasty. Korean society became highly centralized under Korean Confucianism and martial arts were poorly regarded in a society whose ideals were epitomized by its scholar-kings^] Formal practices of traditional martial arts such as subak and taekkyeon were reserved for sanctioned military uses. Civilian folk practice of taekkyeon persisted into the 19thth century.
During the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910–1945), all facets of ethnic Korean identity were banned or suppressed.Traditional Korean martial arts such as taekkyeon or subak were banned during this time. During the occupation, Koreans who were able to study and receive rankings in Japan were exposed to Japanese martial arts. Others were exposed to martial arts in China and Manchuria.
When the occupation ended in 1945, Korean martial arts schools (kwans) began to open in Korea under various influences. There are differing views on the origins of the arts taught in these schools. Some believe that they taught martial arts that were based primarily upon the traditional Korean martial arts taekkyon and subak, or that taekwondo was derived from native Korean martial arts with influences from neighboring countries. Still others believe that these schools taught arts that were almost entirely based upon karate.
In 1952, at the height of the Korean War, there was a martial arts exhibition in which the kwans displayed their skills. In one demonstration, Nam Tae Hi smashed 13 roof tiles with a punch. Following this demonstration, South Korean President Syngman Rhee instructed Choi Hong Hi to introduce the martial arts to the Korean army. By the mid-1950s, nine kwans had emerged. Syngman Rhee ordered that the various schools unify under a single system. The name "taekwondo" was submitted by either Choi Hong Hi (of the Oh Do Kwan) or Song Duk Son (of the Chung Do Kwan), and was accepted on April 11, 1955. As it stands today, the nine kwans are the founders of taekwondo, though not all the kwans used the name. The Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed in 1959/1961 to facilitate the unification.
In the early 1960s, Taekwondo made its début worldwide with assignment of the original masters of taekwondo to various countries. Standardization efforts in South Korea stalled, as the kwans continued to teach differing styles. Another request from the Korean government for unification resulted in the formation of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association, which changed its name back to the Korea Taekwondo Association in 1965 following a change of leadership. The International Taekwon-Do Federation was founded in 1966, followed by World Taekwondo Federation in 1973.
Since 2000, Taekwondo has been one of only two Asian martial arts (the other being judo) that are included in the Olympic Games; it became a demonstration event starting with the 1988 games in Seoul, and became an official medal event starting with the 2000 games in Sydney. In 2010, Taekwondo was accepted as a Commonwealth Games sport.
One source has estimated that as of 2009, Taekwondo was practiced in 123 countries, with over 30 million practitioners and 3 million individuals with black belts throughout the world.The South Korean government in the same year published an estimate of 70 million practitioners in 190 countries.

specifications

Taekwondo is known for its emphasis on kicking techniques, which distinguishes it from martial arts such as karate or southern styles of kung fu. The rationale is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to execute powerful strikes without successful retaliation. Historically, the Koreans thought that the hands were too valuable to be used in combat
Taekwondo as a martial art is popular with people of both genders and of many ages. Physically, taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of wooden boards, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's power.
A taekwondo student typically wears a uniform (do-bok 도복), often white but sometimes black (or other colors), with a belt (dti 띠) tied around the waist. There are at least three major styles of do-bok, with the most obvious differences being in the style of jacket: the cross-over front jacket that resembles traditional Asian clothing, the V-neck jacket (no cross-over) typically worn by WTF practitioners, and (3) the vertical-closing front jacket (no cross-over) typically worn by ITF practitioners. The belt colour and any insignia thereon (if any) indicate the student's rank. In general, the darker the colour, the higher the rank. The school or place where instruction is given is called the do-jang (도장). The grandmaster of the do-jang is called a kwan-jang-nim (관장님); Master (senior instructor or head of do-jang) is called sa-beom-nim (사범님); Instructor is called gyo-san-nim (교사님); Assistant Instructor is called jo-kyo-nim (조교님)
Taekwondo, along with many other martial arts, is traditionally performed in bare feet, though there are specialist training shoes that can sometimes be worn.
Although each taekwondo club or school will be different, a taekwondo student can typically expect to take part in most or all of the following:

Learning the techniques and curriculum of taekwondo
Both anaerobic and aerobic workout, including stretching
Self-defense techniques (hosinsul 호신술)
Patterns (also called forms, pumsae 품새, teul 틀, hyeong 형)
Sparring (called gyeorugi 겨루기, or matseogi 맞서기 in the ITF), which may include 7-, 3-, 2- and 1-step sparring, free-style sparring, arranged sparring, point sparring, and other types
Relaxation and meditation exercises
Throwing and/or falling techniques (deonjigi 던지기 and tteoreojigi 떨어지기)
Breaking (gyeokpa 격파 or weerok), using techniques to break boards for testing, training and martial arts demonstrations. Demonstrations often also incorporate bricks, tiles, blocks of ice or other materials. Can be separated into three types:
- Power breaking – using straightforward techniques to break as many boards as possible
- Speed breaking – boards are held loosely by one edge, putting special focus on the speed required to perform the break
- Special techniques – breaking fewer boards but using jumping or flying techniques to attain greater heights, distances, or to clear obstacles
Exams to progress to the next rank
A focus on mental and ethical discipline, justice, etiquette, respect, and self-confidence

Some schools teach the use of the "sine wave" when performing patterns; this involves raising one's center of gravity between techniques, then lowering it as the technique is performed, producing the up-and-down movement from which the term "sine wave" is derived. Other schools teach that one's center of gravity should remain generally constant throughout the performance of a pattern except where the pattern's description states otherwise.

Philosophy

Since taekwondo developed in several different kwans, there are several different expressions of taekwondo philosophy. For example, the tenets of the ITF are said to be summed up by the last two phrases in the ITF Student Oath: "I shall be a champion of justice and freedom" and "I shall build a better and more peaceful world. Alternatively, the Kukkiwon philosophy, the Han Philosophy, is based on Eastern principles of samje (삼제, three elements), eum (음, yin; negative or darkness) and yang (양, positive or brightness) with samjae referring to cheon (천, sky or heaven), ji (지, the earth), and in (인, a man or a person). The origins of these concepts originate from the Chinese classic "I Ching" which is considered to be an important part of the canon of East Asian Philosophy