Taekwondo: broken down, the word, “Tae” means foot, “Kwon” means hand, and “Do” means art. Together, we have the art of the hand and the foot.
According to World Taekwondo Federation, taekwondo is an art of self-defense that originated in a tiny kingdom in current day Korea. It is one of the oldest martial art forms in the world, beginning 2,000 years ago. The area was constantly under attack, so the king established a system of protection. The sons of the nobles were trained in combat and discipline. The young warriors were also trained in history, philosophy and poetry. The combination of skills made the art form applicable for every day lives, not just for battle.
Taekowndo was brought to the United States in the 1950s. It is now the most practiced martial art in the world, with over 20 million practitioners. The Olympics validated it as a sport when it appeared in the Korean 1988 Olympic games. Now it is commonly practiced to provide self-defense, but also to improve character, self-discipline and confidence that can be applied to any task.
Elias Aquino ’16 is a testimony to these qualities. He is a Connecticut College senior from Los Angles, California. Majoring in Music and Botany, he is finding a connection between the two studies with German (the language of both plants and music). While applying to colleges, he heard about Connecticut College and became interested in the honor code. “Conn’s honor code is similar to taekwondo,” he said in an interview. Speaking in more depth, Aquino explained that Conn and taekwondo strive to balance individuals and build their honor. Taekwondo does this through building technique, working toward a goal, and respecting the instructor and the Korean flag, which hangs in every studio. Connecticut College does so though engaging the intellect and fostering a community of passionate people who participate in shared governance. Both encourage individuals to accept their deficiencies and work towards improvement. Because taekwondo had been such an influential part of his life, Aquino was enchanted by the idea of a school with taekwondo values.
Aquino has been practicing taekwondo since middle school. He became involved with a studio because of an invitation from family friends. As middle school is a challenging time for most children, Aquino was eager to get involved with an athletic endeavor that demands physical and mental focus. Aquino channeled his frustration from school into improving his form and technique. Aquino said that the practice helped him loose weight, gain focus and find a channel for his energy. Taekwondo works on a belt ranking system. Because of this, there is always a goal in mind. The higher up the belt rank, the more challenging the level is to pass. The constant goal makes it easier to get back up again after a bump in the road. “They were happy years,” recalled Aquino, “I felt more in control of my life.”
When Aquino first came to Connecticut College as a freshman, he joined a martial arts club, but was disappointed to find the lack of taekwondo. Then he attempted to create a taekwondo club, but was unsuccessful. There were many reasons that pilled up: he was challenged to find members; he wasn’t registered, so he was short on advertising; he became involved in other things and his focus was distracted. He drifted away from his practice. While studying abroad in Germany, he was reintroduced to the art form when joining a taekwondo club on the German campus. This experience inspired him to get back into taekwondo.
Returning to Conn in his senior year, Aquino has been practicing four times a week with a couple of fellow students. They meet in the athletic center in the zumba- boxing room on Wednesdays at 4:30pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, and Saturdays and Sundays at 3:00pm. Repeatedly, Aquino said, “No experience is needed!” He wants more people to know about the club and be willing to try something new.
If you want to work on your strength, loose some weight, improve your grade and have fun, email Elias Aquino for more information at eaquino@conncoll.edu . •
