The Sungkyun Times

By Nam Ji-hyun Reporter

jeehyunnam@skku.edu

            The SKKU Taekwondo team was established in 1948 as an official varsity sports team in the School of Sports Science at the Natural Sciences Campus. As the first university Taekwondo team to be founded in Korea, the SKKU Taekwondo team has a long history and a tremendous influence on the Taekwondo communities of the world. Recently, Lim In-mook (junior, School of Sports Science) took the gold in the flyweight division at Universiade Bangkok 2007, a competition that brings together college athletes from all over the world. Let’s find more about these players who are representing Korea’s traditional martial art in the world!

The SKKU Taekwondo members agree that the most impressive attribute of the team is its small number of team members. The captain of the team, Ko Dae-sung (senior, School of Sports Science), said, “Other varsity teams have at least forty players each. On the other hand, we only have eight players, so everyone has more opportunity to participate in the games, which is good for developing skills.”

Moreover, training as a small group allows players to build a strong sense of camaraderie with one another. Ji Jae-hun (freshman, School of Sports Science ), the latest freshman to join the team, likes the environment in which the members freely give advice and exchange opinions. The members maintain their strong relationships with each other even after leaving the school. Hwang Seok Rim (junior, School of Sports Science) said, “It’s difficult to get together with members that graduated because most of them are working abroad, but we keep in touch by using videophones over the internet.”

The members are always busy because they are students, as well. When they do not have games, they attend classes like other students and go to practice after class. During seasons of competition, the players concentrate on the regular training that takes place three times a day. In morning practices, the players focus on strategies and tactics. They hold sparring matches, wearing protectors and guards in the afternoons, and in evening practices, the players are given personal time to improve on their weaknesses or to focus on weight training. Practices pit teams from other schools against each other, and this is also a part of their training. Lim In-mook said, “By training with other teams, I’m able to find my weaknesses and learn from other players. For example, high school players come to practice with us during vacations. During matches, I try to be cautious, but I’ve noticed that the younger players are very risk-taking. From that, I can learn about being dauntless in games.”

Kim Bum-soo is the head coach of the SKKU Taekwondo team. He was a member of the national team and had taught Taekwondo to the family of the president of Central African Republic for ten years. Kim, also a former coach of the team in the Asian Games, said that he accepted the job as head coach because as an alumnus of SKKU, he wanted to give something back to the school and the students. However, he stated, “Lately, I’ve been hearing about the school’s plan to cut funding to the Taekwondo team, which is really sad.” Kim is concerned that the school authority might reduce its financial support for the Taekwondo team. Kim sincerely hopes that the president of SKKU will show a little expectancy to the team because the players are getting ready to bring home the gold from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

<Box article> Points Breakdown in Taekwondo Matches.

1) Scoring Areas 

Fist Techniques: Painted areas covered by the trunk protector

Kick Techniques: Painted areas covered by the trunk protector and the head

             2) Points are awarded when full force attacks are delivered on the scoring areas.

The following is a guide for understanding which attacks are deemed successful for points.

l        Sound of impact on the trunk protector

l        Level of abrupt displacement caused by the blow

l        Accuracy of the kick to the face

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