You might have heard that martial arts can help you in various ways. Perhaps someone told you they can help you lose weight and become physically stronger. They can also teach you to protect yourself, and they allow you to feel like you belong somewhere.
Many martial arts go beyond all that. They frequently come with a rule or belief system that can impact all other life areas. In that way, they are almost like religions.
Tai Kwon Do is a prime example. It’s a Korean martial art with five tenets that go along the physical aspect. They are courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit.
Let’s talk about those five tenets and how they can help you in your life.
Courtesy
There are certain things like telehealth medical advancements that can help your life in an immediate and tangible way. Attitudes can also help you, though, and that’s one of the main ideas that Tai Kwon Do tries to teach you.
Courtesy, the first tenet, means that you should speak kindly and respectfully to everyone you meet. That means you treat a Walmart greeter the same way you would your significant other’s parents when you first meet them.
You don’t change your behavior according to how old someone is, their race, sexuality, religion, economic status, or for any other reason. If you’re consistently courteous to people, you can often avoid arguments. You’re channeling positive energy, and you’ll often find that people respond well to that.
Integrity
Integrity means that you tell the truth. You might get in a situation where you feel like lying will be the best way to go. You might lie for material gain, because you don’t want someone to catch you doing something wrong, or for some other reason.
The problem with a lie is that you often need further lies to back it up. You might even have a tough time remembering which lies you told. Later, you may have a hard time maintaining the fiction you created.
When you have integrity, you tell the truth, even if it’s not easy. This way, people can trust you, and you will always have a clear conscience.
Perseverance
Perseverance comes from the root word persevere, which means to overcome. Having the fortitude to overcome obstacles is one of the most critical lessons that you can learn in your life.
There will frequently be obstacles that get in your path. Even those who seem to be born into an easy life will still have challenges they’ll need to face at some juncture. That is a universality that binds us together and makes us human.
When you persevere, you triumph over what stands in your way. At your lowest point, this is the tenet that can get you through the dark times, knowing that better ones are ahead if you grit your teeth and power through.
Self-Control
Self-control, the fourth tenet, is one that you must learn because that is what separates an adult from a child. When a vehicle cuts you off in traffic, and you’re having a bad day, you might feel like there’s a road rage incident brewing inside you.
It’s at that point that you must exercise self-control, count to ten, and let it pass. You can exercise it when your spouse or boss does something that you don’t like.
When you can control yourself, you won’t scream or throw things. Instead, if you have an issue with someone, you can talk to them about it reasonably and calmly. This skill will definitely carry you far in life.
Indomitable Spirit
Indomitable spirit, Tai Kwon Do’s final tenet, is similar to perseverance. Perseverance means that you can overcome an obstacle, but indomitable spirit means that you never say die.
If your spirit is indomitable, that indicates you always believe there is a solution to whatever life throws at you. It’s not just determination. It implies passion as well.
You should live your life passionately, because sometimes, if you have a passive attitude, others will take advantage of you. You can be courteous, as the first tenet dictates, but you don’t need to be a doormat either. This last tenet dictates that you should assert yourself.
Tai Kwon Do is marvelous for many reasons, but the structure these tenets can give your life pushes it beyond any mere hobby. They can sculpt you into an individual who can carve a place for yourself in the world.