Taekwondo—When East Meets West

Taekwondo—When East Meets West

More than a thousand years ago, Korean warriors 1 developed unarmed self-defense techniques to complement 2 their skills with weapons. Martial 3 art masters united the uniquely Korean schools into a single national sport; they called it Taekwondo.

And in the last five decades it has become part of a world wide 1)phenomenon. Known for its spinning kicks and potent 4 hand techniques Tae Kwon Do literally 5 translates into “The way of the hand and foot.”

Taekwondo’s global following led to its inclusion in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Master Cheon coached the American team to victory. Now his focus is to train the next generation of gold medallists. Training requires learning the graceful 6 and powerful kicking, punching and blocking techniques practiced in traditional sets. Students must also become proficient 7 in one-step 2)sparring, short set sequences of attacks and counter-attacks.

David Kang (US Taekwondo Center): Fighting your classmates, or fighting in a tournament you’re gonna be used to that type of situation and when you are actually encountered by somebody who wants to physically 8 harm you—your mind will just click into that fighting mode and you’ll be ready.

Tampa, Florida is home to this year’s junior nationals, a qualifying competition for the national team. The competitors gear up for their matches, they’ll have just three rounds to try and 3)outscore their opponents.

Stephen Lopez (U.S. Olympic Gold Medallist): The way you make a point is to kick above the 4)torso hitting the chest protector or to the face, which are both one point.”

Taekwondo matches are won with strategy and timing 9.

Lopez: It’s an aggressive sport. It’s also very technical. It’s kind of like…chess, you can’t just go out there and fight and expect to win.

Ultimately Master Cheon’s team is outmatched, but as much as this art has come to represent competition and winning…there is still a lifetime of learning in-store for the students of Tae Kwon Do.

注释：

1) phenomenon [fi5nCminEn] n. 现象

2) sparring [5spB:riN] n. 拳击

3) outscore [aut5skC:] v. 得分超过

4) torso [5tC:sEu] n. （人体的）躯干

跆拳道走向世界

    一千多年前，韩国武士摸索出一套徒手的自卫方法，以弥补他们在使用兵器技巧上的不足。武术大师们把韩国独有的武术门派整合，形成了一种国术——跆拳道。

    在过去的半个世纪里，跆拳道已成了一项广受欢迎的世界性运动，跆拳道以其旋转踢和有力的手部技巧著称，因而也被称为“手脚之道”。

    跆拳道在全球追随者众多， 2000年悉尼奥运会将其纳入正式比赛项目。钟师傅就曾带领美国队赢得了胜利。如今，他正集中精力培养下一代金牌选手。跆拳道训练要求学习传统套路中既优雅又有力的踢脚、出拳和阻档技巧。学员必须熟练掌握单步拳击、短促和连串的出击及反击。

大卫·康（美国跆拳道中心）：你要习惯与你的同伴打，或在比赛中搏斗，你要使自己适应那种局面。如果你碰到有人真的想伤害你，你便能马上进入作战状态，准备就绪。

    今年初级组的全国比赛在佛罗里达州的坦帕举行，这同时也是美国国家队的选拔赛。参赛选手都为此次比赛做好了准备，他们必须在三轮比赛中击败对手。

斯蒂芬·洛佩兹（美国奥运会冠军）：如果你能踢到对手躯体以上的护胸，或者击中对方脸部都能获得一分。

    要赢得跆拳道比赛要靠策略和把握时机。

洛佩兹：这是一项进攻性很强的运动，同时它也得讲究技巧。这有点像……下棋，不是说你到了赛场，去打就能赢的。

    钟师傅带领的队伍最终没能获胜。但这项武术运动代表着竞争和胜利，跆拳道的学生仍要终生学习。