The 5 Tenets of Taekwondo for Everyday Life

Courtesy. Integrity. Perseverance. Self-control. Indominatable Spirit. These are the five tenets of Taekwondo which all students of the art must abide by. While each tenet is designed to develop the character and skills of Taekwondo practitioners, they can most definitely be applied to non-martial artists during everyday life.

Here’s how:

Courtesy

This tenet is no doubt a fundamental mannerism which we should all be abiding by in our day-to-day living. It refers to being polite, respectful and well-mannered towards others.

Examples for everyday life: Saying thank you when receiving something from another. Offering help to others within your capabilities. Showing sympathy to those who are in a difficult situation.

Being courteous in all facets of life creates a ripple effect in the universe, meaning those same attitudes of care, kindness and respect that you give out will sooner or later come back to you, so long as you maintain your personal standard of courtesy.

Integrity

Honesty is the best policy. Integrity refers to strong ethics and unwavering morals and principles of truthfulness and honesty. It encourages us to focus our concerns on elevating our own character through strengthening these morals, rather than obtaining riches through undeserved revenues or at another’s dismay.

Examples for everyday life: Returning a lost wallet to the rightful owner without expecting a reward. Answering your parents truthfully when asked if you took the garbage out. Calling a shot as you saw it during a game of tennis, regardless of whether it favours you or not.

Having a high standard of integrity will strengthen your character whether you are a Taekwondo practitioner or not. You may lose some short-term gains and free giveaways, but you will hold yourself to a higher standard of living which will inevitably attract the perfect people and things to you.

Perseverance

Perhaps the most important tenet of Taekwondo, and certainly for real-life, is to persevere through hardships to honour your goal or ambition. It means to push through against resistance, or to resist when being pushed against, in order to achieve a greater cause for yourself and for others.

Examples for everyday life: Studying late every night for an upcoming exam to get the grade you need. Sticking to your schedule of going for a half-hour jog every morning regardless how tired or sore you are upon waking. Sticking to a job you love despite other people pushing you to leave or quit.

To have a high-level of perseverance is not an easy task, but is something we can work on every single day of our lives. Being clear about what we want to achieve on any given day and doing whatever it takes to make it, refusing to lose to obstacles and challenges of the self and others.

Self-control

The meaning of this tenet is essentially about controlling yourself, rather than being controlled by exterior people or things. Keeping your emotions, impulses and behaviour in check are classic examples of exercising self-control.

Examples for everyday life: Controlling your impulse to buy junk food on your way home, rather than cooking a more healthy meal at home for yourself. Not reacting to verbal abuse from others in a similar manner. Focusing on your own life and leading it on your own rather than allowing others to lead it for you.

Having self-control means being the driver of your own life. It is important to remember that true self-control stems from good morals and etiquette, which are developed through the previous tenets of courtesy and integrity.

Indominatable Spirit

Quite self-explanatory, to be of an Indominatable spirit means to be unconquerable and unbreakable in your will. Refusing to give up when faced with overwhelming odds, and going head-first into impossible challenges regardless of whether you will succeed in a materialistic sense, as it is all about proving something to yourself rather than others.

Examples for everyday life: Resolving yourself to pursue a career path as an astronaut no matter how impossible it seems for you, or how untalented or unprepared you are for it. Never quitting in your day-to-day struggles to make your life better, despite others pushing you to quit or ‘settle down’.

To develop an Indominatable spirit is to discover the extent of your own will, and to match that with your true character. It means knowing yourself so well that you are able to always honour your morals, codes and ethics no matter what comes at you.

Unlike perseverance, Indominatable spirit is more than just pushing through towards your goals, it is about aligning this push with who you are as a person, and getting in touch with your ‘spirit’. Much like putting your life on the line, this tenet refers to honouring your divine destiny by abiding to your purest and truest values and morals in life, upholding them regardless what you go through.

Tallying the Tenets

Now that you understand each of the five tenets of Taekwondo, you can more easily see how each tenet complements each other and gives birth to the next. It is no coincidence that the five tenets are laid out in this particular order, as you cannot have one without the other.

All things begin with courtesy, the non-negotiable world-view or ideal that we need to live in peace and harmony as human beings, and always uphold respect and love among each other.

Integrity is born from courtesy, as we take action to uphold certain codes of conduct to promote courteous living. There is no point in being honest and truthful if you do not know why you are being honest or truthful.

Perseverance stems from taking action in a positive direction, or having integrity, and builds upon that notion by being more relentless and hard-working in your pursuit towards promoting the prior tenets.

Self-control is a must at this stage, as it is easy to get lost in the journey of perseverance and begin justifying negative behaviour simply because you are working hard towards your goals. This tenet allows us to take a step back, remember the reason we are persevering in the first place, and remind ourselves to uphold our foundational tenets of courtesy and integrity in order to build a more loving and bountiful world.

Indominatable Spirit will start to take its form once these previous tenets have been upheld and protected through one’s actions. Once you are of true conviction in your actions, purpose and understanding of life and the universe, you will start to develop yourself as a truly great human being, capable of protecting what is good and diminishing what is bad.

Living everyday with these tenets in mind will elevate your being into a new realm of awareness and understanding, and your heart will no longer waiver. The five tenets of Taekwondo are absolutely applicable for everyday life!