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METRO WORKOUT

PHOTO: PRINCE FREDERICK

UNLEASH THE POWER In your legs

Anyone seeking to learn the style propagated by the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) has to make a promise – “I shall build a more peaceful world.” The other two styles, developed by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and the Global Taekwondo Federation (GTF), also promote this goal.

My Taekwondo workout is based on the GTF style, considered the most aggressive. GTF fighters are denied the safety of gum shields, abdomen guards and masks. Until the stitches on his face healed, Taekwondo master Mukesh was an example of what could happen to someone who enters the ring without these safety gear.

I ask the inevitable question, “How can such a violent Taekwondo style have anything to do with peace and tolerance?”

Mukesh shows me how. His Taekwondo workout is preceded by a round of callisthenics that shares much with hatha yoga. His logic is simple: “Even as the muscles are loosened up, the mind is freed of stress, is in the present and is calm. When a student of Taekwondo goes through these preparatory exercises regularly, he becomes more aware and much calmer.”

Straining at the leash, I want him to go straight to Taekwondo fighting steps and show me how they marry love for a peaceful world with the ability to hurt.

As I practise Taekwondo kicks with Mukesh, who is today training a team of school students, I see my legs in a different light. I realise they can be my most deadly weapon. By using my legs instead of my hands in combat, I can unleash six times more power. On Mukesh’s instructions, I use my hands only to guard my face against an imaginary attacker. “In this martial art, you use your arms less. Taekwondo is speaking with your legs.”

To damage a different part of my opponent’s body, I have to kick differently. With a twist kick, I can batter my opponent’s solar plexus. Or, I can go for the jugular with a side kick. A turning kick is for rattling the jaw bones and also smashing the temples. Complicated multiple kicks are beyond my ability, and I don’t even bother to give them a try.

How can a novice like me pull off a split kick, which combines a side kick, a twist kick and a face punch in one jump? With the effect that three men (or women) go flying in different directions.

In all of this, where does mind control come in? “As you might have found out, with each kick you have to concentrate on the movements. In the long run, you will develop great powers of concentration.”

Along with its kicks, Taekwondo comes with a philosophy – tolerance and world unity. Every Taekwondo master is required to instil values in line with this ideal.

What’s in it for my body? “It gets both strong and supple. You’ll be like a python.”

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