Power

Power is very important. It is one of the principles in Martial Arts. Without power your kicks and strikes would be useless. If you cannot generate power, an attacker would just laugh at your feeble attempts of self-defense. Generating power gives one a since of immense confidence. But as Uncle Ben told Peter Parker (Spiderman), “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Often people with power abuse it. Power can inspire or it can cause fear. A powerful Taekwondo student should be one that inspires others to perform and not to quit. By being strong in class while doing form and target drills and adjusting the amount of power they use while sparring these same students (many of them black belts) can inspire the younger belts to give it their all when in class. Be mindful that the amount of power you use in free sparring should not be that same as when kicking a bag or striking a target. If you want to see how much power you have behind that kick or strike, just break a board or two.