Physical & Health Education 

Year 9: Taekwondo

by Beth Alvarez, Teacher of Physical & Health Ed

Charyot (pronounced char-ee- ot) means ‘get into attention position’ in Taekwondo. Ki Hup (pronounced key-up) is the ‘shout’ or ‘yell’ Taekwondo performers make when they do their kicks and punches. It’s important to Ki Hup with spirit! These are some of the terms Year 9 students are learning as part of their Aesthetic Movement unit in Physical and Health Education.

Our School is no stranger to Taekwondo - alumni Lauren Burns famously won Gold for Australia in Taekwondo at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. We also have current VCE student Holly Victor who regularly and proudly represents Australia in the sport at an international level.

Tae Kwon Do (also known as Taekwondo) is the art of self-defence that originated in Korea. It is recognised as one of the oldest forms of martial arts in the world, reaching back over 2000 years. Taekwondo generally includes a system of blocks, kicks, punches and open-handed strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws and joint locks.

"Alumni Lauren Burns famously won Gold for Australia in Taekwondo at the Sydney Olympics in 2000."

Our qualified instructor from Boroondara Martial Arts Centre has taken our students in Year 9 through various movements and sequences found in Taekwondo. I’m proud to say our students display the mental discipline that we often associate with martial arts training. They have been practising their skills every week and are becoming quite accomplished when generating their momentum and power.

The students’ learning will culminate with their assessment at the end of term when they will be required to perform a ‘one-take’ performance of a choreographed fight scene as their final assessment. Their scene will need to flow naturally and incorporate certain moves and sequences. We may spot a future Lauren Burns or Holly Victor, or even a Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan, amongst our students’ submissions.