The philosophy of Tae Kwon Do is to build a more peaceful world. To accomplish this goal Tae Kwon Do begins with the foundation, the individual. The Art strives to develop the character, personality, and positive moral and ethical traits in each practitioner. It is upon this "foundation" of individuals possessing positive attitudes and characteristics that the "end goal" may be achieved.

Tae Kwon Do strives to develop the positive aspects of an individual's personality: Respect, Courtesy, Goodness, Trustworthiness, Loyalty, Humility, Courage, Patience, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-control, an Indomitable Spirit and a sense of responsibility to help and respect all forms of life. This takes a great deal of hard training and many do not reach far enough to achieve perfection in all of these aspects. However, it is the physical, mental, and spiritual effort which the individual puts forth that develops the positive attributes and image of both the individual and how he or she perceives others.

By helping mold an individual into a well-rounded and responsible person, the individual can pass onto others, through both his teachings and his personal actions, the principles he has learned through his Tae Kwon Do training. Individuals unite and become a family, families come together and form a community, communities merge and develop into a nation, and nations are what make up our present-day world. In order to help build a more peaceful world, Tae Kwon Do starts with one person at a time. Gradually groups form, dojangs (schools) emerge, organizations develop, until Tae Kwon Do's philosophy has influenced, in a positive way, enough persons, families, communities, and nations, to someday bring about, or at least help bring about, the unification of nations dedicated to helping each other.

The task is not easy. Just like the metamorphosis an individual goes through from white belt to black belt and eventually Master, so the transition of the unification of nations united by laws of peace, is a long and hard task. Tae Kwon Do strives for this unification. Race, creed, and nationality have nothing to do with Tae Kwon Do. They are all one in the same. Tae Kwon Do reaches toward the total development of the individual and the founding of a peaceful world. No matter what color a persons skin, no matter what his religion, no matter where his national boundaries we all seek one thing, Peace. This peace can only be achieved if each person has found peace within himself. Tae Kwon Do reaches toward the cultivation of this inner peace and the development of a well-rounded responsible individual.

The physical aspects of Tae Kwon Do are merely a by-product of Tae Kwon Do. It is the mental and spiritual development of a person which Tae Kwon Do nurtures and helps give birth to. The philosophy of Tae Kwon Do can be attained through the cultivation and maturity of all three aspects of the Art; physical, mental and spiritual, in each individual. Once these three aspects have been instilled in a person, then the total maturation of the person will start a chain-reaction which will, with God's help, lead us to a more peaceful world.

Tae Kwon Do is doing its part to build a more peaceful world, I, as an instructor, am doing my best to attain this goal, and you, as a practitioner of the Art of Tae Kwon Do, have begun to set the world on the path of peaceful unification. Our task is not an easy one. We may not see our goal fulfilled in our lifetime, but we are now planting the seeds which will one day take root and blossom into Tae Kwon Do's philosophy, total positive development of each individual and a peaceful world.

Thus, meditation is practiced to unify the body and mind; thoughts are clarified and actions made more efficient. Knowing (that is understanding that the individual is complete within) provides the ability to act confidently. Concentration also contributes toward achieving optimum performance; as does a sense of calm and determination which overcomes distraction and troubled perception. Life is enriched.

The application of the yin and yang principles further allows certain areas of the body to be utilized to their maximum potential. The yin and yang or the soft and hard areas of the body are trained to react with speed and agility in appropriate ways. The soft areas of the body for instance, are pliable and are not used to resist attack. They are used to allow the opponent to be carried off balance. The hard areas of the body being resistant, are used to fend off the attacker. When applied correctly, the principles of yin and yang place the opponent at a disadvantage.

The individual must realize that to defend one's life means also to risk losing it and by accepting such a likelihood, fear will not cause distraction. The trained mind and body acting in unison is like intuitive reflex. The body's response is synchronized with perception.

Tae Kwon Do is a combination of a state of mind working in unison with a trained body. When kindness and humility accompany physical grace the use of Tae Kwon Do becomes an art. Unlike the western idea of technique and proficiency in skills as the ultimate goal in defensive development, the Eastern idea goes beyond such limits and incorporates the martial art as a way of being one with the world. Consciously living in harmonious unison with all there is around you on a daily basis is the philosophy of Tae Kwon Do in action, not the use of the body as a destructive tool for wanton purposes. What is learned in Tae Kwon Do is the ability to distinguish necessary from unnecessary antagonisms in the cause of self-preservation, not the wasting of energies in fear and destruction. The individual overcomes the lack of faith in one's self through the development of bodily skills and natural strengths in conjunction with a sense of oneness; and the ultimate goal, to live, is achieved.

Self-confidence makes people generous in their attitudes toward weaker people. They can stand equally against any opponent, but their code forbids unfair assaults or unnecessary use of force. The practice of Tae Kwon Do gives an individual the mental attitude of modesty. The virtues of modesty and generosity are fundamentally based on self-confidence. The inner self grows through the constant discipline of emotions. This inner strength of intellect offers a greater amount of time for independent decisions and understanding. Control of immediate aggressions, judgments, and verbal assaults leads one to the path of avoidance of harsh and rash remarks and decisions. Instead of letting verbal or physical satisfaction dominate one's actions, one is constantly striving to offer mutual respect and on occasion, one's pride for submission. The essence of Tae Kwon Do rests in the integrity of the its practitioner.

The martial arts are based upon understanding, hard work, and a total comprehension of skills. Power training and the use of force are easy, but total comprehension of the skills of the martial arts is very difficult to achieve. To understand, you must study all of natural movement in all living things.

Naturally, you can understand the martial arts of others, you can study their timing and their weaknesses. Just knowing these two elements will give you the capacity to knock them down rather easily, but the martial arts are not to hurt, but rather one of the avenues through which life opens its secrets to us. We can see through others only when we can see through ourselves and martial arts is a step toward knowing oneself.

There is a vast difference between combat skills and art. The aim of art is to project an inner vision into the world, to state in aesthetic creation the deepest psychic and personal experiences of a human being. It is to enable those experiences to be intelligible and generally recognized within the total framework of an ideal world. Art is an expression of life and transcends both time and space. We must employ our own souls through art to give a new form and a new meaning to nature or the world. An artist's expression is his soul made apparent, his schooling, as well as his "cool" being exhibited. Behind every motion, the music of his soul is made visible. Otherwise, his motion is empty, and empty motion is like an empty word - no meaning. Art is never embellishment; instead, it is a work of enlightenment. Art, in other words, is a technique for acquiring liberty.

Creation in art is the psychic unfolding of the personality, which is rooted in the "nothing." Its effect is a deepening of the personal dimension of the soul. Artistic skill, therefore, does not mean artistic perfection. It remains rather a continuing medium or reflection of some step in psychic development, the perfection of which is not to be found in shape and form, but must radiate from the human soul.