Tae kwon do is one of the martial arts styles with the most rigorous fitness elements, second only to competitive fight sports such as MMA and muay Thai. Although no specific pushup type is exclusive to tae kwon do, pushups are part of regular practice sessions at most schools.
Pushup Basics
Many people remember the basic form of pushups from gym class. Begin lying face down with the balls of your feet pressed against the ground. Set your hands palms down on either side of your shoulders. Extend your arms to push up your body from the ground with your torso rigid until your arms are straight, but not locked. Lower yourself slowly until your body is 1 inch from the floor, then repeat.
Pushups and Tae Kwon Do
Pushups work your triceps, pecs, shoulders and back. They also engage your core and calves for stability. The triceps, shoulders and back are important for power in your punches. Calf and core strength drive your kicks, especially the aerial and spinning techniques so iconic to tae kwon do. As you increase your repetitions of pushups, you will also strengthen the muscles that stabilize your wrists, which can help prevent injury while punching or delivering other hand strikes.
Hand Conditioning
Tae kwon do practitioners often use pushups to strengthen their hands for esoteric hand strikes. Knuckle pushups force the forearms to work harder for stability, allowing more powerful punches. You will also see tae kwon do stylists doing pushups on the blades of their hands, the backs of the hands and even their fingertips. Each of these variations strengthens elements important to advanced tae kwon do strikes.
Pushups and Rank Requirements
Although the specific requirements for achieving rank vary among tae kwon do schools, most include a minimum fitness qualification. Many of these include the ability to do a requisite set of pushups. In some cases, this is a minimum number of pushups without resting. Other programs require doing pushups for a set time period. Still others simply require personal improvement, asking only that testing candidates do one more pushup than they did for their last rank.
References
- Georgia State University: Upper Body Strength Training
- Ben Cohn; Tae Kwon Do Instructor; Beaverton, Oregon
- Dave Coffman; Martial Arts Historian; Hillsboro, Oregon
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