Succession

Passing "secrets"

Are there Taekwondo secrets that are only passed from master to successor? A secret is withheld information. If it is not withheld, then it is not a secret. Therefore, the only secrets in Taekwondo are things that an individual instructor withholds from his or her students.

An instructor may not tell young students about a potentially harmful technique for safety reasons, but this does not make the technique a secret since the information is not withheld; it is merely being delayed. In the past, martial arts instructors may have withheld certain information from all but their most trusted students so they could protect their livelihood from students who may want to open rival schools. In addition, some instructors may have withheld information to prevent talented students from surpassing them. In this day of mass information systems, such as the Internet, there are no martial arts secrets. If there were a martial art secret, someone would post it on the Internet and then it would not be a secret. The only secret in any martial art is the dedication, perseverance, and hard work it takes to become proficient in the art.