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2. Indomitable Spirit / Indomitable Attitude
3. Advance Bravely / Indomitable Spirit
4. Indomitable / Persistence / Fortitude
6. Taekwondo Tenets / Spirit of Taekwon-do
7. Unbreakable
Korean Only
百折不屈 is a Korean proverb that means “indomitable spirit,” at least, that is the way it is commonly translated in martial arts circles (Taekwondo, Hapkido, etc.).
The literal translation is “[one] hundred [times] broken [still] don't succumb.”
Or more naturally translated, “Even if attacked/beaten one hundred times, still be undaunted/indomitable.”
Notes:
Some will say this is one long word rather than a proverb.
This is also a proverb/word in Chinese though rarely used in modern times.
Fukutsu no Seishin
This proverb creates an image of a warrior bravely advancing against an enemy regardless of the odds.
This proverb can also be translated as “indomitable spirit” or “march fearlessly onward.”
See Also: Indomitable | Fortitude
不屈 is the short form of a longer Chinese word and also a word used in Korean and Japanese to express the idea of being indomitable. It literally means “will not bend,” “will not crouch,” “will not yield,” “will not flinch,” or “will not submit.”
Note: Some will translate this as “indomitable spirit”; however, technically, there is no character to suggest the idea of “spirit” in this word.
不屈不撓 means “Indomitable” or “Unyielding.”
不屈不撓 is a long word by Chinese standards. At least, it is often translated as a single word into English. It's actually a proverb in Chinese.
If you want to break it down, you can see that the first and third characters are the same. Both mean “not” (they work as a suffix to make a negative or opposite meaning to whatever character follows).
The second character means “bendable.”
The last means “scratched” or “bothered.”
So this really means “Won't be bent, can't be bothered.” I have also seen it written as “Will not crouch, will not submit.” This comes from the fact that the second character can mean “to crouch” and the last can mean “to submit” (as in “to give in” such as “submitting to the rule of someone else”). This may explain better why these four characters mean “indomitable.”
Notes:
Some will translate this as “indomitable spirit”; however, technically, there is no character to suggest the idea of “spirit” in this word.
Other translations include indefatigability, indomitableness, or unremitting tenacity.
The first two characters can be stand-alone words in Chinese.
In Japanese, this is considered two words (with very similar meanings). It's more common to see the word order flipped to 不撓不屈 in Japanese.
The same characters are used in old Korean Hanja. Just like in Japanese, the words are swapped to 不撓不屈 creating a word pronounced “불요불굴” in Korean.
See 不撓不屈
跆拳道精神禮義廉耻忍耐克己百折不屈 is General Choi's writing that is often called “The Tenets of Taekwon-do.”
The actual title would be translated as “Taekwondo Spirit” or “The Spirit of Taekwondo.” It was originally written in Korean Hanja (Chinese characters used in Korea for about 1600 years).
General Choi's original calligraphy is shown to the right. Your custom calligraphy will be unique, and not an exact match, as each calligrapher has their own style.| Traditional Korean Hanja | Modern Korean Hangul | Pronunciation | English |
| 跆拳道精神 | 태권도정신 | tae gweon do jeong sin | Taekwondo Spirit |
| 禮儀 | 예의 | ye yi | Courtesy / Etiquette / Propriety / Decorum / Formality |
| 廉耻 | 염치 | yeom ci | Integrity / Sense of Honor |
| 忍耐 | 인내 | in nae | Patience / Perseverance / Endurance |
| 克己 | 극기 | geug gi | Self-Control / Self-Denial / Self-Abnegation |
| 百折不屈 | 백절불굴 | baeg jeor bur gur | Indomitable Spirit (Undaunted even after repeated attacks from the opponent) |
| Note that the pronunciation is the official version now used in South Korea. However, it is different than what you may be used to. For instance, “Taekwon-do” is “tae gweon do.” This new romanization is supposed to be closer to actual Korean pronunciation. | |||
壊れない means unbreakable in Japanese.
The first two characters mean to be broken, to break, to fall through, and to come to nothing. But the last two characters create a negative meaning (like adding “un-” to “breakable”).
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
See Also: Indomitable Spirit
廉耻精進忍耐遵守克己謙遜百折不屈 are the tenets of Tang Soo Do.
| English | Old Hanja | Modern Hangul | Pronunciation |
| 1. Integrity | 廉耻 | 렴치 or 염치 | yeom ci |
| 2. Concentration | 精進 | 정진 | jeong jin |
| 3. Perseverance | 忍耐 | 인내 | in nae |
| 4. Respect & Obedience | 遵守 | 준수 | jun su |
| 5. Self-Control | 克己 | 극기 | geug gi |
| 6. Humility | 謙遜 | 겸손 | gyeom son |
| 7. Indomitable Spirit | 百折不屈 | 백절불굴 | baeg jeor bur gur |
After some research, it appears this list was compiled in English based on Taekwondo tenets. We filled in a few of the words that did not have a corresponding Hanja or Hangul. If someone else has a better list with characters included, please contact me.