| Taekwon-Do History | ||
| Literally, Tae means to jump, kick or smash with the foot, kwon means to punch with the fist and Do means art, way or method, therefore Taekwon-Do means foot hand way. |  |
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| The earliest records of Martial Arts practice in Korea Date back to about 50 B.C. These earliest forms are known as Taek Kyron. Evidence that Martial Arts were being practised at that time can be found in tombs where wall paintings show two men in a fighting stance. Others reject this evidence and say that these men could be dancing. | ||
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During that time there were three kingdoms:
Silla unified the kingdoms after winning the war against Paeke in 668 A.D. and Koguryon in 670 A.D. The Hwa Rang Do played and important role in this unification.
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| The Hwa Rang Do was an elite group of young noble men, devoted to cultivating mind and body and to serving the kingdom of Silla. The best translation for Hwa Rand is Flowering youth (Hwa - Flower, Rang - Young Man). The Hwa Rang Do had an honour code and practised various forms of Martial Arts, including Taekyon and Soo Bakh Do. The honour code of Hwa Rang is the philosophical background of modern day Taekwon-Do. What followed was a time of peace and the Hwa Rang turned from a military organisation to a group specialised in petry and music. | ||
| It was in 936 A.D.when Wang Kon founded the Koyra dynasty, an abbreviation of Koguryo. The name Korea is derived from the name Koryo. During the Koryo dynasty, the sport Soo Bakh Do (which was then used as a military method) became popular. |  Korean Temple. Photo courtesey of Wikipedia. Image details can be found here. |
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| During the Yi dynasty (1392 A.D. - 1910 A.D.) this emphasis on military training disappeared. King Taejo, founder of the Yi dynasty, replaced Buddhism by Confucianism as the state religion. According to Confucianism, the higher class shold read poetry and play music. Martial Arts were something for the common or even inferior man. | ||
| Modern day Taekwon-Do is influenced by many other Martial Arts. The most important of these arts is Japanese Karate. This is because Japan dominated Korea during 1910 until the end of World War II. During WW II, lots of Korean soldiers trained in Japan. During the occupation of Korea, the Japanese tried to erase all of the Korean culture, including the Martial Arts. | ||
| The influences that Japan has given to Taekwon-Do are the quick, straight-line movements, which characterise the various Japanese systems | ||
After WW II, when Korea became independent, several Kwans arose. These Kwans were:
The Kwans united in 1955 as Tae Soo Do. |
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| Taekwon-Do was inaugurated in South Korea on 11th April 1955 following extensive research and development by the founder: Major General Choi Hong Hi, 9th Degree Black Belt. | ||
| In the beginning of 1957, the name Taekwon-Do was adopted by several Korean Martial Arts Masters, for it's similarity to the name Tae Kyon. | ||
| General Choi Hong-Hi required the army to train in Taekwon-Do, so the very first Taekwon-Do students were Korean soldiers. The Police and Air Force also had to train in Taekwon-Do. | ||
Modern day Taekwon-Do is influenced by many other martial arts the main one being Karate. |
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| During the early years, Taekwon- Do was merely a Korean version of Shotokan Karate but in 1961 the Korean Taekwon-Do union rose from the Soo Bakh Do Association and the Tae Soo Do Association. In 1962, the Korean Amateur Sports Association acknowledged the Korean Taekwon-Do Union and in 1965 the name was set as as the Korean Taekwon-Do Association (K.T.A.). | ||
| General Choi was president of the K.T.A. at the time and was asked to start the International Taekwon-Do Federation (I.T.F) as the international branch of the K.T.A. In 1961 the Southern Government was overthrown and General Choi left for Canada where he established the I.T.F. two years later. | ||
| Taekwon-Do was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1967 and was inaugurated into the Professional Unification of Martial Arts (P.U.M.A) on 1st September 2000 where its present form is practiced by approximately 7000 children and adults. | ||
| General Choi Hong Hi died on June 15, 2002 , in Pyongyang , North Korea. | ||
Some further reading can be found at the following links: Tae Kwon Do Junkie |
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