History of Tae Kwon Do.Pdf

Tae Kwon Do History Introduction: Although modern Taekwondo has actually only existed for about 50 years (the martial art known Tae Kwon Do was developed between 1945 and 1955 and only became known as Tae Kwon Do in 1955.), it is based upon Shotokan Karate, another 20th century martial art, and ancient Korea martial arts, such as Taekkyon and Subak, that have lost favor in modern times. Tae Kwon Do is a martial art that means "The Way of the Feet and Hands". Writings on Taekwondo history usually portray Taekwondo as an unique product of Korean culture, developed over the long course of Korean history since the Three Kingdoms Era. However, Taekwondo's primary influence came from Japanese Karate that was introduced into Korea during the Japanese occupation of Korea during the early 1900s. Few written records on ancient Korean history exist, so factual information on Korean martial arts is scarce and sketchy. Because of this, most Korean martial arts writers find something in Korean history to support their claims; writers on Tae Kwon Do included. If one researches the history of Tae Kwon Do, in the research they will find differing and sometimes contradictory information. Majority of this information is a summary taken from Reference 1. For more details, please review the entire material on history of Tae Kwon Do from Reference 1. Origins of Tae Kwon Do: Empty-hand fighting did not originate wholly in only one country, but it developed naturally in every place humans settled. In each country, people adapted their fighting techniques to deal with the dangers in their local environments. As trade and politics brought these countries into contact with each other, their various fighting styles influenced each other, sometimes leading to the development of entirely different fighting systems. In ancient Korea, Koreans developed weapons to assist in the gathering of food and for self- defense, and developed their minds and bodies through recreational games and competitions. Each tribe participated in warrior martial art contests during the ritual seasons, contests such as "Yongko," in the Puyo State, "Tongmaeng," in the Koguryo state, "Muchon," in the Ye and Mahan states, and "Kabi," in the Silla dynasty. These activities eventually developed into exercises that were used to improve health or fighting abilities. Ancient Korean warriors trained in the military art "Farando" (which used head, elbow, and foot techniques to fight the enemy). They developed two special systems of training: borrowed strength and shorting of space. Borrowed strength referred to borrowing strength from some great being or thing, such as increasing ones power by having unity with the Great Spirit or using herbs or training devices. Space shorting referred to a special way of walking. The long experience of ancient people in defending themselves against their enemies and animal attacks, as well as their imitation of the defensive and offensive positions of animals, slowly led 6/23/2007 1 Tae Kwon Do History them to develop more effective fighting skills of their own. Some believe this is the true beginning of modern Taekwondo. The earliest influence on Korean martial arts from another country is believed to have been a form of Chinese hand and foot fighting called "kwon-bop" (punching and butting, which was based on kung-fu). Some believe that during China's Sung and Ming Dynasties, "Nei-chia" (internal kung-fu) and "Wai-chia" (external kung-fu) were also introduced into Korea. However, if the statues and murals in ancient Korean temples and tombs do indeed depict ancient martial arts movements (as many believe), then they predate any kung-fu influence. Military personalities were among the well-known prominent national leaders during the Three Kingdoms Era. This military orientation led to the development of warrior groups, such as Koguryo’s "chouisonin" (individual members were called "Sonbae") and the sixth century Silla warrior nobility group known as "Hwarang-do" (individual members were called Hwarang). Both groups adopted Subak training as one of their important learning subjects and both used the same organizational and hierarchical structure. Subak was popularized in Koguryo by the Sonbae and handed down to the Hwarang warrior group in Silla. Subak was further popularized by the Hwarang who added more foot techniques to the art and spread its influence throughout the Korean peninsula. Although Subak first appeared in the Koguryo kingdom, the Hwarang-do is credited with the growth and spread of the art throughout Korea. When Koguryo became so strong that Silla was unable to defend itself, Silla saw the need for special warriors which were called the "Hwarang-do." The Hwarang-do was a philosophical and religious code followed by valiant warriors—not a fighting style in itself. In the beginning, the Hwarang primarily fought using Subak. They studied Subak as a systemized martial art at their learning houses and it gradually became popular among ordinary people. Hwarang-do education based its guiding principles on the Five Codes of Human Conduct: 1. Loyalty to your country 2. Obedience to your parents 3. Trustworthiness to your friends 4. Courage to never retreat from the enemy 5. Justice to never take a life without cause The codes became a way of life for the young men and guided their moral behavior and the use to which they put their Subak training. The codes formed the philosophical background for modern Taekwondo, The Hwarang were warriors who were disciplined at an early age to endure all types of weather and hardships. They further developed Subak, which until then was primarily practiced as an art form, by adding hand techniques, kicks, mental discipline, and principles to transform it into a useful combat skill. Their extensive mountain running endurance training gave them strong legs, and as their leg muscles developed, they began to incorporate formalized kicking techniques into Subak. They developed a martial art system of foot fighting named, "Subak-gi," which is 6/23/2007 2 Tae Kwon Do History believed to be the initial source of the extensive number of kicking techniques used in Korean martial art styles. Due to their superb fighting skills, Silla was victorious over Paekche in 668 AD and Koguryo in 670 AD, and the Hwarang leader, General Kim Yu-Sin, unified the three kingdoms. A time of relative peace followed, which led to a decline of the Hwarang as a military organization. Some of these forms of open hand fighting may have been eventually exported to Japan and formed the basis for Japanese Jujitsu and Karate. The Hwarang-do may have been the forerunners of the famed Japanese samurai. In his book This is Karate, Matutatsu Oyama, a well known authority of karate in Japan, mentions that the etymology of kara may have been derived from the country of Kaya at the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. Toward the end of the Silla Dynasty, the Silla throne was so weakened it could not recover. By 918 AD, the Silla court was dead. By 935 AD, even the name Silla had disappeared. As the Silla Dynasty ended, the Koryo Dynasty developed. When the powerful warlord, Wang Kon, took over Silla and founded the Koryo Dynasty (935- 1392 AD), he named to the unified kingdom "Koryo," an abbreviation of Koguryo. Subak played an important role as a popular sport activity of the people in the Koryo dynasty. During the early days of the dynasty, Subak proficiency was the only required qualification to join the military. Subak became an important national sport, practiced in contests called "Subakhui." Historical records indicate that the format and judgment of such contests became fairly standardized with elements of sparring (kyorugi) and breaking (kyokpa) competition. Subak attracted much attention from both the royal court and the public but, since the early Koryo Dynasty was a time of peace, Subak was of little use to the common man. The invasions from China brought Chinese "kung-fu" to the Korean peninsula, greatly influencing Subak, which became more militaristic in nature. Although Subak was widely practiced, "Kwon Bop" became a more popular art. There were two types of kwon bop, one primarily defensive and the other more aggressive with jumping attacks and evasive movements. During the Koryo Dynasty, Subak became known as Taekkyon, which was written in Chinese characters meaning, "push shoulder." Weapons, such as swords, bow and arrows, etc., were the primary tools of war during this period. Since Subak was used as a supplement to these weapons, it concentrated on "quick kill" techniques. Taekkyon, as the immediate predecessor to Subak, was a very aggressive hard style martial art system that was composed mostly of foot techniques. As the time of peace came to an end, the focus of Taekkyon changed. During the reign of King Uijong (1147-1170 AD), it changed from a system designed primarily to promote physical fitness into a fighting art. However, during the latter years of the dynasty when gunpowder and new types of weapons became available, support for martial arts training slowed and martial arts training for soldiers was minimal. High levels of training were reserved for the personal troops of feudal lords. These 6/23/2007 3 Tae Kwon Do History troops studied the so-called "Oryonkwon" (fist of five kinds), which included "Pogakwon" (fist of cannon strike), "Menhogwon" (fist of furious tiger), "Hugwon" (fist of monkey), "Hakkwon" (fist of crane), and "Chilsonkwon" (fist of seven stars). However, in the latter half of the dynasty, the importance of Taekkyon as a martial art began to decline due to negligence of the royal court, which was constantly dealing with strife between feuding political factions. As the attention of the Korean masses continued to turn away from the martial arts, they turned to philosophy and the arts.

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