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The earliest known form of Taekwondo, known as "Taek Kyon" (also spelled Taek'yon and Tae Kyon) dates back to around 50 BC During that time, three kingdoms inhabited Korea: Koguryo (37 BC - 668 AD) in the north, and Paekche (18 BC - 600 AD) and Silla (57 BC - 935 AD) in the south.
Evidence of Taek Kyon was first found in the Koguryo dynasty. Some historians have even discovered paintings on the ceiling of a royal tomb from that time, depicting men using techniques that closely resemble those of modern Taekwondo. Taek Kyon was later introduced to select members of the neighboring kingdom's (Silla) warrior class to help protect them from Japanese pirates. These warriors were known as the Hwarang ("the flowering youth"). Their society, the Hwarang-do, started as a military academy for Silla's young nobility, and adopted Taek Kyon into its training curriculum. During the Koryo dynasty Taek Kyon was combined with the Chinese striking and Mongolian grappling techniques to form Subak, a martial art that heavily emphasized use of the feet. It was practiced for fitness and fighting purposes.
In the Yi dynasty (1397 A.D.-1907 A.D.), the previous emphasis on military training was shifted to scholarly education. Because Subak was rarely practiced, only bits and pieces of what the common people could remember of the art were passed on. In 1909, the Japanese invaded Korea and further repressed its martial arts, replacing them with their own martial arts and sports, such as Judo, Kendo, and Aikido. Nevertheless, patriotic Koreans continued to secretly practice Subak in Buddhist temples throughout World War II and it was successfully kept alive.
Korea was liberated in 1945, and martial arts, influenced by Chinese and Japanese styles and the native Subak, became popular again. Many schools of the Korean martial arts, know as "kwans," were opened. Each school emphasized a different aspect of Subak, giving rise to a variety of names and styles such as Tang Soo Do (a blend of Subak and Japanese Karate).
Finally, in 1955, the government decided to unite the kwans so that a standard curriculum could be established. South Korean General Choi Hong Hi and his committees decided on the name Taekwondo. Several Korean martial arts adopted the name for its more accurate description of the art and similarity to art's original name. Hapkido is noted as one of the martial arts that did not combine with the others, and remains a separate martial art today.
Martial
art, martial sport
Taekwondo was spread rapidly, and several demonstration teams were sent
all over the world. More and more countries requested that Korean instructors
teach their people. In 1965, the Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA.) was
formed, headed by General Choi Hong Hi. A trip to North Korea caused turmoil
between Choi and the South Koreans, so he resigned from the KTA and founded
the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF).
In May 1973, the KTA became the worldwide World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), headed by Dr. Un Young Kim. The WTF was recognized by the Korean government as an international regulating body for Tae Kwon Do and in 1980, it joined the International Olympic Committee. Eight years later, it became an official Olympic demonstration sport. In 2000, it became an official medal sport at the Sydney Summer Olympic Games. The WTF coordinates all Taekwondo activities outside of Korea.
In 1990, the third main Taekwondo organization-the Global Taekwondo Federation (GTF)-was founded by Grandmaster Park Jung Tae. Park was a secretary general of the ITF and had decided to establish his own federation that was free of the politics between the ITF and WTF. Presently, the GTF is most popular in Europe and North America.
WTF
logo (right)
The ITF and WTF federations differ slightly in technique performance and sports regulations (there is no difference between GTF and ITF techniques). ITF concentrates on the traditional, "semi-contact" Taekwondo developed by General Choi, while the WTF emphasizes "full-contact" Taekwondo sparring. For this reason, many people label the WTF Taekwondo as a martial sport, instead of a martial art. There has been much controversy over the ITF and WTF since the break-up. And although many attempts have been made to reunite them, a union still has not been formed in Taekwondo. Nevertheless, all federations, GTF including, have contributed in their own right to the development and spread of Taekwondo.
Like challenges? Take the Taekwondo Quiz.
Images
of "General Choi" and "WTF logo" from
General Taekwondo Information (http://www.barrel.net/history.html).
barry@nauta.be. Aug 2001. Email message.
