The History of Taekwondo

8/13/2019 The History of Taekwondo

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THE HISTORY OF TAEKWONDO

By Glen R. MorrisA Report for Recommendation Black Belt Testing 1994

Before I get into the history of Taekwondo, I would like to define what itmeans. I read the definition from many books and the one that I like bestcomes from the book Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts (1)written by onnF. raeger and !obert ". #mith. $Taekwondo is an empty%hand combat formthat entails the use of the whole body. Taemeans $to &ick$ or $#mash withthe feet,$ Kwon implies $punching$ or $destroying with the hand or fist,$and Do means $way$ or $method.$ Taekwondo thus, is the techni'ue ofunarmed combat for self defense that involves the skillful application oftechni'ues that include punching, (umping kicks, blocks, dodges, parryingactions with hands and feet. It is more than a mere physical fighting skill,

representing as it does a way of thinking and a pattern of life re'uiring strictdiscipline. It is a system of training both the mind and the body in which greatemphasis is placed on the development of the trainee)s moral character.$

Taekwondo is a martial art that in $todays$ form of self defense has evolvedby combining many different styles of martial arts that e*isted in &orea overthe last +, years and some martial arts styles from countries that surround&orea. Taekwondo incorporates the abrupt linear movements of &arate andthe flowing, circular patterns of &ung%fu with native kicking techni'ues. -verfifty typically Chinese circular hand movements can be identified in modern

Taekwondo.(1)A few of the earlier martial arts styles that contributed toTaekwondo are T)ang%su, Taek &yon, also known as #ubak, Tae &won,&wonpup and Tae &wonpup. There are also influences from /udo, &arate,and &ung%fu.

$The earliest records of Taekwondo practice date back to about 0 B.C.uring this time, &orea was divided into three kingdoms #illa, which wasfounded on the &yong(u plain in 01 B.C.2 &oguryo, founded in the 3alu !iver4alley in 51 B.C.2 and 6aekche, founded in the southwestern area of the&orean peninsula in 78 B.C..$(2)Tae &yon 9 also called #ubak: is considered

the earliest known form of Taekwondo. 6aintings from this time period havebeen found on the ceiling of the ;uyong%chong, a royal tomb from the&oguryo dynasty. The paintings show unarmed people using techni'ues thatare very similar to the ones used by Taekwondo today.

Although Taekwondo first appeared in the &oguryo kingdom, it is the #illa)s


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throughout &orea. #illa was the smallest of the three kingdoms and wasalways under attack by /apanese 6irates. #illa got help from &ing=wanggaeto and his soldiers from the &oguryo kingdom to drive out thepirates. uring this time a few select #illan warriors were given training inTaek &yon by the early masters from &oguryo. The Taek &yon trainedwarriors then became known as the


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In 7 the /apanese invaded &orea and occupied the country for 5 years.To control &orea)s patriotism, the /apanese banned the practice of all militaryarts, &orean language and even burned all books written in &orea. This banwas responsible for renewed interest in #ubak. ;any &oreans organiEedthemselves into underground groups and practiced the martial arts in remoteBuddhist temples. -ther people left &orea to study the martial arts in othercountries like China and /apan. In 7D5 /udo, &arate and &ung%fu wereofficially introduced to the &orean residents and the martial arts regainedpopularity. In 7D0 &orea was liberated. In the last few years before liberation,there were many different variations of #ubakTaek &yon in &orea. This wasdue to all of the other martial arts influence on it.

The first Taekwondo school 9&wan: was started in 3ong Chun, #eoul, &oreain 7D0. ;any different school were opened from 7D0 through 7. >achschool claimed to teach the traditional &orean martial art, but each schoolemphasiEed a different aspect of Taek &yon#ubak. This caused differentnames to emerge from each system, some of them were #oo Bahk o, &wonBop, &ong #oo o, Tae #oo o and &ang #oo o.

The &orean Armed Forces were also formed in 7D0 and in 7D #econdlieutenant


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Tigers. The &orean war ended in 705. In 70D, =eneral


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715 created a new international governing body called the "orld TaekwondoFederation 9"TF:, which coincided with the first "orld TaekwondoChampionships that were held in #eoul, &orea. At the first inaugural meeting,n 3ong &im was elected as president of the "TF and drafted a charter forthe federation. The "TF is the only official organiEation recogniEed by the&orean government as an international regulating body for Taekwondo.

The "orld Taekwondo Federation has since made a ma(or effort tostandardiEe tournament rules and organiEe world class competitions. After the+nd "orld T& Championship in #eoul, the "TF became an affiliate of the=eneral Assembly of International #ports Federation 9=AI#F:, which has tiesto the International -lympic Committee 9I-C:. The I-C recogniEed andadmitted the "TF in /uly 78. In 78+ the =eneral #ession of the I-Cdesignated Taekwondo as an official emonstration #port for the 788-lympic =ames in #eoul, &orea.

#ince ;odern%day Taekwondo)s official birth on April 77, 700, itsdevelopment as a sport has been rapid. -ver 5 million people practiceTaekwondo in more than 70 countries.

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The History of Taekwondo