Taekwondo: Fast and Furious

Taekwondo is a traditional Korean martial art with its trademark resting in its combination of kicks and means “foot-fist way” with the “do” indicating the state of harmony with oneself. It takes its roots in the Karate of Okinawa, Japan, although the signature kicks, slashes and spinning of modern Taekwondo bears little resemblance to the ground-rooted, reverse-punching techniques of its island of origin. It primarily evolved in Korea over the past 50 years.

The earliest practice of Taekwondo is dated back in 50 B.C. when Korea was still divided into three kingdoms of Silla, Koguryo, and Paekche. The Hwarang warriors of Silla are the ones responsible for the development and spread of the martial art all over the country even though it (Taekwondo) originated in the kingdom of Koguryo.

Silla was the smallest of the three kingdoms and was often harassed by Japanese Pirates and so, Silla asked for the assistance of Gwanggaeto from the kingdom of Koguryo. Selected warriors from Silla were trained in Taek Kyon by the early masters of Koguryo and later became known as the Hwarang warriors mentioned previously. This group of warriors founded a military academy for the sons of royalty in Silla called Hwarang-do, meaning “The way of flowering manhood”. The academy teaches Taek Kyon, history, Confucian Philosophy, ethics, Buddhist morality, and military tactics. The main principles of the Hwarang were: loyalty, filial duty, trustworthiness, valor, and justice. The Hwarang travelled around Korea in order to widen their knowledge on the different regions and people and, in the process, spread Taek Kyon.

Taek Kyon was often used as a sport and recreational activity during the Silla dynasty (AD 668-AD 935). Taek Kyon changed to Subak and when King Uijong was on the throne from 1147-1170, the focus of Subak from a system that promotes fitness to primarily a fighting art. During the Japanese invation in 1909, military arts were banned along with Korean language and all the books written in Korea. This ban renewed interest in Subak, so as a countermeasure, many Koreans organized underground groups and practiced martial arts in remote Buddhist temples while others left Korea to study martial arts in countries like China and Japanese. In 1943, Judo, Karate and Kung-fu were officially introduces to Korea and eventually gained popularity with the residents. By the time Korea was liberated, there were many different variations of Subak in Korea due to the other martial arts introduced by the Japanese. The first school, Kwan, was formed in Yong Chun, Seoul, Korea in 1945 and many different schools followed through 1960.  

Taekwondo evolved through the combination of different styles of Korean martial arts and the martial arts in the surrounding area in the last two millennia. It integrates the abrupt linear movements of Karate and the flowing, circular patterns of Kung-fu with native kicking techniques. Other influences are from: T'ang-su, Taek Kyon (Subak), Tae Kwon, Kwonpup, and Tae Kwonpup, as well as Judo.

The original Five Codes of Human Conduct have been correlated into the so-called Eleven Commandments of modern day Taekwondo:

Loyalty to your country

Faithfulness to your spouse

Respect your brothers and sisters

Respect your teachers

Indomitable spirit

Finish what you begin

Respect your parents

Loyalty to your friends

Respect your elders

Never take life unjustly

Loyalty to your school

Here is a video of the martial art taken from Youtube:

Taekwondo was the first martial arts that I have taken notice of, but, ironically, I haven’t had any chance to learn it. At the start of the past few summers, I initially planned to attend Taekwondo lessons, however my mind keeps on changing and I ended up doing something else [or sometimes nothing at al…]. It also seems to be more of my style too, with the kicking combinations and such since I’m not too comfortable with always grappling or any kind of body contact at all. My friend who took taekwondo lessons said that it was a “middle ground” between Arnis and Muay Thai in terms of discipline and intensity but that may also be because of their coach (according to her). While my other friend said that during her first lesson, she underestimated it to be a breeze, but on the night after their second day of training, she said that she cannot feel her legs… So I guess Taekwondo is similar to other martial arts in terms of discipline and the intensity of training and I have to experience it myself to further comment on it. I just hope that luck is on my side when enrollment comes for summer so that I can register it as a PE class. 

Sources:

Stepan, C. (2008). Taekwondo. Australia: New Holland Publishers.

Morris, G. R. (n.d.). Taekwondo History. Retrieved March 25, 2013 from 

 http://www.worldtaekwondo.com/history.htm

Video from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqYCNSH-Wjo