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Definition of Tae Kwon-Do

Tae Kwon-Do literally translates as ‘Way or Art of foot and hand’. ‘Tae’ means ‘to smash, kick or destroy with the foot’. ‘Kwon’ means ‘to punch, strike, thrust and block with the hand’. ‘Do’ represents the ‘way or art’

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It is simply the most powerful system of self defence ever devised and defined as the scientific use of the body in a method for self defence, conditioning the body both physically and mentally gaining the maximum use of its facilities to bring about the rapid defeat of one’s opponent.  More than this however, for some, it’s a way of life!

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History of Tae Kwon-Do

Although many myths and legends exist about its origins and history, martial arts, or bare-hand combat, has been generally accepted as being introduced by an Indian Buddhist monk called Bodhidharma (448-529 AD)

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He reputedly travelled from an Indian monastery to China instructing in the areas of Buddhism (Zen). During his visit he introduced Buddhist monks, in the Shaolin Temple, to a form of mental and physical conditioning and training involving a set of 18 postures (like Tai Chi) imitating temple idols.

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As a result, these monks became the most formidable fighters in China.

Their style later became known as Shaolin Boxing.

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As Buddhism became increasingly popular, it spread throughout other Asian countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and Japan. An increased interaction between these countries allowed for some comparisons and further development of their fighting styles, as well as variations in styles, became apparent between countries.

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Korean fighting styles can be historically traced back many hundreds of years to the three major Kingdoms of Korea: Silla, Koguryo, and Baek Je (6th Century AD).

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These times throughout history were rife with constant and violent feuding between the Kingdoms and their bitter enemies, the Japanese. The survival of these Kingdoms was dependent upon the development of strong armies. For these ancient warriors, mastery of the fighting skills was paramount, as any mistake would result in almost certain death.

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The famous Hwa-Rang Warriors, an elite fighting core, were formed during the Silla Dynasty. These individuals underwent the most intensive training rituals, severe physical    and mental conditioning, including mountain climbing, swimming in turbulent rivers in freezing conditions, as well as training in fighting weapons including spear, bow, sword and hook.

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They placed as much emphasis on training the mind as well as punishing their bodies; and ultimately discovered that mastery of the body comes as a result of mastery of the mind.

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Each soldier strictly followed the Haw-Rang Warrior Code:

• Be loyal to your King

• Be obedient to your parents

• Be honourable to your friends

• Never retreat in battle

• Make a just kill

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Because of their superior courage, ability in the battlefields, and their strict loyalty
and philosophy, their deeds became legendary. The Hwa-Rang Warriors gained the respect of even their most bitter enemies and would go down in history.

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Due to the dominance of these warriors, the Silla Dynasty, although the smallest, became the most powerful of the three Korean kingdoms. The arts of Taekyon and Soo Bak Gi flourished during the Koryo Dynasty (935 AD), after their defeat of the Silla Kingdom. During these times, training in Taekyon was compulsory for all soldiers and perfection was the only way of being promoted through the ranks. Soldiers had to prove their mastery at an annual competition at the Kak Chon temple. Major governmental positions were determined by performance in these fighting skills.

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Over the next thousand years, the martial arts generally became less pronounced in Korea, apart from their military uses, and finally in 1909, with Japanese occupation of Korea, the practice of martial arts by Koreans was forbidden.

The only major survivor of this catastrophe was Taekyon, with much training carried out in secret, many Koreans made their way to foreign lands during these times, where they  could test their art against other styles including Karate, Jiujutsu, Judo, Kung Fu, Tai Chi. This enabled them to improve their own style and gain techniques from other styles.

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In 1945 Korea was liberated from Japanese rule, and many Koreans returned to their homeland, bringing back with them the martial arts knowledge gained from abroad. At this time, the Republic of Korea (R.O.K) armed forces were formed.

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In 1946, after his release from Japanese prison camp, 2nd Lieutenant, Choi Hong Hi began teaching his style of unarmed combat to these forces. Choi was primarily responsible for the fighting training of these soldiers, and later soldiers of most major countries’ armies adopted General Choi’s teaching.

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The R.O.K demonstration teams, led by Choi, were later to become famous for their amazing skill displays while spreading the art across the world, initially in Vietnam,  Malaysia and other Asian areas. Many famous Tae Kwon-Do masters of today were  members of these demonstration teams.

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In 1955 a panel of instructors, politicians and historians, most notably General Choi Hong Hi (dec), decided upon the name Tae Kwon-Do to represent Korea’s national martial art.

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General Choi was credited with the development of Tae Kwon-Do and is universally referred to as the Founder and father of Tae Kwon-Do. He deeply researched and     developed a modern martial art differing from any former art terminology, created techniques, systems, methods, rules, practice suits and philosophy on the basis of his self-confirmed theory and conviction.

Thus, Tae Kwon-Do was named on the 11th April 1955.

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Since then, the martial art Tae Kwon-Do has been improved in the sophistication and effectiveness of its techniques and overall physical fitness it imparts to its practise.

 

In 1959 Tae Kwon-Do spread beyond its national boundaries when Choi Hong Hi and nineteen of his top black belt holders toured the Far East. The demonstration tour was a major success, astounding all spectators with the excellence of the techniques.

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Later in 1965 Choi Hong Hi, the retired two star general now President of the Korea Tae Kwon-Do Association, was appointed by the government of Korea as Ambassador to lead an international goodwill mission. The success of the trip was significant in that during this occasion Tae Kwon-Do was openly declared the national martial art of Korea.

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This announcement lead to the formation of the International Tae Kwon-Do Federation (ITF) on 22nd March 1966, established as the official governing body to ensure the development, management, technical standards and control of the art throughout the world. The original nine founding member countries were: Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany,   USA, Turkey, Italy, Arab Republic of Egypt and South Korea.

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In January 1972 Gen. Choi moved the ITF Headquarters to Toronto, Canada when he was exiled following political discord with the South Korean President and Government of military dictatorship at that time and so was able to facilitate the spread of TKD to the whole world.

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Since this historic period Tae Kwon-Do has spread across 170 countries worldwide with more than 20 million practitioners making this Martial Art undoubtedly the fastest growing  in popularity within the 20th century.

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Tae Kwon-Do was first introduced into the United Kingdom following the arrival of Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha (then 5th Dan) on Sunday 2nd July 1967. The United Kingdom  Tae Kwon-Do Association (UKTA) was established later that same year.