Literally
translated, Tae means, "to kick" or "smash with the feet",
Kwon means "fist" or to strike with the hand", and Do means
"the art, way or method". Together Tae Kwon Do means the art of
kicking and punching. It is the art of unarmed combat for self defense that
involves skillful applications of techniques that include punching, kicking,
spinning kicks, jumping kicks, block, dodges and strikes. What distinguishes Tae
Kwon Do is its truly unique powerful kicking techniques. This sets Tae Kwon Do
apart from all other styles of Martial Arts.
Tae Kwon
Do is more that a system of physical fitness and self defense, it is also
directed toward the moral development of it’s students. It is a system of
training both the body and mind in which great emphasis is placed on the moral
development of the students. Tae Kwon do is a way of thinking and a lifestyle
requiring strict discipline.
The
earliest records of Tae Kwon Do dates back to about 50 B.C. During this time,
Korea was divided into three Kingdoms: Silla, which was founded on the Kyongju
plain in 57 B.B.; Koguryyo, founded in the Yalu River Valley in 37 B.C.; and
Baekche, founded in the southwestern area of the Korean peninsula in 18 B.C.
Evidence of practice in Tae Kwon Do was founded in paintings on the ceiling of
royal tombs from the Koguryo dynasty.
Although
Tae Kwon Do first appeared in the Koguryo Kingdom, it was Silla’s warrior
nobility that spread the growth of Tae Kwon Do through Korea. These Tae Kwon Do
trained warriors became known as the Hwarang. Founded as a military academy for
the young nobility of Silla, the society of the Hwarangdo (the way of flowering
manhood) adopted Tae Kwon Do as a part of its basic training.
In 1909
the Japanese invaded Korea. The Japanese occupied Korea for the next 16 years
and banned the practice of all Korean Martial Arts from being practiced. Little
known to the Japanese this would ensure that the arts would not die. Korean ‘s
fueled wit hatred for the Japanese formed an underground, traveling to remote
Buddhist Temples to study Tae Kwon Do.
Korea was
liberated from the Japanese in 1945, by then Tae Kwon Do was strongly rooted and
began to spread.
The first
Kwan (school) to teach a native Korean style opened in 1945 in Seoul. This
Do-Jang (gymnasium) was named Chung Do Kwan. Later that same year two other
Kwans opened in Seoul, the Moo Duk Kwan and the Yun Moo Kwan. The following year
the Chang Moo Kwan and the Chi Do Kwan were opened. Between the years of 1953
and the early 1960’s several other Kwans opened, the three most prominent were
the Song Moo Kwan, Ji Do Kwan and the Oh Do Kwan. Each of these schools claimed
to teach the Traditional Korean Martial Art, yet each focused on different
aspects. Various names emerged from these Kwans representing different systems.
Different
beliefs between these schools stopped the formation of a central regulating
board of Tae Kwon Do for ten years. In 1955 several masters agreed to emerge
their art and the Korean Taekwondo Association was formed. It is not known how
many of the original kwans did not join, but the only one known to be left is
Hapkido, which is recognized as a separate art in itself.
On
November 30, 1972 Kukkiwon was built in Seoul to train advance students from
around the world. The need for a world wide organization to promote Tae Kwon Do
was present so on May 28, 1973 The World Taekwondo Federation was established.
Since the formation of the WTF, Tae Kwon Do has become the most popular martial
arts in the world today.
The
guiding principles behind the Hwarang-do education were based on the five codes
of human conduct that was established by the Buddhist Scholar Wonkang. They are
as follows:
