History
A short overview of the history of Taekwondo, ethics and
etiquettes.
* History of Taekwondo
* Korean Taekwondo Association
* I.T.F. vs W.T.F.
History of Taekwondo
The earliest records of Martial Arts practice in Korea date back to
about 50 B.C. These earliest forms of korean martial arts are known
as 'Taek Kyon'. Evidence that Martial Arts were being practiced at
that time can be found in tombs where wall-paintings show two men
in fighting-stance. Others reject this evidence and say that these
men could be simply dancing.
Back then, time there were three kingdoms:
1. Koguryo (37 B.C. - 668 A.D.)
2. Paekje (18 B.C. - 600 A.D.)
3. Silla (57 B.C. - 935 A.D.)
Silla unified the kingdoms after winning the war against Paekje in
660 A.D. and Koguryo in 668 A.D. The Hwa Rang Do played an
important role at this unification. The Hwa Rang Do was an elite
group of young noble men, devoted to cultivating mind and body and
serve the kingdom Silla. The best translation for HwaRang would
probably be "flowering youth" (Hwa ="flower", Rang="young man").
The HwaRang Do had an honor-code and practiced various forms of
martial arts, including Taekyon and Soo Bakh Do. The old honor-code
of the HwaRang is the philosophical background of modern
Taekwondo.
What followed was a time of peace and the HwaRang turned from a
military organization to a group specialized in poetry and music.
It was in 936 A.D. when Wang Kon founded the Koryo dynasty, an
abbreviation of Koguryo. The name Korea is derived from
Koryo.
During the Koryo Dynasty the sport Soo Bakh Do, which was then used
as a military training method, became popular. During the
Joseon-dynasty (also known as the Yi-dynasty. 1392 A.D. - 1910
A.D.) this emphasis on military training disappeared. King Taejo,
founder of the Joseon-dynasty, replaced Buddhism by Confucianism as
the state religion. According to Confucianism, the higher class
should study the poets, read poems and and play music. Martial arts
was something for the common, or even inferior, man.
Modern-day Taekwondo is influenced by many other Martial Arts. The
most important of these arts is Japanese Karate. This is because
Japan dominated Korea during 1910 until the end of World War II.
During WWII, lots of Korean soldiers were trained in Japan. During
this occupation of Korea, the Japanese tried to erase all traces of
the Korean culture, including the martial arts. The influence that
Japan has given to Taekwondo are the quick, lineair movements, that
characterize the various Japanese systems.
After World War II, when Korea became independant, several kwans
arose. These kwans were:
* Chung Do Kwan
* Moo Duk Kwan
* Yun Moo Kwan
* Chang Moo Kwan
* Oh Do Kwan
* Ji Do Kwan
* Chi Do Kwan
* Song Moo Kwan
The Kwans united in 1955 as Tae Soo Do. In the beginning of 1957,
the name Taekwondo was adopted by several Korean martial arts
masters, for its similarity to the name Tae Kyon.
General Choi Hong-hi required the army to train Taekwondo, so the
very first Taekwondo students were Korean soldiers. The police and
air force had to learn Taekwondo as well. At that time, Taekwondo
was merely a Korean version of Shotokan Karate. In 1961 the Korean
Taekwondo Union arose from the Soo Bakh Do Association and the Tae
Soo Do Association. In 1962 the Korean Amateur Sports Association
acknowledged the Korean Taekwondo Union and in 1965 the name was
changed to Korean Taekwondo Association (K.T.A.). General Choi was
president of the K.T.A. at that time and was asked to start the
I.T.F. as the international branch of the K.T.A. The southern
government was overthrown in 1961. General Choi Hong-hi left for
America and established I.T.F. (International Taekwondo Federation)
Taekwondo, as a separate entity, two years later.
Demonstrations were given all over the world. It took a while
before real progress was made, but eventually, in 1973, the World
Taekwondo Federation (W.T.F.) was founded. In 1980, W.T.F.
Taekwondo was recognized by the International Olympic Commitee
(I.O.C.) and became a demonstration sport at the Olympics in 1988.
In the year 2000 taekwondo made its debute as an official olympic
sport. There were several attempts to unify I.T.F. and W.T.F.
Taekwondo, but unfortunately, these failed.
K.T.A.
In the year 2000 taekwondo made its debute as an official olympic
sport. Taken from a post in the
dojang-digest
The Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) is the National Governing
Body (NGB) for Taekwondo in the Republic of Korea (ROK), just like
the United States Taekwondo Union (USTU) is the National Governing
Body for Taekwondo in the United States of America. The World
Taekwondo Federation (WTF) which was formed in 1973, is made up of
Taekwondo NGBs. These NGBs are members of the WTF, and not
individuals. Individuals may be affiliated to the WTF through their
NGB, but individuals cannot join the WTF directly.
Dr. Un Yong Kim became the 5th President of the KTA in 1971. Dr.
Kim subsequently became the 1st and only President of the WTF in
1973 and around 1990 he gave up the post of KTA President.
Mr. Choi, Sae-Chang became the 6th KTA President after Dr. Kim
stepped down due to his expanded responsibilities in the
International Sports community. Mr. Choi was a former four star
general in the ROK Army and also held the post of Defense Minister.
Mr. Choi was replaced by Mr. Rhee, Pil Gon in 1996.
The KTA is alive and well and probably is the largest, most active
NGB for Taekwondo in the world. For more information, you can write
to the KTA at the following address:
The Korea Taekwondo Association
#607, Olympic Center
88 Oryoon-dong, Songpa-ku
Seoul, Korea
Telephone: 420-4271
Fax: 420-4274
I.T.F. vs W.T.F.
[Gen. Choi]
As mentioned earlier, Gen. Choi established ITF-Taekwondo (which
practices a more traditional form of taekwondo) while WTF-Taekwondo
(which has a strong emphasis on sparring) became an olympic sport
in 2000.
A good-will trip to North-Korea in 1966 caused General Choi to fall
in disgrace in the eyes of the South-Koreans. Choi resigned as
president of the K.T.A. and founded the I.T.F. on March, the 22nd
of that same year. The headquarters of ITF were established in
Canada.
ITF started concentrating on the forms developed by General Choi,
while the KTA (which later, on May 28, 1973, became the WTF)
concentrated on the Palgwe's. Later the WTF abandoned the Palgwe's
and started concentrating on Taeguks. Slowly, the WTF emphasis
turned to sparring. This is also the reason why a lot of people
rather call (WTF) Taekwondo a martial sport than a Martial
Art.
The American Taekwondo Association (ATA) is a smaller organization,
and has many similarities to the ITF. The ATA has a copyright on
the forms of the organization, so these forms cannot be used on
competitions by non-members. There are many organizations, but the
three mentioned above have the most members.
ITF practices the so-called 'semi-contact' part of Taekwondo, while
WTF practices the so-called 'full-contact' part. ITF focuses more
on the traditional way of taekwondo. Since the break-up, there have
been many attempts to reunite WTF and ITF, so-far without success.
There probably will never be a union within Taekwondo.
