There are many meanings regarding the effectivness of taekwondo.
This is the story on how taekwondo made a difference in real
battle. The history is written by by LtCol James F. Durand. He
writes how the Korean Marines saved their lives using taekwondo as
selfdefence when they where almost overrun by Vietcong and NVA
(North Vietnamese Army) soldiers during the battle of Tra Binh
Dong.
In establishing the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP), Gen
James L. Jones frequently recounted his observations of Korean
Marines during the Vietnam War. The fact that Republic of Korea
(ROK) servicemen were skilled in the Korean martial art tae kwon do
was widely known, evoking respect among allies and instilling fear
in the enemy. The former Commandant recalled that his own Marines
envied this skill, believing the Korean Marines were the most
feared adversary on the battlefield and that North Vietnamese
soldiers and Viet Cong irregulars would bypass Korean units
whenever possible.
Despite a long and rich martial arts history, the Korean martial
arts program was in its relative infancy at the time of the Vietnam
War; tae kwon do had yet to achieve its current status as a
national pastime or an international sport. Nonetheless, tae kwon
do was a martial art in the truest sense of the word, developed by
a soldier to enhance the fighting abilities of his soldiers. By the
time the first servicemen deployed to Vietnam, all branches of the
Korean military had implemented martial arts training programs.
Moreover, it was in Vietnam that the value of martial arts training
in combat operations was conclusively demonstrated. Accordingly,
the history of tae kwon do in the Korean Armed Forces provides
valuable insight to American Marines as the MCMAP enters its fifth
year.........continue on
http://www.ttu.no/article.php?story=20050418204745578
Impt highlights:
The role of martial arts training in the battle has been a topic of
discussion for nearly four decades. At the press conference
following the battle, Capt Jung was adamant in his opinion that tae
kwon do contributed greatly to the combat abilities and fighting
spirit of the Korean Marines, both enlisted and officers.24 In a
graphic description, Time noted that martial arts training was
critical to the victory:
It was knife to knife and hand-to-hand—and in that sort of fighting
the Koreans, with their deadly tae kwon do (a form of karate), are
unbeatable. When the action stopped shortly after dawn, 104 enemy
bodies lay within the wire, many of them eviscerated or
brained.25
Asked to provide their opinions for this article, both Taeguk Medal
recipients stated that martial arts training significantly
contributed to the Marines’ victory. LtCol Jung, now retired and
living in Seoul, emphasized two areas in which tae kwon do
influenced his Marines:
First, the enemy suddenly overwhelmed our trenches and continuously
piled up to the degree that we were unable to use rifles and
bayonets as weapons. There were many instances in which we were
pushing and pulling each other inside the trenches. At that time,
Tae Kwon Do became the Korean Marines’ weapon and by hitting the
enemy in his vital parts, we brought him under our control.
Second, it can be seen that the courage to be unafraid when facing
your enemy was trained through Tae Kwon Do. Although we didn’t have
a path of retreat and had to stay in our position, the fortitude to
fight bravely while exposed to the enemy led to victory at the
Battle of Tra Binh Dong.26
Retired MajGen Shin Won Bae, who later commanded the Blue Dragon
unit (now the 2d ROK Marine Division) provided similar insights,
noting:
Even though tactics call for fixing bayonets to rifles during close
quarters to neutralize the enemy, our weapon at the time, the M–1
rifle, was not a weapon that could be wielded quickly. In urgent
situations, the Marine in the front would fiercely strike the
enemy’s face and vital parts using Tae Kwon Do, causing him to
momentarily lose his will to fight. Then a second Marine would
finish off the enemy with the rifle. Additionally, striking the
enemy with an entrenching tool was highly effective in destroying
the will to fight among the enemy’s lead elements. While Tae Kwon
Do demonstrated its practical effectiveness on the battlefield,
more importantly, martial arts training instilled the confidence to
defeat the enemy in each Marine. I think this is the greater
significance of Tae Kwon Do training.27