Taekwondo

	Taekwondo - Korean martial art

Karate & Taekwondo are traditional martial arts that instil discipline, respect, focus, and other character-building, traditional values, as well as teaching the student the fundamental blocking and striking techniques of self-protection.

Taekwondo is made of three words: Tae, which means foot or to kick; Kwon, which means the fist or hand; and Do, which means "The Way" or the path as in a way of life. The translation is 'The way of foot and Fist.

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: Koguryo (37 B.C. - 668 A.D.) Paekje (18 B.C. - 600 A.D.) 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 honour-code and practiced various forms of martial arts, including Taekyon and Soo Bakh Do. The old honour-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, linear movements, that characterize the various Japanese systems.

General Choi was president of the K.T.A. and first decided to use the ancient word of Taekyon as a root from which to develop the current name for the art, Taekwondo.

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. General Choi was asked to start the the international branch of the K.T.A. The southern government was overthrown in 1961. General Choi Hong-hi left for America and established 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, Taekwondo was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.) and became a demonstration sport at the Olympics in 1988. In the year 2000 taekwondo made its debut as an official olympic sport.

The Taekwondo Handbook

Master Foran has also been involved in the creation of the Taekwondo Handbook.

An Invaluable introduction for beginners as well as a handy reference guide for more experienced martial artists. The Tae Kwon Do Handbook is essential reading for all taekwondo enthusiasts.

Get your copy of this handbook by talking to your instructor or contact us to order a copy

	Which martial arts disciplines will you learn with UK Black Belt Schools?
	UK Black Belt Schools incorporates a combination of techniques found in four effective disciplines: Karate, Taekwondo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxing to provide students with a realistic personal-protection system for a modern world. Click on any one of them for more information. By combining these realistic and effective systems of the martial arts a student will be better able to defend themselves in any situation they may conceivably find themselves. Where most systems of martial arts focus mainly on one area of technique, our mixed martial arts approach allows us to train a well rounded student of self-protection.