History of Taekwon-do

Taekwon-do, as the sports discipline has become known relatively recently. Very difficult way it has passed in it's a modern kind.

There is that one of founders of Taekwon-do - general Choi Hong Hi - is saying:

"WHEN AND WHERE DID TAEKWON-DO BEGIN?

A combination of circumstances made it possible for me to originate and develop Taekwon-Do. In addition to my prior knowledge of Taek Kyon, I had an opportunity to learn Karate in Japan during the unhappy thirty-six years when the Japanese occupied my native land. Soon after Korea was liberated in 1945, I was placed in a privileged position as a founding member of the newly formed South Korean Armed Forces.

The former provided me with a definite sense of creation, and the latter gave me the power to disseminate Taekwon-Do throughout the entire armed forces, despite furious opposition.

The emergence of Taekwon-Do as an international martial art in a relatively short period of time was due to a variety of factors. The evils of contemporary society (moral corruption, materialism, selfishness, etc.) had created a spiritual vacuum. Taekwon-Do was able to compensate for the prevailing sense of emptiness, distrust, decadence and lack of confidence.

In addition, these were violent times, when people felt the need for a means of protecting themselves, and the superiority of Taekwon-Do technique came to be widely recognized. My social stature, the advantage of being Taekwon-Do's founder and my God-given health also contributed to the rapid growth of Taekwon-Do all over the world.

My involvement with the martial arts did much to supplement the health that God gave me. I had been born frail and weak and was encouraged to learn Taek Kyon at the age of fifteen by my teacher of calligraphy. In 1938, a few days before I was due to leave Korea to study in Japan I was involved in an unexpected incident that would have made it difficult to return home without risk of reprisals.

I resolved to become a black belt holder in Karate while I was in Japan.

The skills I required were, I felt, sufficient protection against those who might seek to do me harm. Not only was I able to return to Korea, but also I subsequently initiated the national liberation movement known as the Pyongyang Student Soldier's Incident. Like so many patriots in the long course of human history, my actions aroused the wrath of those in positions of power. I was imprisoned for a time in a Japanese army jail. In January of 1946, I was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the fledgling Republic of Korea army and posted to the 4th infantry regiment in Kwangju, Cholla Namdo Province as a company commander.

I began to teach Karate to my soldiers as a means of physical and mental training. It was then that I realized that we needed to develop our own national martial art, superior in both spirit and technique to Japanese Karate. I strongly believed that teaching it throughout the country would enable me to fulfill the pledge I had made to three of my comrades, who had shared my imprisonment by the Japanese.

"The reason that our people suffer in this way at the hands of the Japanese," I had said, "is that our ancestors failed to rule wisely".

"They exploited the people and, in the end, lost the country to foreign domination. If we ever regain our freedom and independence, let us not become the rulers of the people. Instead, let us dedicate ourselves to advising those who rule."

It was with this ambition in mind that I began to develop new techniques, systematically, from March of that same year. By the end of 1954 I had nearly completed the foundation of a new martial art for Korea, and on April 11, 1955, it was given the name "Taekwon-Do".

On the spiritual level, Taekwon-Do is derived from the traditional, ethical and moral principles of the orient and, of course, from my personal philosophy.

Even though I am only five feet tall, I pride myself on having lived-in strict accordance with my moral convictions. I have tried to fight on the side of justice without fear of any kind. I believe that this was possible for me only because of the formidable power and indomitable spirit instilled by Taekwon-Do.

The physical techniques of Taekwon-Do are based on the principles of modern science, in particular, Newtonian physics which teaches us how to generate maximum power. Military tactics of attack and defense have also been incorporated.

I wish to make it clear that although Karate and Taek Kyon were used as references in the course of my study, the fundamental theories and principles of Taekwon-Do are totally different from those of any other martial art in the world.

In March of 1959, I led the military Taekwon-Do demonstration team on a tour abroad. We visited South Vietnam and Taiwan. It was the first such visit in the history of Korea. On this occasion, I renewed my resolution to leave my personal legacy to the world, in the form of Taekwon-Do, and I formulated the following basic ideals for the Taekwon-Do practitioners:

1. by developing an upright mind and a strong body, we will acquire the self-confidence to stand on the side of justice at all times;

2. we shall unite with all men in a common brotherhood, without regard to religion, race, national or ideological boundaries;

3. we shall dedicate ourselves to building a peaceful human society in which justice, morality, trust and humanism prevail;

I also resolved to dedicate myself to the worldwide propagation of Taekwon-Do, in the sincere hope that it would provide the means by which the unification of the divided halves of my fatherland would become possible.

My study of Taekwon-Do proceeded in two parts, spiritual discipline and technical perfection. Because the human spirit belongs to the realm of metaphysics, what I mean by spiritual discipline is not easy to describe. One cannot touch, see or hear the spirit of man; it is wider and deeper than anything we can perceive.

In this respect, I, myself, am only another student participating in a continuing and never-ending learning process.

I have come to define the spiritual dimensions of Taekwon-Do as fusing oneself with the ideals of Taekwon-Do and attaining and understanding the full meaning of each of the Taekwon-Do patterns. If we consider ourselves as one with Taekwon-Do, we will respect it as we respect our own bodies and Taekwon-Do will never be used in a dishonorable way.

The names of the patterns are derived from the most illustrious people to have been produced by nearly five thousand years of Korean history. A proper understanding of the patterns leads, inevitably to the realization that Taekwon-Do is a martial art to be used only for self-defense and only in the cause of justice.

The history of Korea contains not a single sample of its military forces being employed for the invasion of its neighbors or for any other purpose except national defense.

In the technical area, I created a wide variety of techniques that can be used in almost any situation. They are based on the following principles:

1. all movement should be designed to produce maximum power in accordance with scientific formulas and the principle of kinetic energy;

2. the principles behind the techniques should be so clear that even those ignorant to Taekwon-Do will be able to distinguish correct from incorrect movement;

3. the distance and angle of each movement should be exactly defined in order to achieve more efficient attack and defense;

4. the purpose and method of each movement should be clear and simple, in order to facilitate the teaching and learning process;

5. rational teaching methods should be developed so that the benefits of Taekwon-Do can be enjoyed by everyone, young and old, men and women;

6. correct breathing methods should be devised, enhancing the speed of each movement and reducing fatigue;

7. attack should be possible against any vital spot on the body and it should be possible to defend against all varieties of attack;

8. each attacking tool should be clearly defined and soundly based on the structure of the human body;

9. each movement should be easy to execute, enabling the student to enjoy Taekwon-Do as a sport and recreation;

10. special consideration should be paid to promoting good health and preventing injuries;

11. each movement should be harmonious and rhythmical so that Taekwon-Do is aesthetically pleasing;

12. each movement in a pattern must express the personality and spiritual character of the person it is named after.

Adherence to these basic principles is what makes Taekwon-Do a martial art, an aesthetic art, a science and sport. "

The beginning of a modern stage of development Korean self-defense systems is connected to the ending of the Second World War. Korea has appeared divided on Northern and Southern. Conventional martial arts was decline; there was set of small-sized schools, however their level left to desire best, as during Japanese occupation they were under the actual forbid. To the beginning of the fiftieth years - time of Korean War - the process of splitting of schools has reached of apogee.

Just to this period attempt of association of large conventional schools and creation on their base of new style concerns. And here was on April 11, 1955 announced about creation of new style, named TAEKWON-DO, when the council of the instructors, historians and other experts has ratified this name, to the full reflecting essence of this military art: "TAE" - foot, "KWON" - hand and "DO" - art, way. Initiator of organization of merge of set of schools in uniform has become Southern Korean general Choi Hong Hi, professional militarian, made too much for revival and distribution national martial arts, header of one of the largest schools of then Korea. Taekwon-do is differently possible to name as a way of foot and hand. And it, this way, is direct we shall say, is rather long and hard. This combination is not casually. In Taekwon-do technical combinations executed by hands and foots. But foots are used much more often, approximately on 70%, and hands on 30%. It has reasons, stipulated by national traditions of military arts, have been formed in constant search of the decision rather a difficult problem: how to ensure a victory in fight not only with pedestrian, but also with horse opponent.

New kind of sport have been pleased. There is Korean Association of Taekwon-do was created in 1965. For short term it has found adherents not only in Korea, but also abroad. In 1966 led by Choi Hong Hi International Taekwon-do Federation is created (ITF), where Turkey, Italy, Egypt, Vietnam, Germany, USA, Malaysia, Singapore and certainly Korea have come. When in 1972 Choi Hong Hi has leaved the Korea, he has transferred a staff-apartment of International Federation to Canada.

On political motives Southern Korean government has formed World Taekwon-do Federation (WTF). To emphasize a difference between federations, in WTF new base complexes were developed, changes in a technique (in particular, characteristic for Taekwon-do are entered before wavy moving were replaced on rectilinear), terminology and costumes have changed.

The division in directions of development Taekwon-do has caused occurrence of new federations. One of such federations is Global Taekwon-do Federation (GTF).

The Global Taekwon-Do Federation was organized and developed under the leadership of the famous Taekwon-do Grand Master Park Jung Tae, Ninth Degree Black Belt. For years he has been instrumental in the promotion and development of Taekwon-do and his name is synonymous with technical perfection. As a result, Grand Master Park is ranked as the leading technical trainer of Taekwon-do in the world today. He has become a legend in Taekwon-do circles and is sought after throughout the world to conduct seminars and training courses. Since it's inception, the Global Taekwon-do Federation has emerged as the ultimate non-political martial arts organization in the world, and is proud to be free of any political pressures. In a short period of time, the rapid growth of the GTF as an international organization has been astronomical, boasting strong affiliates on every continent.

The Global Taekwon-do Federation was formed in March of 1990 and today unities more than 50 national federations. On style and technique the Global Taekwon-do Federation is closest to initial International Taekwon-do Federation (ITF). However there is the whole number of distinctions in the rules of realization of competitions.

In the beginning of the seventies, in different cities of Soviet Union were the groups that have teaches various variants of Taekwon-do. But in pity till ends of the eighties Taekwon-do was not recognize as kind of sport. For developing this sport in 1988 The All-Union Taekwon-do commission was founded. International commission has certified the headers of commission - Mikhail Stepin and Igor Sokolov. First time the team of Soviet taekwondists was participating in international tournament in Pyongyang in 1989. On the whole of working the Commission, regional centers, and enthusiasts of Taekwon-do has become creation of Soviet Union Taekwon-do Federation in February 1990. Igor Sokolov as its president has been selected.

In members of GTF our federation has entered in December 1993. In May 1998 First Taekwon-do (GTF) Championship of the Republic of Tajikistan has passed.

© 2000 Tajik Global Taekwon-do Federation