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Taekwondo

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Template:Koreanname Taekwondo, Tae Kwon Do, or Taekwon-Do is the Korean national sport and most commonly practiced form of mudo. It is also one of the world's most commonly practiced sports. In the Korean language, Tae (태, hanja 跆) means "to kick or destroy with the foot"; Kwon (권, hanja 拳) means "punch or smash with the hand or fist"; and Do (도, hanja 道) means "way" or "art." Hence, Taekwondo is taken to mean "foot, hand, art." A less literal translation is often given as "The art of kicking and punching" or "The way of the foot and the hand." Another, more commonly used translation, is "The way or art of destruction with the hands and feet."

Tae Kwon Do is popular throughout the world, and the Kukkiwon-World Taekwondo Federation's form of Tae Kwon Do is currently an Olympic sport. WTF Tae Kwon Do has received criticism for not teaching enough street-effective techniques including a subset of tournament rules which are very limited (WTF Taekwondo tournament rules do not allow punching to the head).

Because of great doctrinal and technical differences between Tae Kwon Do styles, practitioners believe that criticism from other styles of martial arts should only be leveled at individual schools. The art in general has received criticism rooted in Tae Kwon Do's emphasis on high kicks, which, to some, are considered impractical against moving and defensive opponents. Naturally, Tae Kwon Do's defenders would consider its emphasis on high, far-reaching kicks with a small, mobile stance to be an advantage in martial arts combat. There definitely is an emphasis on leg usage in Tae Kwon Do (both in the style of WTF Taekwondo and that of its major competitors, the American Taekwondo Association, or ATA, and the International Taekwon-do Federation, or ITF), including jump kicks but even more often spinning kicks and combinations of any kind. The typical Tae Kwon Do stance is light footed. Tae Kwon Do is used in unarmed combat training in some armies, such as those of France, the Republic of Korea, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, with ITF being much more popular in North Korea, and WTF much more popular in South Korea (and actually world wide if compared to ITF spread). Tae Kwon Do was invented by the South Korean army as a system of unarmed combat, borrowing methods from several martial arts.

History

In the years from 1910 to 1945, during the Japanese occupation of Korea, many Koreans were exposed to Japanese versions of Chinese martial arts such as karate. Some of these Koreans included Lee-Won Kuk, Choi Hong Hi, Chun Sang-Sup and Yoon Byung-In. As the Japanese moved deeper into the continent, karate was adopted and mixed with more traditional Korean martial arts such as Taekyon and other Chinese martial arts.

After the liberation of Korea in 1945 various martial arts schools formed, including Chung Do Kwan headed by Lee, Yun Moo Kwan headed by Chun, Chang Moo Kwan headed by Yoon, and the military Oh Do Kwan headed by Choi. Another school, the Moo Duk Kwan, was headed by Hwang Ki, who learned in Manchuria.

In the years between 1945 and 1955 Choi Hong Hi, who is considered the founder of Tae Kwon Do, developed his knowledge and skills by teaching a combination of Karate and Taekyon to his soldiers. Eventually he became General in command of the 29th infantry division, spreading his teachings further.

 
This Tae Kwon Do practicioner performs a side kick to break boards.

In 1955, these arts, at that time called "Tang Soo Do" or "Kong Soo Do", were formally combined into a new art. A governmental body selected Choi's submission of Tae Kwon Do as the name. Tae Kwon Do incorporated more native Korean martial art styles in to the art, especially kicking techniques by adding the difficult kicks from taekyon in a modified noncircular style, and changed the rules.

In 1959, the Korean Taekwon-Do Association (KTA) was formed. General Choi Hong Hi was elected its President. Ro Byung Jick of the Song Moo Kwan and Yoon Kwe Byung of the Ji Do Kwan were elected the Vice Presidents. Hwang Kee of Moo Duk Kwan was appointed the Chief Director. This year also marked the first international tour of Tae Kwon Do, by General Choi and 19 black belts.

In 1960, General Choi visited Jhoon Rhee's Karate Club in San Antonio, Texas, where he convinced Rhee to use the name Tae Kwon Do instead of Karate. This marked the beginning of Tae Kwon Do in the United States.

In 1966, on 22nd March, the International Taekwondo Federation was formed (ITF) with associations in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, The United States of America, Turkey, Italy, The Arab Republic of Egypt and Korea. General Choi was its elected president and continued the international spread of Tae Kwon Do.

In 1972, General Choi moved the headquarters of the ITF, with the unanimous consent of member countries, to Toronto, Canada.

In 1973, on 28th May, a competing organisation was formed in South Korea: the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) which was originally headed by Kim Un-Yong (later a member of the IOC).

In 1982, the International Olympic Committee designated WTF Tae Kwon Do an official demonstration sport for the 1988 Summer Olympics.

In 1985, the ITF Headquarters were moved to Vienna, the capital city of Austria, where it was located until his death, and the resulting split of the ITF. In this same year the first Encyclopedia of Tae Kwon Do was published.

In 2000, Tae Kwon Do was added as an official event to the Olympic games.

Although some Tae Kwon Do books state that Tae Kwon Do has been practiced since ancient times, this is due to the fact that some Korean writers use the word "Taekwondo" to refer to Korean martial arts as a whole.

 
A couple of Tae Kwon Do practicioners showing off their techniques.

Belts

The International Taekwon-Do Federation currently uses a system of 10 or more gups and 9 (although some consider there to be 10) degrees (dans). The gups start at 10 and go down to 1, from which Degrees are then achieved, and go 1 through 9. (For example, someone who just promoted from 2nd gup to 1st gup is now eligible to promote for 1st degree.) The degrees 1-3 are associated with an Assistant Instructor, degrees 4-6 are associated with an Instructor, 7-8 with a Master, and 9th degree with a Grand Master. Degree grades are usually denoted by Roman numerals e.g. VII, VIII, IX representing 7, 8, 9. However, in recent practice, particularly in North America, this system has been relaxed. Many consider instructors who have attained a rank of 4th dan and have their own students (or have promoted their own black belts) to be Masters in their own right. Many Masters who have attained the rank of 7th dan claim the title Grand Master (or it is near-universally applied to them), and almost all 8th Dan holders get the title Grand Master.

Even though different Tae Kwon Do styles, associations, or schools may make adjustments or additions, traditionally there are ten color belt levels ("gup," "kup," or "keub") and ten black belt levels, called "dan." (Under WTF regulations, "poom" when the recipient is under 16 years old; once a Poom-holder turns 16, he/she is considered the equivalent "dan" rank.) Tenth dan had historically been reserved as a posthumous award, but in recent years has seen presentation to a few living recipients (mainly from Korea). The original colors are white, yellow, green, blue, and red. Between solid colors a crossbar/stripe of the next full color is added to the belt indicating the awarded gup level. Some groups use a solid color alternative instead of stripes (black, camo, orange, etc.). For example, a common belt scheme assigns the following keubs: white (13), yellow (12), purple (11), orange (10), green (9), senior green (8), blue (7), senior blue (6), brown (5), senior brown (4), red (3), senior red (2), red-black/Bo dan (1). The wide variety of belt levels is an American phenomenon rooted in an effort by schools to provide the appearance of rapid advancement to appease children. Under such a system, the earlier belts can sometimes be earned in as few as eight weeks. Gup belt records are kept by the school of origin and dan/poom ranks are recorded at the style headquarters registry.

Organizations

Although there are many different federations and associations, Tae Kwon Do can be broadly divided into two schools: International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF, founded 1966), and Kukkiwon-World Taekwondo Federation (Kukkiwon-WTF, founded 1973). Kukkiwon-WTF was created in Korea when General Choi Hong Hi left Korea for Canada, moving the headquarters of ITF in 1972. The WTF is recognized as the international governing body for the sport of Taekwondo by the International Olympic Committee. Adherents of the ITF branch spell the martial art "Taekwon-do" and those of the WTF as "Taekwondo". "Tae Kwon Do" is often used as a generic spelling of the martial art in a general or historic sense to avoid these divisions.

 
Stretching during warm-ups is one way Tae Kwon Do develops physical endurance.

Apart from its history, one difference between ITF Taekwon-Do and Kukkiwon-WTF Taekwondo is the patterns (the pre-set, formal sequences of movements students learn). ITF has 24 patterns (called tuls) which represent the 24 hours in a day, or the whole of a person's life, while Kukkiwon-WTF uses the Taegeuk forms (which originate from the Chinese book, I_Ching). The main difference between these two styles of pattern is that ITF patterns use a "stepping motion" (known as the "sine wave") -- drawing on Newtonian physics -- for hand techniques and some kicking techniques, which include moving the body in a sinusoidal motion in order to use bodyweight to increase the effectiveness of the techniques. Many people consider the Kukkiwon-WTF style to be more of a sport, focussing on competition sparring, while ITF is considered a true martial art which includes competition-style sparring. In practice, however, it is the instructor that will have the most influence on what and how a student practices. The ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) had considerable success in bringing its art to the world through the '60s and early '70s. They currently maintain millions of members in 120+ countries worldwide. Beginning in 1972-73, Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) became the first (1980) Tae Kwon Do organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Kukkiwon-WTF is the only Tae Kwon Do body recognized by the South Korean government and its rules have been adopted by the International Olympic Committee. Only students whose training is recognised by the Kukkiwon-WTF can take part in the Olympic games, highlighting the consideration of the Kukkiwon-WTF form as a sport.

In addition to the forms recognized for modern competition, there are also a large number of traditional forms, associated with a rich lore and history. These are becoming relatively rare in competition yet are being kept alive by some traditional masters and their students. Students trained in these traditional forms, which emphasise powerful kicks, punches, and blocks, pacing appropriate to the form, fierce concentration upon imaginary opponents, and accurate and stable stances, can do quite well when bringing these skills to their performances of the poomse style forms.

Since the death of Choi Hong Hi, the International Taekwon-Do Federation has splintered into three major groups and several smaller ones. Choi's son, Choi Jung Hwa, is head of one headquartered in Canada; a second is headquartered in Austria; the third has its headquarters in North Korea. All three groups claim to be the legitimate successor to Gen. Choi. Various court actions are now in process.

Features

List of Taekwondo Techniques by Belt

Tae Kwon Do is famed for its employment of leg and jumping techniques, which many believe distinguishes it from martial arts such as Karate or certain, southern styles of Kung Fu. The rationale behind this is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to strike without retaliation.

 
Preparing to break a board

Tae Kwon Do is popular with people of both sexes and of many ages. The five tenets of Tae Kwon Do (courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit) show that, like all martial arts, Tae Kwon Do is a mental discipline as well as a physical one. Physically, Tae Kwon Do develops strength, speed, and stamina. Mentally, it often leads to an increased awareness of confidence and discipline as well as improved reflexes. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of boards, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's strength.

Although each Tae Kwon Do club or school will be different, a Tae Kwon Do student can typically expect to take part in most or all of the following:

  • Learning the techniques and curriculum of Tae Kwon Do
  • An aerobic workout, including stretching
  • Self-defence techniques
  • Free-style sparring
  • Relaxation exercises
  • Breaking (using the techniques to break boards for martial arts demonstrations)
  • Regular gradings (tests to progress to the next grade/belt)
  • A focus on discipline, honor, protocol, and self-confidence.

Some Tae Kwon Do Instructors have also recently starting teaching the use of pressure points as well as defence against a variety of weapons.

2004 Summer Olympics in Athens

Main article: Taekwondo at the 2004 Summer Olympics

See Also

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