Taekwondo Origins
2000 Years of Martial Arts Tradition
Taekwondo, litteraly "the way of fist and foot fighting," is a independantly developed Korean martial art with a rich tradition spanning more than 2000 years. The earliest records are found in the artifacts of the three kingdoms of Koguryu (37 BC - 668 AD), Paekche (18 BC - 600 AD), and Silla (57 BC - 936 AD). Muyong-chong and Kakchu-chong, two royal tombs of the Koguryu dynasty located in southern Manchuria, were excavated in 1935 and found to contain mural paintings depicting the practice of a martial art whose stances and forms show great similarity to those of modern Taekwondo. Documents surviving from the Paekche dynasty provide further confirmation of the similarity of Tae Kyon and Hwrangdo, the names of the systems practiced at the time, and modern Taekwondo, as do the stone sculptures and written records of the Silla dynasty.
Unarmed fighting gained great popularity under the reign of the Koryo dynasty(935 - 1392 AD). It was during this period that the various forms, stances and techniques were first brought together and systematically organized by the leading masters of the time. Subak, a system with striking similarities to modern Taekwondo, was practiced widely both by members of the military and by general civillian population. It was promoted as a martial art, a form of healthy excercise and as a spectator sport-with the last evidenced by records of annual competitions held at the royal court.
Under King Taejo, the founder of the Yi dynasty (1392 - 1910 AD), the state religion shifted from Buddhism to Confucianism. The Confucian emphasis on classical learning (and consequent deemphasis of physical pursuits) led to a decline in popularity, especially amongst the members of the royal court, and hindered the technical development of the art. By the latter half of the Yi dynasty, though the Subak was still taught and practiced, it existed mainly as a recreational activity pursued by ordinary people.
Though he couldn't reverse the trend, King Chongjo's commissioning of an illustrated textbook of Korean martial arts from Lee Duk Mu certainly prevented a great deal of knowledge and tradition from being lost. The book, Muye Dobo Tongji, was extraordinarily clear and complete, describing both armed and unarmed systems of combat developed and practiced in Korea at the time.
In 1910, the Yi dynasty was forcibly occupied by Japan. The Japanese colonial government dismantled the military and banned traditional Korean martial arts, sports, games, cultural activities and the language in an effort to destroy the Korean national identity. Though the occupation effectively ended the public practice of Taekwondo for 35 years, its instruction was continued by anti-occupational organizations including the Independance Army and the Liberation Army.
After the Korean liberation from the Japanese occupational forces in 1945, the ban on the practice of martial arts was lifted and many new schools opened. These schools opened under a multitude of names including Kong Soo Do, So Bak Do, Tang Soo Do, and Kwon Bup, but many leaders wanted to recover and revitalize the traditional Korean forms. These leaders began teaching their students a system derived from the traditional forms - Taekwondo. In 1961 the Korean taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed and given official membership in the Korean Amateur Sports Association. Since that time it has worked to unify and support the instruction and practice of Taekwondo worldwide.
On January 25, 1971, Dr. Un Yong Kim was elected President of the KTA. Under his dynamic leadership the organization develooped rapidly and the discipline advanced technically, physically and spiritually. In 1972, the Kukkiwon (Institute for the National Sport) was established and its facilities became the main education and training center for the KTA, and in May of 1973, for the World Taekwondo Foundation.
In Octover 1974, the Amateur Athletic Union of the United states recognized TAekwondo as an official sport and elected Dr. Ken Min the AAU Taekwondo Committee's first National Chairman. Under the leadership of Dr. Min and his successors, the AAU Taekwondo programs developed rapidly. Taekwondo was recognized by both the International Millitary Sports Council and the General assembly of International Sports Federation in 1976 and was introduced as an official world sport.
In 1988, Taekwondo was introduced as an exhibition sport at the Summer Olympics Games held in Seoul, Korea. It retained this status in the 1992 Summer Olympic Games held in Barcelona, Spain, and has since been accepted as a full medal sport beginning with the 2000 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Sydney, Australia.
This article was compiled from surveys of Taekwondo history originally appearing in the 1994 WTF Taekwondo Handbook, the 19th National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships Souvenir Program and the Winter 1995 issues of the USTU taekwondo Journal. -ed.