Taekwondo was originally the national martial art of Korea, it is now an international art and sport.
Tae means, “to strike with the feet.”
Kwon means, “destroying with the hand or the fist.”
Do means “way” or “method.”
Thus, etymologically, Taekwondo means “the art of kicking and punching.”
At this writing, Taekwondo has over 100 million students in more than 115 countries around the world. Taekwondo is believed to be one of the oldest Oriental arts of unarmed self-defense. It was widely practiced during Korea’s Three Han era, 300 years before Christ.
In 1935, a team of Japanese archeologists unearthed a royal tomb of the Korean Koguryo dynasty and found a mural believed to have been painted between 3 AD The mural clearly depicts men practicing primitive forms of Taekwondo, then called Soo Bak – “punching and butting.”
The art was refined and perfected during the Silla dynasty, which began in southeastern Korea in 57 B.B., and was incorporated into the discipline of Hwarang Do – “the way of the flower of youth.”
In this way, Taekwondo became part of the ethical, mental, and physical philosophy of the young men who trained to become the ruling backbone of Korea.
Hwarang Do was much more than simply a martial discipline. It combined civic duty with personal morality and the building of a deep spiritual consciousness rooted in ancient philosophical principles.
During its long and embattled history, Korea’s spirit of Hwarang Do grew and evolved, borrowing from the great philosophies of its world. From Confucianism it drew filial piety, empathy with one’s fellow man, and loyalty to the state. From Taoism it drew the concept of action through non-action. And from Buddhism it gained the philosophy the sanctity of life. But the history of Taekwondo goes back much further than the first century A. D. and Hwarang Do
There is archeological evidence of an ancient proto-Korean people which dates back over thirty thousand years. However, the beginnings of true Korean culture are believed to have developed in 2332 B. C. with the establishment of the Ancient Korean state. This takes us back over four thousand years. Since that time, the Korean people have had to fight to protect or regain their independence from the Chinese, the scytho-siberians of central Asia, the “Mongol Hordes, and the marauders, and later the armies of Japan. This created in the Korean people a fierce warrior spirit, intense national loyalty, and an indomitable will to survive—characteristics, which are the source of the martial art of Taekwondo.
In the sixth century AD, the Chinese Sui dynasty fielded armies of over a million men to invade and occupy Korea. These Chinese armies were so severely defeated that the Sui dynasty fell in 617 A. D., to be replaced by the T’ang dynasty.
During the Koryo dynasty, founded in 918 A. D., and the Yi dynasty that followed it, Taekwondo, then known as Soo Bak, was not only practiced as a skill to improve health and as sports activity but was also encouraged as a martial art of considerably high virtue.
Soo Bak is believed to have gained its greatest popularity during the reign of King Uijong, between 1147 and 1170 A. D. This period roughly corresponds to the Chinese Sung and Ming dynasties, during which Chinese kung fu became widely popular. Taekwondo, however, is purely Korean in origin, having achieved independent development throughout the long history of Korea.
The Koreans are inventive people. This can be seen in their art of self-defense, their invention of the first ironclad fighting vessels in 1592, and in another invention of which most westerners are not aware. Koreans were printing books with moveable metal type in 1443 A. D., full ten years before Johann Gutenberg.
Moveable type had been used in China since 1045 – four hundred years before Gutenberg, but that type had been made of clay.
In the more recent history of Korea, the importance of Taekwondo began to decline because of the negligence of the royal courts, which were disturbed by the strife between feuding political factions. It was cut back to its roots and stayed alive as a recreational activity for ordinary people.
At the turn of the twentieth century, Taekwondo was outlawed by the ruling Japanese occupiers of Korea, It then, went underground, where people practiced it secretly and once again kept it alive.
In 1945, when Korea was liberated from the Japanese, a number of Koreans who were interested in Taekwondo took steps to revitalize this ancient and traditional martial art. About ten schools were founded by masters with different particular philosophies and different emphases of techniques to express their differences in style.
Between the period of the Japanese occupation and the Korean War, from the turn of the century to 1950, the name for the Korean martial art changed several times. It was first known as Kong Soo (“empty hand”), then Tang Soo (“Tang hand”), then Hwarang Do (“worrier spirit”), and then Tae Kyun (“kicking, punching”).
In the early 1950s and 1960s, there were several associations formed for the development of Korea’s unique and indigenous martial art – Korea Tang Soo DO Association, Korea Soo Bak Do Association, Korea Tae Soo Do Association, and Korea Taekwondo Association.
On February 23, 9163, the Taekwondo Association joined the Korean Athletic Association and began to participate in national tournaments. Since then, Taekwondo has flourished and spread in popularity becoming the national sport of Korea. It is now
included as part of the school curriculum from first grade through college and is required of the military services.
In 1965, the Taekwondo Association was recognized by the other associations and the Korea government, and was adopted as the organization to bring the different groups and schools together into one. Young Chai Kim was elected president.
In 1972, the Board of Directors of the Taekwondo Association elected Dr. Un Yong Kim as their next president.
In 1972, Kuk-Ki-Won (the world Taekwondo Center) was built in Seoul to train advanced students from all over the world. Dr. Un Yong Kim was elected president of Kuk-Ki-Won. Kuk-Ki-Won serves as a research center for the advancement of Taekwondo as a scientific sport, it is a testing center for black belt promotions, and is used to hold national and international Taekwondo Championships.
In May 1973, the First World Taekwondo Championships were held at Kuk-Ki-Won, Seoul, Korea. Thirty countries participated. In team competition, Korea won first place, United States won second place, and Mexico and the Republic of China tied for third place. The world championships are held biannually.
Following the 1973 tournament, all of the officials representing their countries at the championship formed the World Taekwondo Federation and elected Dr. Un Yong Kim as president. In 1974, Taekwondo was admitted to the Asian games as an official event. In 1975, Taekwondo was accepted as an official sport by the U.S Amateur Athletic Union [AAU] and also admitted to the General Association of International Sports Federations [GAISF], followed by the adoption of official sports event by the International Council of Military Sports [CISM] in 1976. In 1979, President of the World Taekwondo Federation [WTF] was elected chairman of the World Federation of Non-Olympic Sports. The WTF became an IOC-recognized sports federation in 1980, making Taekwondo an Olympic sport. Then the adoption of Taekwondo as an official event was followed by the world games in 1981, the Pan-American games in 1986, and finally by the Sydney 2000 Olympics in 1984 and then Athens 2004 Olympic Games in 2000. On November 29, 2002, the 114th IOC Session also confirmed the inclusion of Taekwondo in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
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