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The martial arts have grown out of a human need for self-defense and strengthening
the spirit. While Westerners tend to think of martial arts as Eastern, there are
paintings on the tombs in Egypt dating back to 3000 B.C. demonstrating hand-and-foot
fighting. From another Western cultural center of the ancient world, the Greek philosopher
Plato mentions skiamachia, fighting without an opponent (analogous to our TaeKwonDo
forms), combining skills from boxing and wrestling so that the whole body is used
as a weapon.
The International TaeKwonDo Alliance recognizes TaeKwonDo, Korean in origin, as
the preeminent martial art, an unequaled method of unarmed self-defense that is
also highly artistic in its execution. TaeKwonDo techniques evolved over thousands
of years to attain the greatest speed, power and artistic beauty.
The history of TaeKwonDo began roughly ten thousand years ago when the ancestors
of the Korean people migrated from Central Asia to the peninsula that is now Korea.
They relied mainly on hunting to survive, climbing rugged mountains, crossing strong
rivers, and traveling along the seashore in their search for food. These rigors
developed strong bodies, superior fighting skills, and a sense of teamwork. Historians
theorize that, upon their return, the hunters would reenact their motions of kicking,
punching, stabbing, and throwing, also recreating fighting scenes with neighboring
tribes with whom they had fought during the hunt. A natural outgrowth of reenactments
was practicing movements in order to refine and perfect the techniques and their
skills. Eventually these techniques grew into martial arts.
Formal martial arts training in Korea began approximately 4,000 years ago, consisting
of running (daligi), throwing (dunjiki), punching or striking (jileuki), kicking
(balchaki) and swimming (soo young). Weapons were also employed and included the
stone knife (dolkal), stone spear (dolchang), stones for throwing (doldunjiki),
sand spreading (moraisul), and wooden pole (mok bong sul). Eventually, archery and
horseback riding were incorporated.
In the 6th century A.D., the Silla Dynasty ruled the smallest of the three kingdoms
of Korea and was under constant attack from its neighbors. During the reign of the
twenty-fourth king of Silla, the young aristocrats and warriors formed an elite
corps called the Hwa Rang Do. To guide themselves and give a purpose to their knighthood,
they adopted a five-point code of conduct set forth by their greatest monk and scholar,
Wan Kany: 1) loyalty to one's country, 2) loyalty to one's parents, 3) trust and
brotherhood among friends, 4) courage never to retreat in the face of one's enemies,
and 5) justice never to take a life without cause. These students were also required
to learn and live by the following Hwa Rang Do Nine Virtues: humanity, courtesy,
trust and friendship, goodness, loyalty, honor, knowledge, courage, and conscience.
The Hwa Rang Do warriors became known for their courage and skill in battle, gaining
respect from even their bitterest foes. From their victories, the Korean Peninsula
was united.
TaeKwonDo warriors were taught to keep their minds and bodies in balance. They were
taught to read and write and studied literature, painting, sculpture, dance, and
musical instruments. The moo kwa (national examination for military officials) consisted
of an actual martial arts contest and tests covering theory and strategy. The moo
kwa produced military officials with both fighting knowledge and a good classical
education. The ITA echoes the ancient emphasis on mental development with our required
reading lists for rank and certification candidates, ensuring that our leaders gain
greater insight through literature pertaining to the human experience. In the past,
TaeKwonDo artists were known to be the kingdom or community members with the greatest
skill and knowledge. They were expected to dedicate themselves to continuous training
of the mind, body, and spirit (ki). This expectation continues today in the ITA
essence and philosophy.
During the Koguryo Dynasty, martial arts flourished. However, by the Yi Dynasty,
an anti-military posture was taken, debasing anything martial. The final blow was
delivered by the Japanese occupation of Korea (1909 – 1945) when it was forbidden
to practice any form of martial arts. However, Taek Kyon was secretly practiced
and passed on to a handful of students. (Some ITA Grand Masters and Instructors
have been fortunate enough to receive formal training in Korea at the Taek Kyon
Headquarters.) With the liberation of Korea in 1945 came the freedom to again openly
practice martial arts. All of the present day TaeKwonDo Instructors can trace their
origins to one of five Kwans: Chung Do Kwan, Song Moo Kwan, Ji Do Kwan, Moo Do Kwan,
and Chang Moo Kwan.
The International TaeKwonDo Alliance can trace its roots directly to Grand Master Won-kuk Lee, who founded Chung
Do Kwan and developed the largest civilian gym, the Gym of the Blue Wave. Grand
Master Won-kuk Lee is thus the first to organize and found modern Korean TaeKwonDo.
(A delegation of ITA Masters and Instructors were honored to attend G.M. Won-kuk
Lee’s last formal seminar in 2002 prior to his death at age 96 in 2003.) As
the new Republic of Korea (ROK) Armed Forces became organized, Choi Hong Hi, an
officer in this army, began to teach martial arts to his soldiers. Chung Do Kwan’s
was the largest and the only gym whose ranks were recognized by General Choi when
civilians became soldiers. Following years of research and development by General
Choi, the Chang Hun style of TaeKwonDo, named for General Choi’s pseudonym,
was developed. On April 11th, 1955, a board of instructors from the different Kwans,
historians, and other prominent persons selected Tae-Kwon-Do (foot – hand
– art) as the new name of the national martial art of Korea.
After 10,000 years, this Korean martial art has reached full maturity, developing
from tribal dances of the hunt to an art form practiced in more than sixty countries
by millions of students. This combination of classical techniques and new modifications
has resulted in a form of self-defense and mental conditioning unrivaled in the
modern world. As General Choi Hong Hi said, “TaeKwonDo indicates the mental
training and the techniques of unarmed combat for self-defense as well as health,
involving the skilled application of punches, kicks, blocks, and dodges with bare
hands and feet…enabling the weak to possess a fine weapon together with the
confidence to defend him or herself, and defeat the opponent.”
The International TaeKwonDo Alliance (ITA) continues to preserve the historic traditions
of TaeKwonDo first conceived 4,000 years ago by early artists, and recently revised
by General Choi. The ITA acknowledges Grand Master Won-kuk Lee, the founder of Chung
Do Kwan, as the beginning influence from which we came. Grand Master Lee was the
teacher of many students who eventually assumed major positions within the martial
arts community. Grand Master Lee said that students must never forget to appreciate
their teachers. At the same time, students should always strive to have better techniques
and higher moral characters than their teachers. Grandmaster Lee compared this idea
to an old saying: "The color green comes from the color blue, but the green
color is brighter than the blue. The ice comes from water, but ice is colder than
water." In other words, the student is always better than his teacher. He believed
that the martial arts will have a bright future if students live by these ideas.
When a student does become better than his teacher, he must always remain humble
and never forget to appreciate the techniques and moral code that he learned from
his teacher. Once a student becomes a master, he should not forget that his position
was a joint effort of both his and his teacher's sweat. Without the teacher, he
could never have reached the level of master, just as there could be no ice without
water and no green color without blue.
The ITA pledges itself to contributing to the art of TaeKwonDo, providing leadership
and instruction in an ancient discipline that represents an alternative allowing
practitioners to avoid the stresses and pitfalls of life in this modern age. This
can be accomplished by teaching practitioners to strengthen their minds and bodies
through regular TaeKwonDo training and to impact society honorably. This mission
will be undertaken within the guidelines of our tenets: Honor, Courtesy, Integrity,
Perseverance, Self-Control, Courage, Community, Strength, Humility, and Knowledge.
The Grand Masters, Senior Masters, Masters, Instructors, and Black Belts of the
International TaeKwonDo Alliance are grateful to all who have pioneered TaeKwonDo.
In particular we are grateful to Grand Master Won-kuk Lee, General Choi Hong Hi,
Grand Master Haeng Ung Lee, Dr. He-Young Kimm, Grand Master Art Monroe, Grand Master
Craig Kollars, and Grand Master Bert Kollars. The International TaeKwonDo Alliance
recognizes their contribution. Artistically, we know that our curriculum, vision,
systems and physical movements are unique. We believe separate, mutually respectful,
authentic styles of TaeKwonDo artists help preserve the diversity and original artistic
nature of TaeKwonDo. The ITA believes all martial arts programs and martial
artists that commit to authentic training and lifestyle have merit.
Note: The ITA would like to thank martial arts historian and Grand Master He-Young
Kimm for his contribution to this section on history. Dr. Kimm came to the U.S.
as a Korean Marine Lieutenant to go to school. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree from
Maritime College of the National University of Pusan, a Master’s Degree in History
from Southeast Missouri State, completed his doctoral course work at LSU, and received
a PhD. in History at the University of Commerce and Technology.
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