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Taekwondo’s History as a Foundation for its Grappling Techniques

The history of the Korean martial art Taekwondo is questionable to say the least. Multiple histories of Taekwondo exist. The history described simply depends on the individual telling it. One of the more dubious histories of Taekwondo is the Taekkyon Derivation History. The Taekkyon Derivation History holds that Taekwondo is the direct descendant of the Korean folk game Taekkyon. Taekkyon and sport Taekwondo do share some similarities such as a penchant for circular kicking techniques, the palms for pushing the opponent, and well-developed leg jams, sweeps, and leg traps. Taekkyon all but disappeared at the start of the 20th century because it was linked with crime and vengeance and was therefore shunned by the Korean people. This version of Taekwondo’s history still persists due to the fact that Taekkyon is a uniquely Korean martial art with no outside influences. This is an important factor for the extremely nationalistic Korean people. However, Taekkyon didn’t resurface publicly until the 1970s, many years after Taekwondo was in existence. Despite the desire for a uniquely Korean history, the veracity of this version of Taekwondo’s history remains questionable at best.

Taekwondo History and Development—

The Shotokan Connection

Regardless of the romantic nature of the Taekkyon Derivation Theory, most Taekwondo practitioners accept the fact that their art is a Korean version of Shotokan Karate-do or Kongsoodo in Korean. Even the name Taekwondo is only a little more than 50 years old, having been developed by a group of masters on April 11, 1955. The Japanese martial arts have had an influence on Korean martial arts for some time. In fact, until the year 1909, all Korean boys learned the Japanese arts Judo and Kendo while in school. Before the Korean War, the original kwans or schools used the name karate along with Japanese terminology and Japanese kata from the Shotokan, Shorin-ryu and Shorei-ryu schools.

The individual kwans that were eventually united to form Taekwondo were led by men who received most if not all of their martial training from the Japanese martial arts. The Chung Do Kwan or Great Blue Wave School, which became the largest of the civilian kwans, was founded in 1945 by Won Kuk Lee. Lee earned his black belt from the founder of Shotokan Karate, Gichin Funakoshi. He also trained in Okinawa, Henan, and Shanghai. The Chung Do Kwan taught that movements should mimic the power of water. The Moo Duk Kwan or School of Martial Virtue was founded in 1945 by Hwang Kee. Kee received martial arts training in Manchuria under Tai Chi master Kuk Jin Yang. The Yun Moo Kwan or Way of Wisdom School, which later became the Ji Do Kwan was founded in 1946 by Chan Sup Sang. Sang began his martial arts education in Judo and began by teaching Taekwondo to Judo black belts. This school was the first mixed martial arts school as karate and judo were taught there. The school patch of the Yun Moo Kwan is very similar to the Shotokan patch as a tribute to its source. The Chang Do Kwan was founded in 1946 by Byung Yun, a 4th degree black belt in the Okinawan Shudokan karate style under Kanken Toyama and Nam Suk Lee, who learned Okinawan Shotokan Karate from an old Chinese text on the subject. This school was considered to be the premier self-defense method in post-war Korea, quite different from today’s modern Taekwondo. The Song Moo Kwan or Ever Youthful House of Martial Arts Training, was founded in 1946 by Byong-Jik Ro, a contemporary of Won Kuk Lee, the founder of the Chung Do Kwan. Ro earned his black belt in Shotokan Karate under its founder Gichin Funakoshi. To further illustrate its roots, The “Song” in Song Moo Kwan refers to Song Do Kwan, the Korean name for Shotokan. Lastly, the Oh Do Kwan or School of My Way, was founded in 1953 by Choi Hong Hi who held a 2nd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate and Nam Tae Hi. The Oh Do Kwan was militaristic in nature and was a product of the Republic of Korea’s army. This kwan was closely linked to the Chung Do Kwan, of which Nam Tae Hi was a member. These early kwans that eventually became Taekwondo were obviously influenced by the Japanese martial arts. This is because the men who played a large part in the development of Taekwondo had their foundation in Japanese martial arts.

Taekwondo—Sport versus Traditional

The change of the martial roots of Taekwondo occurred when the leaders of the Korean Taekwondo movement began to try to make the art of Karate their own. It was also at this time that the style itself splintered into two main factions: Sport Taekwondo, which is today under the auspices of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and Traditional Taekwondo, which is under the control of the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF). This split occurred for a simple reason. After the end of the Korean occupation by the Japanese, Korean martial arts changed into a combination of Chinese, Japanese, and Okinawan hand techniques mixed with Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, and Taekkyon kicking techniques. This continued after the Korean War when a wave of nationalism and patriotism within Korea led to a “Koreanization” of Japanese karate. This “Koreanization” consisted of changing Japanese names to Korean alternatives. This is often seen in the naming of patterns such as: (Japanese → Korean) Heian → Pyong-An; Tekki → Chul-gi; Bassai → Pal-sek; Kanku Dai → Kong Sang Koon; Jitte → Ship-Soo; Empi → Yoon-bi; and many other examples. It is through the denial of the Japanese roots of Shotokan inherent within Taekwondo that the Taekkyon Derivation theory gained momentum, however flawed it may be.

The final step of the “Koreanization” of Shotokan was the creation of a set of techniques that were significantly different from those found in Shotokan. This was accomplished by the competition rule set found in today’s “Olympic-style” Taekwondo sparring. This system was actually opposed by the 1st generation masters who held to their link to Shotokan. The reason that the masters didn’t like the change was simply that the changes removed the self-defense aspect of their art, in essence making it a game of tag, much like the uniquely Korean Taekkyon. The rules of the new Korean Taekwondo were as follows: no strikes to the face; no strikes below the waist; no grabbing; mandatory body protection; a scoring system; and continuous fighting. The result of these changes was the elimination of all grappling and controlling techniques, effectively relegating the self-defense aspect of the art to the ability of the practitioner to keep an attacker at bay, primarily through kicking techniques.

The “Koreanization” of the art resulted in a few other changes to the philosophy of the art. For example, traditional Taekwondo uses an attack → block → counterattack methodology for self-defense. This was eliminated when Taekwondo adopted a sporting outlook as the new Taekwondo adopted an attack → counterattack. The adoption of the new attack → counterattack method eliminates the need for blocking, which eliminates a key period of defensive contact that allows for a transition into grappling techniques. Another difference between sport and traditional Taekwondo that lends itself to the premise of inherent grappling techniques in Taekwondo is a difference in mindset that’s exhibited between the two versions of the art.

The purpose of sport Taekwondo is to perform a technique correctly so that you are able to score more points than your opponent and thereby win the match. This philosophy greatly differs from that of traditional Taekwondo that adopts a mindset much more like its Japanese predecessors. The purpose of traditional Taekwondo is to perform a technique correctly so that you may disable or kill an opponent. The implementation of this purpose requires that grappling techniques be present in a style. It is true that striking techniques are able to disable or kill an attacker, but not nearly so quickly or efficiently as grappling techniques. Lastly, don’t forget that one of the early Kwans, the Oh Do Kwan, was a military body that needed efficient disabling and killing techniques on the battlefield. And the leader of the Oh Do Kwan, General Choi Hong Hi, was the head of the International Taekwondo Federation, essentially the governing body of Traditional Taekwondo.

Understanding Taekwondo Patterns

One of the unique characteristics of the martial arts is the practice of patterns. These patterns, hyung, tul, or poomse in Korean, kata in Japanese, quyen in Vietnamese, or taolu in Chinese, are a prearranged series of different defensive, counter, and offensive techniques performed in a precise, logical sequence with specific foot movements and stances in imaginary combat against a number of assailants. To the uninitiated, these patterns resemble a combination of shadowboxing, dancing, and gymnastics floor exercises. These patterns are thought to represent the martial traditions and techniques of a specific martial art. Performance of patterns results in stronger, faster, and more effective kicks, blocks, strikes, and stances; improved fighting techniques; defensive and offensive techniques for self-defense situations; increased endurance, both muscular and cardiovascular; increased rhythm and agility; and better kinesthetic awareness.

The art of Taekwondo is often characterized as a martial art that uses powerful, yet unrealistic kicking techniques for combat. While it is true that Taekwondo does possess an arsenal of flashy kicking techniques, that characterization is quite superficial. If you were to examine the patterns used by practitioners of Taekwondo, you would find certain movements that could be interpreted as grappling techniques. Lower belt patterns tend to have more fist movements and long range techniques that may be viewed as grabbing and entering techniques, whereas high belt patterns have more open hand and close range movements that represent grappling and infighting. All of the patterns utilize an action-reaction principle in their movements. This action-reaction movement greatly resembles off-balancing techniques utilized in arts like judo or jujutsu.

A Brief History of Patterns

In order to see that Taekwondo has grappling techniques embedded in its patterns, we must first examine the patterns of Shotokan Karate, the style that most agree has had the greatest influence on Taekwondo’s techniques and development.

During the 11th century, many Japanese warriors fled to Okinawa as a result of the devastation of the Taira-Minamoto wars. The warriors of the Minamoto clan believed that all movement was the same. Therefore practitioners of their art, Minamoto Bujitsu, believed that any type of combat, be it striking, grappling, or using weapons all relied on similar movements. Students of this style would be taught a combative movement. Once they had mastered that movement, they were shown how it relates to striking, grappling, or weapons usage. We see this same pretense today in Japanese Aikido and jujutsu, Filipino Kali, and Vietnamese Thanh Long where sword, stick, or knife techniques double as joint-locking and takedown techniques when the weapon is removed from the practitioner’s hands.

In 1377, the king of Okinawa pledged allegiance to China. The result of this union was a flood of Chinese custom and culture into the country of Okinawa. Specifically, there was the immigration of 36 Chinese families. This group of families included many experts in the Chinese art Kempo or “Fist Law.” The art of Kempo combined with the native Okinawan art Te to form today’s Okinawan Karate or Okinawa-te. Later, in 1429, King Sho Hashi began to trade with other countries, including Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, and China which resulted in the cities of Naha and Shuri becoming major trading centers. The opening of trade with these other countries resulted in the martial arts of these other countries becoming available to the people of Okinawa. These countries, had their own indigenous martial arts, but Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and China specifically had martial arts with extensive grappling in their repertoire. About 50 years later in 1477, King Sho Shin banned all private weapon ownership which acted as a driving force for the Okinawan people to greatly develop their empty-hand fighting skills. Finally, about 130 years later in 1609, the Satsuma clan invaded Okinawa at the behest of the Tokugawa shogunate. This invasion resulted in the an even greater advancement of the empty-hand fighting skills of the Okinawan people as their art became extremely violent, as its purpose was to quickly disable and kill an armed and possible armored attacker through the use of powerful striking techniques as well as bone breaking and joint disruption techniques. It is at this point in the history of the Japanese/Okinawan martial arts, most of the patterns that were taught were of Chinese origin. These patterns contained highly effective and brutal fighting techniques loaded with Chin-na or Chinese joint-locking techniques.

In 1868 however, this all changed. Japan moved from a feudalistic government to a democratic one that resulted in a few changes to the martial arts. The martial arts began to be taught as a way to promote the values of the past. This was done by using the martial arts to foster health, spirit, morality, and national identity, instead of the most efficient way to disable an opponent. Finally, a sportification of Japanese martial arts began. This switch to a more holistic, sporting martial art gained ground in 1908 when Itosu “Anko” Yasutsune was able to incorporate karate training into the physical education programs in all elementary schools on Okinawa. In order to do this however, a few changes needed to be made to the art. For these changes, he was often criticized for effectively watering down the combat efficacy of karate. He disguised the more dangerous techniques, i.e. grappling, and taught the art as one primarily based on blocking and punching. No combative application was taught for any technique, meaning the patterns were taught without their application thereby making them no different than any of the traditional dances popular at the time. Lastly, deceptive names were given to the techniques that were taught, such as “high block” or “low block”. Prior to this, what we know as a “high block” or “low block” was utilized as a striking or grappling technique in addition to its role in blocking. It is now clear that karate patterns did at one time contain more than just striking and blocking techniques.

Taekwondo Patterns

Today’s Taekwondo patterns, specifically those used by Traditional Taekwondo practitioners, share many similarities with the older Japanese patterns. The original Okinawan Pinan pattern set and the newer Heian set are thought to be watered-down versions of the Kanku Dai (Kusanku) pattern. The Heian set was changed by Itosu to make them easier to learn by introducing easier techniques first. These patterns are still taught today in some Traditional Taekwondo schools under the Pyong-Ahn name. Early Traditional Taekwondo did not emphasize sparring as the art was still considered to be for self-defense purposes. The techniques in these patterns were not meant to be used to teach sport fighting; instead, these patterns were to be used by a soldier in battle and were meant to be used against aggressive, untrained attackers, which is why the applications of the patterns emphasize close-range self-defense techniques.

When Traditional Taekwondo and Shotokan patterns are compared, many similarities may be found. For example, the following Japanese patterns have a nearly identical Korean counterpart: Kanku Dai and Kong-Soo-Kan; Tekki and Chul-Gi; Bassai and Pal-Sek; Jion and Jaon; and Empi and Unbi. Other patterns are not identical, but similar movement patterns are found in the following: Heian Nidan and Won-Hyo; Tekki Shodan, Nidan, and Sandan and the Chang-Hon pattern Po-Eun; and Heian Shodan and the Chang-Hon patterns Chon-Ji and Dan-Gun.

The Chang-Hon patterns were the first “original” Taekwondo patterns and were developed by General Choi Hong Hi. The movements in these patterns have a large Shotokan influence, which is not a surprise considering General Choi received his 2nd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate while in Japan. Techniques found within the Chang-Hon patterns include throws, takedowns, chokes, strangles, joint locks of the wrist, elbow, finger, leg, and neck, and some ground fighting techniques. This pattern set is unique in that it contains complex footwork patterns in the nine under-black belt patterns. This intricate footwork is the basis for the grappling techniques in the patterns. Many of the Chang-Hon patterns are quite long and contain hand and foot combinations that do not often seem to make sense. These seemingly nonsensical combinations often tend to have grappling applications. It is through a thorough examination of the Chang-Hon patterns that we will find Taekwondo’s hidden grappling techniques.

A Brief History of Japanese Jujutsu

and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

The history of Japanese jujutsu is as interesting as that of its striking counterpart. Of course, when something is as old as an art like jujutsu, its history becomes more than a little muddled. For example, depending on the researcher, the roots of Japanese jujutsu come from ancient Greek grappling systems like Pankration, older Mongolian grappling arts, or simply that jujutsu is completely Japanese in its roots and has not been diluted by the native arts of other lands since its inception. The concern of this section is not to argue which history is most accurate and which is most self-serving, rather it is to illustrate a connection between older Japanese jujutsu and the corresponding Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

One of the largest misconceptions about Japanese jujutsu is that it was always practiced as a stand-alone art. This art, which has been known as jujutsu, taijutsu, wajutsu, torite, and yawara existed as an art that balanced the use of empty hand skills with weapons skills so that it would be useful to the samurai. A purely empty hand martial art would not be useful to the samurai because they fought as armed soldiers, much like soldiers of today. It is for this very reason that today’s military does not spend a great deal of time teaching hand-to-hand combat because of the many weapons a soldier has at his disposal. Because of the use of weapons by the samurai, jujutsu was at best an ancillary skill utilized in a worst-case scenario.

It was in the late 19th century that a slightly built man by the name of Jigoro Kano developed a system he called Judo. It is important to note that Judo is nothing more than another style of jujutsu and not a separate martial art. In point of fact, Kano was not even the first individual to use the name judo. Kano’s Judo was a system that he developed after mastering the Tenjin Shinyo-ryu, Kito-ryu, and Fusen-ryu styles of jujutsu. After his years of jujutsu training, Kano felt that that an underlying philosophy behind the jujutsu arts was lacking. It was because jujutsu was more a collection of techniques than a philosophical art that Kano decided to develop an art of his own that had some underlying principle on which the entire system was based. The principle that he decided upon was one simply to force your opponent to lose his balance, then attack. As simplistic as that may sound, it still is the base for the underlying strategy of Judo, which is to use minimal effort to achieve maximal efficiency.

One of the most important contributions to the martial arts, and especially Judo and indirectly, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, was the concept of randori or free sparring. Randori is simply a method of sparring that allows practitioners to practice their techniques in a safe manner while performing them realistically. In the early days of Judo, the use of randori allowed Kano’s students to practice more often since they were not constantly injured or trying to recover from some injury as a result of an overly aggressive training session in jujutsu. Basically, randori watered down Judo so that it could be practiced often, without making the art useless for self-defense or sport endeavors. It is this type of randori that separates modern Brazilian jiu-jitsu from many other martial arts and allows its students to excel.

The road that led Judo to be the foundation for Brazilian jiu-jitsu began late in the 19th century when a match between the older jujutsu styles and Kano’s new Judo was arranged at the Tokyo Police Station. Because of their use of randori and their ability to practice their techniques more often, the practitioners of Kano’s Judo successfully defeated the practitioners of the older styles of jujutsu. After the victory at the Tokyo Police Station, Judo grew in popularity as a result of more victories in tournaments and challenge matches. This seemingly invincible streak continued until around 1900 when Kano’s school, the Kodokan, challenged the Fusen-ryu school to a challenge match. The Fusen-ryu practitioners knew that they would not be able to defeat the Judo players because they did not posses the throwing skills that the judoka possessed. As a result, they took them to the ground and won the matches by submission. This loss was the first that the Kodokan had suffered in approximately eight years. Up until this time, Judo did not have a grappling component, so after the loss, Kano decided that that aspect of his art was sorely needed. As a result, he blended the techniques of the Fusen-ryu with his art of Judo.

The loss to the Fusen-ryu dojo served to shape the style of Brazilian jiu-jitsu as we know it today. The implementation of grappling techniques to the Judo curriculum occurred shortly before Judo reached the shores of Brazil. This is thought to be one of the main reasons why Brazilian jiu-jitsu has such an extensive focus on grappling. In 1904 a Japanese judoka trained by Kano himself, Mitsuo Maeda, traveled to the United States with his instructor to demonstrate the art of Judo to the cadets at West Point as well as to the President of the United States who at that time was Theodore Roosevelt. After Maeda left the United States, he continued his travels to Brazil as it was at the time the largest Japanese settlement outside of Japan. One of the men that aided him in his efforts while he was there was Gastao Gracie. As thanks for his help, Maeda taught Gracie’s son, Carlos, the basics of Kano’s Judo. In turn, Carlos taught his brothers, among them, Helio Gracie. As a result, Brazilian jiu-jitsu was born.

How to Use This Book

Finding the grappling techniques in Taekwondo patterns may at first glance seem difficult, but with practice this is not so. Here are a few examples that may open your mind to a few new possibilities. Kicking chambers and re-chambers could be sweeps or ground techniques rather than kicking techniques. Do not assume that the attackers we are battling in our patterns only attack us with strikes. Try to imagine the movements performed horizontally or on some other plane rather than from a standing position. Do not assume that the labels assigned to techniques, such as “high block” or “middle block” apply to the techniques. Remember, these names were only added in the past 100 years. Remove the technique from the flow of the pattern and see if other applications could apply. Ask yourself why things are they way they are. For example: why a palm strike rather than a fist attack; why does a stance change from a forward to a back or sitting stance or vice versa; why all the different chambers for hand techniques? So, in order to find the grappling in your patterns, simply utilize some abstract thought and keep an open mind throughout the process.

It is important to understand that many of the early masters we try to emulate were firm believers in cross-training methodologies. Those who excelled in striking arts often knew how to grapple and vice versa. When we fast-forward to the present, we find martial arts fragmented at best. Striking arts believe that they have the keys to the kingdom while grappling arts feel the same way. Furthermore, reality-based self-defense arts feel like traditional martial arts have lost their way during modern times and reality-based self-defense practitioners are the ones with the secrets of old. The purpose of this book is not to say with complete certainty that the grappling techniques in the Chang-Hon patterns are decidedly fact; rather that the movements within those forms can double as grappling techniques. It is by training in both striking and grappling that many of these techniques have presented themselves to me through the course of my training. So try to find some techniques in your own patterns and have fun.