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WHAT IS TAE KWON DO?

Would you like to learn taekwondo, and perhaps one day become a black belt? If so, you’re not alone. Hundreds of thousands of young people across the nation are jumping, punching, kicking, shouting, and thinking in healthy new ways as they try to meet this goal. As these kids advance in taekwondo, they are becoming better people, stronger, more confident, and able to do things they never imagined!

An important part of taekwondo training is understanding the history of this martial art. Knowing how taekwondo started will help you understand why the masters and grandmasters—both those of the past and the present ones—are treated with such respect.

THE HISTORY OF TAEKWONDO

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art with a long and interesting history. Taekwondo, which is best known for its amazing kicks, began more than 2000 years ago, around 50 B.C. We know this because archaeologists have found pictures of people practicing taekwondo stances, blocks, and punches on the ceiling of an ancient royal tomb in Korea, called the Muyong-Chong.

Long ago, Korea was divided into three kingdoms: Silla, Koguryo, and Baekche. The same people who eventually united Korea were also the people who spread an early form of taekwondo. These people were known as the Hwarang, which means “flowering youth.” They were young warriors from royal families who underwent a great deal of physical, cultural, and philosophical training to become an elite class of knights. The Hwarang were taught Subak, which was a very early form of taekwondo that focused on kicks. The young warriors added new moves to Subak, including punches, and renamed the art Tae Kyon. The Hwarang spread their fighting arts, along with Buddhism, to the island of Japan. Some people think that the Hwarang may even have inspired the samurai culture in Japan. Either way, it is clear that from the start taekwondo was not just about kicking and punching, but also about acting honorably and respectfully.

In 1909, almost 2000 years after the Hwarang introduced Buddhism and Tae Kyon to Japan, the Japanese invaded Korea. They stayed in control of the country for thirty-six years. During this time, the Korean people were not allowed to practice Tae Kyon or other forms of Subak. You might think that since they were not allowed to practice Subak, it just died out. Not so! Instead, it spread like never before, and people went to Buddhist temples in secret to practice Subak.

STYLES

When Korea was set free from the Japanese in 1945, Subak began to spread even more. However, there were many different styles— called kwans—being practiced. Some of the kwans were Moo Duk Kwan, Chung Do Kwan, Yun Moo Kwan, and Ji Do Kwan. Although they had a lot in common, the kwans all did some things a little differently. There was no single way of bowing, warming up, punching, kicking, or competing. Sometimes the masters of one kwan did not get along with the masters of others. This made it difficult for there to be a single taekwondo community.

In the 1950s, all the masters got together and decided to unite the kwans. As you can imagine, this was a very difficult task. Each master was used to teaching his students in a different way, and it took many years for all the masters to come to an agreement. Even then, however, the masters were still divided into two groups. One group, lead by General Hong Hi Choi, became the Korea Taekwondo Association, and later the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF). The other group, led by Dr. Un Yong Kim, became the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The main difference between the groups is that the ITF focuses on self-defense techniques, while the WTF focuses more on competition.

While these two groups may have slightly different ways of teaching taekwondo, they are both devoted to increasing the popularity of this martial art. Thanks in large part to the efforts of Dr. Un Yong Kim, taekwondo was a demonstration sport in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea. Today it is an official sport in the Pan American Games and the Olympic Games. And there are Junior Olympics held every year for kids just like you! Dr. Un Yong Kim and thousands of other masters are working hard to make taekwondo as popular around the world as other sports.

The WTF’s new president is Dr. Chung Won Choue. He has expert leadership and vision and is looking for a new taekwondo movement in the world.

WHY SHOULD I LEARN TAEKWONDO?

If you work hard and take your taekwondo training seriously, you will start to see some amazing benefits, starting from your first day at the taekwondo school, or dojang. Among these are:

• More confidence: Taekwondo teaches you how to protect and defend yourself and others, how to act responsibly and make good decisions, and how to stay in control of your emotions and do the right thing. As you learn each of these things, you will become much more confident. This means that you will feel proud of yourself because you know that you are working hard and learning very important skills.

• Better coordination: The training in taekwondo is very strict and specific—this means that everyone will be expected to perform the kicks, blocks, and stances in exactly the same way, and you will have to practice until you can do them right. Because of this, you will find yourself being much more careful in all your movements, which will give you much better coordination.

• Strength of character: Practicing taekwondo will give you strength of character. This means that you will feel yourself becoming a better person as you live by the philosophies you’re being taught. You will know how to do the right thing, how to behave with honor, and how to make others proud of you.

• Thinking independently: Taekwondo also teaches you to think independently. This means being able to decide what is right and wrong, and to act in a way that is right, without having to ask a grown-up for help. If, for instance, your friends want you to try something bad, you must be able to say no to them. This is sometimes hard, but training in taekwondo will give you the confidence you need to make and carry out the decisions you feel are right. Taekwondo will teach you that you know more about right and wrong than you may think.

Words to Know

Taekwondo : This means “way of the foot and fist.” But taekwondo is not just a style of fighting, it’s also a philosophy for life.

Dojang : A taekwondo school