Taekwondo

Taekwondo, also known as Tae Kwon Do, is a Korean martial art that is popular around the world. It focuses on utilizing complex body mechanics to deliver powerful strikes and is known particularly for its powerful kicks. Students of Taekwondo learn meditation, discipline, and historic forms along with practical sparring techniques. Taekwondo is also practiced as an Olympic sport.

Background

Taekwondo traces its roots to ancient Korean martial arts. Korea has a legacy of practicing weaponless combat that dates back thousands of years. The first records of Koreans practicing organized unarmed combat come from the Three Kingdoms period. Historic texts show that a weaponless martial art developed during the Goryeo dynasty, alongside martial arts that focused on archery, swords, and spears.

By the time the Joseon dynasty rose to power, that martial art had developed into Soo Bak (or Subak), Subakhui, Kwonbub, and Taekkyon. While these forms were practiced as martial arts, they were disguised as games and leisure activities. This allowed the lower classes to learn self-defense without attracting the attention of authority figures. These arts were practiced and developed for centuries.

From 918 CE to 1392 CE, martial arts became a sport to the Korean people. Soo Bak, one of the most popular arts, gradually evolved into Soo Bak Gi, which included mental conditioning. Another new art, Tae Kyon, involved a variety of new kicking techniques. Many of these arts were practiced as sports by the Korean populace. Tae Kyon and Soo Bak Gi were commonly held at annual festivals. Over time, learning Soo Bak Gi and Tae Kyon became mandatory for members of the military.

When the government shifted to the Yi dynasty in 1392, attitudes toward Korean martial arts shifted. The government grew suspicious of the people. It then banned the study of martial arts for all but the military. This coincided with the teachings of Confucius, which replaced traditional Buddhism in the area. During this period, a Yi dynasty king ordered a manual of arms to be written for the military. The illustrations and text in the manual describe Soo Bak Gi and Tae Kyon in detail. That manual has survived into modern times, giving historians much insight into the history of Korean martial arts.

The Yi dynasty ended when the Japanese conquered Korea in 1910. The Japanese turned the nation into a colony and enforced a strict ban on martial arts. Soo Bak Gi, renamed Soo Bak Do, and several other martial arts continued to be practiced in secret. They were also influenced by Japanese martial arts, including Karate, Aikido, and Judo.

Overview

When Korea was freed from Japanese control in 1945, the many varieties of Japanese and Korean martial arts could be openly practiced once again. Several large martial arts schools, called Kwans, quickly established themselves in the newly free nation. As these schools grew, members of the schools began to look for a way to unify the various martial arts schools practiced in Korea. This effort was spearheaded by Choi Hong Hi, a South Korean general.

In 1955, the leaders of the five largest Kwans gathered into a committee to officially unify the Korean martial arts. After months of deliberation, they settled on the name Taekwondo. In Korean, Taekwondo translates to "the way of hand and foot," in reference to its emphasis on powerful forms of striking. By 1962, the Korean Amateur Sports Association had recognized the Korean Taekwondo Union.

From that point on, Taekwondo quickly spread throughout the world. It is practiced in almost two hundred countries and is extremely popular in Korea, Malaysia, and the United States. It is promoted and taught by three major Taekwondo schools: ATA International (formerly the American Taekwondo Association), the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF), and the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF).

ATA International was founded in Nebraska in 1969. Its founder was a former student of the ITF. ATA International has more than a thousand schools in North America. ATA tournaments are open only to students of ATA schools.

The ITF is a popular Taekowndo administration based in Benidorm, Spain. It was founded in 1966 by General Choi Hong Hi. Choi Hong Hi was one of the founders of Taekwondo and worked hard to spread it to as many countries as possible. He was one of the first to teach Taekwondo in America and continued to give Taekwondo seminars until his death in 2002. The ITF is known for teaching a more traditional, historic variant of Taekwondo. It is also known for its light-contact, point-scored sparring sessions.

The WTF is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It was founded in 1973. The WTF is known for actively advancing the sport of Taekwondo, striving to perfect the movements instead of exclusively teaching historic forms. The WTF sets official standards for awarding a black belt to a student. For this reason, the rank of black belt awarded by a WTF school is respected at any other WTF school. This is not always the case in ATA or ITF schools.

WTF Taekwondo is the official variant of Taekwondo practiced at the Olympics. Taekwondo was first recognized as an Olympic sport in the Sydney Games in 2000. Olympic Taekwondo competitors are required to wear WTF-approved safety equipment, including a chest guard, head guard, shin guards, forearm guards, hand guards, and mouth guards. Competitors are divided into male and female weight categories. Competitors are allowed to punch and kick their opponent in the chest protector and head protector. They are not allowed to strike any other part of their opponents' bodies. Simple strikes to the chest award the attacker one point. Spinning kicks to the chest award the attacker two points. A kick to an opponent's head awards the attacker three points. Any strikes deemed "too light" by judges will not be awarded any points. In high-profiled tournaments, the chest and head protectors use electronic scoring to register hits. The electronic scoring system can be adjusted to force competitors to hit harder to score points. At the end of three rounds, the competitor with the most points is declared the winner.

Bibliography

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"History of ATA International (formerly the American Taekwondo Association)." ATA International, ataonline.com/taekwondo/history.asp. Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.

"Our Simple Guide to the WTF Taekwondo Sparring Rules." Taekwondo-Information.org, 2012, taekwondo-information.org/taekwondo-sparring-rules.html. Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.

Southwick, Ronald A. "A Brief History of Taekwondo." Michigan State University, 1998, msu.edu/~spock/history.html. Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.

"Taekwondo History." Kukkiwon, kukkiwon.or.kr/front/pageView.action?cmd=/eng/information/history‗taekwondo. Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.

"Taekwondo." USA Taekwondo, teamusa.org/usa-taekwondo/about-us. Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.

"What Is the Difference between the WTF, ITF, and ATA Taekwondo Systems?" Taekwondo-Guide.com, taekwondo-guide.com/WTF-ITF-ATA.html. Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.

"WTF." World Taekwondo Federation, worldtaekwondofederation.net/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.