Welcome To Traditional Taekwondo Association Northwest England

Ancient History Of Taekwondo

Human nature has the instinct to preserve life and therefore people engaged in physical activities to aid that survival instinct. In ancient
times, people had no means to defend themselves, other than with
their bare hands and feet. They naturally developed bare-hand
fighting techniques.

At that time, techniques were acquired from observations of animals,
whose defensive and offensive movements were the subject of
analysis. Even when weapons came into existence, people
continued to enjoy bare-hand fighting techniques in order to build
up physical strength. They also were used in matches that were part
of the rituals of tribal communities.

In the early days of the Korean Peninsula there were three tribes, each enjoying martial arts contests between warriors which took place during the ritual season. These three kingdoms, koguryo, Paekje and Shilla, were rivals for the hegemony. They all had a growing national strength and had well trained warriors.

These warriors such as the "Hwarangdo" in Shilla and the "Chouisonin" in Koguryo both adopted martial arts training as an important learning tool.

A Known martial arts book called the "Muyedobo-Tongji" wrote,

"Taekwondo is the basis of martial
art, enabling one to build strength by using the hand and foot freely.Training the body, as well as the arms and legs, to be adaptable to any critical situations."

It is believed that Taekwondo, whose name is derived from "Subak" and "Taekkyon", originated from the days of the tribal communities on the Korean Peninsula.

The Shilla Kingdom, founded in B.C. 57 and the Koguryo , founded in B.C. 37 both made efforts to raise their children to be strong warriors called the "Hwarang" and "Sunbae" respectively. This was certainly with Taekwondo as one of the physical aspects of training.

Taekwondo In The Middle Ages

The Koguryo dynasty, which reunified the Korean peninsula after Shilla (918 to 1392 A.D.), had developed Taekkyon more systematically and made it a compulsory subject in the military selection examinations.

The techniques and power of Taekkyon grew to become effective
enough weapons to kill a human being. In the military, a pattern of collective practise, called "Obyong-subak-hui" (5 soldier's Taekkyon play), was introduced so that it might be used in a real war.

In the early days of the Koguryo dynasty, martial art abilities were the
only required qualification to become military personnel. The Kingdom needed strong national defence capabilities after conquering the
peninsula. Ordinary soldiers who mastered Taekkyon were promoted
to General, and potential recruits were invited to Taekkyon contests,
where the skilled ones were selected to become military officers. There are lots of examples in which many Taekkyon masters were picked at contests, which is proof that Taekwondo as a sport originated in that time.

The Kings of the Koguryo dynasty were especially interested in "subakhui" (Taekkyon contests), making it a compulsory course of military training. Therefore, subakhui was also a popular event for inspection tours in the villages.

Taekwondo In Modern Times

In the modern age of Korea, the Chosun or Yi dynasty who ruled from
1392 to 1910, and under the Japanese colonial rule until 1945,
Taekwondo was called Subakhui rather than Taekkyon. It suffered
the eventual loss of official support from the central government as
weapons were modernised for use in national defence.

Chosun history tells us about the Subakhui contests
ordered by local officials for the purpose of selecting soldiers and for the enjoyment of the Kings, who watched Subakhui contests at the times of feasts. It was ruled by the defence department that a soldier
should be employed when he can beat three other contestants in subakhui bouts. However, as the government progressed, officials began to lay more importance in power struggles, rather than on the
interests of defence. This naturally lead to the promotion of martial arts being neglected.

It was only in the days of King Jungjo, after the Japanese invasion of
Korea in 1592, that the royal government revived strong defence
measures. They did this by strengthening military training and martial
art practise.

The Japanese colonial government totally prohibited all folkloric
games including Taekkyon in the process of suppressing the Korean
people. The martial art Taekkyon (Taekwondo) had been secretly
handed down by the masters of the art until the liberation of the
country in 1945. Song Duk-ki, one of these masters testified that his
master, who was Im Ho, was reputed for his excellent skills of Taekkyon. He would be, "Jumping over walls and running through the woods just like a tiger."

Present Day Taekwondo

Upon the liberation of Korean from the Japanese colonial rule after
World War II, the Korean people began to recover their self-reliance.
The traditional folkloric games regained their popularity. Song Duk-ki, master of Taekkyon, presented a demonstration of the martial art
before the Korean President, Syngman Rhee, the occasion being his birthday. The demonstration clearly distinguished Taekwondo from
the Japanese Karate which was introduced by the Japanese rulers.

Martial art experts began opening Taekwondo schools all over the
country and, after the end of Korean War in 1953, Taekwondo was popularised among the Dan grades within the country. Around
2,000 Taekwondo masters were dispatched to spread Taekwondo to
more than 100 countries.

                  Kukkiwon                              Grandmaster Loh at the World
                                                            Taekwondo Games.

Taekwondo has developed rapidly over the last thirty years.

1971 - Nomination as the national martial art of Korea
1972 - Kukkiwon is founded as Taekwondo headquarters. It is
also the site of various Taekwondo Tournaments.
1973 - The World Taekwondo Federation (W.T.F) is founded,
currently having 168 countries as members.
1973 - The biannual World Taekwondo Championships was organised.
1974 - Taekwondo is admitted to the Asian games as an official
event.
1975 - Taekwondo is accepted as an official sport by the U.S.
Amateur Athletic Union (A.A.U.)
1975 - Taekwondo is admitted to the General Association of International Sports Federations (G.A.I.S.F.).
1976 - Taekwondo is adopted as an official sports event by the International Council of Military Sports (C.I.S.M).
1979 - The President of the W.T.F. was elected Chairman of the
World Federation of Non-Olympic Sports.
1980 - The W.T.F. became an International Olympic Committee recognised sports federation, thus making Taekwondo an
Olympic sport.
1981 - Taekwondo is an official event in the World Games.
1986 - Taekwondo is an official event in the
Pan-American Games.
2000 - Taekwondo is an official event at the Sydney
Olympics Games.

THE FIRST TAEKWONDO OLYMPIC MEDALLISTS.

Taekwondo History