The History of TaeKwon Do
TaeKwon Do is a Korean form of Martial arts that has grown over several centuries. The words Tae Kwon Do mean:
Tae: kick with the legs
Kwon : hit with the hands
Do: Is the way, the art & the mind needed to execute the above.
In order to describe the origins of Tae Kwon Do we must take a look at Korean history.
In ancient times the area we now know as Korea was divided between three kingdoms. The Silla Kingdom (57 bc – 936 ad) in the south east, the Koguryo kingdom (37 bc – 668 ad) in the north and the Baek Je kingdom (18 bc – 660 ad) in the southwest. The Koguryo was the largest of the three kingdoms.
The Korean ancestors of these kingdom were constantly in need of defense systems against their rivals and as such various forms of martial arts were born with names such a TAEKYON, HWARANG-DO, SOOBAK DO and others.
In 668 ad the Silla kingdom prevailed against the other two and therefore the three kingdoms became one. The Silla period latest until 936 ad and is remembered as one of the golden eras of Korean history. During the Silla era exceptional warriors known as Hwarang emerged. They were young men with exceptional capabilities and students of martial arts, archery, weapons, art, painting and science.
After the 2nd World war and the end of the Japanese occupation there was interest for the Taekyon to be available for everyone to follow and this quickly spread. At this time there was a movement under the guidance of General Choi Hong Hi with the goal of making a worldwide organization. Under the new classification, General Choi with the help of a committee member who was important personality in Korea, changed its name in TaeKwon Do meaning "Way of the foot and the hand." In 1965 holders of Dans began a campaign to spread TaeKwon Do across the globe. One of these members was the Grandmaster Kwon, Jae-Hwa. Since then TaeKwon Do has been taught throughout Europe.
General Choi Hong Hi was born on 9th November 1918. When he was very young his parents were concerned about his health because he was weak and sickly. Despite this as he grew he showed a great and independent spirit. As the age of 12 he was expelled from school because he was opposed to Japanese that were in power at the time. That was the beginning of his long collaboration with the independent movement of the Kwan Ju Students. After being expelled his father sent him to learn calligraphy under one of the most famous teachers Han II Dong. Han apart from being an excellent calligrapher was also a Taek kyon teacher, an ancient martial art based of fighting using the legs. The master was worried about the fragile state of his students and therefore started working with him in the art of Taek Kyon to strengthen his body.
In 1937 he was sent to Japan to continue his studies. Shortly before leaving he had an altercation with a professional wrestler who threatened to kill him the next time they met. This threat was the reason Choi continued his studies or martial arts. In Kyoto, Choi met a fellow countryman Mr. Kim who practiced the art of karate. After two years of persistent training he was given the first grade of the black belt. These techniques together with those of Taek Kyon were the predecessors to the martial art of Tae Kwon Do.
In 1942 he was recruited by the Japanese army. He was imprisoned because he escaped and tried to Liberation Army of Korea in 1945. After the war he was allowed to return to his country. Here he was recruited by the south Korean army. When civil war broke out Choi created a military program and a trained TaeKwon Do unit. He climbed up the ranks in the army until he became General
Choi Hong Hi passed away in June 2002 at 83 years of age from stomach cancer, leaving behind a vast legacy, TaeKwon-Do