Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Paul Crispell and Hae Won Shin for helping
to demonstrate the techniques presented in this book.
TAEKWONDO, "the way of the fist and the foot," is the most practiced system of martial arts in the world. There are over fifty million practitioners spanning the globe.
When you mention the word "taekwondo," the first thought that comes to mind is often the image of a practitioner flying through the air and delivering a kick to his opponent. However, although taekwondo is known for its elaborate kicking arsenal, there is much more to this advanced system of martial arts.
At the root of taekwondo is an exact science of self-defense. Whereas many styles of martial arts utilize overexaggerated techniques, taekwondo has been continually refined and redeveloped to make all of its offensive and defensive methodology precisely direct. No unnecessary movement is utilized in taekwondo. Therefore, no energy is wasted. This is one reason that taekwondo has not only continued to gain loyal practitioners but has developed from a refined method of self-defense into an Olympic sport.
THE FOUNDATIONS of taekwondo can be traced back thousands of years. Korea possesses a long and illustrious history of developing and refining advanced systems of martial arts. This history was idealized by the Hwa Rang warriors of the fifth century B.CThe "Flowering Youth," as they were known, brought an end to regional conflict, united the kingdoms on the Korean peninsula, and spread their understanding of Buddhism and warfare to the island nation of Japan. This historic transmission of knowledge helped to give birth to Japanese samurai culture. Although martial culture on the Korean peninsula dates back to the beginning of recorded time, the system of martial arts that came to be known as taekwondo is less than a century old.
The Birth of Taekwondo
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Korea was occupied by Japan. This annexation was not lifted until Japan's defeat at the end of World War II.
With brutal Japanese occupation lifted, Korea went through a period of rapid cultural revival. During this process, the native martial arts, which had been banned by the occupying forces, experienced a renewal. The Korean people, swearing never to be overtaken by a foreign power again, embraced this spread of the martial arts throughout their nation. From this came the birth of the modern Korean martial arts.
Taekwondo has gone through a long process of evolution since its foundations began to be laid at the end of World War II. It took many years for the various Korean martial arts instructors to finally unite their individual kwans, or "schools," under the banner of taekwondo. Ib understand this process, we can look at the history of the modern Korean martial arts.
The Kwans
The Chung Do Kwan
The Chung Do Kwan was founded by Lee Won Kuk. (In Korean names, the surname, or family name, comes first, followed by given names. Thus, in Western usage, Lee Won Kuk would be "Mr. Lee.") This was the first school of martial arts to be established in modern Korea and was the first school to begin laying the foundations for what was to become taekwondo.
Lee Won Kuk began his career in the martial arts in 1926, at the age of nineteen, when he moved to Japan to attend college. During his time at the university he studied Shotokan karate directly from its founder, Gichin Funakoshi.
Lee eventually returned to Korea and began teaching karate in September of 1944. His school was located at the Yong Shin School in Seoul.
During the Japanese occupation, it was virtually impossible for a Korean to open a school of karate in his homeland. Due to Lee's close relationship with the Japanese governor general of Korea, however, he was one of the very few people who were allowed to do so. This led to widespread rumors and deep distrust of Lee. It was believed that he must be a Japanese sympathizer, or he would not have been allowed to open his school. This distrust ran so deep that in 1945, when Korea was liberated, Lee was put on trial for his Japanese affiliations and had to temporarily close the doors of his school.
Lee was not convicted, however. Upon his acquittal, he became very proactive in his stance about Korean independence.
Lee formed a tight alliance with the Korean National Police. So much so, that when his Chung Do Kwan was reopened in Seoul, in April of 1946, it became known as the National Police Dojang.
In