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History
Even though Tae Kwon Do has its beginnings in modern times, Tae Kwon Do does have a rich history that begins in ancient Korea. In modern times, Tae Kwon Do has flourished from the Kwan’s (schools) of Korea to being a major Olympic sport.
Silla formed in 57 B.C., Koguryo in 37 B.C. and Baekche in 18 B.C. formed the foundation of early Korea. Though earliest forms of Tae Kyon (the precursor to Tae Kwon Do), founded on a ceiling of the Muyong-chong, a royal tomb from the Koguryo dynasty. Of the three kingdoms, Silla was the least developed civilization. (Park, Park, Gerrard pg 1)
Silla was established near the coast of the Korean peninsula and was constantly under attack from the Japanese pirates. The neighboring kingdom, Koguryo under a direct order from King Gwanggaeto, gave military assistance to help combat the constant attacks from the Japanese pirates. If Silla fell to the Japanese pirates, the Monarchs of Korea knew that they would be a direct threat to the rest of the kingdoms. (Park Gerrard pg 1)
From fighting off various attacks from the Japanese pirates, Silla during this time has developed a unique fighting style called Tae Kyon. During a joint campaign the Koguryo soldiers were first introduced to this style of unarmed combat. When the soldiers returned to King Gwanggaeto, the King ordered Tae Kyon training to be incorporated into the formal education of the young warriors. (Park Gerrard pg 1)
Through this formal training, the Hwarang Silla’s warrior was credited with the spread of Tae Kyon through out Korea. The Hwarang initially founded as a military academy for the young men of 16-20 years of age. Among their physical training the Hwarang-do also followed a code of conducted.
The code of conduct that the Hwarang-do followed was based on the Five Codes of Human Conduct as established by the Buddhist scholar Wonkang. They were;
• Be loyal to your country
• Be obedient to your parents
• Be trustworthy to your friends
• Never retreat in battle
• Never make an unjust kill
These codes are now reflected in the so-called 11 commandments of modern Tae Kwon Do. These tenets are used to guide the development of the students. These 11 commandments are as followed;
• Loyalty to your country
• Respect your parents
• Faithfulness to your spouse
• Respect your brothers and sisters
• Loyalty to your friends
• Respect your elders
• Respect your teachers
• Never take a life unjustly
• Indomitable spirit
• Loyalty to your school
• Finish what you begin
Along with following the code of conduct the Hwarang-do were versatile in other walks of life.
With the spread of Tae Kyon through out Korea, Tae Kyon mainly remained as a sport through out Silla’s dynasty which lasted from 668 A.D. – 935 A.D. It wasn’t till about 935 A.D. at the beginning of the Koryo dynasty that the arts focus changed. Tae Kyon during this time became know as Subak and changed during the King Uijong reign (between 1147-1170 A.D.), from a fitness sport to a fighting art. (Park Park Gerrard pg 2-3)
During the Yi dynasty (1397-1907 A.D.) the first book on the art of Tae Kyon was widely available on the art to help promote it among the general population. Before this publication, the art was only available to the military. Due to the publication of the book and the general populazation of the art pave way for Subaks survival. The art again during the second half of the Yi dynasty became a fitness sport. (Park Park Gerrard pg 3)
Korea yet again in the early 1900’s was divided do to the Japanese invasion of Korea. From 1909 to 1945 the Japanese banned all military arts for native Koreans. The Korean arts of Subak and Tae Kyon where kept alive through famous masters of the Korean fighting arts. The nature of the arts changed in 1943 when first Judo and the Karate and Kung Fu were introduced. The next couple of years the art took root and began to flourished. For many years variety of Korean arts existed throughout Korea with influence from the Chinese and Japanese arts. (Park Park Gerrard pg 4)
Following the liberation in 1945 the first Kwan’s (schools) opened up. Of the schools that opened that year were the Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, and Yun Moo Kwan. Others followed, Chang Moo Kwan, Chi Do Kwan along with Ji Do Kwan, Song Mo Kwan and Oh Do Kwan that opened up between 1953 and 1960’s.
The year was 1955 were Tae Kwon Do officially got its name. On April 11, 1955 a special board composed of masters and prominent leaders meet to choose a new name for the art of Tang So Do. General Choi was credited for coming up with the name of Tae Kwon Do at that meeting. Upon unanimous approval from the committee, the new name for the art was sent to President Rhee for final approval. After receiving final approval from President Rhee, General Choi ordered all of the Tang Soo Do signs to be replaced with the new name Tae Kwon Do and Choi ordered the legendary master Nam Tae Hee that Tae Kwon Do soldiers say Taekwon when they salute each other. (www.tkdtutor.com)
Once approved and changed, Tae Kwon Do flourished not only in Korea but world wide. Throughout the years various organizations became known. On September 14, 1961 the Korean Tae Kwon Do Association was formed and helped the spread of Tae Kwon Do through various demonstrations. With the spread of Tae Kwon Do through out the world a new world wide organization was form.
On May 28, 1973 the World Tae Kwon Do Federation was created. All activities outside of Korea have been coordinated by the WTF and also in May of 1973, the first World Tae Kwon Do Championships. Its growth into the population helps bring attention from the General Association of International Sports Federation (GAISF). With GAISF help, Tae Kwon Do was introduced at the 1988 Seoul Korea Olympic Games as a demonstration sport. In 2000 at the Sydney Australia Olympic Games, Tae Kwon Do became an official Olympic sport.
To help fine tune the art of Tae Kwon Do, in 2007 the Martial Arts Commission was formed underneath the United States Tae Kwon Do Association. This commission led by Grandmaster Hong Kong Kong Kim out of Cincinnati, Ohio and Grandmaster J. P. Choi out of Columbus, Ohio. To this day, Tae Kwon Do is practiced world wide by more the 20 million students and continues to flourished.
References
# Black Belt Tae Kwon Do The Ultimate Reference Guide to the Worlds Most Popular Black Belt Martial Art - Yeon Hwan Park, Jon Gerrard, published 2000
# Tae Kwon Do The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World's Most Popular Martial Art - Yeon Hee Park, Yeon Hwan Park, Jon Gerrard, published 1989
# TKD Tutor Knowledge for Tae Kwon Do Professionals - web address www.tkdtutor.com