Believe it or not, there is a controversy as to what the true history of Taekwondo is. Many believe that Taekwondo is a relative of Japanese Karate which spawned from the ancient Chinese arts passed down by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. Yet just as many people, including the country of Korea, believe that it was a martial art which was solely developed within Korea. Since I want to be as objective as I can, I have tried to provide information on both points of view.

Karate: The root of Taekwondo?

Karate (don't worry, this is about Taekwondo) is believed by some to have its roots in India when the Buddhust monk Bodhidharma brought a form of yoga and fighting skills to China about 1500 years ago. Bodhidharma taught these skills to the Chinese monks at the monastery Shaolin-Ssu, with an emphasis on strengthening their spirituality through physical fitness. The main goals of his teachings were self-defense and aid in enlightening the mind. This became known as wushu, or more commonly known as, kung fu.

Kung Fu became known as a lethal weapon and was used in offensive pursuits in war and international conflicts. Many students traveled throughout China to train military groups of organized societies in martial arts. Soon a school for the furtherance of the art was established to formalize training. Those societies who trained were the prime force in the Boxer Rebellion.

Though the fighting tecniques techniques were mainly applied to defense in war, they were quickly adopted by neighboring countries for offensive purposes. Through time, as all things do, this fighting style changed as it moved through the country into neighboring lands. Japan adopted the fighting tecniques and philosophies but developed a more 'harder' style which later became known as karate.

Characteristically, karate was used for defensive purposes, but it was also needed offensively. When rulers became unjust to the people, or criminals threatened villages and used prohibited weapons, karate was employed. Karate became a vital tool in fighting injustice. Unfortunately, these skills were not only learned by those wishing to do good. Criminals began to practice the arts for their own purposes, which would lead to prohibition of fighting arts by the commoner in later ages.

"Okinawa-te", emerged as a distinct karate style. Karate was introduced to Okinawa by 17th century Chinese warriors and was applied to Okinawa's original fighting system. This form of karate was used so that people could defend themselves without using weapons which were prohibited by law.

Modern karate began to develop in the early 20th century. Japan, Okinawa, China and Korea were the forces behind the movement of karate world-wide. With the leadership of such masters as Master Gichin Funakoshi (directly responsible for Okinawan Karate in Japan), modern karate had given a rise to many practitioners over the world.

Senior student of Gichin Funakoshi- Hironori Ohtsuka

Korean karate can be traced to Taek Kyon, which is a form of kicking and leg maneuvering exercises long used in Korea. It is believed that taek kyon was taught among Hwarang-do over 1000 years ago. Hwarang warriors were exceptional youths selected to learn swordsmanship and archery with the ultimate goal of becoming military leaders in the country of Silla, one of the three countries which made up Korea as well as the leader in uniting them.Though taek kyon was first a form of physical conditioning for the Hwarang-do, it is believed it changed as karate was introduced by neighboring Japan.

Karate is a Japanese pronunciation of two Chinese characters which literally mean "empty hand", as well as another set of two characters meaning "Kara hand" (or "the hand of the Kara Kingdom"). Much of the Korean public referred to "Kara hand" instead of "Empty hand". Kara is the name of one of the old provinces of China. This province later unified China and was known as the Kara Kingdom. Just as "Kara hand" is indicative of regional adaptation, so is "Okinawa-te".

In the 1950's, "Kara hand" changed to "Empty hand" in Japanese terminology, probably to have an emphasis on the art, rather than its roots. Kwon is the Korean word for karate, which was adopted by the Korean Tae-Kwon do Federation. Early on, when Taekwondo was establishing itself, it was still referred to by some as "korean karate". Some of the earlier schools adopted names like tang soo ("Kara hand"), kong soo ("Empty hand") and tae soo ("foot hand").

Taekwondo in Korea

Though there are many ways in which it is written (Taekwondo, Taekwon do, Tae Kwon Do), Taekwondo has been the name adopted for Korea's style of martial art. Taekwondo has three main words: "tae", "kwon" and "do". "Tae" means to kick, "Kwon" means to punch and "Do" means "the way (art) of ". Literally translated, Taekwondo means "the art of kicking and punching". In Korea the following would be considered a history of Taekwondo. Taekwondo though, as we know it today and it's poomse (patterns) are relatively quite young.

             Tae           Kwon          Do

Over two thousand years ago, when Kyoungju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, in what is now Korea, two giants were carved on the tower wall of a Buddhist temple. The giants are facing each other assuming a fighting stance as if they were practicing a martial art. Many say that these giants undoubtedly represent the early developments of the modern art of fighting known today as Taekwondo.

The earliest records of 'Taekwondo' dates back to about 50 B.C. During this time, Korea was divided into three Kingdoms: Silla, which was founded on the Kyongju plain in 57 B.C.; Koguryo, founded in the Yalu River Valley in 37 B.C.; and Baekche, founded in the southwestern area of the Korean peninsula in 18 B.C. Paintings on the ceiling of the Muyong-chong, a royal tomb from the Koguryo dynasty, provide us with evidence of the practice of taek kyon, the earliest known form of Taekwondo. These as well as other paintings show unarmed combat using techniques that resemble those of modern Taekwondo, specially the use of the knife hand, fist and classical fighting stances.

Although taek kyon first appeared in the Koguryo Kingdom, it was Silla's warrior nobility that spread the growth of taek kyon through Korea. Silla's coastline was constantly under attack by Japanese pirates. King Gwahggaeto, the 19th monarch in the Koguryo dynasty line, sent armed forces to help his neighboring kingdom fight the pirates. It was at this time that taek kyon was first introduced to Silla's warriors class, taught directly and in secret to a few Sillan warriors by early masters of the art. These warriors became known as the Hwarang. Founded as a military academy for the young nobility of Silla, the society of the Hwarang-do (the way of flowering manhood) adopted taek kyon as a part of its basic training.

The Hwarang travelled throughout the peninsula in order to learn more about the regions and people. These traveling warriors were responsible for the spread of taek kyon in Korea during the Silla dynasty. For the commoner, taek kyon remained principally as a sport and recreational activity designed to improve physical fitness rather than an excellent self-defense system. It was not until the Koryo dynasty (935 to 1392) that the focus of the art was changed. During this time, taek kyon became also known as Subak and it changed from a fitness system to a fighting art.

In 1909 the Japanese invaded Korea. The Japanese occupied Korea for the next 36 years and banned the practice of all Korean Martial Arts from being practiced. Little known to the Japanese this would ensure that the arts would not die. Korean's fueled with hatred for the Japanese formed an underground, traveling to remote Buddhist Temples to study Taekwondo. Korea was liberated from the Japanese in 1945, by then a style which resembles the Taekwondo we know today had become strongly rooted and began to spread.

The first Kwan (school) to teach a native Korean style opened in 1945 in Seoul. This Do-Jang (gymnasium) was named Chung Do Kwan. Later that same year two other Kwans opened in Seoul, the Moo Duk Kwan and the Yun Moo Kwan. The following year the Chang Moo Kwan and the Chi Do Kwan were opened. Between the years of 1953 and the early 1960's several other Kwans opened, the three most prominent were the Song Moo Kwan, Ji Do Kwan and the Oh Do Kwan. Each of these schools claimed to teach the Traditional Korean Martial Art, yet each focused on different aspects. Various names emerged from these Kwans representing different systems: Soo Bahk Do, Kwon Bop, Kong Soo Do, Tae Soo Do and Tang Soo Do.

Different beliefs between these schools stopped the formation of a central regulating board of 'Taekwondo' for ten years. However, these fighting methods found strong acceptance in the military, and in 1952 President Syngman Rhee watched a half-hour demonstration by Korean martial arts masters. Rhee was so impressed that he ordered training in the martial arts to be adopted as part of regular military training.

On April 11, 1955 a meeting was convened to unify the various kwans under a common name. At first, the name of Tae Soo Do was accepted by most kwan masters. However two years later the name was changed to the familiar Taekwondo. This name was chosen for two main reasons. The first, because it accurately describes the nature of both the hand and foot techniques and second it closely resembles the art's early name taek kyon. On September 14, 1964, the Korean Tae Kwon Do Association was created. During the 1960s thousands of Taekwondo demonstrators performed around the world before fascinated government officials who followed up to invite Korean instructors to teach in their countries. By the 1970s Taekwondo had a well established reputation worldwide.

On November 30, 1972 Kukkiwon was built in Seoul to train advance students from around the world. The need for a world wide organization to promote Taekwondo was present so on May 28, 1973 The World Taekwondo Federation was established. Since then the WTF has regulated Taekwondo internationally. In May 1973 the first WTF Championships were held in Seoul as a prelude to the inauguration of the WTF. World championships since then have been held in countries all over the world.

The first display of Taekwondo to the world was in the 1988 Olympic Games held in Seoul, Korea and in the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona, Spain. As of the year 2000, Taekwondo has become an Olympic sport. The first to represent Canada in this sport was Dominique Bosshart of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who won bronze.

*There are various spellings that can be found for many of the Korean words in the above history. As well, there will probably be some differences on the exact history of the art due to different biases. I suggest that you check out various sources to learn more if you wish to do so. If there is a fact which you truly believe to be wrong, e-mail me (link provided on side-bar).

Compiled from following sources:
Blair, Robert R. Brief History Of Taekwondo. Chung's Taekwondo, Prattville and Millbrook, AL.    



                            http://www.rrb.net/Chungs/History.htm
Cho, Sihak Henry. Korean Karate: Free Fighting Techniques. Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company. 1968.
Taekwondo in the Middle Ages. http://myhome.elim.net/Taekwondo//overview/middle.html


History Links:
http://www.princeton.edu/~tkd/history.html
http://www.sundo.co.nz/pages/history.html