History of Taekwondo

Gordon over at Blue Wave Taekwondo sent me copies of the following:

• A Modern History of Taekwondo by Kang Won Sik and Lee Kyong Myong
• Problems in the Identify & Philosophy of Taekwondo and Their Historical Causes by Capener

I just finished reading both and would have to say that they are interesting. They provide a history of Taekwondo from a WTF perspective. The main message I took from both is that right after WW II and the Japanese occupation of Korea, “taekwondo” was very similar to Shotokan Karate. To reclaim their national identity the Koreans started to “re-tool” the style–part by adding high aerial kicks from older Korean arts, and part by changing how sparring was done. On the latter Shotakan trained to use its techniques at full power. So, when sparring they arrested their strikes “just before” hitting a target. Taekwondo added the chest protector and competition-style sparing. Initially this was a way to practice sparing on a fluid opponent while using almost full power techniques. Later it would evolve into a martial sport.

Another distinction from Shotokan is the move from defense/attack to attacking in the midst of being attacked. This distinction seems to be philosophical and evolved from taekwondo’s approach to sparring.

The other thing I took from these essays is the fact that after WW II the kwans (i.e. schools) were quite literally a mess. Various masters in-fighting, politics, even using their military influence to get their style as the official style.

So, it’s little wonder that there still is this tension within taekwondo where you have one camp who tries to keep the style closer to traditional karate, while the other camp lobbies for an almost total sport approach. Naturally, these are the two extremes with various shades in the middle. Or, as Tedeschi puts it:

1) Martial Art, 2) Sport, 3) Integrated, and 4) Eclectic.

• Martial Art: These schools focus on Korean tradition, self-defense, and character development. They also typically do not perform as well in sport competition.
• Sport: These schools emphasize training that helps students do well in a sport setting–usually Olympic-Style Taekwondo. Absent here are forms and self-defense training.
• Integrated: These schools combine (to varying degrees of success) the sport and martial arts aspects of Taekwondo.
• Eclectic: This refers to a modern and integrative approach–especially in relation to self-defense. Many instructors that adhere to this method will cross-train in other arts and then attempt to blend what they learn with Taekwondo. The overall goal is “real-world” self-defense but often it becomes so diluted that it may become a hodge-podge of techniques.

Given the art’s widespread diversity and popularity I can guarantee that, for the most part, it will continue to change.

~BCP

[tags]taekwondo, history, martial arts[/tags]