Taekwondo for Kids. Y. H. Park

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      THE HISTORY OF TAEKWONDO

      Taekwondo is a Korean martial art with a long and interesting history. Taekwondo, which is best known for its amazing kicks, began more than 2000 years ago, around 50 B.C. We know this because archaeologists have found pictures of people practicing taekwondo stances, blocks, and punches on the ceiling of an ancient royal tomb in Korea, called the Muyong-Chong.

      Long ago, Korea was divided into three kingdoms: Silla, Koguryo, and Baekche. The same people who eventually united Korea were also the people who spread an early form of taekwondo. These people were known as the Hwarang, which means “flowering youth.” They were young warriors from royal families who underwent a great deal of physical, cultural, and philosophical training to become an elite class of knights. The Hwarang were taught Subak, which was a very early form of taekwondo that focused on kicks. The young warriors added new moves to Subak, including punches, and renamed the art Tae Kyon. The Hwarang spread their fighting arts, along with Buddhism, to the island of Japan. Some people think that the Hwarang may even have inspired the samurai culture in Japan. Either way, it is clear that from the start taekwondo was not just about kicking and punching, but also about acting honorably and respectfully.

      In 1909, almost 2000 years after the Hwarang introduced Buddhism and Tae Kyon to Japan, the Japanese invaded Korea. They stayed in control of the country for thirty-six years. During this time, the Korean people were not allowed to practice Tae Kyon or other forms of Subak. You might think that since they were not allowed to practice Subak, it just died out. Not so! Instead, it spread like never before, and people went to Buddhist temples in secret to practice Subak.

      STYLES

      When Korea was set free from the Japanese in 1945, Subak began to spread even more. However, there were many different styles— called kwans—being practiced. Some of the kwans were Moo Duk Kwan, Chung Do Kwan, Yun Moo Kwan, and Ji Do Kwan. Although they had a lot in common, the kwans all did some things a little differently. There was no single way of bowing, warming up, punching, kicking, or competing. Sometimes the masters of one kwan did not get along with the masters of others. This made it difficult for there to be a single taekwondo community.

      In the 1950s, all the masters got together and decided to unite the kwans. As you can imagine, this was a very difficult task. Each master was used to teaching his students in a different way, and it took many years for all the masters to come to an agreement. Even then, however, the masters were still divided into two groups. One group, lead by General Hong Hi Choi, became the Korea Taekwondo Association, and later the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF). The other group, led by Dr. Un Yong Kim, became the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The main difference between the groups is that the ITF focuses on self-defense techniques, while the WTF focuses more on competition.