Origin:
History:
The
five original Korean Kwans ("schools") were: Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan
(the art of Tang Soo Do), Yun Moo Kwan, Chang Moo Kwan, and Chi Do Kwan.
These were founded in 1945 and 1946. Three more Kwans were founded in the
early 1950's - Ji Do Kwan, Song Moo Kwan, and Oh Do Kwan.
After
fifty years of occupation by Japan (which ended in 1945), and after the
division of the nation and the Korean War, Korean nationalism spurred the
creation of a national art in 1955, combining the styles of the numerous
kwans active within the country (with the exception of Moo Duk Kwan, which
remained separate - therefore Tang Soo Do is still a separate art from
TKD today). Gen. Hong Hi Choi was primarily responsible for the creation
of this new national art, which was named Tae Kwon Do to link it with Tae-Kyon
(a native art). Earlier unification efforts had been called Kong Soo Do,
Tae Soo Do, etc. Many masters had learned Japanese arts during the occupation,
or had learned Chinese arts in Manchuria. Only a few had been lucky enough
to be trained by the few native martial artists who remained active when
the Japanese banned all martial arts in Korea. Choi himself had taken Tae-Kyon
(a Korean art) as a child, but had earned his 2nd dan in Shotokan Karate
while a student in Japan. |
Description:
Primarily
a kicking art. There is often a greater emphasis on the sport aspect of
the Art. Tae-Kwon-Do stylists tend to fight at an extended range, and keep
opponents away with their feet. It is a hard/soft, external, fairly linear
style. It is known for being very powerful. |
Training:
Training
tends to emphasize sparring, but has forms, and basics are important as
well. There is a lot of competition work in many dojangs.
The
World Taekwondo Federation is the governing body recognized by the International
Olympic Committee, and as a result WTF schools usually emphasize Olympic-style
full contact sparring. The WTF is represented in the U.S. by the U.S. Taekwondo
Union (USTU).
The
International Taekwondo Federation is an older organization founded by
Hong Hi Choi and based out of Canada. It tends to emphasize a combination
of self-defense and sparring, and uses forms slightly older than those
used by the WTF.
The
American Taekwondo Association is a smaller organization similar in some
ways to the ITF. It is somewhat more insular than the ITF and WTF, and
is somewhat unique in that it has copyrighted the forms of its organization
so that they cannot be used in competition by non-members.
There
are numerous other federations and organizations, many claiming to be national
(AAU TKD has perhaps the best claim here) or international (although few
are), but these three have the most members. All of these federations,
however, use similar techniques (kicks, strikes, blocks, movement, etc.),
as indeed does Tang Soo Do (another Korean art, founded by the Moo Duk
Kwan, that remained independent during the unification / foundation of
Tae Kwon Do). |
Click
Here to view video clips of Tae Kwon Do techniques.
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