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Taekwondo is the Korean national sport and martial art, and is also one of the world's most commonly practiced sports. In the Korean language, Tae (태, Hanja 跆) means "kick or destroy with the foot", kwon (권, Hanja 拳) means "punch or smash with the hand or fist", and Do (도, Hanja 道) means "way or art". Hence, Taekwondo is taken to mean "the way of the foot and the fist."
Taekwondo is popular throughout the world, and the Kukkiwon-World Taekwondo Federation's form of Taekwondo is currently an Olympic sport. While some forms of Taekwondo have received criticism for not teaching enough street-effective techniques, this has more to do with commercialization, rather than with any inherent flaw in the art itself: one of the reasons Taekwondo is so popular is because of its ease in learning and effectiveness as a form of self-defence. It is used in unarmed combat training in some armies (the French army, for instance).
History
Korea, as a peninsula buffer state between Manchuria, China and Japan, with incursions by the Mongols and Tatars, among other peoples, has quite a long history of unarmed and armed combat, absorbing various styles, like kung fu, and making them more suitable for their own rugged and mountainous terrain and indigenous combat styles.
Probably the most influential period of development was during the Three Kingdom period (Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla). Silla is believed to have established diplomatic relations with the Tang Empire in the 7th century.
However, the influence of Tang dynasty on the martial arts (as it was in almost every other cultural aspect throughout East Asia) was considerable both on Japan and Korea. In this same period, in the kingdom of Koguryo, various carvings into the towers at Kumkongryksa and Kakcjuchung, and the statues of Kumkang Kwon at the entrance of Sokkul-Am at Mt. Toham depict basic stances, such as the nalchigi, of what is now known as taekwondo, but the words subak, taekyon and kwonbeop to describe these traditions were not used until about the mid-Koryo period (about 990-1050 AD), and not standardized until King Injong.
Under various generals, kwonbeop began to be developed and made mandatory for training in the armed services. By the time of the Ming dynasty, various major schools of kwonbeop reigned -- the sorim temple school, and the songkae school. Sorim temple may have been influenced by the Northern Shaolin Temple, as it was practiced by monks who favored swift, evasive moves and jumping techniques; Songkae, maybe related to Chang Songkae of the Ming Empire and could have been influenced by the Chinese, with techniques divided into three divisions: stun, knock out, and kill. Under the Choson dynasty, however, kwonbeop (as did other martial arts) saw a major decline as the official state policy was to discourage all manner of military affairs. Kwonbeop's center was moved northwest to central Korea and renamed taekwon, which continued in this form, probably largely as a sport or ceremonial art, or existed underground due to annexation, until Korea's independence from Japan in 1945.
Two other influential Korean unarmed arts are yusul (soft art) and cireum, which are in part related to Chinese arts like shuai chiao and Mongolian wrestling. Yusul was popular between the Koryo and Choson dynasties. Striking arts such as keupso chirigi and pakchigi, which attack vital points, and headbutting, respectively, have been also popular in Korea. As the official state policy in Korea was to discourage all manners of military arts many martial arts masters dispersed to other regions/countries.
After the Choson dynasty, Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910. As a result, young Koreans were exposed to Japanese version of these old sport arts such as jujitsu, kendo, judo, karate, sumo, et cetera.
Then after 1945, when Japan was defeated in World War II, there was clearly a concerted effort by martial arts masters to consolidate their resources and develop a uniquely Korean art once again.
Taekwondo was officially formed on April 11, 1955, when most Korean martial arts masters tried to unite all the various fighting styles (such as Gong Soo, Taekyon, Kwon Beop Soo Bahk Do Tang Soo Do etc.) under the name "Tae Soo Do" . Although not every art joined in the resulting organization, an organization was created with a many of the participants and the backing of the government. Its name was suggested by 1957 9th degree black belt General Choi Hong Hi as Taekwondo.
The similarities between Taekyon and Taekwondo are the high flying kicks and various other feet action, but this style wasn't completely incorporated until the 1960's. Taekwondo also integrated various aspects of karate. Choi Hong Hi was a 2nd degree black belt in karate (the Shotokan variety) , so it was natural to utilize both karate techniques in Taekwondo. On the contrary, many Koreans had an influence in the development of karate, an example of this would be Choi Yong-I (Mas Oyama) who created Kyokushin Karate.
Taekwondo most likely came to America in much the same way that karate and kung fu came to the US, being carried there by Korean immigrants, who were not very populous in the US until the 1970s and 1980s, and by American military personnel, who most likely learned the art while stationed in Korea during and after the Korean War. Taekwondo is taught almost everywhere in the US, and may be the most popular martial art in the country.
It has been argued that Taekwondo originated from another Korean Martial art called Tang Soo Do. The main difference is in how the two are taught. Tang Soo Do focuses mainly on the traditional aspect, while Taekwondo focuses more on being a sport.
Belts
The International Taekwondo Federation under Master Choi Jung Hwa (General Choi's son) as well as many other ITF organizations currently use a system of 10 gups and 9 degrees (dan's). The gups start at 10 and go down to 1, from which Degrees are then achieved, and go 1 through 9. (Ex. Someone who just promoted from 2nd gup to 1st gup is now eligible to promote for 1st degree.) The degrees 1-3 are associated with an Assistant Instructor, degrees 4-6 are associated with an Instructor, 7-8 with Master, and 9th degree is held as the rank of Grand Master.
Even though different Tae Kwon Do styles, associations or schools may make adjustments or additions, traditionally there are ten color belt levels (Gup or Kup) and ten black belt levels(Dan or Poom-under 15 years age black belt, 1-4 Poom levels in Kukkiwon style). Tenth Dan had historically been reserved as a posthumous award, but in recent years has seen presentation to a few living recipients. The original colors are white, yellow, green, blue and red. Between solid colors a crossbar / stripe of the next full color is added to the belt indicating the awarded gup level. Some groups use a solid color alternative instead of stripes (camo, orange, etc.) Gup belt records are kept by the school of origin and Dan/Poom ranks are recorded at the style headquarters registry.
Previous entry: Belts are very important in taekwondo. Different belts tell you what level you are.The highest belt is 10th degree black belt. The belts go in this order. No belt, white belt, yellow belt, green belt, blue belt, hi-blue belt, red belt, hi-red blet, junior black belt, junior black belt 1 strip, junior black belt 2 strip, junior black belt 3 strip, junior black belt 4 strip, black belt. Then it goes up by a degree in black belt until you reach black belt 10th degree
Organizations
Although there are many different federations and associations, Taekwondo can be broadly divided into two schools: International Taekwondo Federation (ITF, founded 1966), and Kukkiwon-World Taekwondo Federation (Kukkiwon-WTF, founded 1973). Kukkiwon-WTF was created in Korea when General Choi Hong Hi left Korea for Canada, moving the headquarters of ITF in 1972.
Apart from its history, one difference between ITF Taekwondo and Kukkiwon-WTF Taekwondo is the patterns (the pre-set, formal sequences of movements students learn). ITF has 24 patterns (called tuls) which represent the 24 hours in a day, or the whole of a person's life, while Kukkiwon-WTF uses the Taegeuk forms (which originate from the Chinese book, I_Ching). The main difference between these two styles of pattern is that ITF patterns use a "stepping motion" (known as the "sine wave") -- drawing on Newtonian physics -- for hand techniques and some kicking techniques, which include moving the body in a sinusoidal motion in order to use bodyweight to increase the effectiveness of the techniques. Many people consider the Kukkiwon-WTF style to be more of a sport, focussing on competition sparring, while ITF is considered a true martial art which includes competition-style sparring. In practice, however, it is the instructor that will have the most influence on what and how a student practices. The ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) had considerable success in bringing its art to the world through the 60's and early 70's. They currently maintain millions of members in 120+ countries worldwide. Beginning in 1972-73, Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) became the first (1980) Tae Kwon Do organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Kukkiwon-WTF is the only Taekwondo body recognized by the South Korean government and its rules have been adopted by the International Olympic Committee. Only students whose training is recognised by the Kukkiwon-WTF can take part in the Olympic games, highlighting the consideration of the Kukkiwon-WTF form as a sport.
In addition to the forms recognized for modern competition, there are also a large number of traditional forms, associated with a rich lore and history. These are becoming relatively rare in competition yet are being kept alive by some traditional masters and their students. Students trained in these traditional forms, which emphasise powerful kicks, punches, and blocks, pacing appropriate to the form, fierce concentration upon imaginary opponents, and accurate and stable stances, can do quite well when bringing these skills to their performances of the poomse style forms.
Since the death of Choi Hong Hi, the International Taekwon-Do Federation has splintered into three major groups and several smaller ones. Choi's son, Choi Jung Hwa, is head of one headquartered in Canada; a second is headquartered in Austria; the third has its headquarters in North Korea. All three groups claim to be the legitimate successor to Gen. Choi. Various court actions are now in process.
 Preparing to break a block Features
Taekwondo is famed for its employment of leg and jumping techniques, which many believe distinguishes it from martial arts such as Karate or Kung Fu. The rationale behind this is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to strike without retaliation.
Despite this, hand techniques, and at the higher levels, some grappling and anti-weapon techniques are taught and emphasized (which techniques are taught vary from instructor to instructor). Taekwondo was designed to be effectively employed regardless of a person's sex, height, weight or age, making it popular with people of both sexes and of all ages. The five tenets of Taekwondo (courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit) show that, like any martial art, Taekwondo is a mental discipline as well as a physical one. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of boards, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's strength.
Although each Taekwondo club or school will be different, a Taekwondo student can typically expect to take part in most or all of the following:
- Learning the techniques and curriculum of Taekwondo
- A thorough workout, including lots of stretching
- Practical self-defence techniques
- Sparring (free-style controlled fighting in a safe environment, usually using safety gear)
- Relaxation exercises
- Breaking (using the techniques to break boards to gauge your technique and to improve confidence)
- Regular gradings (tests to progress to the next grade/belt and to gain confidence with your development)
- A friendly and mutually-respectful atmosphere
2004 Summer Olympics in Athens
Main article: Taekwondo at the 2004 Summer Olympics
External links
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