Home Syllabus History Theory Links Shop Joining Dojangs Competitions News Sitemap What is Korean for Vertical Kick? Click here!	HISTORY Traditional History :- Tae Kwon-Do is a version of an ancient form of unarmed combat practised for many centuries in the Orient, perfected in its present form in Korea. Translated from Korean, Tae literally means to jump, kick or smash with the foot; Kwon means a fist, chiefly to punch or destroy with the hand or fist; Do means art, way or method. Tae Kwon-Do is an unarmed combat technique for the purpose of self-defence, involving the skilled application of punches, kicks, blocks, dodges and interception with the hand, arms and feet to the detriment of the opponent. The history of Tae Kwon-Do has been a matter of some contention. Many Tae Kwon-Do organisations officially state that Tae Kwon-Do was derived from earlier Korean martial arts, while others state that Tae Kwon-Do is derived from native Korean martial arts with influences from neighbouring countries, or even that it was primarily derived from karate learned by Koreans during the Japanese occupation. The oldest Korean martial art was an amalgamation of unarmed combat styles developed by the three rival Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje. Young men were trained in unarmed combat techniques to develop strength, speed, and survival skills. The most popular of these techniques was subak, with taekkyeon being the most popular of the segments of subak. Those who demonstrated strong natural aptitude were selected as trainees in the new special warrior corps, called the Hwarang. It was believed that young men with a talent for the liberal arts may have the grace to become competent warriors. These warriors were instructed in academics as well as martial arts, learning philosophy, history, a code of ethics, and equestrian sports. Their military training included an extensive weapons program involving swordsmanship and archery, both on horseback and on foot, as well as lessons in military tactics and unarmed combat using subak. Although subak was a leg-oriented art in Goguryeo, Silla's influence added hand techniques to the practice of subak. During this time a few select Sillan warriors were given training in Taek Kyon by the early masters from Koguryo. The Taek Kyon trained warriors then became known as the Hwarang. The Hwarang set up a military academy for the sons of royalty in Silla called Hwarang-do, which means "The way of flowering manhood." The Hwarang studied Taek Kyon, history, Confucian philosophy, ethics, Buddhist morality, and military tactics. The guiding principles of the Hwarang warriors were: loyalty, filial duty, trustworthiness, valour and justice. The makeup of the Hwarang-do education was based on the Five Codes of Human Conduct written by a Buddhist scholar, fundamental education, Taek Kyon and social skills. Taek Kyon was spread throughout Korea because the Hwarang travelled all around the peninsula to learn about the other regions and people. In spite of Korea's rich history of ancient and traditional martial arts, Korean martial arts faded into obscurity during the Joseon Dynasty. Korean society became highly centralized under Korean Confucianism and martial arts were poorly regarded in a society whose ideals were epitomized by its scholar-kings. Formal practices of traditional martial arts such as subak and taekkyeon were reserved for sanctioned military uses. However, the folk practice of taekkyeon as a kicking game still persisted into the 19th century. Modern History :- The Japanese occupation of Korea formally began in 1910, with repression of all facets of Korean identity (including folk culture, language and history). Koreans were forced to take Japanese names and to worship at Shinto shrines; Korean-language newspapers and magazines were banned; and during the war, hundreds of thousands of Koreans were forced into service to support Japanese war efforts. Martial arts such as taekkyeon (or subak) were also prohibited during this time; however, taekkyeon survived through underground teaching and folk custom. During the occupation the few Koreans who were able to study in Japan were exposed to Japanese martial arts: in some cases receiving black belts. Others were exposed to martial arts in China and Manchuria. When the occupation ended in 1945, Korean martial arts schools (kwans) began to open in Korea under various influences. There are differing views on the origins of the arts taught in these schools. Some believe that they taught martial arts that were based primarily upon the traditional Korean martial arts taekkyon and subak, or upon a variety of martial arts such as taekkyon, kungfu and karate. Others believe that these schools taught arts that were almost entirely based upon karate. In 1952, at the height of the Korean War, there was a martial arts exhibition in which the kwans displayed their skills. In one demonstration, Nam Tae Hi smashed thirteen roof tiles with a forefist punch. Following the demonstration, South Korean President Syngman Rhee instructed Major General Choi Hong Hi to introduce the martial arts to the Korean army. By the mid-1950s, nine kwans had emerged. President Syngman Rhee ordered that the various schools unify under a single system. The name "Tae Kwon-Do" was either submitted by Major General Choi Hong Hi, or Song Duk Son of Chung Do Kwan and was accepted on April 11, 1955. As it stands today, the 9 kwans are the founders of Tae Kwon-Do. The Korean Tae Kwon-Do Association (KTA) was formed in 1961 to facilitate the unification. Shortly thereafter, Tae Kwon-Do made its début worldwide. Standardisation efforts in South Korea stalled, as the kwans continued to teach differing styles. Another request from the Korean government for unification resulted in the formation of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association, which changed its name back to the Korean Tae Kwon-Do Association in 1965 following a change of leadership. Currently, Tae Kwon-Do is practiced in 188 countries with over 70 million practitioners and 4 million individuals with black belts throughout the world. It is now one of only two Asian martial arts that are included in the Olympic Games; it became a demonstration event starting with the 1988 games in Seoul, and became an official medal event starting with the 2000 games in Sydney. The Tae Kwon-Do Association of Great Britain :- The TAGB was founded in 1983 and is now the largest single Tae Kwon-Do body in Great Britain. It is a member of the British Tae Kwon-Do Council (BTC), Tae Kwon-Do's umbrella organisation approved by the Sports Council. Not only does the TAGB enjoy formidable representation on the BTC, but its members are widely regarded as amongst the most successful competitors in just about any martial arena, whether under points, semi-contact or full contact rules. The TAGB is a founder member of Tae Kwon-Do International, the world governing body for all forms of Tae Kwon-Do practice, and practices Tae Kwon-Do deriving from the Chang Hun style, originated and developed by that most influential of early international Tae Kwon-Do pioneers, General Choi Hong Hi. The TAGB has over 400 Tae Kwon-Do schools across Great Britain, with over 15,000 licensed members, and holds regular championships throughout Great Britain, as well as international tournaments. General Choi Hong Hi :- Choi Hong Hi was born on the 9th of November 1918 in the rugged and harsh area of Hwa Dae, Myong Chun District in what is now the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (more commonly referred to in the UK as North Korea). In his youth, he was frail and quite sickly, a constant source of worry for his parents. However, the future general showed a strong and independent spirit. At the age of just twelve he was expelled from school for agitating against the Japanese authorities who were in control of Korea. After his expulsion, Choi's father sent him to study calligraphy under Han Il Dong, who was also "a master of Taek Kyon, the ancient Korean art of foot fighting". In 1937, Choi travelled to Japan for further study. In Kyoto, he met a fellow Korean with the surname Kim, who was a karate instructor and who taught Choi this martial art. However, just before he had left Korea, a wrestler named Hu was set on his trail following a gambling dispute and the possibility of a future confrontation inspired him to train hard; in his own words, "I would imagine that these were the techniques I would use to defend myself against the wrestler, Mr. Hu, if he did attempt to carry out his promise to tear me limb from limb when I eventually returned to Korea". Choi quickly attained the rank of 1st dan in karate in 1939, and then 2nd dan soon after, whereupon he began teaching at a YMCA in Tokyo. In 1942, he was drafted into the Japanese army, but was imprisoned for attempting to escape to join the opposition Korean Liberation Army in 1945. Only the liberation of Korea saved him from the death penalty. During his imprisonment he continued practising Taek Kyon and Karate. Following the war, the division of Korea between north and south left him unable to return to the land of his birth and, in January 1946, Choi was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the new South Korean army. 1947 was a year of fast promotion: Choi was promoted to captain and then major. In 1948, he was posted to Seoul as the head of logistics and became Tae Kwon-Do instructor for the American Military Police School there. In late 1948, Choi became a lieutenant colonel and then, in 1949, was promoted to full colonel. At this point he visited the United States for the first time, attending the Fort Riley Ground General School. While there, his art was introduced to the American public. In 1951, he became a brigadier general. In 1952, at the height of the Korean War, there was a martial arts exhibition in which the kwans displayed their skills. In one demonstration, Nam Tae Hi smashed thirteen roof tiles with a forefist punch. Following the demonstration, South Korean President Syngman Rhee instructed Major General Choi Hong Hi to introduce the martial arts to the Korean army. He created an officer training programme and an infantry division that provided Tae Kwon-Do instructors. Choi was promoted to major general in 1954. Choi combined elements of taekkyeon and karate to develop a martial art that he called "Tae Kwon-Do", which literally means "to kick, to punch, the art" but an alternate translation is "the way of the fist and the foot," and it was so named on 11 April 1955. In 1959, as well as being named President of his newly formed Korea Taekwon-Do Association, Choi was also elevated to Deputy Commander of the 2nd Army in Tae Gu. In 1961 he gained command of the 6th Army Corps and made Tae Kwon-Do a compulsory subject for the entire armed and police forces in South Korea. However, he also supported the military coup d'état, but suffered a setback when General Park Chung-Hee emerged as the new president. In the late 1940s, Park had received a death sentence, later rescinded, from a military panel that had included Choi, who was thus forced to retire from the military following the coup. In 1962, he was sent to Malaysia as Ambassador, but after his return to South Korea in 1965 he continued to find life under the Park regime intolerable. Choi founded the Oh Do Kwan and started the spread of Tae Kwon-Do internationally by stationing South Korean Tae Kwon-Do instructors around the world (he is also the author of the first English Tae Kwon-Do syllabus book, entitled "Tae Kwon-Do" and published by Daeha Publication Company in 1965). In 1965 Ambassador Choi, retired two star general, was appointed by the Government of the Republic of Korea to lead a goodwill mission to West Germany, Italy, Turkey, United-Arab Republic, Malaysia, and Singapore. This trip is significant in that the Ambassador, for the first time in Korean history, declared Tae Kwon-Do as the national martial art of Korea. In 1967, Choi received the first Class Distinguished Service medal from the Government of Vietnam and he helped to form the Korea-Vietnam Taekwon-Do Foundation, presided by Gen. Tran van Dong. That same year the Hong Kong Taekwon-Do Association was formed. In August, Choi visited the All American Taekwon-Do tournament held in Chicago, Illinois, where he discussed expansion, unification, and the policy of the United States Taekwon-Do Association with leading instructors. This visit led to the formal establishment of the U.S. Taekwon-Do Association in Washington, D.C. on November 26th, 1967. However, in 1971, the South Korean government refused Choi permission to teach Tae Kwon-Do in North Korea and, as a result, in 1972 Choi went into exile in Canada. Choi took the headquarters of the ITF to Toronto with him, and South Korea responded by forming a new organisation, the World Tae Kwon-Do Federation (WTF), based in Seoul. In 1980 Choi and 15 of his students, including his son Choi Joong Hwa, made a monumental trip to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. This was the first time Tae Kwon-Do was introduced to the people of North Korea, Choi’s birth place. In November of this same year, the first All Europe Tae Kwon-Do Championships was held in London with 18 countries participating. Choi's final years were marked by his efforts to return to the land of his birth, North Korea. Having introduced Tae Kwon-Do there in 1980, he won further favour with the government by changing the name of one solo practice form from kodang (after a North Korean democratic Christian moderate, presumed slain by the Red Army in 1946) to juche (after the isolationist policy of "self-reliance" advocated by North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung). Though Choi's intention had been reconciliatory, unfortunately South Korea saw it as treasonous. General Choi died of cancer, leaving a wife, two daughters and a son, on 15 June 2002 in Pyongyang, North Korea, the land of his birth. General Choi is listed in the Tae Kwon-Do Hall of Fame with various titles: "Father and Founder of Tae Kwon-Do," "Founder and First President of the International Tae Kwon-Do Federation," and "Founder of Oh Do Kwan." He is seen as a Hero by many and as a Villain by some, having been the victim of domestic and international politics, but, irrespective of the many plaudits, or detractions, he is generally recognised as the singularly most influential figure in the modern history of Tae Kwon-Do!	Tenets: Courtesy To be polite to one's instructors, seniors and fellow students. Integrity To be honest with oneself. One must be able to define right and wrong. Perseverance To achieve a goal, whether it is a higher grade or any technique, one must not stop trying; one must persevere. Self Control To lose one's temper when performing techniques against an opponent can be very dangerous and shows lack of control. To be able to live, work and train within one's capability shows good self control. Indomitable Spirit To show courage when you and your principles are pitted against overwhelming odds.