TAEKWONDO

Taekwondo as we know it today was developed in Korea in the 1950s. In addition to Japanese Karate and Chinese Kung Fu, other combat systems have also influenced the development of today's Taekwondo. These include Subak (fight with the hands), Taekyon (fight between 2 people in which one has to kick each other with all kinds of foot techniques), and Kwon Bop (the law of the fist). It is believed that current Taekwondo has adopted many leg techniques from Taekyon and many hand techniques from Karate. The name "Taekwondo" means "the way of the foot and fist". Tae = foot, kwon = fist and do = the way.As said Taekwondo, as we know it today, has been influenced by several other martial arts from Korea and other countries throughout history. But the roots are from hundreds of years ago. For the earliest form of Korean martial art, we have to go back to the seventh century of our era. Korea as such did not exist at the time, but the peninsula was divided into three empires that were constantly fighting each other for supremacy. These empires were called Koguryo, Baekje, and Shilla. Hence the name Sam-Guk (Sam = 3, Guk = nation). The martial arts were already practiced in each of these kingdoms; evidence of this can be found on etchings and sculptures from that time. A well-known example is the Sokkuram cave near Gyeongju, the capital of Shilla. In this cave, two warriors are sculpted in a characteristic taekwondo position. These statues are also known as the "Keumgang warriors''.

Although Shilla was the smallest of the three realms, she still managed to face and even subdue the two others. This was mainly due to the so-called "Hwarang" troops, an elite corps of young men carefully selected from noble circles and to some extent comparable to the Japanese samurai. Under the influence of Confucianism, loyalty to the state became a concept and the Hwarang thus formed a military elite. The Hwarang troops practiced a martial art that is considered the ancestor of today's taekwondo and goes by the name of Taek-Kyon.

The Koryo Dynasty (935-1392) was founded by a general from Shilla's army (which meanwhile had lost much of its luster) with the aim of reclaiming areas of Koguryo lost to Manchuria. He called his kingdom Koryo, from which the current name of modern Korea is derived.

Not much is known about the presence of martial arts from this period. Yet it is certain that Taek-Kyon was practiced.

The Japanese occupation lasted from 1910 to 1945. This period is one of the darkest pages in the history of Korea. The Japanese waged a reign of terror in Korea. All signs of being Korean were banned by the Japanese occupier. Korean buildings were razed to the ground, children had to learn Japanese, Japanese Shinto was introduced ... Also, it was forbidden to practice any Korean martial art.

Since many Koreans went abroad, they came into contact with other martial arts (kempo, karate, kung-fu ...) which influenced the sport more. 

Where in Pencak Silat, the movements are inspired by how different animals move when they fight, Taekwondo is more inspired by nature itself. For example, some techniques have different requirements such as standing as strong as a mountain or move like water in a river.

An important thing to know about Taekwondo is that it is divided into “sorts”: ITF and WT. ITF stands for “International Taekwondo Federation” while WT (former WTF) stands for “World Taekwondo (Federation)”. The main difference between the styles is that in WT Taekwondo the emphasis is mainly on Taekwondo as a martial art and not so much on Taekwondo as a martial art and self-defense. These elements are more balanced in ITF Taekwondo. There is a lot of emphasis on self-defense and the traditional sides of Taekwondo. In both “sorts”, there are two major groups to focus on, though they are called differently. There is the “fighting group” called “Kyorugi” in WT where there are two opponents who fight each other with protection on almost every exposed part of your body: chest, legs, feet, arms, hands, and head. In ITF, this is called “matseogi” and the opponents fight each other with only protection on their head and feet. The second “group” is called “Poomsae” in WT where the individual makes a series of choreographed movements involving kicks and punches in a pattern. In ITF, this is called “Tuls”. It is the same principle but with other kicks and punches.