|
Tae-Kwon-Do
(Contributors: Dakin Burdick - burdick@silver.ucs.indiana.edu,
Ray Terry - rterry@hpkel02.cup.hp.com)
Intro:
One of the most popular sports and martial arts in the world.
Origin: Korea
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
dojongs.
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).
Sub-Styles: None(?)
| 
