History
of Taekwondo
The earliest forms of Korean
martial arts date back roughly 2000 years, although the
ancient martial arts were very different from modern Taekwondo.
Cave paintings from the Koguryo dynasty show sparring postures
that were likely linked with religious rituals of the time.
The Silla dynasty (57 BC-AD 435) saw the birth of the famous
Hwarang warriors, a military, educational and social organization
of noble youths. Their code of honor had five key points
that are still important to Taekwondo today. These included
loyalty to the nation, respect and obedience to one's parents,
faithfulness to one's friends, courage in battle and avoidance
of unnecessary violence and killing. The influence of the
Hwarang played an important role in unifying the three kingdoms
of ancient Korea. At Kyongju, the ancient capital of Silla,
two Buddhist images are inscribed on the inner walls of
Sokkuram cave in Pulkuk-sa Temple. These two “Diamond
Warriors,” protecting Buddhism from devils, are the
inspiration for the poomse Keumkang.
The next development in Korean martial
arts saw the rise of Subak, which was practiced not only
as a skill to improve health and as a sport activity, but
also encouraged as a martial art during the Koryo dynasty.
Subak reached its highest popularity during the reign of
King Uijong, between 1,147 and 1,170 A.D.
Over the next few centuries, there
was not much recorded development. The Japanese colonization
of Korea was the next major event in the history of Korean
martial arts. This thirty-five year occupation lead to many
deep feelings of resentment in Korea, as can be seen in
the meanings of the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF)
forms. The occupation brought the exchange of many ideas,
however, and the Taekwondo of the period was almost indistinguishable
from the Japanese Karate. Towards the end of this occupation
many schools, or kwan, were established in Korea. On September
16, 1961, the Korea Taekwondo Association was established,
in order to unify the kwans. |
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In the 1960’s,
Korean instructors began going abroad to teach Taekwondo.
This could be called a turning point in the history of
Taekwondo. In 1966, the International Taekwondo Federation
(ITF) was formed and General Choi Hong Hi was elected
president. General Choi was instrumental in spreading
Taekwondo across the world with a series of demonstration
trips. The late 1960s and early 1970s were tumultuous
times for Korea in general and Taekwondo in particular.
General Choi had a falling out with many of the other
masters and in 1972 moved the ITF headquarters from Seoul,
Korea to Toronto, Canada. In May 1973, representatives
of nineteen countries met in Seoul and established the
competing World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). Henceforth,
the WTF was to focus more on the sport aspect of Taekwondo,
while the ITF was to focus on the more traditional aspect.
The world’s focus shifted to the WTF, which is more
popular and recognized by more international sporting
bodies.
Presently, member
countries of the WTF total more than 160 and the global
Taekwondo population is estimated at 30 million people.
As of 2002, there were 5,025,206 people holding WTF Dan
rankings worldwide. Spurred by the recognition of Taekwondo
by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1980,
Taekwondo has been rapidly becoming an international sport.
It was adopted as a demonstration sport in the Seoul Olympics
in 1988 and the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Taekwondo
was an official sport at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney,
Australia. The United States won one medal there, a gold
medal in the combined featherweight division by Steven
Lopez of Sugarland, Texas. In 2004 Steven Lopez returned
to win another gold in the combined welterweight division,
and Nia Abdalla won a silver in the women's featherweight.
Taekwondo has quickly
consolidated its position in the sports world. Aside from
the continental championships, World and Women's World
Championships, World Cup Taekwondo, CISM Taekwondo Championships
and FISU World University Championships, Taekwondo is
being played as an official sport in most international
multi-sport games, such as World Games, Pan American Games,
All Africa Games,
Southeast Asian Games and Central American Games.
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