Complete Taekwondo Kicking (dvd) by Master Kim
 
 

INTRODUCTION TO TAEKWONDO

The sport of Taekwondo is a dynamic, exciting and open martial sport,
that is especially suited for the young. There are literally thousands, maybe
tens of thousands of schools worldwide, only second in popularity
to Shotokan karate and Judo.

The forms of Taekwondo are straightforward and easy to learn.
As this is a martial sport, there often is not much emphasis on learning
how to apply the form, or even knowing what the movements mean.
There is only a moderate emphasis on endurance, but there is a lot
of work on technique, especially the manifold kicks that are the sport's
signature.

There are roughly three main affiliations in Taekwondo. The WTF, 
which is the newest and olympically recognized branch. It is also
the most politically stable. Headed by Korean official Kim Un-Young
and head quartered in Korea, it's style focuses less on forms (Poom Se)
and more on sparring. For this purpose, large bamboo body armor
is worn, as well as head guards and full contact style gloves.
When the WTF's forerunner, the KTA formed, there were nine original
kwans or styles from the 40s and 50s  that joined them - Chung Do Kwan,
Chang Mu Kwan, Moon Moo Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Yun Moo Kwan,
the Chi Do Kwan and later the Oh Do Kwan, Sung Mu Kwan and the
Ji Do Kwan.
The Chung Do Kwan (Blue Wave School) is the most dominant and
set the trend for style, forms and general corporate culture.

The ITF, the second largest body, is also the most traditional mainstream
Taekwondo organization and style. It's origin lie in the split off of Taekwondo's
original founder General Choi. The name Oh Do Kwan means "My Way
Gym". With the death of it's founder, general Choi Hong-hi, it's future however
has become uncertain. Already there are three bodies forming, and official one,
one from the founder's son and another that is set to join the WTF. The ITF is
the more traditional of the large styles, and it's forms are better suited for 
self-defense. It was the ITF that inherited the military legacy of the
Taekwondo that was taught to the Korean armed forces and that was
practiced and saw action in Vietnam. Presently, there is a headquarter
in Canada, and another in Vienna.

The third school is Tang Soo Do. Although much smaller, it  is  also
the most traditional, and has generated many well known champions
and masters, like Chuck Norris, Darnell Garcia and master
Hee Il Cho. It is a reasonably effective self-defense style, whose
forms are still very similar to the old Karate forms and carry their
names. Founded by master Hwang Kee in the 1940s, this is one
heck of a traditional style. 
One faction of Tang Soo Do has already split off from the main
body to join the kwans of the WTF as Moo Duk Kwan 
Tang Soo do, whose most famous proponent is dr. Richard
Chun of New York.
 

TAEKWONDO PRE-HISTORY

Korea is a peninsular appendage of the large Eurasian continent.
Uniquely situated, it borders both Siberia and China, and much
of the neighboring peoples were once ethnic Koreans. It's climate
is heavily influenced by the Siberian winds that blow and in winter
drive temperatures down to -50C. To it's east, Korea faces the
nation of Japan. Although Korea has a history, geography and
culture all it's own, these three lands have left their mark in Korea's
culture and mentality. Korea's script is alphabetic, unlike China's
and Japan's. 
However, it borrowed lavishly from Chinese religion (Buddhism, 
Confucianism) and from Japan (Zen Buddhism). North Chinese
Kung Fu, as well as Japanese occupation era Budo have left
their mark on Korea's indigenous martial arts.

The original martial arts were called Su Bahk and Taek Kyon.
Su Bahk is a grappling and wrestling oriented art, and Taek Kyon
can be considered the spiritual ancestor of Taekwondo. Heavily
kick oriented, it was banned but barely survived the Japanese
occupation of 1910-1945.

During the Japanese occupation, Koreans were banned from
practicing their own martial arts and even speaking Korean,
however those who had the money to study in Japan learned
the same university martial arts as their Japanese peers. It was
in Japan that the later General Choi learned Shotokan Karate
and earned a 2nd degree black belt.
For this reason, Taekwondo is heavily Shotokan influenced,
from the clothing and belt system, to the structure of the
curriculum into calisthenics, forms, step sparring and free sparring.
 

TAEKWONDO'S MODERN TIMES

From 1945 onwards, Taekwondo's different schools and
teachers unified 

A short dateline:

1945 End of Japanese occupation and first Kwan founded (the Chung Do Kwan)
1946 Moo Duk Kwan and Yun Moo Kwan (Ji Do Kwan) founded
1953 - 1960 Ji Do Kwan, Song Mu Kwan, Oh Do Kwan founded
1955 Grandmasters get together and unify under the name Tae Soo Do
1957 Name changed to Tae Kwon Do
1961 Korean Taekwondo Union formed from the Tae So Do and Soo Bahk Do Associations
1965 Korean Taekwondo Union becomes the Korean Taekwondo Association
1966 An expelled General Choi resigns from the KTA and founds the ITF in Canada
1973 The WTF is founded
1978 General Choi visits North Korea
1980 Olympic recognition for the WTF
2000 WTF Taekwondo may become a fully fledged Olympic sport

(which is what they've been saying since I started tkd in 1979)
 

THE PRESENT DAY

Just as vhs tapes replaced the superior betamax and vcr2000 systems,
just as the windows pc replaced the superior amiga and apple computers,
the WTF is set to further overtake and absorb the ITF and Tang Soo Do styles.

Led for up to 50 years by their founders, General Choi and master Hwang
Kee have finally replaced this mortal coil for the afterlife, leaving their
respective organizations rudderless and prone to splintering and fractioning.

Even though the WTF sold it's soul to become a harlot of the olympic movement,
even though it sacrificed the effectiveness and relevance of it's forms
just to avoid it's glaringly obvious origins in the ITF style so as to satisfy
the ego of it's president, the WTF is more organized, has national recognition
in Korea and in the Olympic movement, and as a result has recognition
from many national sporting bodies around the world.

The ITF and Tang Soo Do are heading for obscurity, having long ago
lost the momentum they once had. They are the better styles, but the
survival of martial arts schools and styles depends on expansion. Simply
put, dynamic and talented young instructors opening new schools in new
parts of the country.
A reasonably transparent and accountable leadership doesn't hurt in
this, and it is the dictatorial, big man leadership that is the downfall
of so many styles, of which the lack of a successor (the leadership
pipeline, to use business jargon) is only a symptom. A secular, 
functionary leadership is why the WTF is coming out on top.
That and official recognition.

Taekwondo's raison d'être has changed from giving the Korean people
a nationalistic lift, to providing an easy access to the Eastern martial
arts for American toddlers and mall kids. As such, it isn't set to
disappear very soon. However, it's martial content is being eroded,
and it should not be anyone's first choice for a self-defense art. Unless
you have no choice at all. Wing Chun, Ashihara/Kyokuhin Karate, Muay
Thai and Kickboxing are more practical and more easily applied.

And yet, it is my first real martial art (WTF style, then ITF), and I still
practice it.