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The History of Taekwondo
Although the origins of the martial
arts are shrouded in mystery, we
consider it an undeniable fact that
from time immemorial there have been
physical actions involving the use of
the hands and feet for purpose of self-
protection.
If we were to define these physical
actions as "Tae Kwon- Do", any country
might claim credit for inventing Tae
Kwon-Do. There is, however, scant
resemblance between Tae Kwon-Do, as it
is practiced today, and the crude
forms of unarmed combat developed in
the past. Modern Tae Kwon-Do differs
greatly from other martial arts. In
fact, no other martial art is so
advanced with regard to the
sophistication and effectiveness of
its technique or the over-all physical
fitness it imparts to its
practitioners.
Since the theories, terminology,
techniques, systems, methods, rules,
practice suit, and spiritual
foundation were scientifically
developed, systematized, and named by
the author, it is an error to think of
any physical actions employing the
hand and feet for self-defence as Tae
Kwon-Do. Only those who practice the
techniques based on the author's
theories, principles and philosophy
are considered to be students of
genuine Tae Kwon-Do.
A combination of circumstances made it
possible for me to originate and
develop Tae Kwon-Do. In addition to my
prior knowledge of Taek Kyon, I had an
opportunity to learn Karate in Japan
during the unhappy thirty-six years
when my native land was occupied by
the Japanese. Soon after Korea was
liberated in 1945, I was placed in a
privileged position as a founding
member of the newly formed South
Korean Armed Forces. Founder of Tae
Kwon-Do General Choi, Hong Hi 1918 -
2002
The former provided me with a definite
sense of creation, and the latter gave
me the power to disseminate Tae Kwon-
Do throughout the entire armed forces,
despite furious opposition.
The emergence of Tae Kwon-Do as an
international martial art in a
relatively short period of time was
due to a variety of factors. The evils
of contemporary society (moral
corruption, materialism, selfishness,
etc.) had created a spiritual vacuum.
Tae Kwon-Do was able to compensate for
the prevailing sense of emptiness,
distrust, decadence and lack of
confidence.
In addition, these were violent times,
when people felt the need for a means
of protecting themselves, and the
superiority of Tae Kwon-Do technique
came to be widely recognized. My
social stature, the advantage of being
Tae Kwon-Do's founder and my God-given
health also contributed to the rapid
growth of Tae Kwon-Do all over the
world.
My involvement with the martial arts
did much to supplement the health that
God gave me. I had been born frail and
weak and was encouraged to learn Taek
Kyon at the age of fifteen by my
teacher of calligraphy. In 1938, a few
days before I was due to leave Korea
to study in Japan I was involved in an
unexpected incident that would have
made it difficult to return home
without risk of reprisals.
I resolved to become a black belt
holder in Karate while I was in Japan.
The skills I required were, I felt,
sufficient protection against those
who might seek to do me harm. Not only
was I able to return to Korea, but I
subsequently initiated the national
liberation movement known as the
Pyongyang Student Soldier's Incident.
Like so many patriots in the long
course of human history, my actions
aroused the wrath of those in
positions of power. I was imprisoned
for a time in a Japanese army jail. In
January of 1946, I was commissioned as
a second lieutenant in the fledgling
Republic of Korea army and posted to
the 4th infantry regiment in Kwangju,
Cholla Namdo Province as a company
commander.
I began to teach Karate to my soldiers
as a means of physical and mental
training. It was then that I realized
that we needed to develop our own
national martial art, superior in both
spirit and technique to Japanese
Karate. I strongly believed that
teaching it throughout the country
would enable me to fulfil the pledge I
had made to three of my comrades, who
had shared my imprisonment by the
Japanese.
"The reason that our people suffer in
this way at the hands of the
Japanese," I had said, "is that our
ancestors failed to rule wisely. They
exploited the people and, in the end,
lost the country to foreign
domination. If we ever regain our
freedom and independence, let us not
become the rulers of the people.
Instead, let us dedicate ourselves to
advising those who rule."
It was with this ambition in mind that
I began to develop new techniques,
systematically, from March of that
same year. By the end of 1954 I had
nearly completed the foundation of a
new martial art for Korea, and on
April 11, 1955, it was given the
name "Tae Kwon-Do".
Even though I am only five feet tall,
I pride myself on having lived in
strict accordance with my moral
convictions. I have tried to fight on
the side of justice without fear of
any kind. I believe that this was
possible for me only because of the
formidable power and indomitable
spirit instilled by Tae Kwon-Do. The
physical techniques of Tae Kwon-Do are
based on the principles of modern
science, in particular, Newtonian
physics which teaches us how to
generate maximum power. Military
tactics of attack and defence have
also been incorporated. I wish to make
it clear that although Karate and Taek
Kyon were used as references in the
course of my study, the fundamental
theories and principles of Tae Kwon-Do
are totally different from those of
any other martial art in the world.
In March of 1959, I led the military
Tae Kwon-Do demonstration team on a
tour abroad. We visited South Vietnam
and Taiwan. It was the first such
visit in the history of Korea. On this
occasion, I renewed my resolution to
leave my personal legacy to the world,
in the form of Tae Kwon-Do, and I
formulated the following basic ideals
for the Tae Kwon-Do practitioners:
By developing an upright mind and a
strong body, we will acquire the self-
confidence to stand on the side of
justice at all times; We shall unite
with all men in a common brotherhood,
without regard to religion, race,
national or ideological boundaries;
We shall dedicate ourselves to
building a peaceful human society in
which justice, morality, trust and
humanism prevail;
I also resolved to dedicate myself to
the world-wide propagation of Tae Kwon-
Do, in the sincere hope that it would
provide the means by which the
unification of the divided halves of
my fatherland would become possible.
My study of Tae Kwon-Do proceeded in
two parts, spiritual discipline and
technical perfection. Because the
human spirit belongs to the realm of
metaphysics, what I mean by spiritual
discipline is not easy to describe.
One cannot touch, see or hear the
spirit of man, It is wider and deeper
than anything we can perceive. In this
respect, I, myself, am only another
student participating in a continuing
and never-ending learning process.
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