A History of Taekwondo

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History of Taekwondo

Taekwondo history should be important to those who practice it – it is a shame if you have invested all that effort without researching the background history and evolution of the martial art.

It IS possible to train in Taekwondo for decades and be a superb martial artist and a better person for the experience, without knowing anything about Taekwondo history.

In my opinion, though, if you are a Taekwondo student, especially a black belt, you should know what Tae kwon do is all about – and how it came into being.

Modern Taekwondo history may be documented with reasonable accuracy, although it is often disputed by the different organizations, since it only officially began in 1955, having its origins in the 1940’s just after World War II. Most Taekwondo organizations agree on the known facts about ancient Taekwondo history, but they often disagree on the interpretation of these facts.

Taekwondo now is loosely based upon ancient Korean martial arts that have existed in one form or another for thousands of years. The roots of Taekwondo are sketchy, like many older oriental martial arts, since little documentation has survived from Korea’s early centuries of war that caused damage and destruction of martial arts records.

The links found below attempt to piece together and document as accurately as possible the history of Taekwondo from its ancient roots up to its present form, including its oft ignored, but equally important, roots in Japanese karate. It draws upon information from many sources, but probably will not satisfy those martial politicians who can not agree amongst themselves!

Preface – Introduction – Ancient Beginnings
Korean Geography – Ancient Korea – Three Kingdoms Era
Subak and Sonbae – Subak and Hwarang – Koryo Dynasty
Chosen Dynasty – Korea Divided – Korean War (1950-1953)
Modern Taekwondo – Early Masters – Taekwondo Development
International Groups – Road to Olympics – Sport Taekwondo
Traditional versus Sport – Taekwondo in the United States
Taekwondo Today – References.
Malcolm
Yoshiki Goshin Jutsu

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