Taekwon-Do 101

Taekwon-Do is an art of self defense which aims at noble moral rearmament, a high degree of intellectual achievement, graceful techniques and beauty of physical form it can be considered as part of one’s daily life, just as are breathing and thinking.

Taekwon-Do is the Korean martial art that was founded April 11, 1955 by General Choi, Hong Hi (9th degree black belt, the highest in Taekwon-Do). In 1965, with the Korean Taekwon-Do movement General Choi received approval from the South Korean Government to declare Taekwon-Do as Korea’s National Martial Art.

“TAE” means to jump or kick or smash with the feet. “KWON” means to block, punch, kick, strike or smash with the hand or fist. “DO” means an art or way. Thus, Taekwon-Do is the technique of unarmed self-defense involving the skilled application of techniques that include punches, strikes, kicks, blocks, dodges and interceptions with the bare hands, arms and feet, to swiftly overpower an opponent. It instils a spirit of strict self-imposed discipline and the ideal of a noble moral character. Taekwon-Do also cultivates the virtues of courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit.

Taekwon-Do can be traced to Tak Kyon, the art of self-defense, which originated 1,300 years ago during the Silla Dynasty in Korea. Tae Kyon was taught and practiced among the youths of Hwa Rand-Do, who were hand picked to be trained as military leaders of Silla, one of three ruling kingdoms of Korea at that time (the others two kingdoms were Koguryo and Daek-Je.).

March 22, 1966, General Choi founded the International Taekwon-Do Federation in Seoul, Korea with the consent of nine countries, (Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, The United States, Turkey, Italy, The United Arab Republic and Korea).

In 1974, a tremendous worldwide event took place in the city of Montreal, Canada. The result was the First World Taekwon-Do Championships.

General Choi

General Choi was born a weak child and it caused his parents constant anxiety. As a youngster, he studied calligraphy and Taek Kyon under the tutelage of the renowned Ok-Nam Han II Dong.

General Choi is a retired major General in the Korean Army, and was his country’s first ambassador to Malaysia. In addition to his military and diplomatic achievements, he has held one-man exhibitions both at home and abroad winning many prizes in the annually held Korean National Art Exhibition for his distinguished calligraphy.

General Choi, one of the founding fathers of the modern R.O.K. Army, was responsible for many contributions and innovations towards the improvement of military operations and procedures.

In 1961, while commanding General of the R.O.K. Army 6th corps, he had the U.S. Army 7th infantry Division under his direct command thus becoming the first General in Korean history to exercise military control over foreign troops.

While engaged in his military duties, he conducted a great deal of scientific and theoretical research on the ancient Korean art of “Taek Kyon” which chiefly employs foot techniques; Japanese Karate and Chinese Ch’an-fuah. These martial arts had not been properly developed until the appearance of modern Taekwon-Do which consolidates “Taek Kyon”, Karate, and Ch’an-fuah. His efforts to establish and encourage the development of Taekwon-Do also led to the founding of the International Taekwon-Do Federation.

In March 1959, he led the R.O.K. Army Taekwon-Do team on a demonstration of power and intriguing techniques to the Republic of China and the Republic of Vietnam thereby enhancing Korea’s national esteem as well as paving the way for the adoption of Taekwon-Do as a special part of the military training of both countries.

In 1965, he led the Taekwon-Do Goodwill Mission on a demonstration tour of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia thus establishing the initial foundation for the International Taekwon-Do Federation.

In 1968, General Choi led a Taekwon-Do demonstration team to a CISM (Council International Sports Military) held in France. This visit resulted in future plans for the adoption of Taekwon-Do as one of the competitive events of CISM.

The years of research and development by General Choi resulted in the Chang Hun style (open name of the author) of Taekwon-Do. Though this style is primarily based on Taek Kyon, Soo Bak, and Karate techniques, a myriad of techniques have been added, especially in the variety of hand techniques and perfection of foot techniques. The Chang Hun style is based on twenty-four patterns, each perfected and polished by General Choi Hong Hi and his colleagues, from the white belt pattern Choi-Ji, to the highest one, Tong II.

After 1300 years, a Korean martial art has reached full maturity, and has spread from a small band of aristocratic warriors to practitioners in more than 60 countries with millions of students. The combination of the old classical techniques and new modifications has resulted in a form of self-defense and mental conditioning unrivaled in the modern world.