Taekwondo

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:Koreanname image Taekwondo (also spelled Tae Kwon Do, Taekwon-Do, or Taegwondo) is the most popular of the Korean martial arts and is the Korean national sport. It is also one of the world's most commonly practiced martial arts and an Olympic sporting event.

In Korean, derived from hanja, Tae means "to kick or destroy with the foot"; Kwon means "to punch with the fist"; and Do means "way" or "art". Hence, Taekwondo is loosely translated as "the art of hand and foot" or "the way of the foot and the fist." Taekwondo's popularity has resulted in the divergent evolution of the art. As with many other martial arts, Taekwondo is a combination of combat technique, self-defense, sport, exercise, entertainment, and philosophy.

Although there are great doctrinal and technical differences among private Taekwondo organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance, using the leg's greater reach and power to disable the opponent from a distance. In sparring, turning (roundhouse), 45 degree (half-moon), front, axe, and side kicks are most often used; advanced kicks include jump, spin, skip, and drop kicks, often in combination. Taekwondo training also includes a comprehensive system of hand strikes and blocks, but generally does not emphasize grappling.

1 History of Korean Striking Arts
2 Organizations
3 Features
4 Belts
5 Olympic competition rules
6 Media depiction
7 See also
8 External links
9 References

[edit]

History of Korean Striking Arts

While the practice of martial arts has ancient roots in Korea, the naming and systemization of Taekwondo occurred relatively recently, and the Olympic sparring rules are being revised even today. See Korean martial arts.

As far back as the Silla Dynasty (668 AD - 935 AD), Chinese Chuan Fa techniques were used to train Korean warriors. These techniques evolved to become the empty-hand art of Subak, which was standardized during the Goryeo Dynasty (935 AD - 1392 AD). During the early Joseon Dynasty (1393 - 1910), Subak was divided into Taekyon (a striking art) and Yusul (a grappling art). Through the years, however, Yusul was practiced with decreasing frequency and, eventually, only the Taekyon aspect of Subak remained, facing extinction.

In the late 18th century, King Chongjo ordered the compilation of the Muye Dobo Tongji, an official martial arts text which identified many disciplines, including the empty-hand Kwonbup (transliteration of Chinese Chuan Fa, from which Subak was derived). Taekyon survived during the last part of the Chosun Dynasty via the secret practice of certain Korean families and street gangs.

Image:Taekwondo1.jpg During the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945), many Koreans were exposed to Japanese versions of Chinese martial arts such as karate. As the Japanese moved deeper into the continent, karate was adopted and mixed with more traditional Korean martial arts such as Taekyon, as well as traditional Chinese martial arts studied by Koreans in Manchuria and China

Around the liberation of Korea in 1945, five martial arts schools under the style name of Kong Soo Do or Tang Soo Do, called Kwans, were formed by men who were mostly trained in Japanese Karate. The Kwans and their founders were the Chung Do Kwan (LEE, Won Kuk), Jidokwan (CHUN, Sang Sup), Chang Moo Kwan (YOON, Byung In), Moo Duk Kwan (Hwang Ki), and Song Moo Kwan (ROH, Byung Jick).

Around 1953, shortly after the Korean War, four more Kwans formed. These 2nd generation Kwans and their principle founders were; Oh Do Kwan (CHOI, Hong Hi & NAM, Tae Hi), Han Moo Kwan (LEE, Kyo Yun), Kang Duk Kwan (PARK, Chul Hee & Hong Jong Pyo) and Jung Do Kwan (LEE, Young Woo).

In 1955, these arts, at that time called various names by the different schools, were ordered to unify by South Korea's President Syngman Rhee. A governmental body selected a naming committee's submission of "Taekwondo" as the name. Both Sun Duk Song and Choi Hong Hi both claim to have submitted the name. The name sounds like the ancient Korean martial arts of Taekkyon, as Taekwondo has direct relation to Taekkyon in the techniques.

In 1959, the Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed in an attempt to unify the dozens of the kwans as one standardized system of Taekwondo. The first international tour of Taekwondo, by General CHOI, Hong Hi, founder of the Oh Do Kwan (founded, 1953-4), and 19 black belts, was held in 1959. In 1960, Jhoon Rhee was teaching what he called Korean Karate (or Tang Soo Do) in Texas, USA. After receiving the ROK Army Field Manual which contained martial arts training curriculum under the new name of Taekwondo, from General Choi Hong Hi, Rhee began using the name Taekwondo.

Despite this unification effort, the kwans continued to teach their individual styles. The Korean government ordered a single organization be created and, on September 16, 1961, the kwans agreed to unify under the name Korea Tae Soo Do Association (which changed its name back to the Korean Taekwondo Association when Choi became its president in August 1965). The Korean Athletic Union recognized Taekwondo as a sport in 1962, elevating it to the status of national sport, with seven weight divisions, in 1964.

A goodwill trip to the Communist government of North Korea in 1966 caused General Choi to fall out of favor in South Korea. General Choi founded the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) in March of that year, in Seoul, Korea with associations in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, the United States, Turkey, Italy, Egypt and Korea. The ITF endorsed the Oh Do Kwan style developed by Gen. CHOI, Hong Hi and NAM, Tae Hee which used a rearranged version of the Karate forms of the Kwans called Chang Hon Hyungs, then later changed to Tuls. The Oh Do Kwan was the only Kwan to use Nam and Choi's Chang Hon forms. Later, Gen. Choi fled South Korea and moved to Canada, moving the headquarters of ITF with him. By 1971, ITF had more than 65 member countries.

In 1966-67, the Korea Taekwondo Association changed from the Pyong Ahn and related Hyungs to the newly created 8 Palgwe and 9 Yudanja Poomsae.

In 1972, the Korea Taekwondo Association Central Dojang was opened. A few months later, the name was changed to the Kukkiwon. Kukkiwon literatly means "National Technique Center" and is the World Taekwondo Headquarters. At that time, 8 new Poomsae called Taegeuk replaced the Palgwe Poomsae. In 1973, the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) was formed by the nations of Korea, USA, Uganda, Mexico, Austria, and the Republic of China. It was originally headed by Kim Un-Yong (later a member of the IOC). The 1st World Taekwondo Championship was held at the Kukkiwon with participation of 35 delegates from around the world.

Even though the Kukkiwon curriculum of Taekwondo is broad, with research and practice of many aspects of the martial arts, only a newly created type of sparring called "Shihap-Kyorugi" was accepted by the WTF as a competition event in the World Championships. This new full-contact, non-stop sparring competition format used in this first and subsequent WTF events, led the WTF to successful accpetance into the Summer Olympic Games.

In July 1980, the International Olympic Committee recognized the WTF and Taekwondo sparring was accepted as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Seoul and the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games. It has been an official full medal Olympic event since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Taekwondo is one of two Asian martial arts (Judo being the other) in the Olympic Games. Taekwondo was admitted to the Asian Games as an official event in 1984.

In 2006, the WTF has over 180 Member National Association with approximately 50,000,000 members.

[edit]

Organizations

Outside of the Kukkiwon, and WTF Sanctioned Events, Taekwondo today can be divided into many private organizations which require you to be a student of a dues paying member school or club. You can not enter a private Taekwondo organization's competitions without first being a student in one of their sanctioned schools. This is different with the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) member nations, where any person, regardless of school affiliation, or style can compete in national WTF events. The WTF is open to all participants, regardless of school affliation. Some of the many private Taekwondo organizations are: ITF, WTU, ITU, ITTF, WTTF, KTF, KTTA, ATA, ATF, ATU, UTF, UTI, UTU, and so on. It is estimated that there are over 200 private Taekwondo organizations in the world.

Image:Demonstration.jpg

Since the death of the President of the ITF (General Choi) in 2002, the leadership of the ITF has been disputed. The organization has broken into several splinter groups, with three claiming to be the legitimate ITF. They are: ITF Canada, ITF Austria, and ITF North Korea. See the ITF page for more details on this issue.

The ITF had considerable success in bringing its organization to over 60 nations of the world by the 1960s. However, the WTF succeeded in taking Taekwondo to the Olympic stage, growing Taekwondo to over 180 nations with 50,000,000 members by 2006. Today, WTF rules are used as the official rules in the Olympic Games.

Technical differences among these many organizations revolve largely around the poomsae (or forms), the pre-set, formal sequences of movements. For example, the ITF has 24 patterns (called tuls) which now use a sine wave motion, while the ITA, an ITF splinter group, uses the old ITF method without the sine wave motion. The ATA uses its own forms called Song Ahm. The WTF only recognizes Taeguk poomsae. Many other forms exist, including Kicho, Kibon, Dan, Pinyan, Palgwe, or even the older original Hyungs. Variation exists from school to school in terms of which forms are taught.

In addition to these private organizations, there are several schools that began teaching before any of these groups became commonplace, and continue to remain separate. These old schools are called Kwans. Although the unification of the Kwans was successful, nine Taekwondo kwans continue to exist separately now as frateral membership organizations that support the Kukkiwon and WTF. The official curriculum of the nine main Kwans is unified under the curriculum set forth by the body the nine Kwans created, the Kukkiwon. The nine Kwans also function as a channel for the issuing of Kukkiwon Dan and Poom certification for their members.

On May 20th, 1976, the Korean Taekwondo Association officially eliminated the names of the Kwans and replaced them with numbers:

1: Songmookwan
2: Hanmookwan
3: Changmookwan
4: Moodukkwan
5: Ohdokwan
6: Kangdukkwan
7: Jungdokwan
8: Jidokwan
9: Chungdokwan
10: Kwanrikwan

Each Kwan has its own individual pledge of tenets and manners that describes the organization's goals for personal improvement. For example, the standard Taekwondo manners are: Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control, and Indomitable Spirit. However, for Jidokwan schools, the manners are: View, Feel, Think, Speak, Order, Contribute, Have Ability and Conduct Rightly.

[edit]

Features

Taekwondo is famed for its employment of kicking techniques, which distinguishes it from martial arts such as Karate or certain southern styles of Kung Fu. The rationale is that the leg is the longest and strongest weapon a martial artist has, and kicks thus have the greatest potential to strike without retaliation.

Taekwondo as a sport and exercise is popular with people of both sexes and of many ages. Physically, Taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of boards, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's strength.

Image:Tkdkidstretching.jpg Although each Taekwondo club or school will be different, a Taekwondo student can typically expect to take part in most or all of the following:

Learning the techniques and curriculum of Taekwondo
Both anerobic and aerobic workout, including stretching
Self-defense techniques
Poomse, or patterns -- either tuls, hyongs, palgwes, or taeguks
Sparring, including step-sparring and/or free-style, arranged, hoshinsul and more
Relaxation exercises
Breaking (using techniques to break boards for testing, training & martial arts demonstrations)
Exams to progress to the next rank
A focus on mental, & ethical discipline, justice, etiquette, respect, and self confidence.

Some of the most well known taekwondo techniques include:

Front Kick: This is a very linear kick. The practitioner raises his knee to his waist and snaps his foot at an opponent. It is also known as the snap kick.
Side Kick: A very powerful kick that has somewhat fallen out of favor as competition has become progressively faster. Again the practitioner raises his knee, but this time thrusts his foot out to the side. It is like a backwards stomp.
Roundhouse Kick: The practitioner raises his knee and spins his kick horizontally across his target.
Hook Kick: A less popular kick traditionally, it has found increasing favor in modern competitions. The practitioner raises the knee in a fashion similar to the side kick, then extends the foot in a dorsal arc (would be clock-wise for the right foot) with the heel as the intended striking weapon.
Axe Kick: Another kick that has increased in popularity due to sparring competitons. The knee is raised in front of the body, the leg then extended and pulled down with the heel pointed downward. It is typically targeted toward the head or shoulders and requires significant flexibility to employ effectively. There are many styles of axe kicks. They are also known as drop kicks.
Spin Kicks: There are a number of spinning kicks that involve the rotation of the entire body before the kick is released. Spinning kicks include the spinning side kick, spinning hook kick, spinning axe kick, and a number of other kicks of varying popularity.
Jump Kicks: There are also a number of kicks that involve jumping before their execution. These include jumping front kick, jumping side kick, flying side kick, jumping roundhouse (sometimes referred to as butterfly kick, although this term is at times used for a distinct kick separate from the jumping roundhouse), jumping spinning hook kick, shuffle jump kick, and jump spinning side kick.

Some Taekwondo instructors also incorporate the use of pressure points, known as Ji Ap Sul as well as grabbing self-defense techniques borrowed from other Korean arts, such as Hapkido and Yudo.

See also: List of Taekwondo techniques, Kick

[edit]

Belts

Taekwondo, like many martial arts, has 10 levels of student (gup, sometimes spelled geup or kup) ranks and 9 or 10 levels of black belt (dan) ranks. A person taking Taekwondo for the first time starts at 10th Gup (white belt), and advances down in number to 1st Gup (red belt). At some schools, the student then progresses into an intermediate rank called cho dan bo (meaning "black belt candidate", sometimes called dan bo for short). After some time has passed, the student takes a Dan test, after which the student becomes a 1st Dan. Dan ranks then increase in order, to a maximum of 9th Dan (ITF) or 10th Dan (Kukki/WTF). People under the age of 16 usually cannot attain Dan ranks, gaining Poom ("Junior Black Belt") ranks instead, which they usually convert into Dan ranks when they come of age.

The belts of students are indicated by colors, which allows students to determine their relative rank within a school. The actual correspondence of color to Gup level varies from school to school, and can even change within the same school over time. However, the following examples are the "standard" colors, and so are the most commonly found ranks in both ITF and Kukki/WTF schools<ref>[[1]]History of Belt Colors]]</ref>:

10th Gup: White Belt
8th Gup: Yellow Belt
6th Gup: Green Belt
4th Gup: Blue Belt
2nd Gup: Red Belt

How colors are assigned for intermediate belt rankings (odd-numbered Gups) is much more varied. The most common approaches are:

Assigning a new color for each odd rank, such as a "purple belt" for 7th Gup.
Marking the increase of rank with a white or black stripe on the belt (sometimes simply with tape), either laterally or horizontally.
Indicating the increased rank with a stripe of the next belt level (for example, 7th Gup could be a yellow belt with a thin lateral stripe of green near the end of the belt)<ref>[[2]] Example of intermediate striped belts.</ref>.
Having a "mixed" belt, with horizontal stripes of the two colors the rank is between. For example, a 7th Gup could be a yellow-and-green belt.<ref>[[3]] Example of horizontally striped belts.</ref>

Since there is no standardization of student belt levels, especially at intermediate ranks, it is more precise to refer to oneself as a "7th Gup", for example, than a "Purple Belt".

The origin of the colored belt system derives from the Japanese influence on Korea during the occupation, and thus ultimately from Jigaro Kano, the founder of Judo. Some private organizations leaders, like General Choi assigned meanings to the various colors of the ranks<ref>[[4]] Meaning of Belt Colors</ref>, representing the progression of a student from the snows of winter (white belt), through a cycle of the seasons representing the student's growth (yellow, green, blue, red), through maturity in the black belt. The interpretation of the colors of the belt vary from school to school, and are sometimes omitted from instruction, as they did not have meaning when they were originally chosen. The Kukkiwon assigns no official meaning to the various colors.

The time to advance in each Gup level varies from school to school, though one promotion per quarter is a common rate of advancement, with faster promotions for students with experience, and slower advancement for students that do not attend regularly.

The black belt system is more formal and standardized across the different schools of Taekwondo. Generally, a black belt is either an unadorned black belt (the same for all ranks), or has a gold stripe across the tip for each rank. For example, a 5th Dan would have five lateral gold stripes across the end of the belt. Many black belts also have the name of the school on the right side of the belt, and the Taekwondo practitioner's name on the left. The names can be written in any language, though having the school's name in Korean and the practitioner's name in his native language is common. According to General Choi, "The reason for nine black belt degrees is that the number three is a powerful number in the orient, and therefore three threes must be the most powerful." (See also the ITF ranks article.) Kukki/WTF Taekwondo has 10 Dan grades, with 10th Dan thus being the highest rank possible.

Officially, the WTF recognizes the following way of assigning titles to Dan ranks:

1st Dan - 5th Dan: "Master"
6th Dan - 10th Dan: "Grandmaster"

However, it is important to note that this is uncommon in practice outside of Korea, and a 1st Dan in America calling himself a "Master" would most likely result in disapproval.<ref>[[5]]Explanation of WTF "Master" and "Grandmaster"</ref>

In America, the following is a more common system of assigning titles to Dan ranks in WTF schools:

1st Dan - 2nd Dan: "Assistant Instructor"
3rd Dan - 4th Dan: "Instructor"
5th Dan - 7th Dan: "Master"
8th Dan - 10th Dan: "Grand Master"

It is important to note that the "Assistant Instructor" and "Instrutor" are unofficial rank titles that only apply within that Dan's school (they often assist in class instruction). This is separate from the WTF's official "Instructor" program in which one receives certified training in conducting Taekwondo classes. The certified instructor program (which must be taken before one can establish a new Kukki/WTF school), requires one to be a Kukki-certified 4th Dan and to pass a week-long course held annually at the Kukkiwon<ref>[[6]]Instructor training at the Kukkiwon</ref>. Therefore, 4th Dan is sometimes called "Master".

The Kukkikwon<ref>[[7]] Kukkikwon Web Site</ref> requires special promotion tests to advance at 8th Dan and above be taken physically at the Kukkiwon. Tests below this level can be administered by any Kukkikwon-certified black belt of at least 4th Dan, and of at least one Dan rank higher than the person testing.

In ITF schools, this standard ranking is instead used:

1st Dan - 3rd Dan: "Assistant Instructor"
4th Dan - 6th Dan: "Instructor"
7th Dan - 8th Dan: "Master"
9th Dan: "Grand Master"

The first Grand Master of ITF was General Choi Hong Hi. The second Grand Master was Rhee Ki Ha, who was promoted to 9th dan by General Choi at the 1997 World Championships in Russia. Currently there are about 20 Grand Masters in the ITF.

In conversation, people at the Instrutor level and lower are referred to as "Sir". People of the Master level are called "Master". People of the Grand Master level are called "Grand Master" or "Grandmaster", often with their last name appended for additional formality ("Yes sir, Grandmaster Jeong!").

Generally speaking, one must wait one year per current Dan level to progress to the next level. For example, a 3rd Dan must wait three years before he can progress into 4th Dan. Some styles also have a mimimum age requirement. For example, one must be at least 30 years old to qualify for 6th Dan in the Kukkiwon. Additionally, the Kukkiwon does not allow people under the age of 16 to become a Dan black belt; they instead receive a Poom black belt (junior black belt). Poom holders do not need to test for the same level Dan, they will automatically change to the next level up of Dan when they earn their next promotion. The Kukkiwon allows shortened promotion times for exceptional accomplishments. For example, a practitioner who wins the World Championships is accorded a 80% discount on both the minimum time to advance and minimum age requirements <ref>[[8]] Kukkiwon Shortened Time Requirements</ref>, up to a maxmimum promotion of 7th Dan.

Gup rank advancement records are kept by the school of origin, and sometimes by the style's association headquarters. For WTF practitioners, all ranks of 1st Dan and above must be registered with the Kukkiwon if the black belt wishes for his rank to be acknowledged at other dojangs, or if he wishes to participate in the Olympics. A "Taekwondo Card" (which looks like a photo ID card) is commonly used by practitioners when they attend tournaments or transfer schools in order to certify their rank.

It is also important to note that the WTF itself does not issue belt ranks. The WTF is strictly a sport, tournament, and refereeing entity. The WTF relies on the Kukkiwon organization to conduct all belt testing and record-keeping activities. However, as the Kukkiwon is the WTF's World Headquarters, and tests on standards established by the WTF, the terms "WTF Taekwondo" and "Kukkiwon Taekwondo" and "Kukki/WTF Taekwondo" can be used somewhat interchangeably, with the last being the most precise<ref>[[9]]WTF/Kukkiwon certification</ref>.

[edit]

Olympic competition rules

The sparring regulations of the WTF, adopted by the International Olympic Committee, emphasize full contact blows, allow knockout and other logistics of the Olympic sports. These rules are different from Taekwondo sparring based on poomsae technique, grabbing self-defense. There are over 18 different types of Taekwondo sparring.

Image:Armedforces taekwondo.jpg

The official, current WTF competition rules can be found at the WTF website.[10]These rules govern many aspects of tournament sparring, summarized below:

The Competition Area measures 10m x 10m.
The contestant shall wear the trunk protector (hogu), head protector, groin guard, forearm guards, shin guards, and a mouthpiece.
The duration of the contest is non-stop three rounds of two minutes each, with a one-minute rest period between rounds. In case of a tie score after the completion of the 3rd round, a 4th round of two minutes will be conducted as the sudden death overtime round.
Permitted and prohibited techniques:
- Fist techniques are only allowed with a closed hand, and only with the leading part of the hand (no backhand or hammer techniques).
- Foot techniques are only allowed by using the parts of the foot below the ankle bone (no shin or knee techniques).
Permitted areas
- Trunk: Full force attack by fist and foot techniques on the areas covered by the trunk protector are permitted. Attacks on the part of the back not covered by the trunk protector are permitted so long as they are not direct hits to the spine.
- Head: Full force, knock out attack to the head is only allowed by foot techniques. Attack to the back of the head is prohibited, as are all hand techniques to the head.
Points are awarded when permitted techniques deliver full force, abrupt displacement and trembling shock to the legal scoring areas of the body. Points may be awarded by judges for a successful technique as follows:
- One point for attack on trunk protector.
- Two points for attack on the head.
- One additional point if the opponent is knocked down and the referee counts.
- Declared winner if knock-out of the opponent with foot kicking to the legal area of head and face.
Deduction of points. Two types of penalties may be assigned for prohibited acts, "Kyonggo" (warning penalty) and "Gamjom" (deduction penalty). Two "Kyonggos" deduct one point, rounded down (an odd "Kyonggo" is not counted in the grand total), and a "Gamjom" deducts one full point. When a contestant has been deducted four points, the referee shall declare him/her loser by penalties.
- "Kyonggo" penalties include: evading by turning the back to the opponent; falling down; avoiding/stalling the match; grabbing, holding, or pushing; attacking below the waist; pretending injury; butting or attacking with knee; hitting the opponent’s face with the hand.
- "Gamjom" penalties include: attacking the opponent when the round is stopped; attacking a fallen opponent; intentionally attacking the opponent’s face with the hand
In the event of a tied score after the sudden death round, the judging officials decide the match based on the initiative shown during the final round.

[edit]

Media depiction

Despite martial arts movies being seemingly dominated by Chinese martial arts, Taekwondo is actually one of the more popular martial arts employed in film. This has a lot to do with impressive kicking techniques used in Taekwondo. Additionally, many kicks utilized by Tony Jaa, star of the Muay Thai film Ong Bak are actually Taekwondo kicks. One example is the 540 kick, which is not a Muay Thai style kick.

Among Hollywood films, one of the best depictions of Taekwondo can be found in the film Best of the Best and the sequels, although the art is referred to as Karate throughout. Possibly the most famous superkickers of martial arts cinema (e.g. Hwang Jang-Lee) are practitioners of Taekwondo. Hwang and many other Korean Taekwondo practitioners have been in Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee films. Taekwondo is also seen in Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, as well as many Hong Kong action films.

[edit]