History Taekwondo

During the Japanese occupation of Korea the practice of traditional Korean martial arts was prohibited. Beginning in 1946, shortly after the conclusion of the occupation, new martial arts schools called kwans were opened in Seoul. These schools were established by Korean martial artists who had studied primarily in Okinawa and China during the Japanese occupation. Accordingly, the martial arts practiced in the kwans was heavily influenced by shotokan karate and Chinese martial arts, though elements of taekkyeon and gwonbeop were also incorporated. The umbrella term traditional taekwondo typically refers to the martial arts practiced by the kwans during the 1940s and 1950s, though in reality the term „taekwondo“ had not yet been coined at that time, and indeed each kwan was practicing its own unique style of martial art. During this timeframe taekwondo was also adopted for use by the South Korean military, which only served to increase its popularity among civilian martial arts schools.

After witnessing a martial arts demonstration by the military in 1952, South Korea President Syngman Rhee urged that the martial arts styles of the kwans be merged. Beginning in 1955 the leaders of the kwans began discussing in earnest the possibility of creating a unified style of Korean martial art. The name Tae Soo Do was used to describe this notional unified style. In 1957, Choi Hong Hi advocated the use of the name Tae Kwon Do, though that name was slow to catch on among the leaders of the kwans. In 1959 the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) was established to facilitate the unification of Korean martial arts. Establishment of a unified style required several years of negotiation. Seven years later, in 1966, under the sponsorship of the KTA, the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) was established as the governing body for the first unified style of taekwondo.

Cold War politics of the 1960s and 1970s complicated the adoption of ITF-style taekwondo as a unified style,however. The South Korean government wished to avoid North Korean influence on the martial art. Conversely, ITF president Choi Hong Hi sought support for the martial art from all quarters, including North Korea. In response, in 1973 the KTA withdrew its support for the ITF. The ITF continued to function as independent federation, then headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and Choi continued to develop the ITF-style, notably with the 1987 publication of his Encyclopedia of Taekwondo. After Choi’s retirement the ITF split in 2001 and then again in 2002 to create three separate federations each of which continues to operate today under the same name.

In 1973, after the withdrawal of KTA support of the ITF, the South Korean government’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established the Kukkiwon as the new national academy for taekwondo. Kukkiwon now served the function previously served by the ITF, in terms of defining a government-sponsored unified style of taekwondo. Kukkiwon-style taekwondo represents the second unified style of taekwondo. Kukkiwon-style taekwondo is less combat-oriented and more sport-oriented than either traditional taekwondo or ITF-style taekwondo. Indeed, in 1973 the KTA established the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) to promote taekwondo specifically as a sport. WTF competitions employ Kukkiwon-style taekwondo. For this reason, Kukkiwon-style taekwondo is often referred to as WTF-style taekwondo, though in reality the style is defined by the Kukkiwon, not the WTF.

Since 2000, taekwondo has been one of only two Asian martial arts (the other being judo) that are included in the Olympic Games. It became a demonstration event at the 1988 games in Seoul, and became an official medal event at the 2000 games in Sydney. In 2010, taekwondo was accepted as a Commonwealth Games sport.

(Wikipedia)