Exploring The Origin of Taekwondo

The earliest evidence of the existence of Taekwondo is a mural painted on the wall of a tomb that was built in the Korean kingdom of Koguryo, somewhere between 37 BC and 66 AD. The painting depicts two unarmed figures facing each other in a Taekwondo style stance. Additionally, elsewhere in the tomb, other paintings show figures in uniforms performing blocks and other moves that are similar to those used in modern-day Taekwondo. During the 6th century A.D., what we now call the Korean peninsula was divided into the three kingdoms of Paekje, Koguryo, and Silla. Silla, being the smallest kingdom and also the weakest militarily, decided to take action so it would not be completely obliterated by its neighbors. Chin Heung, the 24th king of Silla, created a group of warriors called the HwaRang. The HwaRang devoted their lives to training with weapons and SooBak in the hopes that they could save Silla. SooBak was a form of foot fighting, only including a little involvement with the hands. The HwaRang took SooBak and added to it in order to create an art closer to what we know as Taekwondo today, Taekkyeon. Using TaekKyon, Silla was able to defeat both if it’s neighbors and began a prosperous age of a unified Korea, though it was overthrown and replaced by the Koryo Dynasty some time later.

During the Koryo Dynasty, Taekkyon grew more systematically and became a compulsory subject for military cadets. However, toward the end of the Dynasty, the development of gunpowder significantly hampered the usefulness of Taekkyon as a weapon. During the Yi Dynasty, Taekwondo, then called subakhui, lost the support of the government as an official weapon, and became more of a folk game, though it was still passed on by private instructors. The second major blow to the art was under the Japanese colonial rule of Korea. In their urge to suppress and quell the Korean people and Korea’s culture, any and all folkloric games were banned, including taekkyondo, as it was called at the time. Until 1945, when the country was liberated, taekkyondo was passed down in secret, handed down by the masters of the art due to the constant threat of imprisonment if they were caught.

After the liberation of Korea from the Japanese, the Korean people started bringing back their culture that had been suppressed, including taekkyondo. Five schools, or kwans opened to teach the martial arts, Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Yung Moo Kwan, Chang Moo Kwan, and Chi Do Kwan. In the year 1950, a master named Duk Sung Son began to teach a form of the martial art to the policemen, with great success. He was named chief instructor of the signal corps, and later, he was made instructor to the cadets of the Korean Military Academy. In 1952, a master of Taekkyondo, Song Duk-Ki, presented a demonstration of his martial art at a birthday celebration for Syngman Rhee, the new president of Korea, with the intention of distinguishing Korean martial arts from the Japanese karate and kendo, as well as all of the others that had been introduced during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Rhee was very impressed, so much so that he ordered his military leaders to begin immediate instruction in these taekkyondo for all Korean soldiers. Two years after the end of the Korean War in 1953, a meeting was convened in the hopes of unifying all of the kwans under a single name. The meeting eventually decided on a name: Tang Soo Do, literally meaning “The Way of the Tang Hand,” referring to the Tang Dynasty of Korea. However, within two years, a new name was chosen: Taekwondo.