History of Taekwondo | Taekwon-Do Yoksa

Taekwon Do was created by a Korean named, Choi Hong Hi, a General in the South Korean Armed Forces. He studied Taek Kyon, a Korean form of foot-fighting, from the age of 15, and Karate while studying in Japan. He was imprisoned in a Japanese army jail for attempting to liberate Korea. There he developed the art of Taekwondo. He began teaching the techniques to his soldiers, and decided it was time for Korea to have a national martial art, "superior in both spirit and technique to Japanese Karate." He then perfected the art. It was given the name "Taekwon-Do" on April 11, 1955. It has a strong spiritual component based on traditional oriental culture and the General's personal philosophies. The physical components are based on scientific research designed for simplicity, power and mobility and incorporate military practices.

General Choi was a loyal patriot to Korea. He spent many years of his life attempting to regain Korea's freedom from Japanese oppression. Ignoring political views, his hope was the Korea would eventually be reunited. Many of the patterns are dedicated to the philosophers, spiritualists, patriots and prominent leaders of the Korean history.

In his encyclopedia he uses a 6th century map of Korea to highlight the struggles that the country has faced. During that time, the country was separated into three kingdoms: Baek Je, Silla and Kogoryo. These kingdoms were reunited in the late 7th century primarily to the strong leadership of a group of youths dedicated to honor, discipilne and loyalty. The Hwa Rang Youth Group facilitated the reunification of these three kingdoms through their acts of bravery and intensity.

It is the view of this website's author that a true practitioner of Taekwon-Do would take several years studying the encyclopedia and the General's philosophical ideas, training suggestions and practices.

References for the TKD Knowledge, history, patterns and translations

• Choi, H. H. (1987). Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do (Vols. 1-15). Mississauga, Ontario: ITF.
• Choi, H. H. (1999). Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do [CD-ROM]. Mississagua, Ontario: ITF.
• Sereff, C. E. (2000). USTF Color Belt Syllabus. Broomfield, CO: USTF.
• Sereff, C. E. (2004). USTF Black Belt Syllabus. Broomfield, CO: USTF.
• Sereff, C. E. (2009). USTF Patterns Workbook. Broomfield, CO: USTF.
• YouTube (and all of the people who submit videos there).