TAEKWON-Do History
The Origins
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Introduction
Taekwon-Do was created in the 20th Century by General Choi Hong Hi. It is based on a fusion of the old Korean martial art of Taek Kyon as well as elements from different styles of Okinawan Karate. Being created in the 20th Century gave it the advantage of the knowledge of modern physics allowing it to use the natural movement of the human body to maximize power.
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Brief History of Taekwon-Do
Its roots spread back into ancient martial arts, but it wasn't developed in its own right until the end of World War II in Korea. After being forced to learn Okinawan Karate styles under Japanese rule, many practitioners saw the wisdom of combining the old Korean martial arts (like Taek Kyon) which focused on the feet, with the hand techniques of Karate. In those post-War years, many schools, known as kwans, started up, with the new mixture of styles. Among these were Song Moo Kwan, Chung Do Kwan, Kwon Bop, and Oh Do Kwan, as well as many others. Oh Do Kwan, meaning 'gym of my way', was founded by General Choi Hong Hi.
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On April 11, 1955 a special board consisting of martial arts masters, historians and important members of Korean society gathered in order to define a new Korean martial art unified under one name. The kwans were assembled and the name Taekwon-Do, meaning "the way of the hands and feet", put forth by General Choi, was finally selected and replaced the numerous names already in use.
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In 1959, the newly formed Korea Taekwon-Do Association elected General Choi as its president. Taekwon-Do advanced for a number of years under the KTA and the guidance of General Choi. In 1965, with the approval of the South Korean government, Taekwon-Do was named Korea's national martial art and a year later on March 22, 1966 the International Taekwon-Do Federation was formed with the blessing of 9 countries - a first for Korea. Its objective was to spread Taekwon-Do around the world.
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In 1968, Taekwon-Do was presented to the International Military Sports Council (CISM) in hopes of having it added as one of CISMs competitive events. A year later in 1969, the first Asian Taekwon-Do Championship was held in Hong Kong - significant because it meant that Taekwon-Do had become internationally accepted as a sport and martial art. Five years later, another momentous event took place when Montreal, Canada hosted the first World Taekwon-Do Championships.
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In the early 1970s, Taekwon-Do split into two distinct factions. Please visit the Organizations page for more information.