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The first record of formal contact between China
and Korea started around 200 BCE during the Chinese Qui Dynasty(221-206BCE).
Contact increased between ther two nations during the Han Dynasty,
in which Chinese military bases were places in North Korea.
Different spiritual and martial arts philosophies were introduced
to Korea from China.
Due to these advances brought about by the entry of Confucianism
three kingdoms formed: Silla in 57 BCE, Koguryo in 37 BCE, and
Paekche in 18 BCE. Buddhism was introduced to Korea in 372 CE
and took root in the kingdoms of Koguryo and Paekche, but was
rejected in Silla for the deeply rooted Confucian doctrine that
already existed.Eventually Buddhism was accepted in Silla in
the mid 6th Century but combined with the native confucianist
ideology to form a unique nation state where the king was held
aas a being akin to the Buddha. The warring between the kingdoms
expanded and there was need to specialized training for military
defence and expansion. This gave rise to the Hwa Rang warriors,
which were presented to the king in Silla in 576 CE. The first
Hwa Rang were raised from infancy and trained in the martial
arts and in Buddhist docitrine. The Hwa Rang were experts in
archery, horseriding, swordfighting, and unarmed combat. At
first the Hwa Rang was limited to Silla(southwest Korea), but
eventually it spread throughout all of Korea. In the Koryo Dynasty(953-1392AD)
martial arts was tauight to the military under the name Soo
Bahk. The following Dyansy, the Yi Dynasty, lasted from 1392-1907AD.
During this period two martial arts manuals were written, the
32nd Volume of Korean History Book, and the Military Arts Manual.Japan
invaded and occupied Korea in 1907 and occupied it until 1945,
and suppressed the native form of Korean martial arts until
Koreans were required to enter into the Japanese military and
fight on the same side as Japan. During this period the Japanese
forms of martial arts, kendo, karate, judo, and aikido were
blended in with the Korean arts and adapted for Korean military
use.
Tae Kwon Do
"The Art Of Hand & Foot Fighting" Tae Kwon do
is a Korean Martial art and a combat sport. It is classified
as a hard style of martial art that is renowned for it's kicking
techniques. Modern Tae kwon do has been influenced by many styles
of Martial Arts. Tae Kwon do blended the quick, linnear movements
of the Japanese styles into itself. In 1933 a young military
general, Choi, was sent to study Calligraphy with Han Li Dong,
a secret practitioner of Tae Kwon. Han taught General Choi Tae
Kown do as well as Calligraphy. Choi was sent to Japan for further
education where he met Mr. Kim, and studied Karate - attaining
the grade of 2nd degree black belt. When he returned to Korea
during WW II he was forces to join the Japanese army. He was
implicated in a Korean independance movement and was sent to
jail, where he taught felow prisoners martial arts, until the
end of the War.After World War II and Korea achieved independence,
several styles(kwans) of Korean Martial arts arose. These styles
were, Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Yun Moo Kwan, Chang Moo Kwan,
Oh Do Kwan, Ji Do Kwan, Chi Do Kwan and Song Moo Kwan. After
the war Choi became intrumental in training both the military
and police force Martial arts. Not only did he teach Korean
socliers, he trained American soldiers stationed in Korea after
the war. In 1955 the name Tae Kwon Do came was chosen to represent
this style of martial arts at a meeting of the leaders of the
Korean martial arts committee. Tae Kwon do was accepted as the
name for Korean martial arts when General Choi Hong Hi 9th Degree
submitted the name Tae Kwon-Do and the syllabus of his art,
which was accepted and also received the approval of the Korean
president, therefore unifying the various Kwan's such as Dong
Soo, Gong Soo, Kwan bup, Tae Kyon, Soo Bak, Kang Soo and others.
In 1961 the Korean Taekwondo Union was formed by combining the
Soo Bakh Do Association and the Tae Soo Do Association. In 1962
the Korean Amateur Sports Association accepted the Korean Taekwondo
Union and in 1965 was renamed the Korean Taekwondo Association.
General Choi was president of the Korean Tae Kwon Do Association
and was asked to start the International Tae Kwon Do Federation
as the international branch of the Korean Tae Kwon Do Association.
When the government in South korea was overthrown in 1961 General
Choi went to The United States and established the International
Taekwondo Federation. In 1973 the World Taekwondo Federation
was founded and in 1980, W.T.F. Taekwondo was recognized by
the International Olympic Commitee and became a demonstration
sport at the Olympics in 1988. Tae Kwon do will be exhibited
as an official medal sport in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
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Hapkido
Hapkido is a Korean martial arts that focuses on individuals
developing their internal Ki-Gong energy and teaches defensive
and offensive techniques. Kapkido uses the punching, kicking
and blocking skills of Tae Kwon Do and the Aikido-like skills
of redirection, joint manipulation, pressure point attacks,
throwing and chocking skills. The skills taught in Hapkido are
designes so a person can overcome and subdue a single r multiple
attackers minimal effort and maximum results. The name Hapkido
derives from the parts Hap - coordination
Ki - energy
Do - art formHapkido is thus, The Art of Coordinating Energy.
Hapkido combines a dynamic theory of movement with the application
if knowledge of over 400 pressure points on the human body.
These pressure points usually coincide with areas of dense nerves,
blood essels, or internal organs. During the Japanese occupation
of Korea between 1909 and 1945 the only Judo and Kendo practitioners
were allowed to practice their art. The traditional Korean martial
arts had gone underground, but these practitioners learned the
new skills they were able to learn from Judo and kendo, and
combined them with their native martial art. Post WW II many
different styles of martial arts surfaced, and in order to promote
unity all styles, except Hapkido, were classified as Tae Kwon
Do, and a national governing body was formed by the Korean Government.
Hapkido was allowed to be independant because of it's unqiue
combination of throws, joint techniques, and Aikido-like skills.
The man credited for founding Hapkido in modern times is Yong
Sul Choi. He combined self-defense techniques with Tae Kyun,
and weaponry to form Hapkido. Shortly after the Japanese occupied
Korea Yong Sul Choi emigrated to Japan and learned Daitoryu
Aikijutu. he combined a portion of what he learned into his
art, Hapkido. He returned to Korea after WW II and opened the
first Hapkido school in Taegu. Before his death in 1987 he appointed
Ji Han Jae as head of Hapkido in the World.
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