A honest history of ……Tae Kwon do????

         

        I have been doing Karate as long as I can remember and studied its history, masters and such and always find it interesting when I get to meet a master of the art or one of their prodigy.  I am often approached to write or talk about Karate because I have studied it so long and more times than not, if they like it or not, I find someone to chat to about Karate and martial arts.  Also, more times than not when I mention I do Karate someone will say “Oh, Tae Kwon Do” to which I say No, Karate. We tend to be snobby and disagree with them when they suggest we are basically the same thing and even get rather offended. Maybe we shouldn’t however.

                The truth is Tae Kwon Do or TKD is more like us than we want to believe, I mean after all…modern Tae Kwon do was created from the genes of Karate.  Its hard to deny that TKD and Karate (Specifically Shotokan too) look a bit alike.  Some back ground on current TKD practices, most of them wear white Keikogi they call Dobok and we call Dogei some times. They use the same belt rank system we use (Stole that sucker from Judo) and for the most part they “borrow” some of our practices….like most if not all. They use Forms or Pumsae (we call Kata), they do Gyeorugi (Kumite or sparring) they Gyeokpa (Tamishiwari – breaking) and they do lots of drills and repetitions of basics as well as using different equipment to hone their skills like striking pads, punching bags ext…..sound familiar yet?

                TKD’s history is said to have started around the 18^th century when a striking art was created name Subak. This art focused on striking with open hands (slaps really) and lots of kicking and tripping. Each area of Korea had this type of system and each of them were slightly different but they also had lots of similarities. Each area of Korea would compete with each other, sending champions around to compete for who was best. Several of the kings in the region were big supoorters of the sport and as such it grew, and over time changed and split into a more sport, less combat focused activitie.  From what I can see on paper the system, that existed during the Yi period, looked a lot more like a cross between French Savate and Sumo wrestling.

                During the Joseon Period Subak transformed in practice and name from a sport minded practice to a softer style calling itself Yusul, meaning soft art. Yusul was more like Jujutsu (Japanese grappling art).  Subak fell pray to the loss of Confucianism as a main gate keeper in solidity. Prior to the Joseon period you had to be in Subak as a fighter to join the military and earn money as a soldier, when this fell away with Confucianism’s grasp on the Korean people the art became little more than dance and a grappling art that morphed in to Ssireum, a game of grappling skills similar to wrestling in high school. Traditional Subak died out replaced more recently by systems borrowing the name or reimagining the system. So, you could say that the early history of Subak and its original fighting are could have influenced modern TKD but honestly its more that the collective memory of the art may bring about pride if you link it emotionally to the history of TKD but we have very little actual proof or evidence it influenced it technically or directly.

 

                Next potential Korean parent system is/was Taekkyeon or Taekgyeon/Taekkyeon. Some tie this system directly to Subak, but no real evidence exists that this art came from the ancient art which morphed into a grappling art and they honestly don’t look at all alike. To be honest I don’t really feel that the Korean historians can be trusted nor can the practitioners of this art be trusted when they say its not only the parent of modern TKD nor when they assert that Subak was its parent. Granted the historians are quick to point out there is actually no real records of Taekkyeon or its creation. Most of what they know or suggest as a history is from folklore and myth. From what I can gather from the very scant truths about Taekkyeon it was formed centuries after Subak fell to the Confusion influence and was basically a foot fighting art that appeared at the end of the Joseon dynasty.  Two versions of this system existed during the late Joseon period, one was used by the military as a fighitn art and the other was a game played by wealthy athletes for entertainment. Taekkyeon also suffered a lot as Neo-Confucianism became wide spread in Korea and near the start of the 20^th Century it was all but extinct.  By the time the Japanese took over Korea in 1910 Korean martial arts were all but gone. So, Taekkyeon is also not the grand parent of Tae Kwon Do…so….how did it happen then?

 

                Prior to World War II the Japanese military invaded Korea (1910-1945) and ran the country as its own.  The military brought about cultural exchanges and not only did the Korean people pass on some of their culture to the Japanese, the Japanese also did the same back. In fact, many of the young Koreans flocked to Japan to study in their universities and take up military training when they could.  This practice did not end after the war as well. Several of the students of a particular famous Karate master moved back to Korea after studying in Japan and brought a curious system of fighting back with them. They opened Kwon/Kwoon or Clubs to teach what they had learned, all under the watchful eye of the government, who was plotting and planning to shuck off the Japanese rule and influence when ever they could.

                Soong Moo Kwan, chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Ji Do Kwan and Chang Moo Kwan all opened up in Korea to spread the system of fighting.  Soong Moo Kwan was formed by Master Ro Byung Jik who had studied under Gichin Funakoshi of Shotokan Karate fame (and its founder). He studied along with Chung Do Kwan founder Lee Won Kuk in Japan while at the universities. Both men opened clubs in Kaeson in march of 1944. Moo Duk Kwan was formed a year later by Hwang Kee who had studied Tai chi and kung fu in China and who had no luck opening a Korean Kung fu school in Korea and after realizing that most Koreans would never study a Chinese based system he incorporated most of the Japanese influence from the first two clubs. They had called their art Tang Soo Do or Tang hand but it was straight out of the Shotokan play book for them.

                Ji Do Kwan or Jidokwan was opened by Chun Sang sip. His club the Chosun yu mu kwan kong soo do club had actually been the original Kodokan Judo school in Korea and had existed for nearly 30 years. Sip had also studied Shotokan under Funakoshi while he was in Japan and choose to teach Karate under the name Kong Soo Do, however the club voted to change the focus of the Jidokwan after the Korean war to teach only the striking art after Chun Sang Sip disappeared in the Korean war. The last club or the Chang Moo Kwan was opened in the YMCA Kwon Bop club in 1946 by Yoon Byung in, who had studied Karate under Kanken Toyama at the Nihon University. He also went missing after the Korean war and his club was reopened by his top student Lee Nam Suk who changed the name of the school and the syllabus to fall in line with the other five original Kwon.

 

      

          These were the first five clubs. That were formed from students who may have studied a bit of Chinese kung fu and even played a bit with some ancient games….but they studied Shotokan or Shudokan in one case and opened up clubs, teaching things that looked like Karate, used Korean Karate terminology, took the Kata from Shotokan and Created Poomes and even borrowed the gear that Karate guys used (specifically the belts and white Keikogi).  They changed terms only to make them more understandable to the Korean people but other than that…it was for all intensive purposes….Karate. None of the famed Subak or Taekkyeon existed in the system as demonstration or otherwise, pure Japanese Karate…with Korean terms.

                After the Korean war four more clubs were opened up to form the full 9 original Kwans of TaeKwonDo.  Students from the different clubs founded their own schools. The Han Moo Kwan was founded in 1954 by Lee Kyo Yoon as an off shoot of the Jidokwan, Oh do Kwan was formed a year later by Choi Hong Hi who was studied in Japan and at the Chung Do Kwan, Kank Duk waon was formed by Park chui Hee and Hong Jong Pyo as an off shoot to Chang Moo Kwan and the last club to open was Jung Do Kwan which was founded by Lee Yong Woo in 1956 as an off shoot of Chung Do Kwan as well. These four clubs were formed by students of the original clubs but all traveled to Japan to study the real original art Shotokan. At this point the clubs were not using the name Tae Kwon Do or way of the foot to give name to the system, they were still all basically using Tang Soo Do or way of the Tang hand, which was Karate’s original and used name at the time. In the ‘60’s the number of clubs in Korea went from 9 to 40 and then shortly after the Korean war it blew up, but the Korean government consolidated them all under the KTA heading (Korean Tae Kwon Do association) …but Im getting ahead of myself.

 

                After the Japanese occupation and the forming of the Kwons in Soul and the other big cities by individuals who had studied Chinese and most importantly (as it had the biggest influence) Japanese Karate. By this point the indigenous systems were all but forgotten and mostly practiced for folk tradition more than anything. The systems themselves did change slightly with what most Karate folk would say was a de-focusization (Made that word up so I hope you like it) on form and technical skills and more of a focus on speed and flash. In 1952 South Korean president Syngman Rhee watched a Tang Soo Doo demonstration by ROK Army officer Choi Hong Hi and Nam Tae-hi. He felt that the art needed to be supported and also altered to allow the general public to view it as uniquely Korean and less Japanese.

                By the 1950’s the Kwon leaders were all trying to unify the art and create a unque system that looked a lot less like Japanese Karate and more like its own system. They also had to take into account that by then the term “Tang hand” was no longer used by Karate systems as they changed to “Empty hand” and they were still using the old name to describe the system.

                General Choi put forward the use of the name Tae Kwon Do as it described the system they were working on and it also sounded very close to Taekkyeon, which the new president had liked. The leaders of the Kwons originally hated the new name, but the Korean military began teaching the art and if the masters called what they taught Tae Kwon Do the money they would see for teaching it would make it worth the change, personal objections were put aside.

           

     In 1959 General Choi established the first National TKD Federation he named the KTA (Korean Tae Kwon Do Association ) with a mandate to unify Korean martial arts and systematically change the practice, rules and standards of the arts. This meant squashing old practices and old styles of fighting and creating one unified front. He felt that all systems and the original 9 styles or Kwons should adopt his system of Chan-hon style of Tae Kwon do he taught at the Oh Do Kwan. As you can imagine, this did not go over very well with all the masters. The infighting was horrible and then Choi also felt a need to spread TKD to North Korea (a major no no) and also the world. By 1966 he was under personal attack politically in TKD circles and politically. He broke with the KTA and formed the ITF or international Tae Kwon Do Federation after he fled to Vancouver Canada.

                By 1972 the South Korean government withdrew its support of the ITF and the KTA was abolished just prior to that. The South Korean government noticed that General Choi had a great deal of support from North Korea and other countries and they did not want this to influence their martial arts so they formed the WTF or world TKD Federation. The federation was formed directly inside the government and all Korean instructors in South Korea were members. They also established the National Academy of TKD or the Kukkwon. In 2017 the WTF was renamed World Tae Kwon Do due to the “confusion” of the initials used by the group. This new group took the sport morphing changes to a new level and pushed for TKD to be in the Olympics and to be a sport or the focus to be on sport mostly. The Olympic style of TKD was reinforced after it had been made an Olympic sport in 1988. It had been a Pan Am game event as well as a common wealth game prior…interestingly…..So was Karate.  

 

                Now to show the tight link between TKD and Karate, some of the original Forms that were used to teach TKD were taken directly from Shotokan Karate. These are normally refered to as Hyeong in Korean.  Poomsae were created by the kukkiwon style and ATA style TKD and Teul were used by the ITF style TKD.  All of the forms follow the same primary ideas of Karate Kata however.

 

It is safe to say that Karate, Shotokan specifically is the parent style of TKD and that any of the changes that came about could have been due to politics or just instructors coming up with their own ideas, but the fact is that the masters who created TKD started off with a Shotokan root system and built what we now know as TKD from that source. 

Some small burnt offerings.

 

                Gonna answer a few questions I have gotten this past year that I have not put into a blog as of yet. These were ones that were kind of random and

 

What are your goals for 2022?

                Currently most of my goals for the new year center around my own training and that of my dojo. I am hoping to shake off the last two years of ups and downs and get back to training hard, pushing to grow the club and praying we don’t have anything else come up that would affect these plans. I want to do a few online training seminars with Sensei Don as well as dig a bit more deeply into some online training and get back to focusing on my own fitness and training.

 

Is Karate better than (XYZ)?

                No….and yes….and maybe.  I hate and love this question and get it very often online.  Most of the time its from those that train in the martial art in question and maybe are trying to trap me into explaining myself. First off, the art of Karate is only as good as the practitioner that is using in. but that’s the same thing you must say about ALL martial arts. The martial arts are much like any other art form or creative endeavour. The system or style is simply the tools one uses to develop skill and then express themselves through these tools.

 

Karate does not seem like it would work in real life?

                Not true, but having said that Karate works for those that can make it work. Guns are great weapons for those that need defense and need to use them, but if you don’t know how to use one…they are very dangerous paper weights.  Same with Karate…if you want to know how to use Karate in the streets you need to train for that, and be lucky enough to be good at it.

 

Why are our Gis’ white?

                I have been told lots of reasons, people roll out nice stories and they spew them around like they are truth…but the gods honest truth is that we wear white uniforms as that was what was available to Funakoshi at the time he was forming the style. I guess it could be worse, we could all be wearing Kilts!

 

What kind of goals would you suggest for Karate?

                Tough one.  First off I always say that Shogai is the main goal, or Karate for life. We all change our focus and we all change our approach as time goes on. When I started it was a way to get me out of my shell, get a kid in shape and find something I liked for activities.  Then It became my obsession and I started competing then moved to teaching, the goals were different each time.  The main focus should be on having a good time training and enjoying it for your whole life.

 

Is sport karate different than traditional Karate?

                Yes and no.  The rules are very different, which to some makes it very different. To others its just the same skills used with a different goal and different Essentially the biggest differences I see are actually the techniques.  Most Free kumite you see has some flashy stuff, but the main scoring waza are Gyakuzuki, Oi zuki/Kizami and mawashi geri in most tournaments. You may see a mae geri or yoko geri but most of the time its just really basic stuff. In sport things like ridge hands, hook kicks, flying punches and the like are used. The Goals and rules of the event dictate the waza used.  Having said that I am not against or for a single side here.  I do Traditional, I teach Traditional but I know that Karate is a rainbow of goals, focuses, reasons for training and sport is one of them.  I would however say that if you choose to do sport you need at least four years of solid study in Traditional to ground yourself and to build up your skills.  AND I don’t agree with students wearing blue and red belts only. Wear your rank!

 

Can you do both sport and traditional Karate?

                You can, its not easy and I have seen way to many students get confused as to what they are doing. To some extent its like doing two different arts, even though the tools are the same the confines of the rules are different and change the way you actually use them. Like I said before the sport aspect is flashy and dynamic but in reality, that kind of sparring is going to lead to lighter, faster moves…but despite what some people have told me…most sport fighters SUCK at real fighting. I have actually seen a sport guy “score a point” in the streets and then freeze up wondering why the attacker did not go down or stop because a point was scored. Its an old cliché that people drag out and a funny story but I can tell you its true.  Not all traditional guys will be able to fight but they have a better than average chance in a real fight with real world rules opposed to fancy Kumite that sport offers.

 

What kind of other training should you do to make your karate better?

                I used to say things like “weights” and “More Karate”, but my thinking has changed a lot over the years and I agree with my Sensei, Running is the single most important conditioning protocol you can do as a Karate person, next is stretching. Actually, I see them as being different one is conditioning and the other holds a special and unusual place. I also think if you are doing sports or get ready for an envent dynamics like plyometrics and other similar activities are super beneficial.

 

How old should you be when you start Karate training?

                Any age!  I think practicing Karate is a benefit for any age really! Youth and kids learn discipline, fitness and they enjoy things like sport and the challenges that brings.  Adults and kids alike can benefit from the fitness and destressing that Karate brings and older adults keep their fitness and bone density from Karate training. The kids however, if you are going to enter into Karate you need to be able to focus a bit to benefit or it is just baby sitting. I would say the youngest is about six years old for special kids and eight for the kids with focus issues.

 

Can an older person benefit from Karate?

                For sure! I have seen lots of older people look at Karate as a kids training program or option.  However, the older adults benefit from the mobility it creates, the flexibility it promotes and the bone density that comes from training. The benefits for an older adult are huge!

 

What is the best piece of advice you can give a new student starting karate?

                Take notes and work a little each day on basics.  It will help you remember what you guys did in class, what your instructor said in class and then working a bit each day between classes will cement it in your head.  That and MAKE IT FUN. If you put way to much pressure on yourself you will not get the benefits you should from training.

 

How has Karate helped you in your normal life?

                Immeasurably, I have a better stress management system, most of my life actually I did things to help me understand Karate better….University, collage, work, reading and research…and honestly it helped me understand Karate…but that understanding was universal…I started understanding myself and others, fitness and health and also how to research and study better. Its more a symbiotic relationship.

 

What are your goals in Karate?

                To train till I die.  I want to be one of those old instructors out on the floor working on ideas and movement when Im 75 years old and older who are putting their time in doing something they love.

 

What is the difference between TKD and Karate?

            Sometimes I think they are much more alike than we want to admit, but structurally its very different. TKD is a much more upright and stiff style. Having said that some people do Karate far to stiff as well. History shows us that TKD came basically from Shotokan Karate and that the Korean instructors change it to suit a more sport environment. Not saying that there is anything wrong with that however. Karate is more traditional, technically speaking, and the TKD is more sporty…again Technically speaking.

 

What other styles of Karate have you studied/martial arts?

                One of my most common questions! I have trained in Karate, Shotokan for the majority of my life now…by far! However during the early years I did some Judo, Kendo, Aikido, Jeet Kun Do, Kung Fu (hung gar) and boxing.  I have also studied Sambo, kick boxing and Krav Maga…however some of what I have studied was more personal study.

                To be honest the only things I studied “in a club” were Karate, Judo, Kendo, Aikido and Kung fu. I did kick boxing and boxing with friends, and the kick boxing with a buddy at the club he trained at…once and a bunch of times with him. I also took single classes or programs in Tae Chi, Chi Kung, Tae Kwon Do and did wrestling in my high school shortly.

 

Who are your idols in Karate?

                Dingman Sensei is always my answer. He was my “father figure” and mentor. If I was to say a name other than his it would be someone like Tanaka Sensei because he was a GOD to me. I have enjoyed and trained with some great men in my time, but idols….My instructor is basically the name that comes to mind when that question is asked.

 

Kicking or punching…which is better?

                The choice is not easy at all.  Both of them have their strengths and drawbacks. On the surface kicks are much more powerful, and have longer range…..But its also hard to maintain balance and because it is a longer limb harder to hide the kick unless you are very fast. Most fight I have seen in which kicks are used were not won buy the guy throwing the kicks.  Punches are faster, easier to hide and you can stay very balanced while throwing good punches, but they are not as powerful.

                From a sporting aspect, punches are also much easier to control and I have seen way to many people KO the opponent with a uncontrolled kick.

 

How do I get better at Karate?

                Practice, practice and yah…practice. Its an old and tired response but honestly other than taking good notes the only other secrets I would have is to get a good instructor who cares about you and then practice your butt off and work on both strong points and weak points.

 

Do you have a special kumite drill or combination you practice?

                I have a few actually, we do them in class from time to time.  Some are for mobility; some are for dynamics and some are straight up tactics that you can use to win matches that I have trained in over the years.  My favorite is the blitz because Im short but quick so the foot work and aggressive dynamic attack has always been my strategy, and it’s a hand-based tactic to help me stay on balanced while attacking like a ballistic missile.

 

What is your favorite Kata?

                The answer to that one is a moving target! It changes so often and honestly it has changed a lot since I was a kid. I used to love Bassai Dai and then a senior of mine told me to do Kanku dai and I became totally obsessed. For a while it was Jion and then chinte, we did Jiin once and I fell for it and then Wankan was a nice little Kata…most of the 15 were my special kata at one point or another. I love Kata because it’s a mental and physical test and exercise.

                Currently?  Im playing with Jitte and Jion a lot but to be honest I love Meikyo the most….right now.

 

Do you need to know Japanese to do Karate?

                Japanese is fun and I once thought about taking up the language as a focus on my training but its not necessary to know the language.  You should know the technical names of the movements and also some general terminology but you don’t have to be fluent in Japanese to learn Karate.

 

Who are your favorite instructors?

                Again, other than My instructor, Tanaka was one of my favorites.  Imura was pretty damn good too.  I liked Saeiki, Koyama, Takashina, Okizaki, Yaguchi and many more.  I am not sure how to pick my favorite out of the bunch however as they are all great.

 

Do you train with weapons?

                I have trained in Kendo and know roughly how to use a sword, I have also studied some Kobudo, but not enough to say I am proficient in the arts. I would love to take up some weapons training but currently I have a bit too much on my plate. I don’t think they are necessary; they can be a small addition to the training but honestly, I don’t see doing more weapons training vs some good Kumite training as being a good step forwards in your training. But….they are fun.

 

What benefit does weapons training have?

                Weapons training, when you do it right, have a lot of benefits. They encourage balance, proper form and technically they are extensions of your own limbs so you benefit from training with them by improving your hand eye coordination and general physical coordination. There are other benefits, but the reasons NOT to train with them, while few, are very important. By this I mean if you are a junior, so under black belt, you need to focus more close to home and build up your body. Focusing on a weapon becomes a distraction. Also, most people who train to soon with weapons get sloppy! You have to pick up the basics, polish them and make them your own through years and years of training then you can incorporate a weapon or another style to your training.

 

How much training is enough?

                All depends on your goals! If you want to get better at Karate home training every other day is essential. Three to four days of light home training is going to help out. At the club two times a week is plenty, if you want to do tournaments or are getting ready for a seminar/grading then more is always better. Don’t get obsessed however, I used to do Karate at the club six times a week, sometimes three classes a day and then at home. But I honestly burned out a lot and got little injuries from over training. Stick to the bit at home and twice at the club, three is not bad too.

 

 

How often have you gotten hurt training in Karate?

                Actually, much less than doing other sports and martial arts.  I would say that the number of times I have been hurt in Karate mostly boil down to some bumps and bruises and the odd bonk on the nose. I have however been hurt a lot doing other sports, Judo the most. If you are careful and have a good instructor you don’t get hurt very much.

 

 

                Im always open to answering questions, so if you have any email them to me or send them to me on Facebook. My answers are always open, honest and well researched if need be!

Ten no Kata

                 Over the years I have been exposed to various different kinds of training in karate from different masters, instructors and peers in Karate. I have been drilled the normal canon of Karate Kata, Kumite and Kihon. I have done different kinds of drills and exercises, impact training and other training. The one thing that is consistent is that anything outside the cannon of training that my instructor taught me…the items or ideas seem to ebb and flow in and out of popularity.

                Recently we have seen the introduction of the Takyoku kata into the Karate syllabus as well as some new ideas into our training. However, it also opened the door for a new/old idea that we used years ago for a short period of time….the Ten no Kata.  Now most of my readers probably know what this is, but some may not. The Ten No Kata or “Sky form” is a sequence of movements that was developed by Gigo Funakoshi in the 1930’s to help create a Kumite like Kata sequence. The sequence is done solo (Omote) and with a partner (Ura). 

                The Ten-no-Kata was even published in the Karate-Do Kyohan and his older works of Ryukyu Kempo Karate and Rentan Goshin Karate Jitsu. And later mentioned in Karate do Nyumon. All this shows is that Ten No Kata was seen as rather important. However, over the years it has become very fringy in its use.  However, I have to say…upon using it as a training tool recently I can see why its important.  Not only does it provide a flexible use of many different waza, it also is flexible in its use as well. For instance, Kase Sensei used this “Drill” with Fudodachi while others use the drill doing both Zenkutsu and Kokutsu dachi. Some include different techniques as well, like scoping blocks, grabbing blocks, hammer fists ext. This drill also focuses on using a “one punch, one kill” style in its application.

                Juniors will get a good mix of the waza and will benefit from learning the form of the movements and the seniors will be able to hone in on the details of each movement and make sure you are pushing your skills to develop stronger, faster, more explosive movements.

 

Movements

1.       Step in Chudan right/left

2.       Step in Jodan Right left

3.       Step in Gyaku zuki Chudan right left

4.       Step in gyakuzuki Jodan right left

5.       Step back fudo dachi Gedan barai -  Gyaku zuki right left

6.       Step back fudo dachi uchi uke – gyaku zuki right left

7.       Step back Kokutsu dachi Shuto – Zenkutsu dachi nukite gyaku  right left

8.       Step back fudo dachi age uke -gyakuzuki right left

9.       Step back fudo dachi Shuto-barai (?) – gyaku zuki right left

10.    Step back fudo dachi soto uke – gyuaku zuki right left.

* you can use Zenkutsu for each of the Fudo dachi stances. This was taken from a Fudokan (Kase style) Video.