History

General Choi Hong Hi (9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002), was a South Korean army general and martial artist who is a controversial figure in the history of the Korean martial art of taekwondo.[a] Choi is regarded by many as the "Founder of Taekwondo"—most often by International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) organizations.[1][2][2][3][4][5] Others, such as the South Korean World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) organization, portray Choi as either an unimportant or a dishonorable figure in taekwondo history, whether by omitting him from their versions of taekwondo history[6] or through explicit statements.[7]

This Taekwondo page contains information about the history of Taekwondo, ethical backgrounds are reviewed and techniques are explained. There is information about ITF Taekwondo as well as WTF Tae Kwon Do.

There is a temptation to romanticize Asian martial arts as having unbroken traditions extending back thousands of years. The reality is that this is not true for many martial arts, and it is certainly not true for taekwondo. The history of Korean martial arts is punctuated in particular by the 35 year occupation of Korea by Japan at the outset of the 20th century, during which the practice of all Korean martial arts was prohibited.

According to the history, Three Kingdoms Much attention(武治主義) philosophy, martialism(尙武精神) with emphasis on Three Kingdoms period, and various martial arts were developed. Goguryeo was a strong state in Northeast Asia with strong military power, and their martial arts were well developed. For example, the techniques of archery, swordsmanship, and spears were developed in Goguryeo. The types of weapon systems of Goguryeo are recorded in history such as Anak Tomb No. 3. In Baekje,

The name Taekwondo is derived from the Korean word "Tae" meaning foot, "Kwon" meaning fist and "Do" meaning way of. So, literally Taekwondo means "the way of the foot and fist". The name Taekwondo, however, has only been used since 1955 while the arts' roots began 2,300 years ago in Korea. Known as a martial art and way of life, the evolution of Taekwondo was a direct result of the happenings in Korea long ago, and knowledge of the history is an important step in understanding Taekwondo.