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Tae Kwon Do is a traditional Korean Martial Art. It is known to be one of the most systematic and scientific martial art that teaches much more than just the physical fighting skills. Tae Kwon Do can be broken up as:
Tae - which means jumping or flying, to kick or smash with the foot.
Kwon - means to punch or destroy with the fist.
Do - is the "art" or "way" of.
The literal translation of this word has two meanings, one being a method of defending yourself with your hands and feet. Second, it also shows a means to maintain peace and control the violent nature that erupts during a fight. This concept basically means to use the entire body to stop fighting and thus help to build a peaceful and violent free world.
In about 50.B.C.there were three kingdoms in the Korean Peninsula, who were rivaling among them for the hegemony. These three kingdoms were:
- Koguryo (37 B.C. - 668 A.D.)
- Paekje (18 B.C. - 600 A.D.)
- Silla (57 B.C. - 936 A.D.)
All these three kingdoms were busy engaged in building national strength through trained warriors. As a result, youth warriors were organized, such as "Hwarangdo" in Shilla and "Chouisonin" in Koguryo, which both adopted martial art training as one of the important subjects of learning. A known martial art book of the days, called "Muyedobo-Tongji" wrote "Taekwondo is the basis of martial art, enabling one to build strength by using the hand and foot freely and training arms and legs as well as the body to adaptable to any critical situations," which means Taekwondo was already prevalent in that age. Thus, it can be easily assumed that Taekwondo was originated from the days of tribal communities on the Korean peninsula.
This art however is called by several different names. In Korea, Taekwondo began as a defense martial art and was called "Subak" or "Taekkyon,". It was here that it developed as a means to train both the body and the mind.
Tae Kwon Do was introduced in the “Shilla” period to produce mentally and physically strong leaders of the country.
The modern day Tae Kwon Do art is more like a sport having a strict set of rules and regulations and this modern day art is characterized by its fast, high and spinning kicks. It is influenced by many other martial arts, including the Japanese Karate. The main objective of this art is to learn self-defense skills that help to achieve physical fitness through positive participation, to improve mental discipline and emotional equanimity, to develop a sense of responsibility and for oneself and also for others.
World Taekwondo Federation (W.T.F.) was founded in 1973, which took this art to an international level. In 1980, W.T.F. Taekwondo was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.) and became a demonstration sport at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
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