There is no doubt that Taekwondo evolved in Korea over a 2,000 year period but how did it all start and how did historical events influence it’s development ?
To find out we need to look at what was happening in the world prior to the creation of the first Korean States.
As this happened so long ago all that can be advanced is a single theory, albeit one that a number of eminent martial arts historians agree with and seems to account for the historical origin of most oriental martial arts.
Because this theory has the potential of being controversial or even confronting for some, I must put it into context. The source of the original ideas from which this amazing art may have evolved is not as important as what Taekwondo has become and continues to become in the dynamic hands of the Koreans. So fasten your intellectual seat belts because, from a historical point of view, you may be in for a bumpy ride.
The Theory
Most oriental systems of unarmed combat including Taekwondo were heavily influenced by or originated from a popular sporting event in the Olympic games of ancient Greece called Pankration.
In Taekwondo and Judo the modern Olympic games further, significantly, influenced these martial arts more than 2,000 years later by reintroducing the sports format as the best way to practice a martial art. This second part of this theory is covered in the following chapter “The Modern Development of Taekwondo” and supports the Pankration origin theory.
Supporting the Theory
The first part which covers about 2,000 years, very quickly, is dealt with in this chapter. The most startling evidence supporting this theory is found in the time line of events and similarities that go beyond coincidence and give rise to the inescapable conclusion that Taekwondo originated from Pankration. So let’s set the scene.
Between 600 BC to 600 AD the advantages of current communication systems were not around, and even printing had not yet been invented. However, ideas which still influence our lives now were able to be spread around the world by people whose mission in life was simply to do exactly that, spreading the word. Through their dedication, travelling and teaching, both Christianity and Buddhism were spread in this way during this period.
Zen Buddhism was introduced in India around 500 BC and was subsequently spread by Buddhist monks to eastern Asian countries like China, Korea and Japan. Wars and imperialist occupation were commonplace during this period and the spreading of technology, ideas and culture by the conquerors were not only incidental to the colonising process but also another way of communicating ideas etc. to the conquered. These 2 ways of spreading information combined to introduce western martial technology to the east.
Around 300 BC a Greek military genius, Alexander the Great, entered India and brought with him new, cutting edge, martial technology and cultural events practiced by his soldiers who made up the occupying forces.
The Olympic games were for the ancient Greeks a sports format through which their soldiers were kept battle ready and a major cultural event. So the events travelled with the soldiers throughout the parts of the world they conquered and occupied. Every event in the Olympic games served to improve soldiers’ fighting ability. A new event called Pankration was introduced to the Olympic games of ancient Greece in 648 BC. This was a no-holds-barred event which utilised wrestling and striking with both hands and feet. Victory was claimed either by submission or inability to continue and sometimes death.
Around the same time Buddhist monks were keen to spread their philosophy as far as they could but they did not carry weapons to protect themselves against attacks which were frequent in their travels as they were prime targets for robbers, rogue soldiers and criminals generally. Instead of regarding it as an occupational hazard they carried with them a system of self defence not inconsistent with their philosophy which preserved their life and enabled them to continue their work. This is still evident today in the Shaolin monks and their practice of Kung-Fu in China. It is believed the system they adopted was based on Pankration because it’s distinguishing feature is the use of both hands and feet which is recorded on ancient Greek pots of the time and clearly distinguished from Boxing and Wrestling.
The timeline of events
The timeline of events supports this theory. Alexander entered India 200 years after the beginning of Buddhism bringing with him, amongst other things, the latest technology in both unarmed and armed combat which the soldiers would practice publicly to maintain battle readiness and in preparation for their cultural festivals held away from home. Buddhist monks adopted this new technology as it appeared to be the best system of unarmed combat at the time and it would be extremely effective against an opponent who had never seen it.
Different monks would have favoured different techniques and each monk would venture into a different geographic location. Every monk would adapt techniques to suit their own body type and ability further changing the original range of techniques they would later pass on. Although the initial inspiration for techniques came from one source, it is highly likely that different geographical areas would only get what was presented to them and the growth of what we now know as different eastern martial arts commenced.
During this time the Korean peninsula was inhabited by nomadic tribes which started migrating there from central Asia since 30,000 BC. Around 108 BC Chinese outposts were established on the northern part of the Korean Peninsula which forced these scattered tribes into wars with the Chinese. As a result these tribes felt the need to unite into larger political entities which led to the establishment of 3 powerful Kingdoms by 18 BC.
The striking similarities
The striking similarities shared by the Olympic sport of Pankration and eastern martial arts were :-
1. the way in which a martial art could be practiced (in the sports format) avoiding injury ;
2. The use of both hands and feet ;
3. The attachment of code of conduct consistent with Buddhist philosophy ;
4. In Korea the similarities ran deeper, in that, a selection process for the military elite was a sporting event held during Cultural festivals ;
5. By far the most convincing similarity was the use of the concept of sourcing power by rotating the body around it’s axis which is obvious in Taekwondo, discus, shot put, hammer, boxing, wrestling and most other ancient Olympic events ;
6. The winners of Olympic games and winners of Subaku were both revered by the military.
Similarities supported by Timeline
These striking similarities are then supported and substantiated by the timeline of events :-
1. 648 BC introduction of Pankration to the Olympic games ;
2. 600 BC Introduction of Buddhism in India and subsequent spread by missionary monks ;
3. 300 BC Alexander the Great’s invasion of India (now Pakistan) and the adoption of Pankration techniques by Buddhist monks still evident in the Shaolin order in China ;
4. 108 BC China creates outposts on the northern part of the Korean Peninsula ;
5. 18 BC Creation of the first Korean States (The 3 Kingdoms) to unite and combat Chinese imperialism ;
6. 18 BC to 668 AD Buddhism became the State religion for all 3 Kingdoms and a martial art, with a code of conduct, accompanied the spread of Buddhism ;
7. 200 AD to 400 AD Creation and rise of the Hwa Rang warrior class and Taekkyeon which marks the beginning of what we now call Taekwondo.
What others say on this theory
One of the world’s foremost karate practitioners Mastutatsu Oyama believed the origin of Karate was also found in PANKRATION.
He also believed the origins of Karate were decidedly influenced by the Chinese method of fighting which reached Japan from the minor Korean kingdom of Karak (hence the name Karate) on the southern end of the Korean peninsula known to Japan as Mimana.
The basis of DAITO – RYU and AIKI JUJUTSU is also believed to have been originally transmitted from the Korean province of Paekche to Japan by Korean Buddhist monks during the 6th century.
There is clear support for these propositions :-
1. Fighting with both hands and feet clearly influenced whatever systems of unarmed combat
existed in Asia between 300 BC and 600 AD ;
2. The flow of this type of information came from India into China, then to Korea and eventually across to Japan through the spread of Zen Buddhism by Buddhist monks ;
3. The art practiced by Buddhist monks needed to be SUPERIOR or at least DIFFERENT to the systems of unarmed combat that were in COMMON USAGE in those countries the monks ventured into to give them a life saving edge and facilitate the survival of the monks in their missionary work ;
4. The system the monks used must have been very effective because it was quickly adopted by all the countries it was introduced to ;
5. We know from what we see Buddhist practicing now (Kung Fu) that their original system would have involved the use of both hands and feet ;
6. We can safely conclude that whatever system existed in China, Korea and Japan PRIOR to the spread of Buddhism did not utilise strikes from BOTH hand and feet because Buddhism flourished in that part of the world.
Clearly Chinese and Korean systems after the spread of Buddhism took slightly different directions. The Japanese systems are closer to the Korean models probably because the information was transmitted to Japan from Korea.
Both the development of Taekwondo and Korean political history both commence some time just prior to the 1st century.
[37BC to 668AD] The 3 Kingdoms
The 3 states formed in this order and spanned over these periods :-
1. [57 BC – 668 AD] SILLA
2. [37 BC – 663 AD] PAEKCHE
3. [18 BC – 668 AD] KOGURYO
During this period Korean arts flourished as Chinese influences continued to be assimilated and reinterpreted in a unique Korean manner. Buddhism gradually became the State religion of all 3 Kingdoms and was eventually transmitted to Japan through PAEKCHE.
[668 to 900] The united SILLA period
Development of TAEKKYON The Korean peninsula was first unified by 668 AD when SILLA conquered Koguryo and Paekche. Between 600 and 900 AD a mainstream of fighting techniques moved from China to Korea and then to Japan.
During these first 2 Korean epochs they combined their existing martial art with the influence from China via the Buddhist monks to create SUBAK which later became TAEKKYON. The art of TAEKKYON is believed to have come from the KOGURYO kingdom to SILLA around 200 AD and by 400 AD it was adopted and systemised by the HWA RANG warrior class.
Creation of the 2 warrior classes during the SILLA period. Firstly, the SUN BI (intelligent brave) and later by 550 AD the HWA RANG (flower of youth).
The HWA RANG were selected by the kingdom through contests called SUBAKHU which were held during cultural festivals. Those selected lived together in a group practicing SUBAK (the old form of Taekkyon), fencing, horse riding and wrestling. The process of selection through subakhu was very important because it usually meant rapid promotion up the military ranks for those selected.
They were also reputed to have established a high moral code of conduct and were influenced by the development of Bushido in Japan. They were schooled in intellectual and cultural arts of the time and were later instrumental in unifying Korea giving rise to the united SILLA period.
They were particularly influenced by Buddhist disciples which historians say is evident in the bronze statue of a Herculean man currently exhibited in the KYONGJU museum. Notably, the posture of this statue of Kumgang Yoksa is dressed in the garb of a Buddhist monk and is said to signify the hand and foot techniques used in modern Taekwondo
[935 to 1392] The KORYO Dynasty
During the Middle ages the KORYO Dynasty allowed TAEKKYON to continue to develop. Luckily some documented sources of Taekkyon have survived.
An excerpt from the Chronicles of the Koryo Dynasty claims “at a contest of Taekkyon
techniques, Lee Yi – Min punched a pillar of the house with his right hand fist, then some of the props of the roof were shaken. Another Taekkyon practitioner had his fist pierce through a clay wall”. Because the kings of Koryo were interested in SUBAKHU (Taekkyon contest) it was made a compulsory course in military training.
With the introduction of gunpowder and other weapons in the final years of the Koryo period support for Taekkyon training began to lose popularity which gave the Chinese a window of opportunity to dominate Korea.
[1392 to 1910] CHOSON or the Yi Dynasty
During this period the ideology of Confucianism was introduced which resulted in the systematic rejection of Buddhism. They also placed more importance on more literary arts than martial arts.
Although contests of SUBAKU were retained for selecting soldiers they had lost the importance they once had and all martial arts including Taekkyon were neglected until 1592.
In 1592 Japan invaded Korea. This brought about a resurgence of interest in martial arts documented by the publication of the Muyedobo – tongji a book of martial arts illustrations during the reign of King Jungjo. Its 4th volume contained illustrations of 28 motions resembling today’s Taekwondo Poomsae and basic movements.
[1910 to 1945] The Japanese colonial period
The Japanese prohibited the practice of Taekkyon which was now practiced secretly and passed on from parent to child from one generation to the next, in an effort to preserve it.
By 1945 and the liberation of Korea only 14 areas appeared to be used representing “5 kicking patterns, 4 hand techniques, 3 pushing-down-at-the-heel patterns, 1 turnover kick and one technique of downing the whole body”. Significant parts of Taekkyon needed to be rediscovered.
THE BEGINNING OF TAEKWONDO
[1945 to Today] The Korean Republic
Because of its national and cultural significance it was clear that some reorganisation of Korea’s martial arts was required. After the liberation of Korea from the Japanese in 1945, one of the first demonstrations of Taekkyon was presented by Song-Duk-Ki on the anniversary of the birthday of the new Korean Republic’s President Syngman Rhee. Its keynote was to clearly distinguish Taekkyondo from the Karate which had been introduced by their Japanese rulers.
The creation of Taekwondo was commissioned by the Korean government
Taekwondo (as opposed to Taekkyon) was created after the liberation of Korea when Major General Choi Hong Hi (of the Oh Do Kwan school) was commissioned by the Korean government to amalgamate and organise into one martial art ALL the best techniques known to Korean and Japanese schools of martial arts such as (Oh Do Kwan, Tang Su Do and Shotokan, to name a few) to be practiced by the nation’s military and paramilitary forces.
When was Taekwondo created
By 1966 Major General Choi Hong Hi’s commission was all but completed when he founded the International Taekwondo Federation [ITF].
In 1971 Taekwondo was declared Korea’s national martial art.
In 1972 the KUKKIWON was created which is the international centre of certification of credentials for all Taekwondo practitioners and coordinates all international Taekwondo tournaments.
In 1973 the World Taekwondo Federation [WTF] was created which placed a different emphasis on how Taekwondo was practiced and systematically used the sports format to practice the martial art. One explanation for the creation of 2 Taekwondo federations is dealt with in the next chapter.
Since its inception Taekwondo has been a dynamic martial art and sport which continues to develop faster more powerful techniques relevant to today’s society.
THE MODERN DEVELOPMENT OF TAEKWONDO
As in our theory of the pre Korean origins of Taekwondo, we need to look at what was happening to sport and martial arts during the relevant period.
In this case the time is the 19th and 20th centuries and the epoch is the modern Olympic games.
Taekwondo and the modern Olympic games
To understand what influence the modern Olympic games had on the development of Taekwondo we need to go back to at least 1896 and the rediscovery of the Olympic games by Baron Pierre De Coubertin and then look at the introduction of the sports format to the practice of eastern martial arts by Dr. Jigoro Kano in Japan.
Although the Olympic games were purely an ancient Greek cultural festival it took a Frenchman to reintroduce them to the entire world. This was accepted readily and was able to be welcomed by all countries because sports have an ability to transcend cultural barriers
Discovering the value of Sport
During the 19th century, France was what was now referred to as a superpower but it lost nearly all military engagements it had against England. To Baron Pierre De Coubertin it appeared France could not train its leaders to function effectively in true leadership roles and wondered why this was happening. To get an answer he travelled the world extensively and paid particular attention to the systems of education.
He observed that sport played a different role in the English system than it did in the French.
In France sport was something the lower classes could do for amusement and for the aristocracy to scorn. As a result sport was not part of the formal education of the French upper class whereas the opposite was the case in England.
In the English system, especially for the ruling classes, there were copious amounts of team and individual sports. He learned that English leaders were just as quarrelsome as their French counterparts but overall they seemed to get along with each other, particularly during a crisis, in a manner that French politicians and military leaders could not.
He also found that they had a sense of fair play in all their dealings which he could not find in French traditions. The English would play within a set of rules which enabled the losers to congratulate the winners and the winners to take the losers to the pub afterwards for a drink.
He concluded that the English had used sport as an educational tool for developing certain kinds of behaviour. Noting that sports were a form of controlled violence, he hypothesised that playing sport on an international level might replace political and international rivalries. He thought it could also foster after-game friendliness.
In those days there was not much tourism and little by way of intercultural exchanges. The usual way to see people from other countries was from behind the barrel of a gun.
De Coubertin found the concept of a modern version of the ancient Greek Olympic games was a vehicle through which to foster this new notion of friendly rivalry which became a resounding success.
Introduction of the sports format to eastern martial arts
A contemporary of Baron Pierre De Coubertin was Dr. Jigoro Kano who had also studied the English sporting culture. He noted that sport as a philosophy had no counterpart in eastern cultures.
Kano was an avid martial artist who was troubled by 2 things :-
1. his colleagues having more interest in the form of movement
rather than its usefulness ; and
2. when movements were applied realistically they prompted injury.
He came to the inescapable conclusion that there had to be a better way to train and his quest to find it commenced from 2 starting points :-
1. To test the technique and the performer there had to be
full contact ; and
2. Martial arts had to be done in a free movement context
so that the performer would be forced to adapt his skills
to different and constantly changing circumstances.
Ultimately, this produced Randori or free movement which proved to be much more effective in developing realistic skills than simple repetitive, controlled movements.
From his Jujitsu background he designed an entire curriculum that permitted full power application without obliterating the practitioner or training partner by dramatically reducing the risk of injury.
Whilst in some instances, those modified techniques were not as deadly as their predecessors, practitioners could now develop more speed and power in their application. In fact, a new method of falling (ukemi) had to be developed because they had to absorb the greater power and speed of the new throws.
Power and precision were evident in techniques, the opponent was not injured and they were applied as the opportunity realistically arose. From Randori the competition format of Shiai arose and the sport of Judo was born from Jujitsu.
The acid test of this new method of training came at the end of the 19th century when the Japanese military and police forces invited all martial arts practitioners to an event to determine the best martial arts training for its military and paramilitary forces. Judo represented by a minority of competitors entered all divisions and confronted a variety of martial arts. The result surpassed Kano’s expectations when Judo proclaimed its superiority in virtually all instances.
Kano attributed this to the method of training being superior to those of other martial arts and styles. The lesson that was learned was that the method of training was more important than the technique itself. The message was clear there can be no legitimate debate as to whether a martial art is better than a martial sport. Martial sport is the superior training tool for learning a martial art.
Looking back to the origins of Taekwondo both Pancration and Taekkyon were practiced as a sport some 2,000 years ago.
Kano’s Influence on Taekwondo
Much of Kano’s work occured during the Japanese colonisation of Korea when Korean martial arts were influenced by the Japanese. However, not everyone was ready to accept the Kano position and the relevance of the sports format.
There were 2 major systems adopted from Kano’s innovations. They were :-
1. The belt grading system ; and
2. training in the sports format (which was adopted much later and caused a division of opinion and allegiances).
The old school
Around 1922 Funakoshi the founder of Shotokan Karate relocated to Okinawa. The style was based on “one punch one kill, one kick one kill”. This not only eliminated the need to trade techniques but Funakoshi warned that Karate could not be practiced as a sport because that would require full powered techniques to be watered down.
Clearly, Funakoshi and Shotokan signalled a retreat from Kano’s earlier development of full power and free movement. Major General Choi Hong Hi moved to Japan to study Karate under Funakoshi and actively supported his view.
Nakayama became the head of Shotokan in the 1950’s after Funakoshi died. He devised a competition format consisting of a light contact style where points were indicated by 4 corner judges raising a flag. However, the match would be stopped while the judges decided if the point would be awarded (depriving the match of the reality of continuity). Even this limited system developed speed and reflexive response that Kano’s Randori had shown to be so important in realistic training.
The Renaissance of Taekwondo
In Korea some coaches began experimenting with a method closer to full contact by using protective equipment as they believed that Kano’s idea of continuous action during sparring (not pausing for a point score) was the direction of future development.
This led to full contact continuous fighting scored like boxing (which also tested a person’s endurance). Many of the founders of what was later to become the W.T.F. were supporters of this system of training and competition (which may not have been possible without the modern technology of protective equipment).
The new continuous action format attacking strategies had to include defensive strategies to account for possible counter attack which promoted more realistic movement strategies.
The full force continuous action format made it fundamentally the effective training core of the martial art. To facilitate this a new set of rules needed to be settled promoting player safety.
Combined with the use of protective equipment the sport of Taekwondo was “reborn” and
developed, in this direction, under the banner of the World Taekwondo Federation.
The results of using sports format
It did not take long before the following trends commenced :-
1. Much stronger methods of kicking were developed and implemented ;
2. The old Karate strategy of blocking an attack in order to close the distance and launch a final punch or kick became counterproductive. The increase in power through speed meant the arm could no longer block by absorbing the full impact of the kick and without risking its fracture ;
3. The idea that it was better to move the whole body in response to a kick, rather than intercept it with a block, began to further distinguish WTF from ITF practitioners ;
4. After 1970 the Axe kick was developed which further emphasised the futility of blocking ;
5. Just evading was not efficient. Evasion now had to carry an effective counterattack which lead to the lateral movements which were rarely seen before and footwork became more important
By this time the renaissance was well on its way and further fuelled by the inclusion of Taekwondo as an event in the modern Olympic games.
Completing a full circle of development
Over 2,000 years ago Pankration was always a sporting event practised in a major ancient Greek cultural festival. Taekkyon and Subak were martial arts practiced as sports in ancient Korean cultural festivals called Subaku around the same time.
Over 2,000 years Taekkyon developed in different directions but as a sport it had lost its way probably because the refinement of the techniques made them too powerful to practice at full force.
In the 20th century, largely as a result of the founding of the modern Olympic games, the value of the sports format was rediscovered as the most effective way to train in a martial art and modern technology allowed this to happen without injury or loss of power.
It is thought that Taekwondo techniques may be more powerful now than they ever were and may be capable of further refinement as we come to a greater scientific understanding of how body dynamics work.
Throughout history someone reinvents what has been forgotten and it is interesting to see how a Greek cultural event influenced a Korean art in 2 different historical periods separated by 2,000 years.
Taekwondo is the ultimate cross training activity
What we can not claim to have discovered in the 20th century was what the ancient Greeks knew
and practised thousands of years ago which is evident in most Olympic events. That is, that rotating around the body’s axis enables us to reach peak body power.
Most sports are based on this concept so it must follow that Taekwondo compliments those sports because you are exercising the body’s power plant in a different way which will ultimately improve the power output, from that body, in any sport. Indeed, most sports compliment Taekwondo for the same reason.
The final piece to the puzzle
If this theory is correct we can fairly ask how any martial arts survived through almost 1,000 years of not being practiced in the sports format. The answer is not only simple but is the ultimate piece of evidence supporting the “origin’s” theory.
The answer is through PATTERNS, Forms, Katas, Poomsae, Hyungs or whatever they may be called. Patterns (a sequence of techniques practiced against an invisible opponent), done properly, preserved the techniques. The only limitation was the improved application of techniques in a realistic setting and development of strategic fight planning.
Patterns will always be an integral part of practicing Taekwondo and remembering techniques but practice in the sports format in addition to that will develop what a pattern can not deliver and fully supplement training.