Tae Kwon Do

by Read Listen Learn

When we think of martial arts, we think of karate, kung fu or judo, but do you know which martial art is today’s fastest growing and most popular? It’s tae kwon do, the Korean one. The name means: ‘The Kick and Punch Way’, which gives you a good idea of how it works.

Korea, long ago, was divided into three kingdoms, Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje. These three were always at war and so they developed better martial arts to fight. They didn’t invent everything from the beginning. Korea is between China and Japan and, of course, the martial arts of those two countries helped to make tae kwon do.

The Koreans developed their own special style slowly. It took centuries. It had not just unarmed fighting but also fighting with knives, swords and sticks. However, meditation was also important and life philosophy, to make sure that both the mind and the body were working together perfectly. The meditation and philosophy of tae kwon do take a lot from Buddhism.

The new martial art started to spread quickly in Korea because the soldiers who developed and practised it, the Hwarang, liked travelling around the country, learning about the people and, as they went, they taught their art and philosophy.

However, it wasn’t really until the 1950s that tae kwon do was recognised as a separate martial art. In 1950, a terrible war started in Korea and, soon, the Americans, the Chinese and others were fighting there. Millions of South Korean soldiers needed training for hand-to-hand fighting. In 1952, in the middle of the war, the South Korean president Syngman Rhee watched an exhibition of tae kwon do by a Korean army team. The president made it the official martial art of the South Korean army.

Some U.S. soldiers who fought in the Korean War or were in Korea in the years after the war began to notice the new, official tae kwon do and they began to learn it. When they returned to the U.S.A. or went to other places around the world, they took the new martial art with them, practising and teaching it wherever they went. It was a great way to defend oneself but it was also a great and growing competitive sport; and a very good way to keep fit.

Although it was spreading around the world, tae kwon do was still mostly practised in its native Korea. That is, until 1988 when Seoul, the South Korean capital, hosted that year’s summer Olympic games. The Koreans did not miss the opportunity: tae kwon do was the special ‘exhibition’ sport for the games which introduced it to a lot more people around the world. After this, it really took off and, in the year 2000, tae kwon do was officially recognised as an Olympic sport; a new sport for a new millennium. With karate, it is one of only two oriental martial arts accepted by the Olympic Games.

Like some other martial arts, tae kwon do grades its students using coloured belts. Black is the highest level. Three million people today hold a black belt in tae kwon do. Imagine how many more people practise or just watch and enjoy this modern martial art with ancient roots.