History of Taekwon-Do
On April 11, 1955, the name “Taekwon-Do" was accepted as the name for the new Korean national martial art. This was a momentous occasion for the arts’ founder and developer; General Choi Hong Hi.
As a child General Choi had studied taekkyon to improve his frail health, taekkyon was the remnant of an ancient Korean martial art which had been outlawed in the past but continued to exist as a kicking game, though it was very rare. Later, in 1938, General Choi left Korea for Japan, and while there studied Shotokan karate.
1945 marked the end of the Second World War and the subsequent liberation of Korea from Japanese rule. General Choi returned to Korea and entered the newly formed Republic of Korea Armed Forces as a second lieutenant. He began to teach Karate to his soldiers as a means of physical and mental training.
At this time General Choi began to develop a new martial art, superficially influenced by both taekkyon and karate but fundamentally unique in its systematic, logical development. This art would derive its power from intelligent application of modern mechanics, and its code of ethics from General Choi himself.
Around 1953 General Choi founded the Oh Do Kwan with Nam Tae Hi as part of the Korean Army's Physical Training Program, and began to teach his art there under the name Tang Soo Do, a generic name used by many different styles at the time.
In 1955 the president of Korea, Syngman Rhee, ordered that the many emerging and divergent styles of korean martial arts unify under a single name and system. General Choi submitted the name “taekwondo” to the government commissioned naming committee, he chose this name for its phonetic similarity to Taekkyon, Taekwon-Do roughly translates as “the art of fighting with fist and foot”. This name was accepted. The unification attempt, predictably, stalled as many Kwans continued to teach their own styles, many eventually reverting back to their original names or forming new associations.
Taekwon-Do survived, however, and proliferated.
The International Taekwon-Do Federation was formed in 1966 with the goal of spreading Taekwon-Do world wide, and two years later the art arrived in Ireland courtesy of Grandmaster Rhee Ki Ha.
General Choi Passed away in 2002, but his legacy is celebrated every day in training halls all over the world.
“By developing an upright mind and a strong body, we will acquire the self-confidence to stand on the side of justice at all times;
We shall unite with all men in a common brotherhood, without regard to religion, race, national or ideological boundaries;
We shall dedicate ourselves to building a peaceful human society in which justice, morality, trust and humanism prevail.”
