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National Flag of Korea
The national flag of Korea, the Tae Kuk Gi, has been described as “one of the most beautiful flags in the world” and it embodies a symbolic design that is rich in eastern thought and concept. In the center of a pure white field lies the UM/YANG sphere, broken in the center with an S shape to denote the union of opposites, light/shade, day/night, summer/winter, etc. The top half of the speree is colored red and the bottom halfe is colored blue. Each of the trigrams in the corners are called KWAE and represent the eternal opposites of nature
Brief History of Tae Kwon Do Compiled by Mr. John McNamara, In Korea, the first tangible evidence of a martial art form that resembles modern Tae Kwon Do dates from the Three Kingdoms Period. (See Frame at right, Six Century Map of Korea) A mural painted on the wall of a tomb which was built in the kingdom of Koguryo (37 BC to 66 AD) located in North Korea clearly shows “two youths engaged in Tae Kwon Do sparring.”(1) The Myung Tomb is located in Tunsko, the capitol of Koguryo from 3 AD until 427 AD. The tomb mural shows one man in a left forward stance protecting his bid section with his left hand I the left forward position while his sparring partner is in an attacking position with his left hand out stretched. Both of these positions correspond, closely to movements used in modern Tae Kwon Do. Since the tomb has been dated between 3 AD and 427 AD, “It can safely be said that Tae Kwon Do was known by this time at the latest.”(2) Farther evidence that Tae Kwon Do has been long practiced in Korea as a sport as well as a martial art form has been found in another tomb of the Koguryo period. A mural painted on the wall of this tomb depicts a man in a drill suit with a belt around his waist, much like the modern belted doboks used by modern Tae Kwon Do students. The figure in the tomb painting is posed in a pattern using his left hand to protect his head with a high block. The block is used in modern Tae Kwon Do forms and sparring. In the Kingdom of Paekje (18 BC to 600 AD), which was located along the Han River in southwestern Korea, martial arts were sponsored by the Paekje kings. The Ancient records show that horseback riding, archery, and bare handed fighting arts were very popular among both the military men and the common people of this era. Records which have survived from this period “have it that in ancient days there was a self defense art using both the arms and legs.”(3) The fact that unarmed combat skills were practiced by the common people as well as by military men emphasizes again the body building/sport aspect that has characterized Korean martial art forms since their inception. It was in the Kingdom of Silla (57 BC to 936 AD) which existed along the southeastern portion of the Korean peninsula, that the Korean martial art form reached their highest level yet. Silla unified the Three Kingdoms, and after taking over Paekje in 668 AD and Koguryo in 670 AD, held control for three centuries. A military, educational and social organization started by King Jin Heung, and known as the Hwa Rang Do, played a major role in the unifying of the Three Kingdoms. The Hwa Rang Do was made up of youths of noble families, devoted to cultivating mind and body in order to better serve Silla. The martial spirit represented the Hwa Rang Do “became the root of Sillas’ national morality and strength.”(4) They followed a code of honor comprised of rigid loyalty to the nation, respect and obedience to one’s parents, unswerving loyalty to friends, courage in battle and prudence on using violence or taking life. This code of honor remains the philosophical backbone of the Korean martial arts even today. The Hwa Rang Do trained in all forms of martial arts, including an unarmed fighting form known as Soo Bak, which they refined into a highly effective series of combative movements. In addition to advocating the study of unarmed combat as a part of physical and military training, the Hwa Rang Do also recommended it as a recreational activity. Korean culture and the native martial arts were strongly influenced and enriched by this group of men, and modern students of Tae Kwon Do owe them a debt of gratitude for preserving and refining the various forms of unarmed combat during this era. During the Koryo Dynasty (935 AD to 1392 AD) the study of unarmed combat in Korea reached its greatest early popularity. Soo Bak Do was practiced as a sport as well as being a martial art form. It was during the Koryo Dynasty that “the science was first technically organized and systematized by the leading masters of those times.”(5) The study of Soo Bak was supported by the royal family and those skilled in the art were often favorably considered for promotion in the military or civil service. The Kings of Koryo staged matches and demonstrations of Soo Bak annually. Military men and masters of the art were invited by the royal family to demonstrate their skills at the royal court. The support given to Soo Bak by the general public during this period indicates the strong position it occupied as a martial art form and a recreational activity. With the coming of the Yi Dynasty 1392 AD, the strong emphasis placed on military training, physical fitness and the ability to defend the nation was weakened. King Taejo replaced Buddhism with Confucianism as the state religion. The ruling class adopted Confucian guidelines in their personal lives. Confucian thinking advocated classical Chinese learning and played down physical activity. Tae Kyon, as Tae Kwon Do was known then, began to decline among the people. Fortunately for latter generations, one Yi Dynasty ruler King Chongjo, took an active interest in the native martial arts in Korea. In 1790 he ordered General Le Duck Mu to compile an official textbook on all martial art forms then present in Korea, including a chapter on the forms of unarmed combat. This volume, known as the Muye Dobo Tongji, is now considered a definitive early classic of the martial arts of Korea. The traditional Korean unarmed combat skills, including Soo Bak and Tae Kyon are codified and illustrated in the Muye Dobo Tongji. (Frame at right shows a page from the Muye Dobo Tongji) As the Yi Dynasty came to an end in 1909 with the Japanese occupation of Korea, the practice of military skills declined even further. The Japanese colonial government banned all cultural activities, including team sports and the practice of martial arts. Some martial arts instructors continued to practice their skills in secrecy, and in this way the Korean martial arts were kept alive. Japanese Karate and various Chinese forms were introduced into Korea during this time, and the teachers of Soo Bak and Tae Kyon further developed and incorporated these foreign techniques into the Korean forms already being practiced. A form called Tang Soo Do or Kong Soo Do was developed utilizing Soo Bak as its core and including elements of Chinese Shaolin-Ssu martial arts and Japanese Karate. After the liberation of Korea in 1945, Korean martial arts began an developmental leap. Because of foreign influence on Korean martial arts during the Japanese occupation, many instructors saw the need to unify the various styles. What the master instructors sought was a return to a distinctly Korean form of unarmed martial skills, as free as possible from the foreign influences Tae Kyon had undergone during the years of the Japanese occupation. Finally, after years of discussion and debate, the leaders of six major schools were able to agree on a new, unified form, and standard methods of instruction. The name chosen for this form was Tae Kwon Do. In the Korean language, “Tae means to jump or kick or smash with the foot; Kwon means to punch or strike with the hand or fist; Do means, a philosophical way or way of life.” (6)
REFERENCES: This information was compiled by Mr. John McNamara, 1st degree black belt under Frederick O. McNab, Jr. |
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