From: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: the_dojang-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: The_Dojang-Digest V7 #525 Reply-To: the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: The_Dojang-Digest Sun, 6 Aug 2000 Vol 07 : Num 525 In this issue: the_dojang: The Historical Background of Taekwondo the_dojang: Taekwondo: The Spirit of Korea the_dojang: Re: Mass Oyama the_dojang: young blackbelts the_dojang: Who said it first. the_dojang: A new topic of discussion the_dojang: Re:That 60's tournament the_dojang: . ========================================================================= The_Dojang, serving the Internet since June 1994. 935 members strong! Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe the_dojang-digest" (no quotes) in the body (top line, left justified) of a plain text e-mail addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. To send e-mail to this list use the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com See the Korean Martial Arts (KMA) FAQ and online search the last five years worth of digest issues at http://www.MartialArtsResource.com Pil Seung! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ray Terry Date: Sun, 06 Aug 2000 10:42:12 PDT Subject: the_dojang: The Historical Background of Taekwondo Taekwondo: The Spirit of Korea Dr. Steven D. Capener, edited by H. Edward Kim, photos by Suh Jae Sik Published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Republic of Korea, 2000 Chapter 2, The Historical Background of Taekwondo The taekwondo of today is the modern product of martial arts and folk games developed over many centuries in Korea. While there is no doubt the three main East Asian countries of Korea, China, and Japan all had their own indigenous martial arts, it is also quite likely that they shared much of their martial cultures with each other. Korea was heavily influenced by Buddhist and Confucian thought from China and, in turn, Korean Buddhism and other aspects of Korean high culture heavily influenced Japan. Furthermore, there was considerable trade among all three kingdoms from early times. There is little doubt then that the martial arts of all three countries were in some ways influenced by each other. It is equally obvious, however, that the martial arts of each country come to possess the distinct flavor of its country's culture. Korea has a long history of martial arts stretching well back into ancient times. Written historical records from the early days of the Korean peninsula are sparse, however, there are a number of well-preserved archeological artifacts that tell stores of Korea's early martial arts. The earliest unarmed Korean martial art which has been identified was call subakhi. A mural found on the walls of a royal tomb called the "Muyongchong" dated at around the end of the 4th century A.D. from the Koguryo era (B.C 37 - A.D. 668), depicts two men engaging in unarmed sparring. While there is some debate over whether this was subakhi or the Korean form of wrestling called ssirum, it is apparent from similar murals in other tombs from the same period that there was a systemized form of unarmed combat at that time. The fact that these murals are found on the walls of royal tombs tells us something about the importance of subakhi in Koguryo society. Only those images which were thought to protect or amuse the kings buried there were permitted on the walls. The term subakhi first appears in Korean historical records during the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392). A reference in the History of Korea tells of a man named Doo Kyung Song (?-1197) who wanted to enter a special branch of the military which was responsible for guarding the king's palanquin and which recruited men well known for their skill in subakhi. Subakhi became popular enough during the Koryo Dynasty that in at least two places the History of Korea records events where subakhi matches were held in front of the king. This is an important bit of martial arts history because it tells us that even at that time the Korean people enjoyed the competitive aspects of martial arts. The character su means hand, bak means to strike, and hi means play or game. From this information and other historical records we can see that subakhi was not only a martial art, but also a competitive sport. Therefore, it is possible that Koreans were perhaps the first to systemize this kind of martial art into an early form of sport in Asia. During the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910), unarmed martial arts suffered greatly from the heavy emphasis of the ruling class on literary over physical activities. There were, however, two important exceptions to this tendency. In 1790, King Chongjo commissioned a book called the Muyedobotongji which was an illustrated manual of Korean martial arts. This book described in detail Korea's martial arts of which an unarmed combat style of kicking and punching is extensively illustrated. In spite of subakhi and other martial arts being looked down upon by the elite, subakhi, at least, seems to have continued to develop. In what was a kind of encyclopedia of Korean customer and practices written during the reign of King Chongjo (1777-1800) entitled Chaemulbo there is a statement that the martial art subakhi came to be called "takkyon". It is a fair assumption that the "takkyon" spoken of here is what later came to be called "taekkyon". What is significant here is not only that the name changed, but also that the techniques themselves changed drastically. In early historical references to subakhi, only hand techniques are emphasized. For instance, "Ui Min struck a post with his fist and the rafters shook," or "Du Kyong Song destroyed a brick with his fist." However, by the end of the 19th century, historical records dealing with taekkyon emphasize that it was an art based mostly on kicking techniques. In fact, by that time it is clear that taekkyon was actually a systemized competition complete with footwork and strategy. According to some scholars, taekkyon had all the characteristics of a modern sport. A famous painting by Yu Suk depicts both taekkyon and ssirum (Korean wresting) matches being held. In the painting, the contestants are surrounded by spectators including fathers who have brought their sons out the watch the matches. Refreshments are also being sold indicating that the events went on for a good part of the day. A book written in 1923 by a historian named Choi Yong Nyon titled the Haedongjukchi gives the best description of the systemization of taekkyon and the emphasis placed on difficult kicking techniques: "There was a fighting skill in which the players would try to knock each other down using the feet. The lowest skill level was kicking the opponent's leg, the next highest was to kick the shoulder, and the highest recognition was given to the one who could kick the opponent's topknot." In 1895, an American anthropologist named Stewart Culin visited Korea for the purpose of studying Korean games. In his book Korean Games he includes a picture of two children engaging in a taekkyon match. [note: picture provided in Taekwondo: The Spirit of Korea] Taekkyon had become so popular as a folk sport that people began to bet on the outcome of matches resulting in legislation from the conservative Neo-Confucian government banning its practice. In spite of this, taekkyon was common until around the turn of the century when pressure from the Confucian authorities, who deemed it an inappropriate activity, seems to have lead to its gradual disappearance from common culture. At the end of the 19th century, Korea was going through a kind of reawakening to foreign influences. Korea had long been closed to foreigners, with the exception of the Chinese and some trade with Japan. However, toward the end of the century, with the establishment of several foreign missions including those of Great Britain, the United States, and Germany, Korea was moving toward modernization. Unfortunately, it was at this time that Korea's military was at its weakest. Years of neglect by the ruling literati had led to the decline of the national defense. This trend influenced folks culture as well. Games such as taekkyon and another game called sokchon, which was a stone throwing rivalry between villages, usually held on the 5th of May Festival, seem to have been victims of Neo-Confucian conservatism. It was in this atmosphere that Korea lost its sovereignty to Japan in a forced annexation. Traditional Korean culture further suffered under the Japanese policy of absorbing Korea into the Japanese Empire. Fortunately, taekkyon did not completely disappear but was preserved in the body of one man, Song Dok Ki (1893-1987), who was responsible for reviving it after liberation in 1945. The history of subakhi and taekkyon is a good illustration of the Korean people's love of spirited combat arts. Furthermore, the development from subahki, which emphasized hand techniques, to taekkyon, which emphasized foot techniques, shows the traditional preference in Korean culture for sport or activities which use the feet. Perhaps even more important to the later development of taekwondo is the tendency of Korean combat sports to value difficult skills over easier and simpler ones. This aspect of Korean culture was to play an important role in developing taekwondo into the highly sophisticated martial sport that it is today. [end] ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Sun, 06 Aug 2000 10:45:25 PDT Subject: the_dojang: Taekwondo: The Spirit of Korea The previous chapter/post and the chapter posted yesterday from the new book Taekwondo: The Spirit of Korea are also available as a link off www.martialartsresource.com near the other history related links, or directly via http://www.martialartsresource.com/korean/spirit.html. The info is also indexed via our site search engine. Ray Terry raymail@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com ------------------------------ From: JSaportajr@aol.com Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 13:41:19 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Re: Mass Oyama In a message dated 8/5/00 10:33:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time, the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com writes: << Re: Oyama and Korea >> Mass Oyama also had a relationship with General Choi. They had several meeting and the General tried to get him to return to Korea and join the Taekwondo movement. There are pictures of Oyama meeting with General Choi and other Taekwondo officials in the early 60s. There was a recent article about this, I believe in TKD times but I am not sure. There was also an article in Journal of Asian Martial Arts by one of Oyama's top students a few years ago. He described how many of the great feats of breaking and bull fighting were pretty bogus. Nonetheless I think it is incontestable that Mass Oyama was one of the greatest martial artists of that generation. I knew of someone who sparred with him, the person was an accomplished tournament champion and said that Mass Oyama was so good that "he was from another planet." Jose' ------------------------------ From: Oregfightingarts@aol.com Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 15:27:09 EDT Subject: the_dojang: young blackbelts Greetings all, Yesterday I had the honor of sitting on the testing board for a Blackbelt test at a fellow instructors school. The candidate was a 15 year old young lady. Now normally, I am opposed to granting rank to those under 18, but this is one of the exceptions. I train at this school once a week, so I was familiar with the candidate, and was asked by the sabumnim to help prepare the girl for the test. She has been training for 6 years, and has had many training ups and downs, but over the past year or so, really started to accelerate. Other than age, I felt she was ready...accept for one thing...I wanted to feel comfortable adding my approval, so with her parents and instructor permission, I spent a few hours working with her on fear control and scenario training. We started with the 'sucker' punch / flinch response drill. I saw fear and apprehension in her expressions. She got punched the first 5 times before she relaxed enough to allow the flinch to help her defend. Most of the first session was talking about fighting, avoidance, and combat attitude. There were a lot of misconceptions regarding this, so there was a certain amount of unlearning to do. The next session was interesting. From the attack, she was made to defend. (BTW, I wear a full protective suit...but it still can hurt.) The first few defenses needed to be stopped because she was using some very excellent control. In fact, she was not connecting on any of her techniques. I felt she could handle a bit of anger, so I said a few choice things & smacked her upside the headgear a couple of times to make myself hateable. The next few attacks/defenses went very good. Outstanding contact was made (yes, even behind the chestgear it hurt). The last session was full scenario situations. She did good on the first and great on the second. I absorbed some pretty powerful kicks, knees, elbows and hammerfists, while trying my best to remain aggressive. The last scenario, she made me tap out with an outstanding choke using my shirt. As far as I was concerned, if this 120 lb. female could pound my 200 pound frame into submission, she was well deserving of the promotion. Yesterday-test day. About half way through the test, I disappeared to suit up. Part of the test was an impromptu scenario (minus all of the kind words). She had just ended a hyung, when I came through the door. I was advancing with a purpose, she read that purpose and surprised me by striking first! The whole thing lasted about 20 seconds. I got palmheels to the head, side and round kicks to the chest and head, 2 leg kicks, a choke that didn't quite work well, so she kneed me a couple times then did a wonderful head & arm hip throw, which ended up pulling my headgear off, but I continued. It ended when she parried a head punch and landed another knee to the chest and followed with a hammerfist to the back of my unprotected head. I went down and she kicked me twice for good measure before sabumnim stopped it. If there was any doubt about her abilities, they were erased right there. I reviewed the video this morning. When I first entered the room, there was a bit of a show of surprise that turned to fear for an instant on her face. She transitioned well and controlled it. During the contact, I saw her scanning her surroundings for obstacles or other 'surprises'. On the video after the last knee strike, I saw the look of power and confidence. A few days earlier, this was a girl with a large selection of defensive techniques that she didn't know how to use. Now she is a brand new black belt with the confidence to use what she knows to full power. The cross training of TKD and Jujitsu really showed how well rounded a martial artist she is. Most of the time, young kids/teens who are at the level of Blackbelt do not have the tools to defend themselves. This young woman is a fine example of those who can. Attitude, technique, and the ability to pound my sorry mug into the floor are why this lady gets my respect for her accomplishments. Congratulations to Lindsey Dietz of Haney Martial Arts on her promotion to 1st Dan Blackbelt. Train hard, train right, Mark Gajdostik Oregon Fighting Arts TNT-Police Combatives ------------------------------ From: J T Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 14:52:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: the_dojang: Who said it first. "I didn't mean to imply that "One Kick One Punch" was "created" by Gen. Choi. It is definetly a concept that he has embraced very closely and tried to pass on to his students. I suspect that the concept is as old as unarmed combat." My bad. I just meant to put a little more background on where the philosophy came from. Didn't mean to insinuate that you thought Gen. Choi began the phrase. Jeremy __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ From: Creed71963@aol.com Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 19:38:20 EDT Subject: the_dojang: A new topic of discussion I'm putting this out as a way to stimulate some conversation, nothing more. (It seems these days I have too much time to think....^_^) Suppose, for the purpose of this topic, the people on this list have gotten together and formed a new Martial Arts organization. Now: 1 -- How would you set up the organization? Would you have a supreme GM that would run everything, a board of senior masters, a combination of both, or neither? 2 -- Would you prefer a close-knit group of schools, or a loose association? 3 -- How would you set up the curriculum? Would you emphasize forms and one steps, or self defense techniques? Would you include weapons? Like I said, this just to generate conversation on a subject. This isn't intended to start a flame war or insult anyone. Craig ------------------------------ From: Emactkd@aol.com Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 21:17:47 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Re:That 60's tournament Sorry for the late question. Was on vacation, wish I still were. The tournament sounds like a cross between the plots of "the best of the best" and "bloodsport". Does anyone have the names of all five Korean participants? Rick Foley ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Sun, 06 Aug 2000 19:50:43 PDT Subject: the_dojang: . ------------------------------ End of The_Dojang-Digest V7 #525 ******************************** It's a great day for Taekwondo! Support the USTU by joining today. US Taekwondo Union, 1 Olympic Plaza, Ste 405, Colorado Spgs, CO 80909 719-578-4632 FAX 719-578-4642 ustutkd1@aol.com http://www.ustu.org To unsubscribe from the_dojang-digest send the command: unsubscribe the_dojang-digest -or- unsubscribe the_dojang-digest your.old@address in the BODY of an email (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com. Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource Standard disclaimers apply.