9781422286746

T A E K W O N D O

to Korea to complete his taekyon studies. General Choi drew on influences from taekyon, subak, and karate to create taekwondo. Seventeen years later, his diligent research eventually culminated in the formal recognition of taekwondo as the official martial art of Korea at a special conference on April 11, 1955. A UNIFIED KOREAN ART Not all of theKoreanmartial artsmerged into theKoreanTaekwondo Association (KTA) to form the new style called taekwondo. Those that chose to stay out of the unified arts still exist today, although with a much smaller number of practitioners than taekwondo. Tang soo do, which means “way of the Chinese fist,” remained separate, even though it is similar to taekwondo. Tang soo do differs slightly from taekwondo in that it uses big, circular kicks and long hand strikes, like the Chinese arts. It is based on the principle that greater power can be achieved at the point of maximum extension of either the arm or the leg. As the name “way of the Chinese fist” suggests, tang soo do was influenced by the Chinese arts. This is because its founder, Hwang Kee, escaped to China during the Japanese occupation and picked up ideas from his adopted country. In fact, all Korean martial arts are influenced by Chinese, Japanese, or Mongolian martial arts in some way. Hapkido, which means “way of harmony,” is another art that chose to remain separate from the unified association. Hapkido is similar to both aikido and jujutsu, but it also includes breaking techniques similar to those used in taekwondo and tang soo do (these techniques are common only in indigenous Korean martial arts). The hapkido headquarters was set up in the U.S. In fact, hapkido was one of the first martial arts to be

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