Its growth and History prior to the Twentieth Century.
Taekwondo has been influenced by Chinese and Japanese martial arts, but it is distinctly Korean, both character and in origin. Korean martial arts began some 2000 or more years ago. Different writers use different names for them, but the two early names most commonly used are subak (soo bak do) and taekyon. The major difference between subak and taekyon seems to be this: Subak emphasized the use of the hands and head more than the feet; while taekyon, which appears to have come later, emphasized to a greater extent the use of the feet.
It is sometimes claimed that martial arts first arose in India and were carried to China by a Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma. However, this cannot be entirely true since there is evidence of ancient Korean art works, both murals and stone carvings, which show warriors practicing subak or taekyon 500 or more years before Bodhidharma's arrival.
From the first century BC until the seventh century AD, Korea contained three major kingdoms.
1. Silla(Sh ee la)
2. Paekche(Peck a cha)
3. Koguryo
660- China joined with Silla to defeat Paekche
669- china and Silla defeated Koruryo
671- Silla drove China out of Korea
668-935 Sillan Dominance
Hwarang warriors- 14-15 year old boys, that belonged to Aristocratic families. Legendary for their courage and skill, they are often described as forerunners of the Japanese samurai. They dedicated themselves to serving their state and they studied both martial arts and literature and philosophy. To harden their bodies in training to defend their homeland, they climbed mountains, swam rivers in cold months and drove themselves unmercifully. The utilized Subak and also practiced postures resembling taekyon and jujitusu. Many of there teachers were Buddhist monks.
Won Gwang Popsa, was the author of the Five commandments
1. be loyal to your King
2. Be obedient to you parents
3. Be honorable to your friends
4. Never retreat in Battle
5. Make a just kill
935-1392 Koryo Kingdom and Dynasty
The Sillan dynasty ended and Koryo dynasty took over and ruled Korea.
Korean martial Arts peaked during this time.
1392- Yi Dynasty began. The strong emphasis placed on military training, physical fitness and the ability to defend the nation was weakened. King Taejo, founder of the Yi Dynasty replaced Buddhism with Confucianism as the state religion. The ruling class adopted Confuscian guidelines in their political and cultural outlook as well as in their personal lives. Confucian thinking advocated classical Chinese learning and played down physical activity. According to the Confucian way of thought, the superion man spent his time reading the Chinese classics, composing poetry or learning to play musical instruments. Only "inferior men" engaged in strenuous physical activities such as the martial arts. The martial arts gradually declined in popularity. But even so, the martial arts were for a long time so important that persons who desired careers in the army were required to pass a government test, part of which was a test in the knowledge of the martial arts.
Military training and national defense continued to be neglected in Korea during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. No organized instruction ws available and the forms were handed down from father to son, or teacher to disciple, always in the greatest secrecy. Thus, even in this period when Korea's martial arts declined, they were not ignored. The same is true of Korea's martial arts in the early part of the twentieth century when Korea was controlled by the Japanese.
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