Taekwondo Grappling Techniques. Tony Kemerly, Ph.D.

      Taekwondo’s History as a Foundation for its Grappling Techniques

      The history of the Korean martial art Taekwondo is questionable to say the least. Multiple histories of Taekwondo exist. The history described simply depends on the individual telling it. One of the more dubious histories of Taekwondo is the Taekkyon Derivation History. The Taekkyon Derivation History holds that Taekwondo is the direct descendant of the Korean folk game Taekkyon. Taekkyon and sport Taekwondo do share some similarities such as a penchant for circular kicking techniques, the palms for pushing the opponent, and well-developed leg jams, sweeps, and leg traps. Taekkyon all but disappeared at the start of the 20th century because it was linked with crime and vengeance and was therefore shunned by the Korean people. This version of Taekwondo’s history still persists due to the fact that Taekkyon is a uniquely Korean martial art with no outside influences. This is an important factor for the extremely nationalistic Korean people. However, Taekkyon didn’t resurface publicly until the 1970s, many years after Taekwondo was in existence. Despite the desire for a uniquely Korean history, the veracity of this version of Taekwondo’s history remains questionable at best.

      Taekwondo History and Development—

       The Shotokan Connection

      Regardless of the romantic nature of the Taekkyon Derivation Theory, most Taekwondo practitioners accept the fact that their art is a Korean version of Shotokan Karate-do or Kongsoodo in Korean. Even the name Taekwondo is only a little more than 50 years old, having been developed by a group of masters on April 11, 1955. The Japanese martial arts have had an influence on Korean martial arts for some time. In fact, until the year 1909, all Korean boys learned the Japanese arts Judo and Kendo while in school. Before the Korean War, the original kwans or schools used the name karate along with Japanese terminology and Japanese kata from the Shotokan, Shorin-ryu and Shorei-ryu schools.

      The individual kwans that were eventually united to form Taekwondo were led by men who received most if not all of their martial training from the Japanese martial arts. The Chung Do Kwan or Great Blue Wave School, which became the largest of the civilian kwans, was founded in 1945 by Won Kuk Lee. Lee earned his black belt from the founder of Shotokan Karate, Gichin Funakoshi. He also trained in Okinawa, Henan, and Shanghai. The Chung Do Kwan taught that movements should mimic the power of water. The Moo Duk Kwan or School of Martial Virtue was founded in 1945 by Hwang Kee. Kee received martial arts training in Manchuria under Tai Chi master Kuk Jin Yang. The Yun Moo Kwan or Way of Wisdom School, which later became the Ji Do Kwan was founded in 1946 by Chan Sup Sang. Sang began his martial arts education in Judo and began by teaching Taekwondo to Judo black belts. This school was the first mixed martial arts school as karate and judo were taught there. The school patch of the Yun Moo Kwan is very similar to the Shotokan patch as a tribute to its source. The Chang Do Kwan was founded in 1946 by Byung Yun, a 4th degree black belt in the Okinawan Shudokan karate style under Kanken Toyama and Nam Suk Lee, who learned Okinawan Shotokan Karate from an old Chinese text on the subject. This school was considered to be the premier self-defense method in post-war Korea, quite different from today’s modern Taekwondo. The Song Moo Kwan or Ever Youthful House of Martial Arts Training, was founded in 1946 by Byong-Jik Ro, a contemporary of Won Kuk Lee, the founder of the Chung Do Kwan. Ro earned his black belt in Shotokan Karate under its founder Gichin Funakoshi. To further illustrate its roots, The “Song” in Song Moo Kwan refers to Song Do Kwan, the Korean name for Shotokan. Lastly, the Oh Do Kwan or School of My Way, was founded in 1953 by Choi Hong Hi who held a 2nd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate and Nam Tae Hi. The Oh Do Kwan was militaristic in nature and was a product of the Republic of Korea’s army. This kwan was closely linked to the Chung Do Kwan, of which Nam Tae Hi was a member. These early kwans that eventually became Taekwondo were obviously influenced by the Japanese martial arts. This is because the men who played a large part in the development of Taekwondo had their foundation in Japanese martial arts.

      Taekwondo—Sport versus Traditional

      The change of the martial roots of Taekwondo occurred when the leaders of the Korean Taekwondo movement began to try to make the art of Karate their own. It was also at this time that the style itself splintered into two main factions: Sport Taekwondo, which is today under the auspices of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and Traditional Taekwondo, which is under the control of the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF). This split occurred for a simple reason. After the end of the Korean occupation by the Japanese, Korean martial arts changed into a combination of Chinese, Japanese, and Okinawan hand techniques mixed with Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, and Taekkyon kicking techniques. This continued after the Korean War when a wave of nationalism and patriotism within Korea led to a “Koreanization” of Japanese karate. This “Koreanization” consisted of changing Japanese names to Korean alternatives. This is often seen in the naming of patterns such as: (Japanese → Korean) Heian → Pyong-An; Tekki → Chul-gi; Bassai → Pal-sek; Kanku Dai → Kong Sang Koon; Jitte → Ship-Soo; Empi → Yoon-bi; and many other examples. It is through the denial of the Japanese roots of Shotokan inherent within Taekwondo that the Taekkyon Derivation theory gained momentum, however flawed it may be.

      The final step of the “Koreanization” of Shotokan was the creation of a set of techniques that were significantly different from those found in Shotokan. This was accomplished by the competition rule set found in today’s “Olympic-style” Taekwondo sparring. This system was actually opposed by the 1st generation masters who held to their link to Shotokan. The reason that the masters didn’t like the change was simply that the changes removed the self-defense aspect of their art, in essence making it a game of tag, much like the uniquely Korean Taekkyon. The rules of the new Korean Taekwondo were as follows: no strikes to the face; no strikes below the waist; no grabbing; mandatory body protection; a scoring system; and continuous fighting. The result of these changes was the elimination of all grappling and controlling techniques, effectively relegating the self-defense aspect of the art to the ability of the practitioner to keep an attacker at bay, primarily through kicking techniques.

      The “Koreanization” of the art resulted in a few other changes to the philosophy of the art. For example, traditional Taekwondo uses an attack → block → counterattack methodology for self-defense. This was eliminated when Taekwondo adopted a sporting outlook as the new Taekwondo adopted an attack → counterattack. The adoption of the new attack → counterattack method eliminates the need for blocking, which eliminates a key period of defensive contact that allows for a transition into grappling techniques. Another difference between sport and traditional Taekwondo that lends itself to the premise of inherent grappling techniques in Taekwondo is a difference in mindset that’s exhibited between the two versions of the art.

      The purpose of sport Taekwondo is to perform a technique correctly so that you are able to score more points than your opponent and thereby win the match. This philosophy greatly differs from that of traditional Taekwondo that adopts a mindset much more like its Japanese predecessors. The purpose of traditional Taekwondo is to perform a technique correctly so that you may disable or kill an opponent. The implementation of this purpose requires that grappling techniques be present in a style. It is true that striking techniques are able to disable or kill an attacker, but not nearly so quickly or efficiently as grappling techniques. Lastly, don’t forget that one of the early Kwans, the Oh Do Kwan, was a military body that needed efficient disabling and killing techniques on the battlefield. And the leader of the Oh Do Kwan, General Choi Hong Hi, was the head of the International Taekwondo Federation, essentially the governing body of Traditional Taekwondo.

      Understanding Taekwondo Patterns

      One of the unique characteristics of the martial arts is the practice of patterns. These patterns, hyung, tul, or poomse in Korean, kata in Japanese, quyen in Vietnamese, or taolu in Chinese, are a prearranged series of different defensive, counter, and offensive techniques performed in a precise, logical sequence with specific foot movements and stances in imaginary combat against a number of assailants. To the uninitiated, these patterns resemble a combination of shadowboxing, dancing, and gymnastics floor exercises. These patterns are thought to represent the martial traditions and techniques of a specific martial art. Performance of patterns results in stronger, faster, and more effective kicks, blocks, strikes, and stances;