Tae Kwon Do

-kung fu    -judo    -okinawan karate    -tang soo do                -homepage

Tae Kwon Do is a Korean martial art that is over 1,300 years old. Translated, "Tae" means "to kick or smash with the feet", "Kwon" means " to punch or destroy with the hand", and "Do" means "way" or "method". This is the legend of how Tae Kwon Do came to be...

In the southern part of the Korean peninsula long, long ago, there was a small kingdom called Silla. This tiny kingdom was constantly threatened by its aggressive neighbors, Pak-Je and Koguryu to the north. It was also in danger of attack from China and Japan because of its geographical location. During the Tang Dynasty of China, the 3 Korean kingdoms were involved in a fierce war. The Tang emperor watched with interest, intending to side with who appeared to be stronger.

But the fight was back and forth, with one side winning, then the other. Eventually, Pak-Je was neglected by China because it had been dishonest with the emperor. Also, Koguryu was now ruled by a bloodthirsty queen. The king of Silla, meanwhile, had a daughter named Song-duk, who was renowned for her wisdom and love of the people. The Tang emperor's problem was who to side with. He favored Song- duk because she ruled with kindness and insight rather than by the sword. But if he helped her, he would have to send a large army to help her small fighting force. While he struggled with this dilemma, Song-duk made his decision for him. She impressed him by sending her best warriors to the emperor for training in the martial arts. She instructed them to be eager and willing to learn, but to also be humble and show respect for the Chinese emperor. The emperor was very impressed with her approach, especially when she established her own martial arts school so that soldiers could train the public. She also drew up a code of ethics to combine honesty, bravery, loyalty and justice with the martial arts so that her soldiers could be more than just fighting machines. This code was called the hwarang-do, or  "way of the flowering manhood". The art was called tae-kyon, from which today's name of Tae-Kwon-Do is derived.  
Tae-Kwon-Do places much emphasis on kicks. All practitioners believe that it is only when power, speed, and correct stance are combined that accuracy and maximum destructive force can be obtained. The legs are the most powerful natural weapon that a human possesses for the defense of his life. Kicking is based on the bound- spring principle. Muscles and tendons, when tense and strained, lose their elastic power, much like a rubber band. The concept of applying a kick is like a coiled spring that is suddenly released. There is a series of stretching exercises in TKD so that a practitioner can extend his legs to the length required.