(Ta
aekwo
on-Do Yoksa
Y a)

Altho
ough the origins
o of the martia
al arts are
e shroude
ed in mysttery, we consider
c itt
an unden
niable facct that fro
om time i mmemorial there have
h bee
en physica
al actionss
involving the use of
o the hands and fee pose of se
et for purp elf-protecttion.
If we were to define
d these physiccal actions
s as "Taek
kwon-Do,"" any coun
ntry mightt
edit for in
claim cre nventing Taekwon
n-Do. The
ere is, ho
owever, sscant rese
emblance
e
between Taekwon
n-Do, as it is practticed toda
ay, and th
he crude forms of unarmed
d
combat d
developed
d in the pa
ast.
Mode
ern Taekw
won-Do differs
d gre
eatly from other ma
artial artss. In fact, no otherr
martial art is so ad
dvanced with
w regarrd to the sophistica
s effectiven
ation and e ness of itss
e or the ovverall phy
technique ysical fitne
ess it impa
arts to its practitione
p ers.
Since
e the theo
ories, term
minology, technique
es, system
ms, metho
ods, rules
s, practice
e
suit, and
d spiritual foundattion were
e scientifically dev
veloped, ssystematized, and
d
named b
by the autthor, it is an error tto think of
o any phy
ysical acti ons employing the
e
hand and
d feet for self-defen
s nce as Tae
ekwon-Do
o. Nor is any
a other m
martial arts system
m
entitled to
o call itself Taekwo
on-Do. On
nly those who
w practice the tecchniques based on
n
the autho
or's theorries, princ
ciples and
d philosop
phy are co
onsidered
d to be students off
genuine T
Taekwon--Do.
When and whe
ere did Ta
aekwon-D
Do begin?
A co
ombination
n of circu
umstance
es made it possiblle for me
e to originate and
d
develop Taekwon--Do. In addition to
o my priorr knowledge of Tae
ek Kyon, I had an
n
opportunity to learrn Karate in Japan d
during the
e unhappy
y forty yea
ars when my native
e
land wass occupied
d by the Japanese. Soon afte
er Korea was
w libera
ated in 19
945, I wass
placed in
n a privile
eged posittion as a founding member of the ne
ewly form
med south
h
Korea Arrmed Forcces.
 
 
Intern
national T
Taekwon-Do Fedeeration
 
 
   

 

The fformer pro

ovided me
e with a de
efinite sen
nse of crea
ation, and
d the latterr gave me
e
the powe
er to disse
eminate Taekwon-D
T Do throughout the entire
e arm
med forces
s, despite
e
furious op
pposition.
The emergencce of Tae
ekwon-Do
o as an in
nternational martiall art in a relativelyy
short perriod of tim
me was due
d to a variety of factors. The evilss of contemporaryy
society ((moral co
orruption, materialissm, selfis
shness, ettc.) had ccreated a spirituall
vacuum. Taekwon-Do was able
a to co mpensate
e for the prevailing ssense of emptiness
e s,
distrust, d
decadencce and lack of confid
dence.
In ad
ddition, the mes, when people felt the ne
ese were violent tim eed for a means off
protecting
g themse
elves, and
d the supe
eriority off Taekwon
n-Do tech
hnique came to be
e
widely re
ecognized. My socia
al statue, the advan
ntage of being
b Tae kwon-Do's founderr
and my G
God-given
n health also
a d growth of Taekw
contrributed to the rapid won-Do alll
over the w
world.
My in
nvolvemen
nt with the
e martial a
arts did mu
uch to sup
pplement tthe health
h that God
d
gave me. I had bee
en born frrail and we
eak and was
w encou
uraged to learn Tae
ek Kyon att
the age o
of fifteen by
b my teac
cher of ca
alligraphy. In 1938, a few dayys before I was due
e
to leave K
Korea to study
s in Ja
apan I wass involved
d in an une
expected incident that would
d
have mad
de it difficcult to return home w
without ris
sk of reprisals.
I reso
olved to become
b a black beltt holder in
n Karate while
w I wass in Japan
n.
The skills I required we
ere, I felt, sufficient protectio
on againsst those who
w mightt
seek to d
do me ha
arm. Not only was I able to
o return to
o Korea, b
but I subsequentlyy
initiated the natio
onal liberration mo
ovement known as
a the Pyyongyang
g Studentt
Soldier's Incident. Like so many pattriots in th
he long co
ourse of h
human history, myy
actions a
aroused th
he wrath of
o those in positions
s of powerr. I was im
mprisoned for a time
e
in a Japanese arrmy jail. In Januaryy of 1946
6,1 was commissio
c oned as a second
d
 
 
Intern
national T
Taekwon-Do Fedeeration
 
 
   

 

lieutenan
nt in the fledgling
f Republic
R of Korea army and
d posted to the 4th infantryy
regiment in Kwang
gju, Cholla
a Namdo P
Province as
a a comp
pany com
mmander.
gan to tea
I beg ach Karatte to my soldiers as a mea
ans of ph
hysical an
nd mentall
training. It was then that I realized that we needed
n to
o develop
p our own
n nationall
martial a
art, superiior in botth spirit a
and technique to Japanese
J Karate. I stronglyy
believed that teach
hing it thro
oughout th
he country
y would enable me to fulfill th
he pledge
e
ade to thrree of my
I had ma y comrade
es, who had
h share
ed my im
mprisonment by the
e
Japanese
e. "The reason
r that our pe
eople sufffer in this
s way at the hand
ds of the
e
Japanese
e," I had said,
s "is th ailed to rule wisely.""
hat our anccestors fa
“Theyy exploite
ed the people
p an
nd, in the
e end, lo
ost the ccountry to
o foreign
n
dominatio
on. If we ever
e regaiin our free
edom and independ
dence, let us not be
ecome the
e
rulers of tthe people. Instead
d, let us de
edicate ou
urselves to
o advising
g those wh
ho rule.”
It wa
as with th
his ambition in min
nd that I began to
o develop
p new tec
chniques,
systemattically, fro
om March of that ssame yea
ar. By the
e end of 1954 I ha
ad nearlyy
complete
ed the fou
undation of
o a new m
martial arrt for Kore
ea, and on
n April 11
1, 1955, itt
was given the nam
me “Taekw
won-Do”.
he spiritual level, Taekwon-
On th T -Do is derrived from
m the trad
ditional, etthical and
d
moral principles off the Orien
nt and, of course, frrom my pe
ersonal ph
hilosophy..
n though I am only
Even y five fee
et tall, I pride
p myself on ha
aving lived
d in strictt
accordan
nce with my
m moral convictio
ons. I have tried to fight on the side of justice
e
without fe
ear of anyy kind. I believe tha
at this was
s possible
e for me o
only becau
use of the
e
formidable power and
a indom
mitable sp
pirit instilled by Taek
kwon-Do.
The physical techniques
t s of Taekw
won-Do are
a based on the prrinciples of
o modern
n
science, in particcular, New
wtonian p
physics which
w tea
aches us how to generate
e
m power. Military
maximum M tactics of atttack and defense
d have
h also been inco
orporated..
 
 
Intern
national T
Taekwon-Do Fedeeration
 
 
   

 

I wish to make
e it clear that
t altho ugh Taek
k Kyon wa
as used ass referenc
ces in the
e
course o
of my stud
dy, the fu
undamenta
al theories and principles o
of Taekwo
on-Do are
e
totally diffferent from
m those of
o any othe
er martial art in the world.
In M
March of 1959,1
1 led the millitary Tae
ekwon-Do
demonstrration team on a tour abroad
d. We visitted South
Vietnam and Taiw
wan. It wa
as the firsst such visit in the
history o
of Korea. On this
s occasion, I rene
ewed my
resolution
n to leave
e my pers
sonal lega
acy to the world, in
the form of Taekw
won-Do, an ulated the following
nd I formu
eals for the
basic ide e Taekwon-Do pracctitioners:
1. B
By develo
oping an upright m
mind and
d a strong
g
body, we
e will acqu
uire the se
elf-confide
ence to sta
and on the
e
side of ju
ustice at all times.
2. W
We shall unite witth all m
men in a common
brother-h
hood, without regard on, race, national or
d to religio o
ideologiccal bounda
aries.
3. W
We shall de
edicate ourselves to
o building a peacefu
ul
human ssociety in morality, trust and
n which justice, m d
humanism
m prevail.
I also
o resolved
d to dedic
cate myse
elf to the world-wide
w e
propagattion of Ta
aekwon-Do
o, in the ssincere hope that it
would pro
ovide the means by which th
he unifica
ation of the
e Life and work become on
ne.
divided h
halves of my
m fatherla
and would
d become
e possible..

 
 
Intern
national T
Taekwon-Do Fedeeration
 
 
   

 

My sstudy of Taekwon
n-Do procceeded in
n two parts, spirit ual discip
pline and
d
technical perfection. Becaus
se the hum
man spiritt belongs to
t the rea
alm of mettaphysics,,
ean by sp
what I me piritual disc
cipline is n
not easy to
t describ
be. One ca
annot touc
ch, see orr
hear the spirit of man.
m
It is w
wider and deeper th
han anyth ing we ca
an perceive. >
In this respectt, I, myself, am onlly anotherr student participatting in a continuing
c g
er-ending learning process.
and neve p
I havve come to
o define th
he spiritua
al dimensiions of Ta
aekwon-Do
o as fusin
ng oneselff
with the iideals of Taekwon-
T -Do and a
attaining and
a underrstanding the full meaning off
each of tthe Taekw
won-Do pa
atterns. If we consider ourse
elves as o
one with Taekwon
T -
Do, we w
will respecct it as we
e respect o
our own bodies
b and
d Taekwo
on-Do will never be
e
used in a dishonorrable way.
The names off the patte
erns are derived fro
om the mo
ost illustrio
ous people to have
e
oduced by
been pro b nearly
y five tho
ousand years
y of Korean history. A properr
understanding of the pattern
ns leads, inevitably
y to the rea
alization tthat Taekw
won-Do iss
a martial art to be used only
y for self-d
defense an
nd only in the cause
e of justic
ce.
The history off Korea contains n ot a single sample
e of its m ilitary forc
ces being
g
d for the invasion of
employed hbors or for
o its neigh f any other purpo
ose excep
pt nationall
defence.
e technica
In the al area, I created
c a wide variiety of tec
chniques tthat can be
b used in
n
almost an
ny situatio
on. They are
a based on the fo
ollowing prrinciples;
1. All moveme
ent should
d be designed to pro
oduce maximum po
ower in ac
ccordance
e
ntific form
with scien mulas and the principle of kine
etic energy.
2. Th
he princip
ples behin
nd the tecchniques should be so clea
ar that ev
ven those
e
ignorant of Taekwo
on-Do will be able tto distingu
uish correct from inccorrect movement.
 
 
Intern
national T
Taekwon-Do Fedeeration
 
 
   

 

3. Th
he distancce and ang
gle of eacch movement should be exacctly defined in orderr
to achievve more effficient atttack and d
defense.
4. Th
he purposse and me
ethod of e
each move
ement should be cclear and simple,
s in
n
order to ffacilitate th
he teachin
ng and lea
arning pro
ocess.
5. Ra
ational te
eaching methods
m sshould be
e develop
ped so th
hat the be
enefits off
Taekwon
n-Do can be
b enjoyed by every
ryone, you
ung and old, men an
nd women
n.
6. Co
orrect breathing me
ethods should be devised,
d enhancing the speed of each
h
movemen
nt and red
ducing fatigue.
7. Atttack shou
uld be pos
ssible aga
ainst any vital
v spot on
o the bod
dy and it should
s be
e
possible to defend
d against all
a varietie
es of attac
ck.
ach attacking tool should b
8. Ea be clearly defined and soun
ndly base
ed on the
e
structure of the human body
y.
9. E
Each movvement sh
hould be e
easy to ex
xecute, en
nabling th
he student to enjoyy
Taekwon
n-Do as a sport and
d recreatio
on.
10. Special co on should be pa
onsideratio aid to prromoting good he
ealth and
d
ng injuriess.
preventin
11. Each move
ement sho
ould be ha
armonious
s and rhytthmical so
o that Tae
ekwon-Do
o
is aesthe
etically ple
easing.
12. Each move
ement in a pattern
n must express
e th
he person
nality and
d spirituall
characterr of the pe
erson it is named affter.
Adhe
erance to these
t bas
sic principlles is wha
at makes Taekwon-D
T Do a marttial art, an
n
aestheticc art, a science and sport.
 

 
 
Intern
national T
Taekwon-Do Fedeeration