Traditional vs not

Discussion in 'Tae Kwon Do' started by Artikon, Dec 28, 2002.

  1. Kwan Jang

    Kwan Jang Valued Member

    -I am probably going to annoy some peope with saying this, but if you go back and check history from independent sources you'll find some truth behind the propeganda. I would recommend Dr.Scott Shaw(a Phd, martial arts historian, and 7th dan in Hapkido) as a very good source who tells it w/o politics or sugarcoating(nor any apparent axes to grind, either). First, Gen. Choi was a 2nd dan in Shotokan(some say 1st, but I would give him the benefit of the doubt), who used his position at a time of martial law to unify the different Kwans(schools/systems). All the Kwan leaders were given the rank at that time of 4th dan and Gen. Choi was given the honorary rank of 4th dan as the head of the military branch(not by virtue of his martial knowledge, but his military rank), this honorary rank was later revolked while he was still in Korea. Gen. Choi was later on the loosing side of a military coup and was exiled from his native land. He was the head of the ITF at the time and later moved it's headquarters to Canada. The masters in Korea, many of whom were not overly fond of him or his organization to begin with(this coming from some of the older, 9th dan Kwan Jang Nims I've talked to, who like to privately talk about what "really happened back in the day"-for what there stories are worth, but they were some of the people there at the time), felt the headquarters and administration of Korea's national sport/art should be in Korea. The Japanese occupation had destroyed much of the Korean culture (and placed a ban on the practice of the native Korean martial arts) and most written records. Most of the original Kwan leaders were black belts in Shotokan and some in Judo as well. The early ITF TKD was a Korean version of Shotokan for the most part. Later, some surviving elements of tae kyon and subak were reintroduced helping to give TKD a seperate idenity from the Japanese systems. Also, some of the Kwan leaders had trained in China rather than in Japan and brought those elements into the mix as well. If you can imagine the gov't basically forcing a merger under their control of the martial arts. In some ways, this a great boost to the growth and respectability of your art and your schools. On the other hand, many would resent what they viewed as a gov't official holding the reigns on them. Even though he was a legitimate martial artist, at least at the time he was no master, and once out of a position of power over them, many of the early masters were glad to be rid of him. Also, the USTU is the national branch of the WTF in the US. They are the US nat'l governing body of the IOC, but the WTF is the international authority. And they do have and exert their control.
     
  2. Trent Tiemeyer

    Trent Tiemeyer Valued Member

    So where does ATA fit into the scheme of things?
     
  3. KickChick

    KickChick Valued Member

    In 1968, General Choi met with then Master Haeng Ung Lee, who at the time was teaching the Pyeong Ahn forms (pre-Taekwondo, Japanese based forms) to his org. General Choi quickly taught Master Lee the first 16 Chon-gi forms in only 4 days and three nights. This system of forms was the first set of forms developed under the new TKD of Korea.

    ATA stands for the America Taekwondo Association and was founded in 1969 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, by then-Master Haeng Ung Lee. The ATA had used the Chang Hun Taekwondo forms since 1969 -- and the "Pinan" forms prior to that -- but Grandmaster Lee noticed something missing in the forms. So, Grandmaster introduced the Songahm system of Taekwondo.

    The ATA developed a unified teaching system in which white belt beginners learned kicks in theirforms, and one-step sparring was closely integrated with the forms to aid in student development by making a more logical system for beginning students.
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2003
  4. hybrid_TKD

    hybrid_TKD New Member

    BUt where does ATA & USTU & WTF all fit in together?
     
  5. KickChick

    KickChick Valued Member

    They do not "fit together" but instead are separate "divisions"..... an 'association' ... a 'union' ... and a 'federation'.

    "Traditional" TKD I believe is derived from the original "kwans" of TKD.
    The various kwans ("schools") of retained much of the style of karate-do for many years, including the various kata or forms of karate-do. In 1965, Hong-Hi Choi (the "Father of Taekwon-Do") was still teaching Shorin-ryu and Shorei-ryu forms along with his own forms, called the Chang Hon set (which our school teaches).

    TKD History ... this account appears in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts.
     
  6. HKD

    HKD New Member

    Kick chick, your a journal of asian martial arts your self.

    HKD
     

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