History of Taekwondo
Taekwondo, the art of kicking and punching, has a long history of being a self-defence martial art using only the hands and feet to fig ht off ones assailants. Although the name Taekwondo was first introduced in 1944, the art can be traced back to murals painted on tomb walls dating back to between AD 3 and AD 427. ... After the liberation of Korea, at the end of the Second World War, there were 5 main martial art academies in Korea, all practising Taekwondo but in slightly different ways. These families or styles of Taekwondo are Mooduk Kwan, Jido Kwan, Changmu Kwan, Song Kwan and Chung Do Kwan. ... Taekwondo is taught in schools and colleges throughout Korea in much the same way as we would be taught football in this country. ... ) All military personnel are also required to do basic Taekwondo hand to hand fighting in their training. ... In Korea before 1960, Oh do Kwan - the military section of Chung Do Kwan, was given over to General Choi Hang Hi by Master Uhm and was further developed into the style now practised by the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF).