[BlackDragon]

Korean Martial History

The Hwa Rang

During this extensive period of war, in the 6th Century C.E., the first highly formalized group of martial art practitioners came to be organized on the Korean Peninsula. They were known as the Hwa Rang. This aristocratic warrior group, born in Silla, is what is attributed to unifying of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.

The Hwa Rang (Flowering Youth) warriors were first envisioned by King Chin Hung of Silla in 576 C.E. Though his kingdom had its army, he believed his soldiers were not of an exceptional nature - which is why his country could not defeat Koguryo, Paekche, and the invasive T'ang. Therefore, he set about to organize a group of young talented noblemen who were exceedingly loyal to the thrown and could be extensively trained in all forms of warfare and then successfully go into battle against Koguryo, Paekche, and the Chinese T'ang dynasty. The problem was, however, how to secure and evaluate aristocratic men of this caliber.

It was believed that if young men could be gathered into groups and taught the higher levels of Buddhism, honor, and the arts, the exceptionally talented ones among them would over shadow the rest.

King Chin Hung's next method was to choose handsome male youths of Nobel birth. The age of these boys was as young as twelve years old. These men were then dressed in the finest clothing and their faces were attractively painted with elaborate make-up. They were extensively instructed in Buddhism, poetry, and song. It was believed, those who fared well in these activities had the grace to become competent warriors. Thus, a certain amount of them were recommended to the Court of Hwa Rang.

These chosen men, now referred to as Hwa Rang, were trained in all forms of martial combat, as well as continuing their studies in Buddhism, Ki science, and the arts. The martial art instruction program of the Hwa Rang warriors included, developing their bodies by climbing rugged mountain and swimming in turbulent rivers during the coldest months of the year. They trained in all forms of known hand-to-hand combat. The primary system of which was named Su Bak. The Hwa Rang were additionally taught to use weapons unyieldingly. They were trained with the sword, the staff, the hook, the spear, and the bow and arrow.

Su Bak Gi

The Hwa Rang are believed to have invented the martial art system of foot fighting named, Su Bak Gi. It is believed this new dimension to combat was added by the Hwa Rang due to the extensive mountain running endurance training they practiced. As their leg muscles were developed to exceptional levels, they began to incorporate formalized kicking techniques into their overall system of hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, Su Bak Gi is believed to be the source point for the advanced kicking arsenal the Korean martial arts possess.

The Hwa Rang were guided by a code of ethics laid down by the eminent Buddhist monk, Wong Wang.

Code of the Hwa Rang:

1. Serve the king with loyalty.

2. Be obedient to your parents.

3. Be honorable to a friend.

4. Never retreat in Battle.

5. Kill justly.

A Hwa Rang troupe was generally composed of several hundred men. The group was led by a Hwa Rang warrior of noble birth and several Buddhist monks. The Hwa Rang leaders, after completing their training, would go out into the countryside and organize men at the village and clan level. They would then instruct them in Buddhist philosophy and teach them the martial arts. From here, these men would be lead into battle - willing to lay down their life for the kingdom of Silla. From these battles came the unification of Korea.

After the unification of Korea, and the defeating of the T'ang Dynasty, the mind of the Korean peoples rapidly began to shift from confrontations to more philosophic thoughts. The Hwa Rang fell into decline by the end of the 7th century, until they became virtually nonexistent. They became known more as a group specializing in healing, Buddhist philosophy, and poetry than a warrior troupe.

Su Bak

Su Bak is the first documented martial art system to have existed on the Korean Peninsula. Dating its origination relies predominantly upon legend, however. Korean historians often place its inception during the legendary rule of King Tan'gun, (2333 B.C.E.). There is, however, no historical data to prove this time frame. There are historic records of Su Bak's existence in the 4th century C.E., however. Paintings in the Kak Je Tomb, geographically located in ancient Koguryo, depict two Su Bak practitioners sparring. It is difficult to decipher what actual fighting techniques Su Bak employed, however, as the tomb paintings are vague.

During the late Three Kingdom Period, Su Bak became fragmented and differing schools of martial arts came into existence.

Yu Sul

During this period of fragmentation, a new system of Korean martial arts was formed. It was named, Yu Sul. Yu Sul was a softer grappling art, which is historians believed to be the influence which began the Japanese system of Jujitsu.

With the birth of Yu Sul there became two very different schools of martial thought on the Korean Peninsula. They were the hard, straight forward attacking methods of Su Bak - which possesses predominantly striking techniques and the softer, manipulative defenses of Yu Sul.

Tae Kyon

During this time frame Su Bak became known as Tae Kyon. Tae Kyon was written in the Chinese characters for, "Push Shoulder." The Hwa Rang warriors obviously embraced this martial art form and, as mentioned, created their own addition to it, known as Su Bak Gi or foot fighting.

Tae Kyon was born at a time when martial arts, on the now unified Korean Peninsula, went into a rapid decline. As peace came to the Korean Peninsula, there became little use for the practice of martial arts among the average individual.

The martial art system of Yu Sul declined and vanished from the Korean Peninsula almost as fast as it had developed. By the end of the 7th century there existed no sign of it. Tae Kyon, therefore, survived as the only fighting system with a link to the ancient Hwa Rang.

Upon the unification of the three kingdom, The Silla Dynasty (688-935 C.E.) came into control. This was a highly centralized Buddhist state, where arts and not warfare flourished.

The Silla Dynasty fell in 935 C.E. The Kingdom was overthrown by a rebel government, which became the Koryo Dynasty (935-1392). Though internal warfare took place in Korea, during this change in power, the average citizen was not touched by it and the countries philosophic outlook continued to grow.

In 1170, a military coup seized control of the country and by the end of the 12th century, Cho a military family, ruled Korea and suppressed the Buddhism ideals held by its civilians.

The Mongols from China began to invade the Northern outreaches of the Korean Peninsula in 1231. The Cho leadership sent the majority of its armies to fight these Northern battles. They were soon defeated by the sheer numbers of Mongolian troops. In 1258 the Cho regime was deposed and the Koryo government return to control under the guidance of the Mongols.

Though this period saw internal strife in Korea, the thoughts of the people were on philosophy and the arts, not on politics. The average citizen felt hand-to-hand combat was barbaric. Martial art practitioners were looked down upon in all regions of Korea. In fact, King Chung Mok (1344-1348) outlawed the practice of Tae Kyon by civilians, altogether.

A revolt against Mongolian rule erupted in 1356, which brought another period of disorder to the Korean Peninsula. After years of internal guerrilla warfare, the Koryo Dynasty was over thrown and the Yi Dynasty (1392-1909), who swore allegiance to the Ming Dynasty of China.

The Yi Dynasty rejected Buddhism and embraced Confucianism as the national religion. A well functioning Confucian bureaucracy came into existence, which brought about an orderly social structure and rapid educational development to Korea.

From the Yi Dynasty came the written Hangul language, composed by King Sejong (1418-1450). This is considered one of the greatest events of Korean history - as the Hangul language was the first indigenous Asian language to be independently developed and written with its own phonetic script.

Throughout the Yi Dynasty, cultural interactions between China, Japan, and Korea increased. Martial art ideologies also came to be exchanged on a limited level. Various schools of Kung Fu from China and Karate from Japan existed in a tenuous manner in Korea during this dynasty. Tae Kyon, though obviously receiving some influences from these systems, maintained itself as a highly aggressive system of self defense - predominantly utilizing assertive punching and kicking techniques. Though not practiced by the average civilian, Tae Kyon was the standard of the hand-to-hand combat for the Korean military. Through this arena, it was passed down from ancient to modern times.

As Korea entered the twentieth century, they were plagued by expansionist activity at the hands of Japanese. The Yi Dynasty, which was considered Korea's, "Age of Enlightenment," came to an end in 1909 when Japan occupied the country. Thus, the transmission and advancement of Tae Kyon ended.