A History of Korean Martial Arts

[Basho]

Here it is, as promised. I hope it proves informative. Enjoy!

It is a widely accepted and credible theory that martial arts as a whole originated not in one place, but all over the world as early peoples realized the need for them. Knowing this, the development of martial arts can be divided into four stages of refinement. The first is the stage of instinctive action, when man responded to threats as his survival instincts compelled him. The second is the stage of conscious action, when man began to do combat as a preconcieved action. The third is that of systemization, when the martial arts were organized into a specific method; this is the period when fighting begins to resemble a modern martial art. The fourth stage is fighting's practice as an art, with such aspects as forms, codes of conduct, stylized attack and defense, and integration with philosophy.

In the era of the three kingdoms Silla, Koguryo and Paekche, which we may call the beginning of modern Korean martial arts, martial arts had already reached their third stage of development: systemization. Over the course of time, the three kingdoms waged war on one another in an attempt to seize control of the Korean Peninsula. It was during this series of wars that a group of young aristocrats realized the need to develop a martial art as an effective self defense against the more powerful kingdoms of Koguryo and Paekche. These young warriors adopted the native Korean fighting system Soo Bahk Ki (foot and body fighting) and began to develop it into its fourth stage. They called the martial art they practiced Soo Bahk Do. The Hwa Rang Dan, as they called themselves, practiced Soo Bahk Do relentlessly and committed themselves to a code of honor that was created by the monk Won Kwang. This code of honor consisted in five tenements, the same code that is still used in Tang Soo Do today. These were:

1.Loyalty to country
2.Obedience to parents
3.Honor friendship
4.No retreat in battle
5.In fighting choose with sense and honor

In the year 668 A.D., Silla conquered its neighbors, uniting the Korean peninsula until the rise of the Koryo (from which the contemporary name Korea is derived) in 935 A.D. The martial arts flourished under the flag of the Koryo dynasty, as the Koryo dynasty was much inclined to the practice of war; systems of fighting were developed for a plethora of weapons, while on horseback, and the art of Soo Bahk Do became very advanced. During the era of the Koryo dynasty, Soo Bahk Do, weapons fighting, and horseback fighting came to be known collectively as Tae Kyun. Though the martial arts underwent a boon during the Koryo dynasty, this popularity was sadly not to last. In the year 1392 A.D., Koryo fell to the Yi dynasty.

The Yi dynasty experienced a period of peace during which the martial arts fell out of favor as more emphasis was put on literature and learning and a gradual civil enlightenment took place. Tae Kyun came to be shunned, and the scope of its practitioners became limited to the young. Finally, the martial arts came close to being abandoned altogether except for a select few who continued its practiced and passed along its knowledge. After several unsuccessful invasions by foreign armies, the Yi king at that time recognized that it was time for the martial arts to be revived as a necessity for defending themselves against invaders; he commissioned the publication of a book outlining the farthest reaches of Korean martial arts and describing their application. This was a landmark moment in the history of martial arts, as it ensured the immortality of the Korean martial arts. This book, published in four volumes, would become the basis for the revival of the martial arts after Japanese occupation by Hwang Kee, the founder of Moo Duk Kwan and later a Tang Soo Do school. It was called Muye Dobo Tongji.

After the publication of the Muye Dobo Tongji, martial arts would remain prevalent in Korea until the beginning of World War II.

--This is mainly a brief introduction to Korean martial arts in general. I intend to follow this up with an essay about the birth of modern Tang Soo Do and the formation of the WTSDA (world tang soo do association)--

[Theforgotten]

Nice article! A few points to clarify:

- The code was actually a common Buddhist prescription for everyday living. Everybody from the highest official to the lowest peasant was expected to follow this. It wasn't a special code created for a warrior class.

- Hmm, Su Bahk Do. Why would a native Korean art use a Japanese suffix (Do)? (Do) is not a Korean word, it is a Japanese word. Korean martial words were Muye and Musul, etc. This is a red flag.

- According to the Chae Mulbo, Taekkyun didn't exist until the 1800's, and it was strictly a folk game, not a martial art whatsoever.

- Muye Dobo Tongji is actually a word-for-word and picture-for-picture translation of a much older manual written by a Chinese general 250 years earlier. It's contents are mostly Chinese systems such as Long Fist.

- Please provide reliable references for all of your information. Lord knows that there is a lot of nationalist crud and outright myths out there that passes for history in the KMA.

I like your writing style, though. I look forward to reading more of your work .

[TKD&JKD]

Originally Posted by Theforgotten

- Hmm, Su Bahk Do. Why would a native Korean art use a Japanese suffix (Do)? (Do) is not a Korean word, it is a Japanese word. Korean martial words were Muye and Musul, etc. This is a red flag.

Why do so many different Korean Arts use the term Do? It means art or way of life, or so I'm told. Are you sure it is not a Korean word?

Tang Soo Do
Taekwondo
Hapkido
Su Bahk Do
Hwa Rang Do
Kumdo

I don't deny that there is a lot of Japanese and Chinese influence in KMA.

I need some help from Joanor or someone who can speak Korean here.

[Theforgotten]

Originally Posted by TKD&JKD

Why do so many different Korean Arts use the term Do? It means art or way of life, or so I'm told. Are you sure it is not a Korean word?

Tang Soo Do
Taekwon Do
Hapki Do
Su Bahk Do
Hwa Rang Do
Kum Do

I don't deny that there is a lot of Japanese and Chinese influence in KMA.

I need some help from Joanor or someone who can speak Korean here.

Yes, I am sure that it is not a Korean word. Prior to the Japanese occupation, the word "Do" does not appear anywhere in Korean literature and definitely not in the martial arts. There are Korean equivalents for the word "Do", but the word itself is not Korean. It is an instance of a foreign word being borrowed and becoming prominent within the language over time.

Tang Soo Do
Taekwondo
Hapkido
Su Bahk Do
Hwa Rang Do
Kumdo

All modern arts based on Japanese arts such as Karate, Kendo, Aikido, Judo, etc. and Chinese arts. Indigenous Korean arts would not use "Do", but instead use the proper Korean Muye, Musul, etc. Why do so many Korean arts use the term Do? A Japanese word got absorbed into the Korean language, or it is a holdover from the occupation.

Oh yeah, and Su Bahk Ki is an alternate spelling for Sippalgi, which is the Korean term for Kung Fu, or what we in the west call Kung Fu.

[Shinobi_Kokujin]

good post. but usually when KMA history comes up. indigneous styles get left out like Ssireum which is one of the oldest, partly due to wrestling wherever you from being one of the oldest martial arts, so most cultures

will have some variation of wrestling.

for taekkyon, i go with the date of it being practiced during at least the early kingdoms like what the Malmono states that was written in 1790

[nascarmike71]

Originally Posted by Shinobi_Kokujin

good post. but usually when KMA history comes up. indigneous styles get left out like Ssireum which is one of the oldest, partly due to wrestling wherever you from being one of the oldest martial arts, so most cultures

will have some variation of wrestling.

for taekkyon, i go with the date of it being practiced during at least the early kingdoms like what the Malmono states that was written in 1790

That was my understanding as well.

[TKD&JKD]

Originally Posted by Theforgotten

Yes, I am sure that it is not a Korean word. Prior to the Japanese occupation, the word "Do" does not appear anywhere in Korean literature and definitely not in the martial arts. There are Korean equivalents for the word "Do", but the word itself is not Korean. It is an instance of a foreign word being borrowed and becoming prominent within the language over time.

Tang Soo Do
Taekwondo
Hapkido
Su Bahk Do
Hwa Rang Do
Kumdo

All modern arts based on Japanese arts such as Karate, Kendo, Aikido, Judo, etc. and Chinese arts. Indigenous Korean arts would not use "Do", but instead use the proper Korean Muye, Musul, etc. Why do so many Korean arts use the term Do? A Japanese word got absorbed into the Korean language, or it is a holdover from the occupation.

Oh yeah, and Su Bahk Ki is an alternate spelling for Sippalgi, which is the Korean term for Kung Fu, or what we in the west call Kung Fu.

How do you know so much about this stuff?

[Theforgotten]

Originally Posted by TKD&JKD

How do you know so much about this stuff?

I've done extensive research and have lots of sources to back it up. I have also had long discussions with others who are even more well-versed on the subjects than myself. Why? Well, when I first started out in KMA, I bought into the "stories" like so many others, however, the more I began to investigate out of pure curiosity, the more that things just didn't add up. I was deeply offended that I would be lied to because of one nation's inferiority complex, and I was even more offended that so many honest people who just wanted to train would be lied to, as well. I love learning about KMA history, real KMA history. I have also noticed that others love to learn about it too, so I put it out there whenever I can. Not to be disrespectful, but to bring more awareness to it and to show that what gets presented as the official story of any art is not always the true story behind it.

[Theforgotten]

Originally Posted by Shinobi_Kokujin

good post. but usually when KMA history comes up. indigneous styles get left out like Ssireum which is one of the oldest, partly due to wrestling wherever you from being one of the oldest martial arts, so most cultures

will have some variation of wrestling.

for taekkyon, i go with the date of it being practiced during at least the early kingdoms like what the Malmono states that was written in 1790

Yes, Ssireum is an excellent example of an indigenous style. Taekkyun, according to old Korean texts such as the Chae Mulbo and even the Samguks, was never a martial art, but a folk game played with the feet and used for festivals and gambling. Song Duk Ki and Lee Young Bok concur, as well. Who knows, perhaps it really was used for martial purposes in some instances, but I can't operate by pure conjecture alone and treat it as fact, as that would be academically dishonest. Looking back at those sources, and even taking the Muye Dobo Tongji into account, the Korean warriors of old primarily used weapons (as did all warriors past and present), and the empty hand arts were, for the most part, forms of entertainment (with the exception being the Shippalgi/Su Bahk Ki/Long Fist Chaun Fa shown in the MDT).

[Shinobi_Kokujin]

i was lied to sometimes when i started training in KMA as a kid but over the years been coming across alot of masters and grandmasters who are not like that.

ive never met a master or grandmaster in Korea that tells myths when discussing or asking questions about KMA they tell it like it is with no BS.

[Theforgotten]

True, not all, but a large number. If you are being told that what you practice has a 2000 year history, then you have been lied to. If you are told that one of the modern KMA has links to the Three Kingdoms, then you have been lied to. It goes on and on, but I am in a rush, so I'll stop at those two. A lot of stories have been made up and are treated as gospel truth within the KMA. The SK government has also had its hand in it directly.

[Shinobi_Kokujin]

yeah, havent been told any of those, when i was younger yeah, but now havent come across any that do.

while taekkyon started out as a folk game, even though u have folk games its still some form of martial art cause your doing some kind of fighting however gamish it may be.

and for people to be placing serious bets on it like gambling away thier wives and it getting to the point of being banned it mustve been a hell of a game to have developed to being the only art accepted

as an intangible cultural asset

[Theforgotten]

That's cool. It seems that more and more the truth is coming out. Those stories are still told in a lot of Dojangs and in a lot of TKD books that are written by people who should know better, but I suspect that national/political forces have something to do with that. Taekkyun is indeed a national treasure, and Song Duk Ki was also given national treasure status by the SK government for having presented it and preserved it. SDK and Taekkyun were given national treasure status due to the fact that at a time when SK was trying to reestablish Korean cultural identity, SDK and his knowledge of Taekkyun were literally a godsend after so many years of Japanese colonial rule and forced practice of all things Japanese. His demonstration before the president was a very important step in recovering and preserving Korean culture and identity. It is not so much because it was devastating, but more because it was uniquely Korean, and most of what was in Korea at the time was Japanese.

[TKD&JKD]

My Master is not Korean, He is Cloumbian. He told me the truth that TKD was very close to Karate and is based on Karate. Even though it is based on Karate it is unique, its own Korean Flavor with different beliefs.

[TKD&JKD]

Originally Posted by Theforgotten

I've done extensive research and have lots of sources to back it up. I have also had long discussions with others who are even more well-versed on the subjects than myself. Why? Well, when I first started out in KMA, I bought into the "stories" like so many others, however, the more I began to investigate out of pure curiosity, the more that things just didn't add up. I was deeply offended that I would be lied to because of one nation's inferiority complex, and I was even more offended that so many honest people who just wanted to train would be lied to, as well. I love learning about KMA history, real KMA history. I have also noticed that others love to learn about it too, so I put it out there whenever I can. Not to be disrespectful, but to bring more awareness to it and to show that what gets presented as the official story of any art is not always the true story behind it.

+1rep for getting knowlege. I respect anyone who is willing to further their martial knowledge on their own.