ANCIENT HISTORY

Ancient murals and statues have shown that taekyon, the ancient Korean art of foot-fighting existed as far back as the 1st. century B.C. Historical evidence in the form of pictures and statues showed the existence of a form of fighting in Korea, resembling the legendary taekyon. Mural paintings at Kak-je tomb, during the 10th. King of Koguryo, shows sparring similar to contestants performing the jumping kicks of taekwon-do. Other than statues and murals; there was no documentation to substantiate the existence until the 7th. century when there was evidence of the existence of the division of Korea into 3 kingdoms. Writings by Korean historians indicated that during the; 5th. century A. D. ancient Korea was divided into three kingdoms - Silla, Koguryo and Baek Je. Silla, the smallest of the 3 kingdoms was constantly under the invasion of the other 2 bigger kingdoms. During the 37th year of his reign Chin Heung, the 24th. King of Silla organised the young warriors of Silla and formed the Hwarang do to resist the attacks of Koguryo and Baek Je. This movement is the equivalent to the samurai of Japan. These young aristocrats trained themselves mentally and physically and thus the emergence of a formal form of Taekyon , also known by another name - Soo Bak Gi. There were some records of the existence of Soo Bak Gi.

Korean historian Dr. Danjae Shin Chae Ho described the contests of the art of Soo Bak Gi or Taekyon- the ancient art of foot-fighting during the mid autumn festivals in Korea during the Koguryo Dynasty ( A.D. 500 ). In another study Dr. An Ja San corraborated the study, further stating that the Yoo Sul School of martial arts was known as Soo Bak Gi ( Taekyon ) in his book on ancient Korea. Historical documents documented that the third king of the Yi Dynasty ( 1401-1408 A.D.) recruited experts in Soo Bak Gi and sirum ( Korean style of wrestling ) in his army. According to Mr. Song Duk Ki - a veteran of taekyon, by the end of the Yi dynasty ( 1393 - 1910 ), the art of taekyon has developed. After the Yi Dynasty, during the Japanese occupation various martial arts were introduced into Korea from Japan and China , enabaling the merging of taekyon with these arts, thus the emergence of Tang Soo, Kong Soo, Kwon Po and Tae Soo which are fore-runners of modern taekwon-do.