The lost korean arts - What are they?

[SifuGraff]

Question

 

Does anyone know of any martial arts that were not deleted from record before the japaness occupation in the thirtys.

 

[DLopez]

If you believe the Japanese version of Korean history, then no ancient Korean MA techniques survived the Japanese occupation, and all Korean martial arts are Japanese ripoffs, whether they resemble Japanese styles or not.

 

If you believe the Korean version of Korean history, then many ancient techniques were safeguarded from being lost in Buddhist temples and were taught and kept alive in total secrecy from the Japanese occupiers.

 

Check out Kuk Sool Won if you want an idea of what just a few of these traditional Korean techniques looked like.

[SifuGraff]

Kool I will

 

I'm sure there are many other styles too but the only style that look Japenese is TKD.

 

The forms in shotokan and TKD are so alike it's not even funny.

 

but you can see in TKD were The koreans modified the style to be there own.

[John G]

SifuGraff,

 

Korea has regionally always been the meat in the sandwich, with Europe to the north, China to its west, Japan to its south and the U.S.A to its east.

 

My limited knowledge of Korean history has led me to believe that depending on who had what, Korea would play one nation off against the next for its own gain.

 

Korea’s continual allegiance changes also brought about changes to her religious, theological and political systems. This fence sitting approach ultimately led to Korea’s own demise.

 

Prior to Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910 (thanks to the U.S.A. and Britain re: Portsmouth, Treaty 1905), Korea was a protectorate of China aligned both politically and theologically.

 

My point is, that given Korea’s religious, ideological, theological and political changes over the past 1500 years. Her constantly changing borders and diverse terrain (i.e. mountainous to the north), you would be hard pressed to find any commercially available “original martial art” in that part of the world, as they have all borrowed from each other.

 

 

 

I have no problems training and teaching ITF TKD knowing full well that it was borowed and modified from the Japanese, who borrowed and modified it from the Okinawa’s, who borrowed and modified it from the Chinese, who borrowed and modified it from India, who borrowed and modified it…….

 

I’m sure if you look hard enough, someone will sell you an “Original Korean martial art “ untouched by the ravages of time or cultural exchange. Or maybe it could be found in that hidden Buddhist temple located somewhere on the Myohyangsan mountain ranges (Opp’s can’t go there, that’s in North Korea, part of the axis of evil and all).

 

Respectfully,

[battousai16]

^pretty much what he said^

 

in my supposedly pure korean style, you can see a lot of chinese, japanese, and thai influences in particular. you'd be hard pressed to find anything ultra korean.

[Sam]

Korena martial arts developed over 20 centuries ago. The earliest records of its practice date back to 50BC where tomb paintings show men in fighting stances practising forms known as Taek Kyon.

 

It is believed that the origins of Taek Kyon date even further back and originated as self-defence against wild animals whose defensive and offensive movements were also the subject of much analysis. Taek Kyon, at the time was only one style of fighting. Others had names such as Subak, Tak Kyon and so on.

 

By 57 BC Korea had three kingdoms (Koguryo, Paekje and Silla) and, with a certain degree of inevitability, a strong rivalry amongst them led to the focus on the development of very effective fighting techniques.

 

History, repeatedly, has shown that it is the victor who writes the script and this case was no exception. Silla won its wars against its two rivals and in 668 AD it unified the three kingdoms. Instrumental in its victory were the Hwa Rang Do, an elite group of young men who were devoted to cultivating their bodies and minds and serving the kingdom.

 

Hwa Rang Do, quite literally, means flowering youth (Hwa=flower, Rang=young man) and the young noblemen of the Hwa Rang Do practised various forms of martial arts. The Hwa Rang Do also developed an honour code and it is this which today forms the philosophical background of Tae Kwon Do.

 

In 936AD the Silla dynasty came to an end and with it the kingdom. In its place, Wang Kon founded the Koryo dynasty. Koryo is an abbreviation of Koguryo which Wang Kon sought to revive. The modern name Korea is derived directly from the word Koryo.

 

It was during the Koryo that a new sport was given form. It was called Soo Bakh Do and it was used, principally, as a military training method. Drawing from the many different forms of martial arts which had preceded it Soo Bakh Do used bare hands and feet as a weapon and its intensity was such that it was seen as a very good way of maintaining one's strength and overall fitness. As a result its popularity spread throughout the kingdom of Koryo.

 

This was the precursor to modern day Tae Kwon Do. Despite its effectiveness as a means of training for warfare however and its popularity with the peasants in the fields by 1492 it had almost disappeared.

 

What happened was that King Taejo, founder of the Yi dynasty, replaced Buddhism with Confucianism as the state religion. The teachings of Confucius, imported from the refined, rarefied culture of China, dictated that the higher class of man should read poetry and music and the practice of martial arts should be something left to the less refined, even inferior, man.

 

The Yi dynasty lasted from 1392 to 1910 and during that time the practice of martial arts and the code of honour of the Hwa Rang remained alive in isolated, stubbornly traditional cultural backwaters of Korea.

 

In 1910 however Korea was invaded by Japan who dominated it until the end of World War II. The Japanese tried to erase all of the Korean culture including its martial arts. As is usual with such situations this brought a stubborn resurgence in the practice of martial arts which now, once more, had a very practical role to play against an invader who strictly controlled the supply of weapons.

 

Along with occupation, the Japanese also brought karate with them and indeed the quick, straight-line movements which characterise many Tae Kwon Do moves today are a direct result of the legacy left behind by the Japanese army of occupation.

 

After the end of World War II, when Korea became independent, several Kwans, or fighting styles, arose. These were: Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Yun Moo Kwan, Chang Moo Kwan, Oh Do Kwan, Ji Do Kwan, Chi Do Kwan and Song Moo Kwan. All these Kwans were united in 1955 under the name of Tae Soo Do.

 

Korea's struggle to re-discover its identity and many traditions was, with some degree of inevitability, reflected in the subsequent development of its martial arts movement and by the beginning of 1957 several Korean martial arts masters had adopted the name Tae Kwon Do for their form of martial arts, because of its similarity to Tae Kyon.

 

The very first Tae Kwon Do students were soldiers because General Choi Hong-Hi, who is credited as the father of modern Tae Kwon Do, required his soldiers to train in it.

 

The police and air force had to train in Tae Kwon Do as well. At the time Tae Kwon Do was still very heavily under the influence of Japanese karate and, indeed, many of its moves and style bore a very close resemblance to Shotokan Karate. In 1961, however, the Korean Tae Kwon Do Union arose from the Soo Bakh Do Association and the Tae Soo Do Association. In 1962 the Korean Amateur Sports Association acknowledged the Korean Tae Kwon Do Union and in 1965 the name was set to Korean Tae Kwon Do Association (KTA).

[doubletwist]

Question

 

Does anyone know of any martial arts that were not deleted from record before the japaness occupation in the thirtys.

 

 

Well if we knew them, they wouldn't be 'lost' now, would they?

[rmclain]

A few notes to Sam's post:

 

The Japanese wouldn't allow Koreans to practice karate in Korea during the occupation. They felt it would contribute to an uprising from the Koreans. Instead Koreans were allowed to practice judo and sometimes kendo.

 

The Tae Soo Do was established in 1961 under the Korean Amateur Athletic Association.

 

R. McLain

[Sam]

to clarify the notes - tae soo do - 1955 first major school set up officially using this name.

 

I didnt say they let them practice karate... i dont think.

 

Any other corrections are appreciated.