Taekwondo

The meaning of each belt color, and/or geup (grade) equivalent will vary slightly from school to school, and between major organizations. The belt colors are merely visible indications of the students grade level, and progress toward the Black Belt. The colors may differ between schools, but typically begin with the white belt, and become darker in color with each increment closer to the Black Belt. In general terms, the yellow belt is a beginner rank, usually the first level of promotion.

A student of Taekwondo usually wears the white belt upon joining a Taekwondo school, and is not required to pass any test to do so. The first test is designed to determine if the student understands the introductory information of classroom procedures, customs and courtesies of Taekwondo, as well as the basic stances, blocks, punches, and a few kicks. This first level of promotion is often given a high number such as 9th or 8th grade- marked by a yellow belt, and the subsequent promotions go down in number as the student goes up in rank until reaching the highest color belt level of Il geup, or 1st grade.

Sometimes, a philosophical significance is given to the color of the belts to reflect some sort of common experience in nature that would compare to the growth and development of the student along the way. The White Belt is usually compared with the purity of snow, and an innocence or lack of knowledge about Taekwondo. The Yellow Belt is then likened to the seed that rests in the ground deep beneath the snow, and begins to sprout and grow to the surface in the spring. This is the initial phase of the student who has just been awakened to the world of Taekwondo, and is beginning to embark on their journey. They are just starting to grow as a Martial Artist.

Specific wording of the "meaning" of the yellow belt might vary within each school, and it might also be important for the student to grasp the concept well enough to describe the significance of the belts as well as memorizing an official quote offered by the instructor.

The yellow belt represent a students progress toward black belt. It represents a certain level of skill or a certain set of skills. Each school sets its own curriculum, so two students from different school with a yellow belt might not know all the same kicks, blocks or forms.

Poetically, the yellow belt represents the earth from which taekwondo skills sprout and takes root.

The color yellow is commonly used as the 2nd belt of a 9 grade system of geup (color belts) before reaching the 1st Degree Black Belt. In most cases, a brand new student wears a dobok (training uniform) with a white Di (belt), and the only requirement for this belt is to make the decision and commitment to start taekwondo training. The yellow belt then represents the first promotion, after having learned the very basic information of classroom procedures, customs, courtesies, and rudimentary skills. When assigned a philosophical analogy, the white belt is sometimes said to represent innocence, or the purity of snow, having no knowledge of Taekwondo. The yellow is the seed that rests beneath the snow in the winter, and once the snow melts in the spring, the seed begins to grow toward the surface.

The International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) has established five tenants of taekwondo:

• Courtesy - excellence of manners or social conduct; polite behavior
• Integrity - excellence of manners or social conduct; polite behavior
• Perseverance - steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose or a state especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles or discouragement
• Self-control - control or restraint of oneself or one's actions or feelings
• Indomitable spirit - that cannot be subdued or overcome, as persons, will, or courage; unconquerable

Ki Whang Kim (aka Kim Ki Whang) was a grandmaster in Korean martial arts. He was for a long time the Chairman in the US of the Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Association. He is well known in the history of the unification of several Korean martial arts into the overall style known as taekwondo.

Just to add: Ki Whang Kim trained directly under Toyama Kanken. He was drafted into the Japanese military after high school and went to Nihon University in Japan. He also train with Gozo Shioda in Yoshikan Aikido and while stationed in China he trained in Kung-Fu. He came to the USA in 1963 and began teaching Moo Duk Kwan at the YMCA in downtown Washington DC. Ki Whang Kim joined the Taekwondo movement and was recognized as a 9th Dan in 1971 by the Korean Taekwondo Association. Grandmaster Ki Whang Kim produced some of Americas best martial arts fighters and forms competitors including Albert Cheeks, George Thanos, Mike Warren, Marcella Byrd, John Critzos, Mitchell Barbrow, Kyu Sang Whang, Bernard Floyd, James Roberts Jr, Tom Mickens...etc. The students of Ki Whang Kim have the most listed wins at Henry Cho's All American Open.-Hercules Baxter

Short Answer: The closest related systems to modern Taekwondo include Tae Kkeyon (ancient Korean "Kicking method"), Subak (hand striking and grappling), Hwarang (warrior training and code of ethics), Tangsudo (hand strikes of the Chinese T'ang Dynasty migrated directly into Korea), and the notable influence of Japanese Shotokan Karate-do, as well as Aikido (redesigned in Korea as Hapkido, and in some aspects blended into Taekwondo), and Judo (redesigned in Korea as Yudo).

Detailed Answer: A Martial Art is a culmination of technical skills, tactical strategies, and teaching methods combined with philosophical and cultural practices to make each system unique and different in some ways, and similar in others. Taekwondo is a Korean Martial art that was created by Koreans over a period of several thousand years, and given a new name in 1955. The early techniques, tactics, and cultural identities are unique to the Korean people, and did not fade away during the well-known occupation and annexation of Korea by Japan during WWII.

The earliest inhabitants to establish a Kingdom on the Korean peninsula migrated from regions of China, and brought with them fighting skills that were comparable with warrior training in the Chinese Kingdoms. The Korean people became relatively isolated, and developed a unique culture, society, language and traditions. Their Martial Art skills ranged from common practice of grappling and hand strikes, to an unprecedented tactic of using kicks as a primary weapon of self defense ("Tae Kkyeon"). These early training methods were not codified Martial Art curricula as we are familiar with today, but were nevertheless practiced among villagers, and taught to young soldiers (Hwarang Knights) in preparation of a life of service in the military, or as leaders of society. These skills were combined with a code of conduct. This code was adopted by modern Taekwondo masters as the tenets by which all Taekwondo students are instructed to adhere to in their daily lives.

While Taekwondo's development was influenced from many sources, one notable contribution came from the practice of pre-arranged forms (Kata/Tul/Poomsae), borrowed from Japanese "Karate-do." This one tool of training was found to be useful, but needed much renovation in order to compliment and conform to the techniques and tactics unique to Taekwondo. The forms do not define the art, nor pinpoint the entire art's origin, but the borrowing of the concept is undeniable, since Korean Martial Art did not utilize this practice prior to the Japanese occupation.

However, the entirety of the art is primarily focused on skills, tactics, and philosophy that is documented as part of Korea's long history, and was revived, and restructured into the new national Martial Art of Korea that was named "Taekwondo" on April 11, 1955, organized into the KTA (Korea Taekwondo Association) in 1961, and founded in the national academy, and World Headquarters of the Kukkiwon in 1972.
- Subak

- Tae Kkyeon

- Hwarang (original philosophies and code of the Hwarang Knights)

- Hapkido

- Shotokan Karate

- Tangsudo (Tang soo do)

- Taesudo (Tae soo do)

Previous native Korean martial art systems were the long standing roots that contributed to the formation of Taekwondo in the 1940's. These include the ancient Korean Subak, Tae Kkyeon (Korean Kicking), Hwarang, and the more modern adaptations of Hapkido, Tangsudo (Tang Soo Do), with influences from Yudo (via Judo), and Japanese karate-do from Okinawan Karate which blended Okinawa te (hand) with Chinese Karate (T'ang hand).

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art. The one most closely related is Tae Kkyeon, which is the ancient method of kicking developed in Korea prior to the Japanese occupation of Korea during WWII. Also, closely related is the ancient Korean art of Subak where both striking and grappling were applied. Another one is the Hwarang training of the 7th century Korean youth, which is the basis for Taekwondo's character development, moral and ethical tenets. The Chinese hand fighting was another influence on the founders of Korea who taught the Korean version as Tangsudo (aka: Tang Soo Do).

During the Japanese occupation young men who had been had been exposed to Subak and Tae Kkyeon began to pursue the only structured Martial Art available to them at that time. Japanese Judo schools were modified to form Korean Yudo; Aikido was redesigned to make Korean Hapkido, and several of the pioneers of Taekwondo had also become Black Belt instructors of Karate-do under renowned master Gichen Funakoshi in Japan.

After WWII, the Korean Martial Art was revived, restructured, and renamed as Taekwondo in 1955. The early curriculum borrowed the concept of Karate Kata (forms) as a training tool, making some changes initially, then later completely redesigning the content of forms as "poomsae" to fit the techniques and tactics of Taekwondo. Many early Korean Martial Art schools debated on what term to use, and the phrase "Korean Karate" was often applied because the general public understood the meaning, but it was more of a generic term for all Asian self defense, then to specifically denote Japanese Karate.

Both Taekwondo and Karate are primarily striking methods, that teach balance, footwork in sparring, hand strikes and kicks, so there appears to be a great deal of similarity on the surface, but within the core content, they are drastically different since much of the power is generated differently, and Taekwondo places the primary emphasis on using the legs as the primary weapon. Also, Taekwondo expands to include a balance of striking, throwing, and grappling skills through Hoshinsul (self defense), Hapkido, and Yudo all under the umbrella title of Taekwondo.
Karate is the martial art most related to taekwondo
karate
Muay Thai

karate

Due to a controversial debate among experts, it might be difficult to identify or agree upon what was the first school, student, or master of Taekwondo. With a broad definition of exactly what Taekwondo is, and who is responsible for its origins, it is nearly impossible to say what constituted the first school, and its members.

While there are many influences of native Korean tradition and fighting tactics in modern Taekwondo, the culmination and restructuring of Korean Martial Art into what was labeled as Taekwondo in 1955 began from the unification of various Kwans (schools) that were operating in Korea between 1945, and 1955. Many of the founders of the original Kwans were students of Japanese Martial and Chinese Martial Art systems during the Japanese occupation of WWII.

The first official Kwan that was the forerunner for several of the later annex Kwans was the Chung Do Kwan ("School of the Blue Wave"), established in 1944 by Korean college professor Won Kuk Lee. The Chung Do Kwan became the largest civilian Kwan in Korea. The instructors of the Chung Do Kwan trained the Korean Police officers, and its Black Belt members became the President's secret service body guards at the Blue House (Presidential House). The military Kwan, Oh Do Kwan, that taught the soldiers of Korea was started by a few graduates of the Chung Do Kwan.

Some key figures important in the organization and development of Taekwondo as a modern Korean Martial Art included the first generation graduates of the Chung Do Kwan:

Duk Sung Son (3rd Kwanjang of the Chung Do Kwan - Founder of World Taekwondo Association)

Suh Chong Kang (Founder of Kyu Mu Kwan - Co-founder and 1st President of ATA: American Taekwondo Association)

Woon Kyu Uhm (current Chung Do Kwan Kwanjang and Kukkiwon President)

Later Graduates of the Chung Do Kwan include:

Hae Man Park (Vice President, Taekwondo Chung Do Kwan)

Hyun Ok Shin (President, United Chung Do Kwan Association)

Tae Zee Park (President, Tae Park Taekwondo)

In Mook Kim (President, American ChungDoKwan Taekwondo Association)

Edward B. Sell (Founder, United States Chung Do Kwan Association in 1967)

Jhoon Rhee (First permanent Tae Kwon Do Instructor in America)

There are those who argue that Hong-Hi Choi, who eventually became a General in the newly formed South Korean Army after WWII, was the founder or "father" of Taekwon-do because he is believed to have been the one who submitted the term "Tae Kwon" on a ballot during a meeting for the naming of the art on April 11, 1955. However, like other Kwan founders, Choi had studied Japanese Martial Art systems during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910 - 1945), and created his own curriculum for teaching known as a "Kwan." He founded the "Chang Hon" system which teaches his version of what Taekwondo is.

Both Choi and Chung Do Kwan's founder Won Kuk Lee had become Black Belts of Shotokan Karate-do under Gichen Funakoshi, but Lee was the senior rank, and began teaching much earlier. Choi was a student in the Chung Do Kwan under Won Kuk Lee before breaking away to form his own Kwan (school) for training of soldiers in the military which he called Oh Do Kwan ("Gym of my way"). When the various Kwans of Korean Martial Art united in 1961, they formed the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA), but the curriculum was sill being developed, and was mostly a blend of all of the Kwans with influence from the senior master and founder of the Chung Do Kwan, Won Kuk Lee.

The first national academy for Taekwondo in Korea is called the Kukkiwon, and was completed in 1972 in Seoul, Korea. The Kukkiwon stands today as the World Taekwondo Headquarters, and supreme international authority for issuing Dan (Black Belt), and instructor certification in the Martial Art of Taekwondo from Korea. Many independent organizations, as well as descendents of the original Kwans still issue their own school or organizational color belt grades (geup), Black Belt Degrees (Dan/Poom), Instructor certification, and school charters which are only recognized within their respective organizations.