Okinawa

During the Sui dynasty, about 607 AD, China established a flourishing trade relationship with the Ryukyu Islands. The Japanese encyclopedia, Sekai Dai-Huakkajiten, states that Kempo techniques were probably brought to Okinawa from China during the T'ang dynasty (618-906 AD). In 1372 AD, Okinawan King Satsudo became a vassal of the Ming emperor. An exchange of officials between the two countries began and, in 1392 AD, Chinese families began immigrating to Okinawa, bringing Kempo with them. On Okinawa, Kempo fighting skills gradually developed into an indigenous fighting style called "tode," which was based solely on the use of the hands.

In 1429 AD, the Okinawan King Shohashi unified all the islands under his rule and banned all weapons. This led the people into overt opposition and, since they had no weapons, they had to rely on the empty-hand fighting arts.

In 1592-1596 AD, Okinawa refused to supply the Japanese warlord, Shimazu (of the militaristic Satsuma clan of southern Kyushu), and the ruler of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, with necessary materials for Japan's abortive attack on the Chinese protectorate of Korea. So, in 1609, Shimazu marched on Okinawa. Shimazu ordered all Okinawan weapons confiscated, so the people again had to use their bare hands and feet to defend themselves. To defend against Samurai swords, the people developed farm tools into fighting weapons: the windlass handle became the "tonfa," the walking staff became the "bo," and the hand plow became the "sai."

Frustrated by their lack of successes in battles, Okinawan Ch'uan-fa and tode practitioners united the open hands and feet of Ch'uan-fa and the fists of tode to form a new style of unarmed combat called "Okinawa-te." Hands and feet were turned into deadly weapons by assiduous practice on the "maki-wara," a vertical punching board padded with straw. Arms were hardened by "forte," using forceful arm blocks against a partner's same forceful arm blocks.

In 1722, Sakugawa, who had studied Kempo and bo fighting in China, started teaching a fighting art in the city of Shuri that he called "Karate-no-sakugawa." This was the first time the name karate had been used in a martial art and the first known record of the art of karate in a modern form. During this time, "kara" referred to China itself, so, karate meant "the Chinese techniques" or "t'ang hand."

In 1879, the Ryukyu Islands become Japanese provinces. In 1936, Okinawan masters gathered at the behest of a newspaper and changed the meaning of the ideogram "kara" to mean, empty. Thus, karate now means, "empty hand." After coming under Japanese control, Karate spread into mainland Japan.

Japan

According to the Koji-ki, an ancient chronicle of Japan, around 23 BC, a wrestler, Tomakesu-Hayato, was considered the most effective fighter of the age, but when he fought against Nomi-no-Sukune, by order of the emperor, he was defeated and kicked to death. Nomi-no-Sukune is considered the founder of "Jujitsu," the first true Japanese martial art.

Sumo was introduced into Japan from China in about 200 AD, near the end of the Han period. This was about the same time that the Japanese fighting style of "Chikara-kurabe" (which included kicking and hand techniques) originated as a brutal fighting method for training men preparing for war. Over the centuries, Chikara-kurabe evolved and became codified under the name "Kumi-uchi," which had restrictions on brutality. At the end of the Nara period (784 AD), body armor was coming into use on the battlefields, which made punching and kicking ineffective. Kumi-uchi was soon replaced with the more practical Jujitsu that used throws, arm locks, and strangles to circumvent the armor.

In 607 AD, the earliest recorded cultural exchange took place between Japan and China which lead to a great influx of Chinese into Japan who brought with them a form of soft Kempo methods, which blended with Jujitsu. Kempo (Ch'uan-fa) was introduced into Japan, between 1627 and 1644 AD, by Chen Yuan Ping, who also introduced the sai (two-prong sword), which the Japanese police later modified into a jitte-sai (one-prong sword). After taking refuge in a temple in Endo (Tokyo), he taught basic concepts that, after modifications and incorporation with other elements, were used by Jigoro Kano in his development of Judo, which excludes blows and strikes.

The beginning of the Meiji era (1868 AD) marked the end of Edo, the Feudal Age. Samurai warriors had to lay down their arms and cut their "chon mage" (their long hair, the symbol of their status). The kimono style of dress was abandoned for western-style clothing. Japan opened itself to foreigners and the popularity of Jujitsu and Kendo (ritual sword fighting) declined. Judo superseded Jujitsu as the martial art of choice after its decisive victory against Jujitsu in an 1886 competition held at the Tokyo Police Department. By the time karate was introduced into Japan, in the 1920s, Judo had such a foothold that karate was shut out until the end of World War II.

It is obvious that empty-hand fighting did not originate wholly in only one country, but it developed naturally in every place humans settled. In each country, people adapted their fighting techniques to deal with the dangers in their local environments. As trade and politics brought these countries into contact with each other, their various fighting styles influenced each other, sometimes leading to the development of entirely different fighting systems.

Now, lets investigate the development of Taekwondo in Korea and how the fighting arts of other countries affected its formation. However, before exploring the history of Taekwondo, lets look at the geography of Korea, since it had much influence on Korean history and thus on the history of Taekwondo. 

Preface - Introduction - Ancient Beginnings - Korean Geography - Ancient Korea - Three Kingdoms Era - Subak and Sonbae - Subak and Hwarang - Koryo Dynasty - Chosen Dynasty - Korea Divided - Korean War (1950-1953) - Modern Taekwondo - Early Masters - Taekwondo Development - International Groups - Road to Olympics - Sport Taekwondo - Traditional versus Sport - Taekwondo in the United States - Taekwondo Today - References