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What Taekwondo Is Not

Before explaining what Taekwondo is, lets us examine what Taekwondo is not. There is nothing mystical or magical about Taekwondo, it is only one of many martial arts. Any claims made by Taekwondo are probably also made by other martial arts and vice versa. Some martial art styles claim to be the best, but when examined closely, all the empty hand martial arts are basically the same. Some may concentrate on different areas, such as arm locks or grappling, but underlying all martial arts are the same basic principles.

Taekwondo  is not a fad

Oriental style martial arts have not always been popular in the United States. They were relatively rare until after World War II when military personnel began returning after being stationed in Japan during the post-war occupation. In the 1950's, Japanese Jujutsu and Judo were popular. In the 1960's, Karate gained popularity with Taekwondo starting its foothold, again due to being brought back by retuning military personnel, and also by Japanese (karate) and Korean (Taekwondo) instructors who were immigrating into the country. In the 1970's, President Nixon's opening of relations with China led to Kung-fu being the "in" martial art. James Bond movies and Bruce Lee in the television show Longstreet caused increased interest in the martial arts. The Hong Kong Kung-fu movies began invading theaters. In the 1980's, the high kicks and clever marketing of Taekwondo made it the dominant art, while the mystique and weapons of the Teenage Ninja Turtles drew more children to the martial arts in general. In the 1990's, the eclectic or freestyle martial arts gained favor. In the 1990's Kickboxing, Muay-thai, Shot-fighting, and Mixed Martial Arts came into favor, along with aerobic exercise programs, such as Boxercise, Kickbox, and Taebo. Through all of this, karate and Taekwondo maintained their hold as the most popular of the martial arts. However, karate has so many variations that no one style was able to gain a stronghold, while Taekwondo took over and has maintained its popularity until it has become the most popular martial art in the United States and most of the world.

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