On May 16, 1961, South Korean president Rhee Sang Man was overthrown by a military coup d'etat. South Korea entered into a period of internal chaos. The Korea Taekwondo Association collapsed.
The Korea Tae Soo Do Association
During this period of internal disruption and military rule, the kwans were forced to organize into one body by Governmental Decree #6, which ordered all schools of the Korean martial arts to unify under one banner. As a result, the leaders of the kwans again came together and attempted to form one organization. Heated debate went on throughout 1961. The group emerged with the name Korea Tae Soo Do Association.
As was the case with the Korea Kong Soo Do Association, the primary concern was formalized teaching and promotion standards. To help to achieve this, an inspection team was set up and deployed to the various kwans in order to enforce the use of standardized hyung (forms) and taeryun (free-sparring techniques).
Although the Korea Tae Soo Do Association was the governing body that laid the foundation for taekwondo, there was still a large amount of infighting. Many of the advanced members did not like the fact that they were being told what they must teach and how they must promote their students. Again, at the forefront of this controversy was Hwang Kee. On July 20, 1962, Hwang Kee wrote his letter of resignation from the organization.
General Choi and the Korea Tae Soo Do Association
Although General Choi was instrumental in the coup, it is important to note that his previous close association with ousted President Rhee prevented him from playing an important role in the formation of this organization. In fact, although he once held the pivotal positions of commander of the Sixth Korean Army and director of intelligence, he was extremely disliked by the new Korean president, Park Chung Hee; General Choi had once been President Park's superior officer. As a result, Choi was forced to resign from the military and was sent to Malaysia in the capacity of ambassador.
The Korea Tae Soo Do Association remained without a president for approximately one year after it was founded. Finally, General Choi Myung Shin became its first president on December 28, 1962.
During this same period, Hwang Kee was granted governmental recognition for his organization by the Korea Amateur Sports Association and the Ministry of Education. This action allowed his Korea Soo Bahk Do Association to remain free from interference throughout the years ahead.
The International Taekwondo Federation
In 1965 General Choi Hong Hi returned from Malaysia to South Korea. Soon after that, he was elected president of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association. He called together the General Assembly and proposed a vote to change the name of the organization back to the Korea Taekwondo Association. The name won by one vote.
By 1966 General Choi had formed the International Taekwondo Federation to help taekwondo spread across the globe. In that same year, due to many internal political factors, he left South Korea, moving himself and the headquarters of the International Taekwondo Federation to Canada.
The World Taekwondo Federation
Deputy director of the Republic of Korea Presidential Protective Forces, Dr. Kim Un Yong, was elected the president of the Korea Taekwondo Association on January 23, 1971. Although he initially declined the position due to the continued conflicts within the organization, he was asked by the Korean government to accept and to cleanse the association. This he accomplished with great success.
Believing that taekwondo was a Korean martial art and its governing body should be based in Korea, Dr. Kim dissolved the relationship between the Korea Taekwondo Association and the International Taekwondo Federation.
In 1973 the World Taekwondo Federation was formed, and Dr. Kim was elected its president. This organization has led the martial art of taekwondo into its status as an Olympic sport.
MOST SYSTEMS OF MARTIAL ARTS promote the philosophy that practitioners should constantly be aware of their environment and be at one with nature. The philosophy of taekwondo is designed to teach practitioners to raise their body and mind to a new level of physical and mental awareness. These abstract concepts are lost to the minds of most modern practitioners of the martial arts.
The philosophy of taekwondo, however, is rooted in reality. First, it trains the body of the practitioner. The mind then naturally falls into place. Through taekwondo's refined physical training, the practitioner is no longer dominated by the fears that plague modern society—such as being accosted on a dark street corner or being overpowered by a bully. From the knowledge that one can protect oneself comes the experience of assuredness. Those who are self-assured are not swayed by the need to prove that they are better and stronger than others, or that they can overpower someone else. Instead, the taekwondo practitioner can embrace self-confidence without the need for conflict or confrontation. From this arises a oneness of body and mind, which causes the taekwondo practitioner to enter a state of physical harmony. As time progresses, this harmony is projected from the individual, thereby making the world a better place.
WTF and ITF
THERE ARE TWO primary branches for the art of taekwondo. They are: The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), headquartered at Kukkiwon in Seoul, South Korea, and the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF), originally based in Canada. Of these two, the WTF possesses substantially more members.
The Differences and Similarities
The differences between these two primary branches of taekwondo principally involve their emphasis on self-defense. Whereas ITF taekwondo has kept its primary focus upon self-defense, with competition as its secondary concentration, WTF taekwondo has come to place its primary emphasis upon competition. WTF taekwondo has caused many of the traditional taekwondo techniques to be streamlined, refined, and focused upon a minimum of movement. This is not to imply that the WTF student does not learn self-defense, however, because what a student actually learns in the various schools affiliated with one of these governing bodies is largely determined by the instructor.
These two institutions prescribe different sets of forms for their students to practice. However, although these differ in defensive and offensive implementation, they both utilize the same style of techniques. The language of the two groups is also somewhat different. The various fighting techniques are oftentimes referred to by different Korean terminology. The essence of these techniques remains the same, however.
Ultimately, there are more similarities than differences between these two primary branches of taekwondo. The techniques they teach are based upon the same fundamental understanding of self-defense, and the martial philosophy is very much the same.
Although the WTF and ITF are the two largest branches of taekwondo, there are an untold number of smaller organizations that exist to promote the art of taekwondo throughout the world. Of these, perhaps the most noteworthy are the original kwans.
The Kwans
It was the hope of the Korea Taekwondo Association that all of the original Korean kwans would merge, drop their names, and move taekwondo forward under the guidance of one overseer organization. To some degree, this did occur. Most notably, the name "taekwondo" was accepted by all of the original kwans, and most kwans practice the same set of WTF preset training forms—now most commonly known by the Korean word poomse. What also occurred, however, was that virtually all of the original kwans held onto their names and continued to promote their own unique interpretation of taekwondo. They never wholly dissolved. In some