The Tao of Love

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History of Taekwondo

The Korean civilization is more than 4310 years old and has its own traditional language, culture, and martial arts. The ancient martial arts had their beginning hundreds of years before the birth of Christ and included the use of military weapons; however, the advantages of unarmed combat techniques were not overlooked, and the skills and many forms of unarmed combat were also emphasized and developed. Consequently, Taekwondo developed as a style of the martial arts limited to combat with natural weapons of fists, hands, and feet.

Historically, the origin of Taekwondo can be traced back to the three kingdoms of Koguryo (37 BC-668 AD), Paekche (18 BC-600 AD), and Silla (57 BC- 936 AD). Archaeological findings such as mural paintings on the royal tombs of the Koguryo dynasty, the stone sculptures of pagadas of temples produced during the Silla period, and also documents written in the Paekche dynasty show many studies of fighting stances, skills, and formalized movements that closely resemble the present stances and forms of Taekwondo. Therefore, it can be safely inferred that the people in the three kingdoms practiced an art very much like the one we study today.