Author: Bret Gordon
The most popular martial art in the world today is Taekwondo. I've written numerous articles about its origins, and the politics that are rampant among some of the leading Taekwondo organizations, but never about what it was supposed to be. For those who may not be familiar with the history, or think that Taekwondo is an ancient Korean martial art resurrected from cave drawings, let me give you a quick breakdown. Following the Japanese occupation of Korea, numerous martial arts schools sprang up. Since indigenous Korean arts were banned, these instructors began teaching what they learned during the occupation and in Japan: Karate.
Karate is a Japanese word, and depending on which kanji you use to write it can mean either "China Hand" or "Empty Hand." The suffix do, meaning "The Way," was added by Funakoshi Gichin (the founder of Shotokan). When the Koreans opened their schools, they naturally spoke Korean. Therefore, they simply translated the word Karatedo into their native language. "The Way of the Chinese Hand" became Tang Soo Do, and "The Way of the Empty Hand" became Kong Soo Do. Some schools also used the term Kwon Bup, the Korean translation of Kempo and a reference to the Chinese art of Ch'uan Fa or "Fist Law." The individual schools themselves were known as Kwans, so therefore you had schools such as Chung Do Kwan Tang Soo Do, or the "Blue Wave School of the Way of the Chinese Hand." Five original Kwans sprang up prior to the Korean War, and an additional four were created before the Korean government forced the Kwans to unify and the term Taekwondo was coined.
Now that I got that out of the way, let's talk about what Korean Karate truly is.
Karate is a Japanese word, and depending on which kanji you use to write it can mean either "China Hand" or "Empty Hand." The suffix do, meaning "The Way," was added by Funakoshi Gichin (the founder of Shotokan). When the Koreans opened their schools, they naturally spoke Korean. Therefore, they simply translated the word Karatedo into their native language. "The Way of the Chinese Hand" became Tang Soo Do, and "The Way of the Empty Hand" became Kong Soo Do. Some schools also used the term Kwon Bup, the Korean translation of Kempo and a reference to the Chinese art of Ch'uan Fa or "Fist Law." The individual schools themselves were known as Kwans, so therefore you had schools such as Chung Do Kwan Tang Soo Do, or the "Blue Wave School of the Way of the Chinese Hand." Five original Kwans sprang up prior to the Korean War, and an additional four were created before the Korean government forced the Kwans to unify and the term Taekwondo was coined.
Now that I got that out of the way, let's talk about what Korean Karate truly is.
