Author: Bret Gordon
About 60% of all martial artists in the world study Taekwondo. Now, in my personal opinion unless you are Kukkiwon you cannot claim to teach Taekwondo, however here in the real world no one seems to care about being connected to the only legitimate international governing body in the home country of the art (no, I will not get into the ITF debate in this artice). Therefore, you have numerous organizations each claiming their own "style" of Taekwondo. However, that's not really accurate.
The Kukkiwon was established in 1972 as the world governing body for the martial art of Taekwondo. The World Taekwondo Federation was founded a year later to govern the sport of Taekwondo, and was given an office at the Kukkiwon for its headquarters. This has led to the misconception that the Kukkiwon and WTF are one organization, however they are indeed separate. The Kukkiwon oversees the instruction, certification, curriculum, etc. of schools around the world, while the WTF handles all competition, rules, etc. So when someone asks you what type of Taekwondo you teach, "WTF-style" doesn't exist. You teach Kukkiwon Taekwondo. That tells me that you teach the art as is recognized by the world headquarters of that art. But let's go deeper than that.
The Kukkiwon was established in 1972 as the world governing body for the martial art of Taekwondo. The World Taekwondo Federation was founded a year later to govern the sport of Taekwondo, and was given an office at the Kukkiwon for its headquarters. This has led to the misconception that the Kukkiwon and WTF are one organization, however they are indeed separate. The Kukkiwon oversees the instruction, certification, curriculum, etc. of schools around the world, while the WTF handles all competition, rules, etc. So when someone asks you what type of Taekwondo you teach, "WTF-style" doesn't exist. You teach Kukkiwon Taekwondo. That tells me that you teach the art as is recognized by the world headquarters of that art. But let's go deeper than that.
Prior to the unification of Taekwondo, first under the Korea Taekwondo Association and later under the Kukkiwon, there were nine kwans that operated independently. A kwan, relating it to Japanese arts, is essentially a ryu. If someone asks you what type of Karate you study, you wouldn't say JKA-style. You'd say Shotokan. Karate is merely a generic term for a type of martial arts, while the ryu is actually what you studied. Taekwondo is the same way.
Taekwondo originally was just Korean karate. Following the end of Japanese occupation, many Koreans returned back to Korea to teach the martial arts they had learned. The original nine schools were set up between 1944-1956, and consisted of (in order):
Taekwondo originally was just Korean karate. Following the end of Japanese occupation, many Koreans returned back to Korea to teach the martial arts they had learned. The original nine schools were set up between 1944-1956, and consisted of (in order):
- Chung Do Kwan - founded by Lee Won Kuk
- Song Moo Kwan - founded by Kaesong
- Moo Duk Kwan - founded by Hwang Kee
- Ji Do Kwan - founded by Chun Sang Sup
- Chang Moo Kwan - founded by Yoon Byung-in
- Han Moo Kwan - founded by Lee Kyo Yoon
- Oh Do Kwan - founded by Choi Hong Hi
- Kang Duk Kwan - founded by Park Chul Hee
- Jung Do Kwan - founded by Lee Yong Woo
Getting back to my original point, when you ask a Taekwondoin what branch of Taekwondo they study, they either don't know or give you the name of an organization. To be honest, I was one of them. My first Taekwondo instructor, Grandmaster D.S. Kwak, was a student of Kyung Hee University's Taekwondo program in the late 1970s, which taught only the unified curriculum of the Kukkiwon without any kwan affiliation. So I knew I studied Kukkiwon Taekwondo, but couldn't tell you what kwan my lineage came from. Recently, I became affiliated with the American Ji Do Kwan Association so even though my rank still comes from the Kukkiwon, I am now Ji Do Kwan.
But why does any of this matter? As long as you're providing quality instruction, the semantics of the art don't mean anything, right? Not exactly. Lineage plays a large part in someone's credibility, and even though certification from the Kukkiwon is more than enough to confirm someone's legitimacy, in my opinion also having a connection to one of the original nine kwans gives you and your students the comfort in having an unbreakable line back to the origins of Taekwondo. From there, you can even trace it back to your kwan's Karate lineage and who knows how far? But do us all a favor, and stop telling people your Taekwondo system is indigenous to Korea. Nearly every martial art practiced in Korea, with the exception of Taekkyeon, has its origins in Japanese Budo. Just accept it, and we can all have a great day sharing in the spirit of martial arts.
But why does any of this matter? As long as you're providing quality instruction, the semantics of the art don't mean anything, right? Not exactly. Lineage plays a large part in someone's credibility, and even though certification from the Kukkiwon is more than enough to confirm someone's legitimacy, in my opinion also having a connection to one of the original nine kwans gives you and your students the comfort in having an unbreakable line back to the origins of Taekwondo. From there, you can even trace it back to your kwan's Karate lineage and who knows how far? But do us all a favor, and stop telling people your Taekwondo system is indigenous to Korea. Nearly every martial art practiced in Korea, with the exception of Taekkyeon, has its origins in Japanese Budo. Just accept it, and we can all have a great day sharing in the spirit of martial arts.
