Author: Bret Gordon
About three months ago, I wrote an article entitled "'I Do Taekwondo!' Yea, That Doesn't Tell Me Anything..." which briefly discussed the history of Taekwondo from the development of the 9 original kwans to the unification of the art under the Kukkiwon. However, even in the Taekwondo community there seems to be some confusion about the relationship between the Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation, and ultimately about the very grey line between the martial art of Taekwondo and the Olympic sport of the same name.
Let me say that in my personal opinion, the Kukkiwon is the sole source for legitimate Taekwondo and if you are not affiliated with the Kukkiwon, you cannot claim to teach Taekwondo. Why do I say that? Well, Taekwondo is unique in the martial arts community because it's the only art essentially created by a national government rather than by martial artists. In the mid-1950s, the Korean government did not want multiple schools (kwans) teaching their own systems. Rather in this period of rejuvenance following the end of Japanese occupation, the Koreans wanted something that the Korean people could unify around, and numerous martial arts schools scattered across the country teaching what was essentially Japanese Karatedo would not suffice. So on April 11, 1955, there was a meeting among the leaders of the various kwans where the name Taekwondo was officially selected at the suggestion of General Choi Hong Hi, and that's where the simplicity of Taekwondo politics ends.
Let me say that in my personal opinion, the Kukkiwon is the sole source for legitimate Taekwondo and if you are not affiliated with the Kukkiwon, you cannot claim to teach Taekwondo. Why do I say that? Well, Taekwondo is unique in the martial arts community because it's the only art essentially created by a national government rather than by martial artists. In the mid-1950s, the Korean government did not want multiple schools (kwans) teaching their own systems. Rather in this period of rejuvenance following the end of Japanese occupation, the Koreans wanted something that the Korean people could unify around, and numerous martial arts schools scattered across the country teaching what was essentially Japanese Karatedo would not suffice. So on April 11, 1955, there was a meeting among the leaders of the various kwans where the name Taekwondo was officially selected at the suggestion of General Choi Hong Hi, and that's where the simplicity of Taekwondo politics ends.
In 1960, the Korea Taekwondo Association was formed as the national governing body of Taekwondo and General Choi was named as it's first president. Rather than continuing the unification process and allowing all of the kwanjang (kwan leaders) to contribute to the art's development, Choi attempted to force his curriculum on the rest of the kwans. This comes as no surprise, considering Choi's kwan name of Oh Do Kwan translates as "School of My Way." At the forceful suggestion of the other leaders, Choi stepped down in 1966 and formed the International Taekwondo Federation. However, since the ITF still operated in Korea, it fell under the authority of the Korea Taekwondo Association.
As Taekwondo's popularity began to grow, the Korean government began development of the Kukkiwon (National Academy) which was completed in 1972. The Kukkiwon was to be the new international governing body of Taekwondo as a whole. Dr. Un Yong Kim was selected as it's first president, mainly because he was also the Vice President of the International Olympic Committee and the Korean government wanted to see Taekwondo included in the Olympics. To accomplish this, in May of 1973 the World Taekwondo Federation was set up to oversee Taekwondo competition (under which the KTA was reorganized as the national governing body). Ironically this is also why Choi moved to Canada to establish the new ITF headquarters. The 1976 Olympics were set to be held in Montreal and Choi planned to gain Olympic recognition for his ITF-style competitions. However, because of Dr. Kim's involvement with the IOC, that was never going to happen and upon hearing of the WTF's selection, Choi immediately began to denounce the idea of Taekwondo as an Olympic sport. Go figure.
Upon establishment of the WTF, the organization was given an office at the Kukkiwon and Dr. Kim was elected it's first president as well. This has led to mass confusion that the WTF and Kukkiwon are the same organization, but they are indeed separate entities who happened to share a building (and a president). The Kukkiwon oversees all Taekwondo training and certifications, while the WTF governs over tournaments on an international level. There is no such thing as "WTF Taekwondo" as an independent style of martial arts. Rather, it is a competition ruleset and nothing more.
This does lead to the some confusion as to where the kwans stand in relation to the Kukkiwon. The kwans have been relegated to fraternal organizations that submit to the authority of the Kukkiwon. The curriculum of the Kukkiwon is the official curriculum of the kwans, however a few such as the Chung Do Kwan and Ji Do Kwan have retained extra material that goes above and beyond what the Kukkiwon requires, thereby maintaining some individuality and kwan identity. Now, the amount of material taught in addition the Kukkiwon curriculum varies as much between dojang of the same kwan as it does across the kwans as a whole.
In Korea, the kwans all defer to the Kukkiwon for official ranking. However, some kwan-specific organizations (mostly outside of Korea) have continued to issue their own documents as well as offer Kukkiwon recognition as an additional benefit. This causes a grey area in terms of legitimacy. As long as the organization as a whole maintains an active relationship with the Kukkiwon, one can argue that the individual members do not need to be certified directly by the Kukkiwon as long as they aren't claiming to be a Kukkiwon school/instructor, and they are still legitimate. I personally believe that if the avenue for Kukkiwon certification is available, it should be pursued. Why risk the question and grey area when it's your credibility on the line? I don't even teach Taekwondo, but you better believe that once my time-in-grade requirements are met, I will be updating my Kukkiwon rank to match my 4th Dan from the American Jidokwan Association.
As Taekwondo's popularity began to grow, the Korean government began development of the Kukkiwon (National Academy) which was completed in 1972. The Kukkiwon was to be the new international governing body of Taekwondo as a whole. Dr. Un Yong Kim was selected as it's first president, mainly because he was also the Vice President of the International Olympic Committee and the Korean government wanted to see Taekwondo included in the Olympics. To accomplish this, in May of 1973 the World Taekwondo Federation was set up to oversee Taekwondo competition (under which the KTA was reorganized as the national governing body). Ironically this is also why Choi moved to Canada to establish the new ITF headquarters. The 1976 Olympics were set to be held in Montreal and Choi planned to gain Olympic recognition for his ITF-style competitions. However, because of Dr. Kim's involvement with the IOC, that was never going to happen and upon hearing of the WTF's selection, Choi immediately began to denounce the idea of Taekwondo as an Olympic sport. Go figure.
Upon establishment of the WTF, the organization was given an office at the Kukkiwon and Dr. Kim was elected it's first president as well. This has led to mass confusion that the WTF and Kukkiwon are the same organization, but they are indeed separate entities who happened to share a building (and a president). The Kukkiwon oversees all Taekwondo training and certifications, while the WTF governs over tournaments on an international level. There is no such thing as "WTF Taekwondo" as an independent style of martial arts. Rather, it is a competition ruleset and nothing more.
This does lead to the some confusion as to where the kwans stand in relation to the Kukkiwon. The kwans have been relegated to fraternal organizations that submit to the authority of the Kukkiwon. The curriculum of the Kukkiwon is the official curriculum of the kwans, however a few such as the Chung Do Kwan and Ji Do Kwan have retained extra material that goes above and beyond what the Kukkiwon requires, thereby maintaining some individuality and kwan identity. Now, the amount of material taught in addition the Kukkiwon curriculum varies as much between dojang of the same kwan as it does across the kwans as a whole.
In Korea, the kwans all defer to the Kukkiwon for official ranking. However, some kwan-specific organizations (mostly outside of Korea) have continued to issue their own documents as well as offer Kukkiwon recognition as an additional benefit. This causes a grey area in terms of legitimacy. As long as the organization as a whole maintains an active relationship with the Kukkiwon, one can argue that the individual members do not need to be certified directly by the Kukkiwon as long as they aren't claiming to be a Kukkiwon school/instructor, and they are still legitimate. I personally believe that if the avenue for Kukkiwon certification is available, it should be pursued. Why risk the question and grey area when it's your credibility on the line? I don't even teach Taekwondo, but you better believe that once my time-in-grade requirements are met, I will be updating my Kukkiwon rank to match my 4th Dan from the American Jidokwan Association.
So to say that the Kukkiwon is the only source of legitimate Taekwondo just seems like common sense to me. Taekwondo was created by the Korean government. They've patented it. They own it. They have placed the Kukkiwon in charge of it. Period. It's the same as for any other martial art. The founder establishes an organization to oversee the development of their art. The difference here is that the Korean government made it a legal matter. Whereas in other systems there is the possibility for individuals to break away from the mainline organization and still remain legitimate, the Korean government strongly frowns upon that and from my understanding, one can even face criminal charges in Korea for teaching Taekwondo without being licensed by the Kukkiwon. But is this really a surprise? The technical name for the art is Kukki (National) Taekwondo.
Where does this leave the ITF? Honestly, this town ain't big enough for the both of us. Bad Western movie references aside, my position still stands. In my experience, the ITF does produce very good quality practitioners who tend to be more self defense based than sport based, which of course is my preference. This is mainly due to the organization's lack of "progress," instead still resembling it's Karatedo origins (except for that weird sine wave thing). However, you cannot argue with the fact that Taekwondo is owned by the Korean government and they say the Kukkiwon's in charge. Now, you may say that because Choi coined the name Taekwondo, when he left with the ITF the Kukkiwon should've chosen a different name for their their art and you're probably right. In fact, there was a period under the KTA when the art was known as Tae Su Do. But ultimately, it was just simpler to continue using the name Taekwondo as there was already an entire generation of students and instructors who had grown up with it. It was a national symbol, and they weren't about to the told what to do by someone who fled the hemisphere. And don't even get me started on how Tang Soo Do fits into all of this...
www.triomartialarts.com
www.clermontselfdefense.com
www.clermontselfdefense.wordpress.com
Where does this leave the ITF? Honestly, this town ain't big enough for the both of us. Bad Western movie references aside, my position still stands. In my experience, the ITF does produce very good quality practitioners who tend to be more self defense based than sport based, which of course is my preference. This is mainly due to the organization's lack of "progress," instead still resembling it's Karatedo origins (except for that weird sine wave thing). However, you cannot argue with the fact that Taekwondo is owned by the Korean government and they say the Kukkiwon's in charge. Now, you may say that because Choi coined the name Taekwondo, when he left with the ITF the Kukkiwon should've chosen a different name for their their art and you're probably right. In fact, there was a period under the KTA when the art was known as Tae Su Do. But ultimately, it was just simpler to continue using the name Taekwondo as there was already an entire generation of students and instructors who had grown up with it. It was a national symbol, and they weren't about to the told what to do by someone who fled the hemisphere. And don't even get me started on how Tang Soo Do fits into all of this...
www.triomartialarts.com
www.clermontselfdefense.com
www.clermontselfdefense.wordpress.com
