Taekwondo Black Belt Poomsae. Richard Chun
made by Japanese historians, Koryo naval tacticians, anticipating the foul weather, commanded a return to port with a marginal loss of ten to fifteen percent of the fleet. Conversely, local Japanese legend has it that Buddhist monk Il Yuk, observing the advancing ships from afar, sat chanting and, with each recitation of his mantra, whipped the waves into a frenzied tempest of monumental proportions. This “divine wind” or kamikaze caused the ships to break up, ultimately devastating the Koryo and Mongol forces and placing victory in the hands of the Japanese.
A preoccupation with the emerging Ming later siphoned off Mongol resources permitting a modicum of independence for the Koryo populace during the 1300s. This minor reprieve from total dominance was nevertheless offset by coastal incursions from Japanese pirates and far-reaching land reforms that struck at the very heart of the agrarian culture. Buddhist institutions, having merged politics with its status as a state religion, along with the landed aristocracy, fell prey to this restructuring. However, the final nail in Koryo’s coffin was hammered in by the influence of Neo-Confucianism.7 Strict ethical values riding on the back of conservative doctrine eroded the supremacy of the nobility and that of abusive Buddhist monks. Once a bastion of strength, the power of the aristocracy in tandem with that of religious leaders began to crumble.
By the late 1300s, the virtuous effects of Buddhism had spun out of control, poisoning the upper echelons of Koryo government with potential leaders required to become Buddhist monks as a prerequisite to kingship. Against this backdrop of social upheaval rose Song Gye Yi, an illustrious general who was destined to unalterably transform the complexion of the nation. The last of the Koryo monarchs, against the will of the people, ordered Yi to mount an attack on Ming forces garrisoned in Manchuria. With the unanimous support of the general populace, Yi refused, lying siege to the capital instead. The siege resulted in the ousting of the unpopular ruler and the establishment by Song Gye Yi of the Chosun Dynasty, the most enduring nation-state in Korean history.
Given the deteriorating cultural imbalance that inevitably afflicts failing nations in their waning years, Koryo history nonetheless was replete with innovation and virtue. From the artistic originality of Koryo celadon to the sacred encryption of sacred sutras in the Tripitaka Koreana, from the steadfast conviction that Buddhist doctrine would by mystical design steer the nation to prosperity to the skill of Koryo shipwrights responsible for later shaping the kobukson or turtle boats of Admiral Yi Sun Shin, Koryo heritage left an indelible stamp on Asian history that centuries later would be memorialized in two poomsae of a native martial art that would come to be known as taekwondo.
Foreign Influences on Taekwondo Formal Exercises
In order to fully understand the complete history, philosophy, and martial applications of taekwondo poomsae, hyung, or tul, one must openly, and without bias, take into account the role that Okinawan/Japanese kata and Chinese taolu played in their creation8. As we have seen, formal exercises, regardless of pedigree, were not created in a vacuum; cultures borrowed heavily from one another with applications morphing from nation to nation according to martial necessity and geography. Subsequently, strings connecting to the creation of contemporary taekwondo formal exercises can be traced back to the fourteenth century when an alliance forged between China and Okinawa resulted in a great infusion of Chinese culture. In 1429, the immigration of Chinese nationals adept in the art of chuan fa/kenpo greatly influenced the native combative styles of the island kingdom. Many of the kata practiced in the various styles of karate today still bear the names of the Chinese practitioners who inspired them. The towns of Shuri and Naha, bolstered by this expansion in trade, would come to be known for the martial systems that they would eventually spawn. Initially, before karate, there existed Shuri-te, Naha-te, Tomari-te, and todi, or “China hand.” Later, as Okinawa moved from a provincial to a regional economy, relations were established between Indonesia, Japan, and Korea.
During the latter part of the fifteenth century, an event occurred that would have a pronounced effect on the practice of empty hand self-defense. King Sho Shin of Okinawa forbid the ownership of weapons by civilians and required that all nobles relocate to within the shadow of Shuri Castle. This prohibition on arms caused the citizens to find alternative methods of self-protection and since combat skill garnered favor with the king, many in the nobility practiced empty hand martial arts.
Following the successful invasion of Okinawa by Japan in 1609, formal exercises took on additional importance. Driven by a continued ban on arms, the citizenry had learned to employ farm and household items as weapons. Oars, pitchforks, and scythes, which would later evolve into specialized martial arts weapons such as the Japanese bo and sai, found their way into the secretive practice of kata.
In 1868, under the Meiji Restoration, Japan to the north of the Ryukyu archipelago began to radically alter its society and transitioned from feudalism to a system of democracy, affecting all under its imperialistic umbrella. In the process, much in the way of tradition was obfuscated, revolutionized with the inclusion of martial arts training that was soon to be transformed from a secretive, necessary component of military combat to a vehicle for promoting health and morality in schoolchildren.9 Suddenly the native defensive arts, devoid of their battlefield tactics, took on the complexion of a therapeutic pursuit wrapped in sportive overtones. Much of this was in response to a defining visit by Shintaro Ogawa, then commissioner of schools for Kagoshima Prefecture, who observed a martial arts demonstration during his stay. Upon his return from Okinawa, he extolled the virtues of karate in a written report to his superiors at the Japanese Ministry of Education. Subsequently, in 1901, Yasutsune “Anko” Itosu (1830–1915) in conjunction with Yasutsune Azato (1828–1906), who also taught martial arts locally, introduced karate into the mainstream curriculum of the Shuri Jinjo Elementary School. Later, it was introduced throughout the Okinawan educational system as a whole with the long-range goal of cultivating physical fitness and character enrichment in adolescents. This worthy objective was partially accomplished by practicing sanitized versions of the Pinan (Peaceful Mind) kata created by Itosu. It is widely accepted that the composition of the five Pinan kata was influenced by Chaing-Nan, a formal exercise taught to Itosu by a Chinese martial artist living in the Tomari region. However, practitioners of Kobayashi Shorin ryu claim that the Pinan set is derived from Bassai, Kusanku, or Kosokun. Since, at least for schoolchildren, self-defense was not the prime focus of training, the practical applications of techniques within the forms were intentionally masked in ambiguity or eliminated altogether. This method of instruction represented a major shift in formal exercise training that would have ramifications far into the future. Criticized for diluting the fundamental purpose of kata, and thus karate in general since forms remained the essence of the art, Itosu later wrote, “You must decide whether your kata is for cultivation of health or for its practical use.” He further advised adult students to “Always practice kata with its practical use in mind.”
Grandmaster Richard Chun (left) and Master Doug Cook. Courtesy of Henry Smith.
Yet, a further endorsement that kata represented a central pillar of karatedo doctrine awaited the appearance of Gichen Funakoshi (1868–1957), a prematurely-born young man of unremarkable stature who as a youth traveled the back roads between Naha and Shuri by lantern light to study with both Azato and Itosu sub rosa. Funakoshi’s required repetition of a single kata under the vigilant eye of Azato day in and day out, often for months on end to the point of humiliation, clearly instilled an appreciation for the formal exercises that he would carry across a lifetime.10
The future founder of Shotokan karatedo, Funakoshi decided to become a school teacher early on, a fact that did not thrill his parents who, claiming ancestral ties to the samurai, entertained higher expectations for their son. Surprisingly, he did not bring his karate to Japan until the early 1920s while in his early fifties. Initially on a mission to demonstrate his art at the All Japan Athletic Exhibition in Tokyo, he never permanently returned to his homeland, living instead in a humble boarding house occupied by Okinawan students. To make ends meet, he worked at the residence cooking, gardening, and sorting mail. Finally, in the summer of 1922, he began receiving students, very few at first, while teaching on a regular basis at a local lecture hall.