The origin of Korean Karate like many other martial arts is obscure. If you were to read the various books on the subject you would come across many conflicting stories depending on who wrote the book and for what organization. Often enough Tang Soo Do or Tae Kwon Do the two main styles of Korean Karate are presented as having their roots in ancient Korea. Some claim that it has its origins in three dynasties, the Silla dynasty (668-935 A.D.), the Paekche dynasty (15 B.C. to 668 A.D.), and the Koguryu dynasty (935-1392 A.D.). There is no evidence linking Korean Karate or any modern day Korean martial art to the ancient Korean arts.Korean Karate actually has its roots in Japanese Shotokan Karate-Do. All of the basic stances, forms, and blocks are found in Japanese Karate. This is not surprising because of the Japanese occupation of Korea all native martial arts were suppressed and Koreans were forced to Japanese martial arts instead. In Korea these forms were modified especially were kicking is concerned. Korean kicking is more varied than Japanese kicking and is probably derived from a solely kicking martial art of Korea called Tae Kyun. The name Tang Soo Do is a direct translation of the Japanese Karate-Do originally meaning the way of the China hand. The name Tang Soo Do was first used by Master Won Kuk Lee the teacher of Master Hwang Kee the father of Korean Karate. Master Hwang Kee later studied under Japanese Karate Master Gogen Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi was the student of Master Itosu Yamaguchi the creator of the Pinan forms which Tang Soo Do’s Pyong ahn forms are based. After World War Two there was a great deal of anti-Japanese feeling in Korea. General Choi Hong Hi a student of the founder of Japanese Karate Master Gichin Funakoshi headed the Tae Kwon Do reformation. He created the name Tae Kwon Do as a purely Korean name. It had no association with anything Japanese, as was the case with Tang Soo Do. However when you look ...
