Korean Traditional Martial Arts

Korean martial arts can be traced back to Korea’s founding Kochosun dynasty of 3000 BC to 57 BC. The dynasty quickly established a strong military warrior force, and began to expand its territory to include all of Manchuria and half of China. Hwa rang do is said to be the most ancient and traditional form of Korean-style martial arts. It combines hard and soft style techniques. Hard style techniques refer to those martial arts that are offensive and include punching and kicking. Korean hard style martial arts include tae kwon do and tang soo do. Soft style techniques are those that are defensive in nature and include blocking tactics, such as in hapkido.

  1. Hwa Rang Do

    • Hwa rang do consists of long and short forms and a series of self-defense and one-step sparring techniques. Practitioners in this discipline are also competent in the use of three main pieces of weaponry: the long sword (muk gum) the long staff (jang bong) and the nunchaku (ssang jyel bong). Hwa rang do is one of the more diversified fighting systems, teaching hard techniques such as strikes and soft techniques such as throws.

    Tae Kwon Do

    • The most popular of the Korean martial arts is tae kwon do, which consists of a strong emphasis on kicking and punching, together with jumping, leaping and flying kicks. Poomsae, or poses, are integral to this style. In the course of its evolution, tae kwon do has picked up style elements from Chinese and Japanese martial arts.

    Tang Soo Do

    • Tang soo do is similar to tae kwon do, and it encompasses kicking techniques in its style. Traditionally, however, it is more akin to Japanese karate. It generally consists of free sparring with lead and rear-leg kicks and lead and rear-arm and open-hand techniques.

    Hapkido

    • The soft style of hapkido diverts an opponent’s force and uses circular motions to redirect it back at him and subdue him. It utilizes joint locks and primitive attack techniques, as wells as weaponry including nunchaku, swords and rope.

    Han Kuk Mu Ki Do

    • The art of han kuk mu ki do includes the techniques, tactics and patterns (hyungs) of traditional Korean weaponry. Practitioners of han kuk mu ki do must show proficiency in the short stick (tahn bong), a primary Korean weapon. Ranging in length from six inches to three feet, it is used to strike vital points of the body to disable the opponent.