Tae Kwon Do
Tae Kwon Do is a martial art and sport of duels that came from Korea. In Korean Tae means to destroy with the foot, Kwon means strike or crushing by hand and Do means way or direction. Thus Tae Kwon Do translates freely as “the way hitting with hands and feet.
The popularity of Tae Kwon Do has contributed to its divergent evolution. As with many other martial arts, Tae Kwon Do is a combination of combat techniques, self defense, sport, exercise, entertainment, and philosophy.
Although there are great ideological and technical differences between public and private organizations of Tae Kwon Do, the art in general is pointing on kicks from a kinetic position, emphasizing the wide range of feet to neutralize the opponent from a distance. The training in Tae Kwon Do often involves a system of blocks, punches and blows with hands-free techniques and may also include various throws, joint locks, although it generally does not emphasize fighting.
Tang Soo Do
The origins of Tang Soo Do are rooted in the periods of the Three Kingdoms in Korea, in Shilla in 57 BC-935 AD, the Paekjae 18 BC-660 AD and Koguryo 37 BC-668 A.D.
It is a brutal fighting style of the upper and lower limbs with technical data from the North and South China.
HWANG KEE, the father of modern TANG SOO DO created in November 1945 the first school in Seoul. In 1994 he became very popular to the general public by Grand Master Ho Sik Pak Dan, who founded the Hwa Rang World Tang Soo Do Federation.
Tang Soo Do includes the use of weapons, and grips are a key ingredient, while there are also elements of Karate Do. The basic postures are seven. The readiness posture, the front posture, back, side, the posture of the horse and the crossed posture. Particularly in this art, breath plays an important role. Strength and balance lies on the proper breathing.
The purpose of Tang Soo Do are: completion with the body, mind and spirit uniting and become one, to lead the fighter to a higher level and get in touch again with nature.
Hapkido
Hapkido is a Korean martial art known to most people that are familiar with the martial arts. But many do not know its origin and more importantly, what makes it unique.
The famous martial arts fighter Sokaku Takeda popularized Hapkido in many areas of Japan during the periods of Meiji, Taisho, and Showa. Takeda was well known for his martial prowess and toughness of his character. He used his skills in battles of life and death more than once.
Hapkido aims to be a complete fighting style, and not a specialized art. Beyond this, it makes use of gentle techniques borrowed from aikido so to turn an opponent’s power against him with throws and joint locks, along with hard punching and kicking techniques borrowed from Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do. It also emphasizes the use of weapons. One of the things that makes Hapkido unique is the use of circular movements. In essence it is a style of self defense and not sport.
The main objectives of Hapkido are associated with its attempts at self-defense. Thus, a practitioner’s aim is to neutralize the opponent.
Kumdo
Kumdo is a martial art dedicated to practicing with a sword. This part of study uses both boxing and forms (Hyung) to help students understand this traditional weapon. The Korean Kumdo is closely connected with the Japanese Kendo, and practitioners of the two styles often compete in the same tournament.
Boxing emphasizes awareness, sharp observation and perseverance along with controlled, quick, precise movements in a way that allows anyone of any age, height, or gender to be competitive with anyone else. Synchronization and skills are the key to all martial arts, but are the epitome in the study of Kumdo.
The study of the sword had come from Korea to China and each of the armed forces in Korea began to improve and reinterpret these techniques. The Japanese brought the study of the sword that was then called Gekiken in Korea around 1896 to teach the police officers.