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History of Tae Kwon Do
Tae Kwon Do is the name of the martial art that was created in Korea
and developed over the course of more than two thousand years.
Its origins go back to the early days of human existance on earth.
No matter where they live, people have to develop personl skills in order to obtain food
and defend themselves against enemies including wild animals.
On the peninsula now known as Korea in 37 B.C. the three kingdoms called Ko-koo ryou,
Baek-jae, and Shilla had developed the skills and techniques of martial arts called "Tae-kyon".
The process of Tae-kyon is known today as Tae Kwon Do.
At the time the most outstanding contributions to the development of Tae Kwon Do came from
an elite officer corp. called the Hwa-rang-do, a military group and social organization for
noble youths. The Hwarang through stringent training produced courageous leaders.
They were taught martial art and acted as models of culture and chivalrous warriors.
They were Shilla's elite warriers. Hwa literally means "flower" and rang means "young master".
In the Korean culture at that time, flower symbolized glory, beauty, and integrity.
Thus Hwarang means "Flower of Youth". The promise of the nation and the hope of the future.
Tae Kwon Do is the out-flowering of the Hwarang spirit.
The first martial art textbook was written in 1780, called "Moo ye dobo tongji".
Tae Kwon Do developed independently in Korea. In recent years it become the most respected national sport of Korea
and is now practiced in over 140 countries.
In 1988 it was accepted in the International Summer Olympic Games. It is an art of self-defense that
has been designed to have maximum efficiency of motion and therefore has proven to be highly effective.
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