IDO MOVEMENT FOR CULTURE

Background. In early taekwondo training, during the late 1940s and 1950s, the forms (a solo-performance of a practitioner of a sequence of movements) used in training consisted mostly of Japanese karate kata; however, during the 1960s, a variety of new forms, and sets of forms, were developed to escape the karate association. Subsequently, during the early 1970s, the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) discarded the karate kata completely, and since that time, indigenous Korea-developed forms have been used exclusively in training and promotional test.
Problem and aim. This study will concentrate on the origins and evolution of forms in World Taekwondo (WT), the philosophies presented in connection with these forms, and the relationships that these forms have to sparring.
Method. The methodology of this article is an extensive literature review of early Korean sources, more recent English and Korean publications, and interviews with expert taekwondo practitioners.
Results and conclusions. The taekwondo establishment discarded the old karate kata and introduced newly developed forms to distance and obscure taekwondo from its Japanese karate origins. Nationalism and Korea’s complicated colonial relationships with Japan were the motivating forces. During the late 1960s, the terms P’algwae and T’aegŭk were chosen for the newly developed beginner forms by taekwondo leaders for a variety of reasons. Both terms are very recognizable in Korean and East Asian culture, since they find expression in all walks of life. Moreover, they are connected to Korean nationalism, and were chosen to invoke patriotic sentiments. However, the practical application of taekwondo forms for self-defense, or as a preparation for sparring is very questionable and appears highly unrealistic.