Jidokwan is one of the original nine schools of the modern Korean martial arts that became Taekwondo and was founded in what is now South Korea at the end of World War II. Its name translates as "School of Wisdom". The Jidokwan in Korea still exists today. It functions as a social fraternal order. Jidokwan supports and endorses the Kukkiwon method of Taekwondo, and supports World Taekwondo.
Korea Taekwondo Association, originally the Korea Tang Soo Do Association (1961), is the first taekwondo organisation. It was founded in 1959, although official South Korean sources give 1961 as its year of establishment. In 1966, some members of the KTA, led by H. H. Choi, broke off from the KTA and formed the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF). The Kukkiwon and the then-World Taekwondo Federation were created by the KTA in the early 1970s. The KTA sits under the Korea Sports Council, is aligned with Kukkiwon, and is a Member National Association (MNA) of the WT. Its goal is to promote the martial art taekwondo as a national sport within South Korea.
Chang Moo Kwan is a style of Korean martial arts that was founded by Yoon Byung-in and Lee Nam Suk.
Chung Do Kwan, created by Won Kuk Lee in 1944, is one of the first of nine schools or kwan teaching Tang Soo Do. Later, the school began to teach what came to be known as taekwondo. This style of Tang Soo Do is known for its overall power and emphasis on kicks to the head.
Song Moo Kwan, also named "Song Moo Kwan Kong Soo Do ", is one of the Five original kwans of taekwondo in Korea. Its founder, from 1944, Supreme Grandmaster Byung Jik Ro (1919–2015), was one of the highest ranking taekwondo practitioners in the world, and is considered the "Founder of Modern Taekwondo". As a Shotokan Black Belt under Gichin Funakoshi, Byung Jik Ro created what is commonly known as Song Moo Kwan. While staying largely true to the basic principles of Shotokan Karate Do, he placed more emphasis on kicking techniques within the newly created Taekwondo style. To this day both styles maintain a striking similarity.
Kong Soo Do (공수도) is a name used to refer to Korean martial arts derived from Karate, that was used by a couple of the original kwans before the unification and creation of Taekwondo as the universal striking art of Korea. As with Tang Soo Do, the name Kong Soo Do is composed of the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese characters for "karate-do", meaning "empty-hand way" in English.
Kwan in Korean literally means building or hall, but when used in martial arts it can also refer to a school or clan of martial artists who follow the same style and/or leader.
Kang Duk Won was one of the original 9 kwans that eventually merged to create the Kukkiwon system. This Kwan was founded in the later 1950s by former students of the YMCA Kwon Bop Bu. These two students of YMCA Kwon Bop Bu founder Byung In-Yoon were Hong Jong-Pyo and Chul Hee Park. Today, Kang Duk Won still exists in Korea and is officially known as Taekwondo Kang Duk Won, which is a social friendship club that endorses the Kukkiwon system and supports the World Taekwondo Federation. Kang Duk Won also has a school in the United States as American Kang Duk Won Karate.
Moo Duk Kwan Taekwondo is a modern Korean martial art formed in April 1965 by Kim Young-taek, Hong Chong-soo, and Lee Kang-ik, after a significant group of former students of Hwang Kee chose to leave the original Moo Duk Kwan organization in order to join the Taekwondo unification movement.
Yoon Byung-in, also known in English reference as Byung-in Yoon, was a Korean Grandmaster of martial arts. He is believed to be the first Korean national to study Chuan Fa in China and to return to teach it in Korea. He was an influential instructor to many current and past Masters and Grandmasters, and himself a master of many styles and studies of Martial Arts.
Yun Mu Kwan was one of the original five "kwans" that arose in Korea following World War II. It was the name of the place where a generic form of Japanese karate (Shotokan) was being taught by a number of Korean students who had studied in Japan and returned to Korea in the first half of the twentieth century, bringing the Japanese art with them. Yun Mu Kwan, as a style, would eventually be renamed Jidokwan by various former students and would become one of the core styles that contributed to the development of what is today known as Taekwondo.
Taegeuk Il Jang is the first of eight taekwondo forms practiced in Kukki Taekwondo, as defined by the Kukkiwon. A form, or poomsae, is a choreographed pattern of defense-and-attack motions. Taegeuk Il Jang is considered a beginner form, often practiced by students of Kukki style taekwondo with rank of 8th geup. Eighth geup students of Kukki-style taekwondo practice this form in order to advance to the next rank.
Taegeuk Ee Jang is the second of eight taekwondo forms practiced by the Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation. A form, or poomsae, is a choreographed pattern of defense-and-attack motions. Taegeuk Ee Jang is considered a beginner form, often practiced by students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo with rank of 7th geup. Seventh geup students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo practice this form in order to advance to the next rank.
Taegek Sam Jang is the third of eight taekwondo forms practiced by the Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation. A form, or poomsae, is a choreographed pattern of defense-and-attack motions. Taegeuk Sam Jang is often practiced by students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo with rank of 6th geup. Sixth geup students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo practice this form in order to advance to the next rank.
Taegek Sa Jang is the fourth of eight taekwondo forms practiced by the Kukkiwon and World Taekwondo. A form, or poomsae, is a choreographed pattern of defense-and-attack motions. Taegeuk Sa Jang is often practiced by students of Kukkiwon/WT-style taekwondo.
Taegeuk Oh Jang is the fifth of eight taekwondo forms in the Taegeuk set practiced by the Kukkiwon and World Taekwondo. A form, or poomsae, is a choreographed pattern of defense-and-attack motions. Taegeuk Oh Jang is often practiced by students of Kukkiwon/WT-style taekwondo with rank of 4th geup. Fourth geup students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo practice this form in order to advance to the next rank.
Taegeuk Yook Jang is the sixth of eight taekwondo forms practiced by the Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation. A form, or poomsae, is a choreographed pattern of defense-and-attack motions. Taegeuk Yook Jang is often practiced by students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo with rank of 3rd geup. Third geup students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo practice this form in order to advance to the next rank.
Taegeuk Chil Jang is the seventh of eight taekwondo forms practiced by the Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation. A form, or poomsae, is a choreographed pattern of defense-and-attack motions. Taegeuk Chil Jang is often practiced by students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo with rank of 2nd geup. Second geup students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo practice this form in order to advance to the next rank.
Taegeuk Pal Jang is the last of eight taegeuk taekwondo forms practiced by the Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation. A form, or poomsae, is a choreographed pattern of defense-and-attack motions. Taegeuk Pal Jang is often practiced by students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo with rank of 1st geup. First geup students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo practice this form in order to advance to the next rank, at which students then begin studying a new sequence of black belt forms.
Yun Kwae-byung was a Korean martial artist and an notable figure in history of modern Japanese and Korean martial arts. He was the head of the influential Kanbukan Dojo, that would pioneer bogutsuki karate and full contact karate, as well as being the first headmaster of Jidokwan school, one of the original kwans that would eventually unite and found Taekwondo.
