Taekkyeon

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Taekkyeon
Also known as Taekkyeon, Taekgyeon, T'aekkyŏn or Taekgyeon
Focus mixed
Hardness Full contact
Country of origin Korea
Creator unknown
Parenthood possibly subak
Olympic Sport No
Official Site http://www.taekkyon.or.kr/en/
Popular spelling
Hangul 택견
Revised Romanization Taekgyeon
McCune-Reischauer T'aekkyŏn
Dictionary spelling
Hangul 태껸
Revised Romanization Taekkyeon
McCune-Reischauer T'aekkyŏn

Taekkyeon is a traditional Korean martial art with a dance-like appearance, probably stemming from Subak. It is uncertain when Subak was first practiced in Korea, but it may have existed many centuries ago. The first source mentioning Taekkyon is the book Manmulmo (also Jaemulmo), written around 1790 by Lee, Sung-Ji.[1] Taekkyeon is also frequently romanized informally as Taekkyon or Taekyon.

Contents

[edit] Rise and fall

Taekkyon never seems to have been very widespread. By the late 19th Century we know of only one Taekkyon competition a year in all of Korea.

At the height of its popularity, even the king practiced Taekkyon, and Taekkyon matches were frequent. However, the next king outlawed Taekkyon matches, motivated by the gambling which took place around them - where people would gamble away their wives and houses - thus making it a purely military art. Subak split into two; yusul and Taekkyon [2], during the early Joseon dynasty.

Taekkyon took a severe blow when Neo-Confucianism grew in popularity, and then the Japanese occupation damaged the art even more. Taekkyon has had a slight resurgence in recent days, getting the classification Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 76" on June 1, 1983. It is the only Korean martial art which possesses such a classification.

[edit] Techniques

Taekkyon contains all kinds of techniques, including hand and leg techniques as well as joint locks, head butts and so on. However, today there are different styles which sometimes do not emphasize all techniques. In all styles, just like in past centuries, kicks are most dominant. Taekkyon teaches a great variety of kicks, especially low kicks (ddanjuk) but also jumps.

Taekkyon movements are very fluid and dance-like with the practitioners constantly moving. Thus, it resembles Capoeira and Shaolin Kung Fu. While some people see a certain similarity to the motions of Taekwondo, the techniques and principles differ a lot from those of other Korean martial arts. For example, Taekkyon does not make use of abrupt knee motions. The principles and methods used to extend the kick put more emphasis on fluency and pushing rather than on speed and strength of the kick.

Taekkyon uses many sweeps with straight forward low kicks using the ball of the foot and the heel and flowing crescent-like high kicks. There are many kicks that move the leg outward from the middle and inward from the outside using the side of the heels and the side of the feet. The art also uses tricks like inward trips, wall-jumping, fake-outs, tempo, and slide-stepping. The art is also like a dance in which the fighter constantly changes stance from left to right by stepping forward and backwards with arms up and ready to guard. This art requires traditional Korean white robes.

Low kicks, very frequent in Taekkyon, are used to disable an opponent's balance and knock him to the ground. These kicks include leg sweeps as well as direct blows to the knee. There are around 10 different basic techniques of this set of techniques called ddanjuk.

[edit] As a sport

When Taekkyon is practiced as a sport, it uses a limited subset of techniques, focusing on grappling and kicking only. Points are scored by throwing (or tripping) the opponent to the ground, pushing him out of the ring, or kicking him in the head. There are no hand strikes or headbutts, and purposefully injuring your opponent is prohibited. (The head kicks are often quite sharp, but usually not full force, and fighters may not attempt to wear the opponent down with body blows as in western boxing or muay thai). Matches are sometimes decided by the best of three falls -- the first fighter to score two points wins. However, different modern associations employ slightly different rules. To an untrained eye, the matches are cautious but exhilarating affairs. The contestants circle each other warily, changing their footwork constantly and feinting with low kicks, before exploding into a flurry of action which might leave one fighter flat on his/her back.

[edit] Modern development (since 1988)

In 1987, the most important man for the transmission of Taekkyon, Song Dok-Ki, died at the age of 94. Shortly afterwards, in the same year, Shin Han-Seung (who was most responsible for the registration of Taekkyon as an intangible cultural asset) also died. Since this time, several Taekkyon associations which follow different goals are active.

The only authentic and authorized Taekkyon associations are:

  • The Korea Taekkyon Association (KTA)
  • The Korea Traditional Taekgyeon Association (KTTA)
  • The Kyulyun Taekyun Association (KTK)

[edit] References

  1. ^ (Korean)Lee Yong Bok 태견연구 ISBN : 8971930748 - 2001
  2. ^ Robert W. Young The History & Development of Tae Kyeon - Journal of Asian Martial Arts 2:2 (1993)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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