If you ask a ITF practitioner to describe WTF stylists, you may hear:
WTF president is a political figure who is not a Taekwondo practitioner.
If you ask a WTF practitioner to describe ITF stylists, you may hear:
Since they use light or no contact sparring, they would not survive in WTF sparring.
For true traditionalists, such as myself, the real Taekwondo is the one that developed in the major kwans throughout South Korea after World War II. It was combination of the Shotokan that had been learned by the kwan masters in Japan and what the masters had been able to learn about the ancient Korean art of Taekkon (of which little is known). All the kwan masters were equally responsible for the development of this new martial art; however, due to his positions and contacts within government and his ambition, Choi's version of Taekwondo became the most popular version used in the early years. Choi later declared himself the founder of Taekwondo. Although he certainly helped make Taekwondo the most popular martial art worldwide, he was not its sole founder. Choi's early Taekwondo was Taekwondo at its purest since it had all the characteristics of the style developed by the kwans. Over the years, Choi and his students added their own beliefs to the ITF style of Taekwondo, such as the sine wave movement, knee spring, different patterns, etc. Leaders in the WTF style of Taekwondo had their own political and ideological reasons for making their version of Taekwondo a mostly kicking type of sport. If you read Choi's original 1965 book Taekwon-do, The Art of Self-Defense (the first English book on Taekwondo) you will find Taekwondo in its purest form, before power, politics, and greed changed it. Some other early Taekwondo books are
Once Taekwondo arrived in the United States, it underwent more changes and became Americanized. ARTICLE COMMENTS: Only registered users may view or make article comments!
If you ask a ITF practitioner to describe WTF stylists, you may hear:
WTF president is a political figure who is not a Taekwondo practitioner.
If you ask a WTF practitioner to describe ITF stylists, you may hear:
Since they use light or no contact sparring, they would not survive in WTF sparring.
For true traditionalists, such as myself, the real Taekwondo is the one that developed in the major kwans throughout South Korea after World War II. It was combination of the Shotokan that had been learned by the kwan masters in Japan and what the masters had been able to learn about the ancient Korean art of Taekkon (of which little is known). All the kwan masters were equally responsible for the development of this new martial art; however, due to his positions and contacts within government and his ambition, Choi's version of Taekwondo became the most popular version used in the early years. Choi later declared himself the founder of Taekwondo. Althou
gh he certainly helped make Taekwondo the most popular martial art worldwide, he was not its sole founder. Choi's early Taekwondo was Taekwondo at its purest since it had all the characteristics of the style developed by the kwans. Over the years, Choi and his students added their own beliefs to the ITF style of Taekwondo, such as the sine wave movement, knee spring, different patterns, etc. Leaders in the WTF style of Taekwondo had their own political and ideological reasons for making their version of Taekwondo a mostly kicking type of sport. If you read Choi's original 1965 book Taekwon-do, The Art of Self-Defense (the first English book on Taekwondo) you will find Taekwondo in its purest form, before power, politics, and greed changed it. Some other early Taekwondo books are
Once Taekwondo arrived in the United States, it underwent more changes and became Americanized. ARTICLE COMMENTS: Only registered users may view or make article comments!