Taek Kyon

From Karate, Kungfu, Wrestling, Mixed Fighting Information Source

Taekkyon or Taek Kyon is a traditional bare-hand martial arts developed by the Korean people and is recognized as the original form of bare-hand martial arts in Korea. This ancient martial art might have been derived from another martial art Soo Bakh Do

It was said to have spread to the Silla kingdom and became the bare-handed way of fighting of the Hwa Rang Do.

History

Before the 6th century, Taekkyon was practiced by the ruling classes and from the 9th to 12th century it became very popular even among the common people. According to the Koryusa, a Korean history book written in the 15th century, Taekkyon was widely encouraged and practiced by everyone from the king himself to farmers.

Consequently, the early Korean society moved toward a system that encouraged education and literary pursuits and discouraged military pursuits, the practice of Taekkyon declined. By the 13th century, Taekkyon was considered a folk custom rather than an actively practiced martial art.

During the Japanese colonial period, Taekkyon was banned and nearly vanished. Fortunately Song Duk-ki (1893-1987) preserved the art and handed it down to modern day Koreans. After the independence of Korea, the practice of Taekkyon became considerably less popular than the practice of Japanese based arts. The establishment of Taekwondo after the Korean War and its subsequent popularity served to further overshadow the practice of Taekkyon.

The Practice of Taekkyon

In the practice of Taekkyon it was a folk custom for villagers to divide themselves into two groups according to geography. Until the end of Chosun Dynasty, the citizens of Seoul divided themselves in a western group, called Woodae', and an eastern group called Araedae. These two teams will comprise the taekkyon competition which is regularly held during the "Tano Day" (the 15th day of the 5th lunar month), in which the two groups gathered in a large field at dusk and began to play.

First, the children were matched up in a competition usually called the Aeki-Taekkyon then afterwards, the adults will play. The people with lower skills took turns first and those with higher skills followed. It is customary that the winner of each match should choose any new challenger among the ranks of the other team. In this manner, the matches became more exciting and interesting as they progressed. The winner of the final match was called An-mageum Chang-sa, which means "The Best Player". No award was given to the winner, but he was celebrated as a hero by both teams.

To win a match, the player has to take his opponent down by throwing or kicking the opponent's head. The loser has to tap the ground with the palm of his hand to admit that he has lost. The playing ground was usually made by laying two straw mats. People also played on sandy grounds or on grass. This game was banned by the Japanese police during the Colonial period and later vanished.

Korean Martial Arts
Charyok | Choson Sebop | Chung Do Mu Sool Won | Dahn Mudo | Gyongdang | Haidong Gumdo | Hankido | Hapkido | Hoi Jeon Moo Sool | Kuksulwon | Kumdo | Kun Gek Do | Kwonbup | Mudokkwan Subakdo | Muye 24 ki | Shippalgi | Sonmudo/Bulmudo | Ssireum | Subak | Subyokchigi | Taekyon | Taekwondo | Tang Soo Do | Tukong Moosul | Youn Wha Ryu