Taekkyon
Taekkyon, also spelled taekkyeon, is a traditional Korean martial art. It is characterized by a fluid, dynamic footwork called pumbalbgi, or "stepping-on-triangles". Taekkyon includes hand and foot techniques to unbalance, trip, or throw the opponent. In competitive taekkyon points are scored by throwing the opponent or landing kicks on their head. A taekkyon practitioner is called a "Taekkyon-kkun". Practitioners and all participants, including referees, and coaches, wear hanbok as their uniform.
Since the twentieth century, Taekkyon has come to be seen as a living link to Korea's past. As such, it has provided historical references for modern Korean martial arts and is often considered as the oldest martial discipline of Korea. It was almost wiped out during the Japanese occupation, before being rediscovered after the Korean War. It influenced the name and conceptualization of taekwondo.
Taekkyon was the first martial art listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011. It is also the 76th Intangible Cultural Property of South Korea.
History
The earliest written source of the term appears during the reign of King Jeongjo of the Joseon dynasty, in the book Jaemulbo, which included an entry about a 2nd-century Book of Han reference of contests of unarmed combat. In this entry, author Lee Sung-Ji extended a 3rd-century annotation of this reference to say that such competitions were like the Taekkyon of his time:The word Taekkyon is written in Hangul, which denotes its connection with the common people while the rest is written in Hanja.
Song Deok-gi who was the main source of the taekkyon revival after the occupation, wrote in the preface of his only book: "It cannot be said for sure when and how Taekkyon came into existence, but until the end of the Korean kingdom, certain people did Taekkyon together."
Taekkyon was documented for the first time in the West by anthropologist Stewart Culin in his book Korean Games, written in 1895. In the 1921 book Haedong Jukji by Choe Yeong-nyeon, Taekkyon is called "flying leg technique". Taekkyon was widely practiced during the Joseon period. Two versions existed at the time: one for combat application used by militaries, the other as a game, very popular among lower classes alongside ssireum. Both combat sports were often seen at festivals, attended by all social classes. For example, during the Dan-O-Festival, a tournament called Gyeoll-yeon-Taekkyon was held. Players who beat five opponents consecutively could take a rest and re-enter the tournament again later.
Taekkyon's popularity declined as Neo-Confucianism became widespread among the elite and it underwent a long period of decline toward the end of the Joseon Dynasty. At the dawn of the 20th century, it was only practiced around the capital city of Hanyang, in the district of Jongro. The subsequent Japanese occupation prohibited gatherings of people and indigenous fighting techniques, which nearly made the art extinct.
After the Korean War there was only one surviving master: Song Deok-gi, who was part of the last generation that received a traditional education under the tutelage of renowned Master Im Ho. After the passing of his master, Song had maintained his practice in secret throughout the Japanese occupation. The style he practiced was called after his village of Sajik. Song was critical in the preservation of Taekkyon due to his link to pre-war teachings. After a martial arts demonstration given for then-president Syngman Rhee's birthday, he was revealed to the public on 26 March 1958 and became known as the "Last Taekkyon Master of the Joseon Dynasty".
Nonetheless, taekkyon did not enjoy a sudden resurgence, faced with lack of interest from the general public and competition from modern martial disciplines. Despite sporadic interest by taekwondo figures, taekkyon remained relatively obscure. Lee Jun-seo and Ko Yong-woo, the two earliest known students of Song started their training during that period.
On June 1, 1983, Taekkyon was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Asset by the Korean government, through the effort of Song's pupil, Shin Han-seung.
After two unsuccessful registration attempts, Shin, himself a physical educator, created a modern training system by adapting methods from other martial arts and sports. This new system introduced several innovations that were originally absent from the original taekkyon such as pre-arranged forms, a formal ranking system and overall, a re-conception of taekkyon as a sanitized, modern sport. While these efforts helped taekkyon gain official recognition, they also created a rift within the community between modernists and preservers.
Following this honor, both Song Deok-gi and Shin Han-seung were given living national treasure status. Taekkyon is one of two Korean martial arts to receive this recognition, the other being Ssireum. Since then, taekkyon has enjoyed a renaissance with the establishment of university clubs, the opening of new schools, and active promotional efforts from the government and associations alike. The first contemporary taekkyon competition took place in Busan on June 30, 1985. After more than 70 years of public disappearance, this competition was a landmark event that marked the return of taekkyon as an organized modern sport. Song Deok-ki and Shin Han-seung demonstrated respectively mack-boigi, and bonddae-boigi. Future leaders of taekkyon's modern associations, Lee Yong-bok, Jeong Kyung-hwa and Do Ki-hyun were also in attendance.
Shin Han-seung and Song Deok-gi died in 1987, twenty days appart. Following their passing, their Important Intangible Cultural Asset status was revoked.
After the death of the two masters, the Taekkyon community was definitively split by the establishment of more separate schools. The followers of Song's teachings, represented by the Widae Taekkyon Preservation Association emphasize the preservation of traditional forms. In contrast, the followers of Shin—whether his direct students or those inspired by his system—pursue a more sport-oriented approach and bringing the art to a global stage.
In November 2011, Taekkyon was recognized by UNESCO and placed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List, honored as the first martial art on the list.
Techniques
Taekkyon utilizes a wide variety of techniques including kicks, hands, knee, elbow strikes, pressure point attacks, throws, joint locks, headbutts and grapples. The whole body is used in each movement. Although taekkyon primarily utilizes kicking, punching, and arm strikes thrown from a mobile stance and does not provide a framework for groundfighting, it does incorporate a variety of different throws, takedowns, and grappling techniques. The main purpose of taekkyon is to catch the opponent off-guard by using the whole weight of the body and catch the opponent's attack off-balance before returning it against them.The basic pumbalki footwork is geometric and at the core of all advanced movement. The movements of taekkyon are fluid with the practitioners constantly moving. One of its most striking characteristics is the motion called ogumsil or neung-cheong: It is a constant bending and stretching of the knees, giving taekkyon a dance-like appearance. This motion is also used in the Korean mask dance talchum which gives them a similar flow. The art is 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, blending arm movements with leg. Taekkyon does not make use of abrupt knee motions. The principles and methods used to extend the kick put more emphasis on grace and alignment for whole-body strength, as with the arm motions.
''Pumbalki'' (footwork)
The most unique feature of taekkyon is its triangular footwork called pumbalki or pum balbki which looks like a dance. The meaning of pumbalkki is "to step the pum". Pum is the hanja 品, which means "goods" or "level" but it is used for its triangular shape rather than its meaning. Footwork is smooth and rhythmic and enables rapid shifting of the center of gravity. It has the effect of strengthening the waist and lower part of the body as well as harmonizing attack and defense. It is practiced in place, but in competition it involves continually advancing or retreating.''Hwalgaejit'' (deceptive arm movements)
Hwalgaejit looks like the movement of a bird's wings. Coming from the root hwalgae, meaning "deceptive arm and leg movements resembling the movements of butterfly wings," the shoulders are expanded naturally and must flow harmoniously with the footwork. While improving the body's reflexes, responsiveness and balance, it also helps distract the opponent's attention before the counterattack. It is mainly used defensively to block or catch an opponent blow. Hwalgejit transfers power from the body to the arms in order to enhance power for quick action.''Baljil'' (kicks)
Taekkyon was known for its kicking techniques so ancient chronicles referred to it with poetic names such as "one-hundred godlike flying leg skills", "leg art", or "flying leg skills". Modern taekkyon schools teach a variety of kicks, low, medium, and high, as well as jumps. 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, which is called gyeot chigi, 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.''Sonjil'' (strikes)
Renowned for the variety of its kicks since ancient times, taekkyon features numerous striking techniques. These target all areas of the body and utilize every part of the arm — including the forearm, elbow, edge of the hand, back of the hand, and fingertips. Techniques must be executed in coordination with the pumbalki so that the springing power can be transferred to the upper limbs. The palm or fist is most often used to strike.Though hand techniques had been used for self-defense until the Widae style, the three modern schools only teach it at an advanced level as part of yetbeop taekkyon.