Thursday 9 April 2015

Taekwondo celebrates its 60h birthday on April 11th

As you probably know allready GM Choi Hong Hi who came up with the name "Taekwondo" declared April 11th 1955 for Taekwondo`s birthday. The readers of this blog no doubt allready know that Taekwondo has roots that reaches far beyond that in both time and space (outside Korea`s borders) but devoting one day of the year to celebrate it and to give thoughts to those who came before you on Taekwondo`s path is a good idea that I have taken to heart. Some say that the date 11th of April 1955 as Taekwondo`s birthday is only relevant to ITF Taekwon-Do but the history buffs out there will instantly see that the date predates the founding of the ITF With several years. It does not really matter if you practise Kukki Taekwondo, ITF Taekwon-Do or any other type of Taekwondo. As long as you are using the term "Taekwondo" to refer to your martial art you can safely celebrate it on April 11th:-)

Why GM Choi Hong Hi choose April 11th is often said to be because it was approved by the naming comitee that day. That is actually not the case. In an interesting exchange with Master George Vitale I learned that the name was approved later that year. So why April 11th? I dont know but I like to BELIEVE that GM Choi Hong Hi came up with the name that day. I just like to believe it I dont know if its true or not.

So what are you going to do on April 11th? Personally I am going to write (on paper) a letter to my teachers to thank them, then I am going into the woods in a hidden clearing and chose 1 poomsae and do it 100 times as a Poomsae marathon. I invite you to do the sameor do your own thing if you too want to mark the 60th anniversery.


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