T’aek’kyon is a Korean martial sport that emphasizes foot and leg techniques. In the modern game, a player can win by making an opponent fall down with a sweep, trip, or throw, or by kicks to the head or face. It is distinguished by its evasive and dancelike footwork. In the twentieth century it has come to be seen as a living link with Korea’s past, distinct from foreign influence. It has also provided a historical reference point for modern martial arts in Korea. T’aek’kyon was recognized by the Korean government with the title of Intangible Cultural Asset in 1983.
The origins of t’aek’kyon are highly speculative, though it probably has its roots in Chinese practices imported to Korea. If so, it is so far removed from those sources that it does not resemble anything identifiably Chinese. The name t’aek’kyon does not appear in Korean records until the latter part of the Yi dynasty (1392-1910), though there are many prior references to something called subakhi, “hand strike contest,” which specialized in hand and fist techniques. There are comparatively few references to t’aek’kyon. The first that is known is in the Chaemulpo, or topic of Treasures, written by Yi Song-ji ca. 1790. It includes a passage that states that Subakhi had come to be called Tak’kyon by the time the topic was written. Though there is no direct evidence, it seems reasonable to assume that Tak’kyon and t’aek’kyon are identical. Other historical references to Tak’kyon describe something that greatly resembles modern t’aek’kyon.
Concerning the possible connection of Subakhi to t’aek’kyon, besides the statement in the Chaemulpo, other evidence points to a relation. Among the t’aek’kyon techniques that have been preserved, there are several variations on punching techniques. A number of these are designated under the category of yaet pop, or “old skills.” This seems to fit in with the notion that Subakhi changed over time, its preference for hand techniques being replaced with foot and leg skills, thus requiring a different name. The name “old skills” itself seems to suggest an awareness of this process.
Current knowledge of t’aek’kyon comes from two general sources: references to it in literature and art of the Yi dynasty and the memories of those who learned and practiced t’aek’kyon in the first decade of the twentieth century, before the Japanese colonization of Korea. There are only two written sources that convey the specifics of t’aek’kyon before the twentieth century. One source is Korean Games, by the American anthropologist Stuart Culin, published in 1895. The other is Haedong Chukchi, or East Sea Annals, a work of history by Choi Yong-nyon, published in 1921. There is also a painting by Yu Suk, completed in 1846, called Tae K’wae To (Scene of Great Cheer), which appears to be showing a t’aek’kyon match.
Based on conclusions drawn from the extant material, t’aek’kyon was an activity of the common people. Also, it was practiced primarily as a game or sport, although it did have combat applications. The poem in the Haedong Chukchi conveys a clear sense of admiration for the skills involved and implies that those skills were not minor. Probably because it was associated with entertainment in a broadly social context, a notion arose that Tak’kyon promoted, or at least coexisted with, vice, disorder, and dissipation, which led to its formal prohibition. That this prohibition was not, and probably could not have been, complete accounts for the survival of t’aek’kyon to modern times.
Living knowledge of t’aek’kyon comes almost exclusively from one man, Song Tok-ki. Song was born in Seoul in 1893. He began learning t’aek’kyon around 1905, at the direction of his father. According to Song Tok-ki, t’aek’kyon was practiced almost exclusively by the common people: shopkeepers, farmers, peasants, and gangsters. Its practice was restricted to the area of Seoul.
T’aek’kyon at that time was practiced in two general ways: as a game and as a form of combat. In its play form, it could resemble a sport, with teams, rules, and an organized procedure, or it could develop as a simple match between two people. It was most common on the occasion of large social occasions. Along with ssirum, t’aek’kyon was an important part of seasonal festivals in Seoul. T’aek’kyon also could be employed as a fighting system. As such, it existed primarily among gangsters, or their precursors. Song had experience in both types of t’aek’kyon.
There was no conventional training system for t’aek’kyon. It had no formal ranking structure, and there were no prearranged patterns to aid in learning or personal practice. Given its status as a social, public activity, people were probably able to learn t’aek’kyon piecemeal, at random times and places with different teachers. One who wished to learn might imitate those he saw practicing and eventually participate in games, without ever having had any formal instruction. According to Song Tok-ki, however, serious students learned t’aek’kyon in organized groups under specific teachers, as in his experience. Most importantly, t’aek’kyon itself clearly had a distinct identity, with a common form and hence common techniques: pumbalki, triangular footwork; hwalgaejit, general hand and arm movements for deception, blocking, and grabbing; sonkisul (or sonjil), hand and arm techniques, including both open- and close-fisted strikes, traps, grabs, and grappling moves (head-butting is included in this category, presumably because one grabbed an opponent behind the neck to pull his head forward); palgisul (or paljil), foot and leg techniques, including both striking and pushing kicks, trips, sweeps, stamping, and others.
T’aek’kyon was entirely a standing art. In the game, techniques were performed with pushing instead of striking force. When it was used for fighting, however, all techniques were used with power.
In 1910, Korea was annexed by Japan. Although the Japanese discouraged the practice of t’aek’kyon, for several years Song still managed to practice with smaller groups, but pressure from both his family and the police finally compelled him to quit. Though there was some surreptitious practice during the occupation, it was rare and involved very few people. It would seem, however, that though its practice was formally prohibited, it was not actively suppressed. It did not disappear so much because of harsh repression as because its practitioners needed to look after themselves during a harsh time and hence had neither the leisure nor the inclination to practice their skills.
Korea was liberated in 1945. The Korean War followed in short order, from 1950 to 1953. The first opportunity Song Tok-ki had to demonstrate t’aek’kyon after Korea’s independence was on March 26, 1958. This was the birthday of Yi Sung-Man, then president of Korea. For this occasion, Yi wanted to see displays of Korean fighting arts. Song heard of this and accordingly volunteered to give a demonstration. Because of the event, Song achieved a moderate amount of recognition.
The first step in the development of modern t’aek’kyon occurred in 1964 when Sin Han-sung read a story about Song in the Hankuk Ilbo newspaper. Sin was born in 1928. As a child, Sin had seen t’aek’kyon being practiced at his grandfather’s home, though he himself had never learned it. By 1964, he had experience in ssiritm, Western wrestling, judo, and T’aeg-wondo (taekwondo). He had become interested in traditional Korean martial arts, and the newspaper article about Song gave him his chance to learn.
Sin opened his own school in Chungchu in 1973. Sin’s main goal over the next several years was to get government recognition for t’aek’kyon as part of Korea’s cultural heritage. He also worked to spread and modernize the art so as to ensure its survival. To this end, he worked on creating a standardized training system for it. This system, when completed, had four parts. The first consisted of individual exercises, both standing and walking. The second consisted of partner exercises, demonstrating the application of techniques in the first set as well as introducing new ones. The third section consisted of competition, and the fourth a form, which was a compendium of all the fundamental techniques involved in competition.
Sin was criticized for some aspects of his system, particularly the form. Some claimed that it altered the original style of t’aek’kyon, as taught by Song Tok-ki, too much. Several of these critics, who had also studied with Song, went on to establish their own associations. Even so, Sin is generally given credit for having done the most to preserve and spread t’aek’kyon. It would never have attained government recognition without his efforts. Song Tok-ki and Sin Hhan-sung both died in 1987, twenty days apart.
There are two ways to approach the influence of t’aek’kyon on Korea and Korean fighting arts. The first is the view that it had direct, technical connections with the modern styles. The second is to concentrate on its conceptual influence—that is, the associations and images that the name t’aek’kyon evoked. The first view has generated controversy. The most disputed is the view that taekwondo grew directly out of t’aek’kyon. In Korea, the leaders of the present t’aek’kyon associations disavow any direct connection with taekwondo. Experiential knowledge of t’aek’kyon can be conclusively traced to a very few individuals, and none were linked to those who later went on to establish taekwondo.
T’aek’kyon’s conceptual influence is a much different matter. Those who grew up during the Japanese occupation and immediately after may have heard of t’aek’kyon through older relatives, but probably never saw it. Hence, the notion of t’aek’kyon as the Korean way of fighting grew in the popular imagination, even among those who had never seen it. People knew that at one time there had been a way of fighting called t’aek’kyon that specialized in kicking. References to t’aek’kyon had the effect of calling up associations with Korean life before the occupation and the war, a life of which only traces remained. Song Tok-ki himself, as a survivor from that time, evoked the old life as well. T’aek’kyon still retains these associations. It is this sense of history embodied in the name t’aek’kyHn that has most influenced modern Korean martial arts. When the name taekwondo was suggested as the new name for the martial arts practiced by the various Korean schools in the 1950s, it was to connect these arts with the popular memory of t’aek’kyon and the associations that it called up. In these references, Korean fighting meant fighting mostly with the legs, a notion that probably contributed to the emphasis on kicking in modern taekwondo.
Whatever its presence in memory, t’aek’kyon itself is still somewhat obscure in Korea, and there are relatively few schools teaching it. Many Koreans identify the name with taekwondo, associate it with Chinese martial arts, or simply are unaware of what it might be. There are signs that it is growing more popular, with t’aek’kyon clubs in most large universities and competitions broadcast on national television.
Each t’aek’kyon association in Korea has a slightly different approach to competition, but the differences are largely minor. There are two varieties of the game. One is the kind of informal match that occurs in a gym as part of a class. The other is the more formal competition that takes place at tournaments. It is usually played on mats, identical to the kind typically used for judo. Players wear traditional white Korean clothes (hanpok). There are no rounds. A match continues until a player loses or until a time limit elapses. The judges and referee then decide the winner. Hand techniques are restricted to pushes, grabs, and traps. Grabbing the opponent’s clothes is not allowed. Among the associations and even within them, a wide range of contact is permitted. It is typically medium contact, though using higher levels is usually not penalized. No protection of any kind, such as gloves or protective vests, is worn. There are two ways of scoring. One is to cause the opponent’s knee or any part of the body above it to touch the ground. The other is a clean kick to the head or face. For a head kick to score, it must clearly cause the head to move. Only push kicks to the body are formally allowed. Such kicks do not score unless they directly cause the opponent to fall down.
The most distinctive quality of t’aek’kyon in practice is its footwork, called pumbalki. Players continuously step in a triangular pattern, shifting their weight and position. The object of this footwork is never to have a foot in one place for long and to be prepared to move a foot from its position if it is attacked. Hence, t’aek’kyon footwork has a rhythmic, dancelike quality. Another reason for this footwork is to facilitate evasive movements in all directions. T’aek’kyon has very few blocking skills; evasion is preferred. The feet should be kept close, since wide steps provide more opportunities for attacks, particularly sweeps. There are many kinds of sweeps and kicks. A distinctive feature of all kicks in t’aek’kyon, besides the front thrust kick, which is not allowed in competition, is that they are performed with pushing rather than striking power.
The preferred response to kicks is to trap them, then follow with a sweep to the opponent’s supporting leg. Trapping is accomplished by bringing the hand over or underneath the kick, going with its force. The parts of the body subject to grabs are usually the neck and the shoulders. If a sweep is attempted, a player pulls the opponent’s neck in the opposite direction of the sweep. When attempting a throw, a player grabs an opponent around the neck with one hand, pressing the arm to the side at the elbow with the other hand. There are also pushing moves, usually around the shoulders and ribs; however, the two most common pushes are against the throat.
The old hand strikes come in two categories: strikes against the face and head and against the body. With one exception, strikes to the head are all open-handed. Targets include the nose, front and side of the jaw, cheeks, ears, and forehead. There is also a hammer-fist strike to the temple. Another technique is to scrape down the face, pushing at the same time. Strikes to the body are always punches, to the solar plexus or armpits, for example. The t’aek’kyon repertoire also includes a set of hand and arm motions called hwalgaejit. One can use them to confuse or distract an opponent.
There are currently four t’aek’kyon associations in Korea. Each of them was established by people who had studied with both Song tok-ki and Sin han-sung. They stress different aspects of t’aek’kyon, though their differences are minor. Each of them is growing, and it appears that the future of t’aek’kyon is ensured.
