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Is This a Dance or Martial Art?
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By An Ju-ri, reporter, annjr@knu.ac.kr
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등록일: 2008-11-01 오전 12:00:00
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▲ Taekkyeon
ⓒ Photo by Eouljigi |
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As soon as humans began living in a group, they needed to protect themselves from their enemies. For this reason, various martial arts were born. In ancient society, martial arts were extremely important because the individual martial abilities decided the competitive power of the society. However, in modern times, with all the highly developed weapons, most martial arts have focused on self-defense, health, and training for mind and body. Korean traditional martial arts also have contributed to the sound life of modern society. The oldest Korean martial art is Taekkyeon, which has a dance-like appearance, probably stemming from Subak.
■History of Taekkyeon
According to Joseon-sanggosa (written by Shin Chae-ho), King Taejo of Goguryeo (37 B.C. ~ 668 A.D.) held a martial arts festival which included Subak (fighting with hands), Kyeokkeom (fencing), Kima (horse riding), and Taekkyeon, and the winner was called 'Seonbae.' Other old books have many references to Taekkyeon. In addition, the tombs of Goguryeo, the Sokkuram grotto, and the clay figures of Silla (57 B.C. ~ 935 A.D.) show the predecessors of Taekkyon. In the Goryo Dynasty (918~ 1392 A.D.), Taekkyeon, in the form of Subak spread out over many countries. In the Joseon Dynasty (A.D. 1392~ 1910) , Taekkyeon was a regular event used for attracting new soldiers. However when the Japanese occupied Korea (A.D. 1910 ~ 1945), they prohibited Taekkyeon and imprisoned anyone caught practicing it, under their racial annihilation policy. Fortunately, Taekkyeon has been secretly handed down by various masters and was designated Important Intangible Cultural Property #76 in 1983. It is the only Korean martial art which possesses such a classification.
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▲ Taekkyeon
ⓒ Photo by Eouljigi |
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■Characteristics and types of Taekkyeon
Compared with other martial arts, the most distinguished feature of Taekkyeon is its fluid, dance-like movement. There are many foot techniques, so Taekkyeon has been called 'Kakhi.' Taekkyeon has two main parts, Seoki-Taekkyeon and kyulyun-Taekkyeon. The former is defense-centered and players compete according to regular game rules. The latter is attack-centered, and there are no game rules, so this is called ssam (fight)-Taekkyeon. Seoki-Taekkyeon, in its original form, is Important Intangible Cultural Property.
■The basics of Taekkyeon
Whichever martial arts you practice, the most important thing is to learn the basics. The basic postures of Taekkyeon are wonpum (original posture), jwapum (left posture), and woopum (right posture). Wonpum is a posture which defends against enemy attacks by spreading the right foot shoulder width. Jwapum is also a defense against an attack. From the wonpum position, stick out your left foot and balance the body on the hind foot with bended knees. In this pose, the direction of body is on the left. Woopum is the same defense posture and the opposite of jwapum.
■Representative technique of Taekkyeon
Pumbalkki : the basic foot movement, moving with a form like '品(pum).
Naksigeori : knocking down the enemy with your bended ankle as fishing.
Balttaki : slapping the cheek with the sole of the foot.
Kyutchiki : kicking outside from inside. That is, knocking down the counterpart with a kick on a foot and a face.
Naechaki : a technique like a jab in boxing. Kicking the leg of the rival.
■Terms of Taekkyeon
Ddanjuk : kicking the leg, low kicks
Baljangsim: referring to a sunken part of the sole of a foot, techniques mainly using part of the foot.
Bonttabwigi: about the time of the match, taking pride in techniques of the martial art and the spirit.
Yetbub: banned techniques in Taekkyeon because of a mortal danger.
Lately, Taekkyeon has come into the spotlight, thanks to movies and plays about it. In particular, JUMP, the comic martial arts performance including Taekkyeon and Taekwondo and other martial arts is achieving great success on world stages. This shows that traditional martial arts can be combined with modern performance arts. Every weekend, there are Taekkyeon battles in Insa-dong, Seoul. In addition, The Korea Taekkyon Association (KTA) has published a Taekkyeon text book in English for foreigners. UNESCO is considering the designation of Taekkyeon as a world heritage. This will help various people in the world to learn about Taekkyeon and will ensure that this traditional Korean martial art will be well preserved.
Nowdays, martial arts such as K-1 and wrestling have many fans. However, it is possible that Taekkyeon can be a more interesting sport than other martial arts. Do you consider Taekkyeon as boring just because it is a traditional martial art? When we cherish our tradition sincerely, other people will recognize the worth of Korean culture.
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Go to homepages for more information about Taekkyeon:
Traditional Taekkyon association: http://ktta.co.kr/
Kyulyun Taekkyun association: http://www.taekyun.org/
Korean Taekkyon association: http://www.taekkyon.or.kr/en/
Taekkyon Korea: http://www.taekkyonkorea.com/
[No.330]
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 Review |
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 Book cafe |
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 Language Usage |
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 Reader's Letters |
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