Sport in South Korea
Taekwondo, a popular martial sport is often claimed to have historical origins on the Korean peninsula with origins said to have been traced as far back as the 1st century BCE. However, such historical claims are difficult to empirically verify and separate from the influences of neighboring counties. The sport rose to prominence following the end of Japanese occupation with the end of WWII. Formalized rules were established in 1961 and in 1988 the sport became an Olympic event. The name "Taekwondo" literally means "way of foot and fist", although the modern emphasis lies on the kicks. This may be a way to help legitimize the sport's connection to the traditional practice called Taekkyeon, which originated in Korea during the Goguryeo period in the 4th century. Taekkyeon uses open hands and the feet, where as the use of clenched fists is not permitted. The motions are smoother and more curvilinear than in Taekwondo. Although both disciplines start with the sound "tae" in English, there is no relationship.
Yun Mu Kwan
"Yun Mu Kwan" (or "Yun Moo Kwan" or, sometimes, "Yeonmuguan"), the "lost kwan" (because it disappeared so early in the history of Korean karate), is one of the original Korean karate styles, now known as Taekwondo, which were derived from Japanese karate in the mid-twentieth century by a number of Korean men who had studied, while their country was under Japanese occupation, at Japanese universities. Karate-do (or "Way of the Empty Hand") was a form of generally unarmed, hand-to-hand combat developed on Okinawa Island, part of the Ryukyu archipelago (annexed by Japan in 1872) which reflected the influences of the kung fu styles then practiced in southern China. Karate was first brought to Japan from Okinawa by the Okinawan educator Gichin Funakoshi, who had trained in the Shuri-te tradition of Okinawa te ("Okinawan hand"), or karate — a tradition that emphasized aggressiveness and direct lines of attack and defense. Other Okinawan karate masters followed him to Japan including Kanken Toyama, Chojun Miyagi, Kenwa Mabuni, and Uechi Kanbun, each with his own variation of what Funakoshi was then calling "kempo" (a Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese "ch'uan fa" which translates, roughly, as "law of the fist" and is sometimes used in China in lieu of the more familiar "kung fu" and "wushu"). Funakoshi adopted much of the systematic training format Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, had developed for his art, including white uniforms (the "gi") similar to those worn by judo players, the structured teaching format which begins with formal stretching and warm-ups, progresses to basic techniques and then to fixed routines (kata) and finally to practical applications on the mat. He also adopted judo's colored belt ranking system, culminating in the now universally recognized black belt.