Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

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’kyŏn 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’kyŏn, 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 Tŏk-ki had to demonstrate
t’aek’kyŏn after Korea’s independence was on March 26, 1958. This
was the birthday of Yi Sŭng-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’kyŏn occurred in
1964 when Sin Han-sŭng read a story about Song in the Hankuk Ilbo newspaper.
Sin was born in 1928. As a child, Sin had seen t’aek’kyŏn being practiced
at his grandfather’s home, though he himself had never learned it. By
1964, he had experience in ssirŭm, Western wrestling, jûdô, and T’aegwondo
(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’kyŏn 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
T’aek’kyŏn 605