Although the origins of the martial arts are shrouded in mystery, we consider it an undeniable fact that from time immemorial there have been physical condtions involving the use of the hands and feet for purpose of self-protection. If we ere to define these physical actions as "Taekwon- Do", any country might claim credit for inventing Taekwon-Do. There is, however, scant esemblance between Taekwon-Do, as it is practiced today, and the crude forms of unarmed combat developed in the past.

Modern Taekwon-Do differs greatly from other martial arts. In fact, no other artial art is so advanced with regard to the sophistication and effectiveness of its technique or the over-all physical fitness it imparts to its practitioners. Technically, 1955 signaled the beginning of Taekwon-Do as a formally recognized art in Korea. During that year, a special board was formed which included leading master instructors, historians, and prominent leaders of society. A number of names for the new martial art were submitted. On the 11th of April, the board summoned by Gen. Choi Hong Hi, decided on the name of Taekwon-Do which had been submitted by him. This single unified name of Taekwon-Do replaced the different and confusing terms; Dang Soo, Gong Soo, Taek Kyon, Kwon Bup, etc.

In 1959, Taekwon-Do spread beyond its national boundaries. The father of Taekwon-Do and nineteen of his top black belt holders toured the Far East. The tour was a major success, astounding all spectators with the excellence of the Taekwon-Do techniques. Many of these black belt holders such as Nam Tae Hi, President of the Asia Taekwon-Do Federation;

Colonel Ko Jae Chun, the 5th Chief of Taekwon-Do instructors in Vietnam; Colonel Baek Joon Gi, the 2nd Chief instructor in Vietnam; Brigadier Gen. Woo Jong Lim; Mr. Han Cha Kyo, the Head Instructor in Singapore and Mr. Cha Soo Young, presently an international instructor in Washington D.C. eventually went on to spread the art to the world.

In this year, Choi was elevated to two illustrious posts; President of his newly formed Korea Taekwon-Do Association and deputy commander of the 2nd Army in Tae Gu. In 1965 Ambassador Choi, retired two star general, was appointed by the Government of the Republic of Korea to lead a goodwill mission to West Germany, Italy, Turkey, United-Arab Republic, Malaysia, and Singapore. This trip is significant in that the Ambassador, for the first time in Korean history, declared Taekwon-Do as the national martial art of Korea.

This was the basis not only for establishing Taekwon-Do Associations in these countries but also the formation of the International Taekwon-DoFederation as it is known today. In 1966, the dream of the sickly young student of calligraphy, who rose to Ambassador and the Association President of the most respected martial art in the world came true. On the 22nd of March, the International Taekwon-Do Federation was formed with associations in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, the United States, Turkey, Italy, Arab Republic of Egypt and Korea

Korean history began when in 2333 B.C. the legendary national founder, Tangun, founded "Old Korea" at Asadal. As in the histories of other nations, communal life was gradually transformed into tribal communities, and then tribal leagues and finally took the form of a state. Although no written history of the fighting systems of this time remains it is known that the people of this time were hunters and had some means of protection as well as livelihood.

During the 6th century A.D. what we now call the Korean peninsula was divided into three kingdoms; Koguryo, Paekje and Silla.

Koguryo (37 B.C.- 668 A.D.)- Koguryo was the largest kingdom. It occupied the southern section of Manchuria and the northern section of the Korean peninsula. Paekje (18 B.C. - 600 A.D.)- Paekje was situated along the Han River and in southwestern Korea. Silla (57 B.C.- 936 A.D.)- Silla was the last, and smallest of the kingdoms and located on the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula. Archeological findings during these times such as the mural paintings on the royal tombs during the Koguryo period, stone sculptures at pagodas during the Silla period and documents written in the Paekje period, show techniques and fighting stances that were probably the first forms of Taekwondo.

The three kingdoms were at war with each other and constantly fought for new ground on the peninsula. Silla, being the smallest and weakest militarily began to have a difficult time protecting itself against the other kingdoms and so took an action which would turn out to be a key point in Korean history.

The 24th king of Silla, Chin Heung, formed a group of warriors, which were called the HwaRang. The HwaRang were trained in weapons such as the sword, spear and bow. They devoted their lives to these martial skills in the hopes that they could save Silla. The HwaRang also studied an unarmed form of combat called SooBak. SooBak was a primitive form of foot fighting, using some hand, but mostly foot techniques. The HwaRang took SooBak and added things to it to create a more fighting art. The techniques of SooBak were created to be used in fighting along with the other weapons of the HwaRang to make the warriors able to defeat their enemies. But, Chin Heung needed something more than just competent soldiers; he needed something to unify the HwaRang and create the mental conditioning to lead the kingdom to victory. So, he asked Won Kang, a Buddhist monk and scholar, to take charge of the HwaRang training. Won Kang did so and not only created fine warriors, but actually a way of thought for the HwaRang. Won Kang came up with a code of ethics that the HwaRang warriors followed.

They were:

• 1. Be loyal to your king,
• 2. Be obedient to your parents,
• 3. Have honor and faith among friends,
• 4. Have perseverance in battle,
• 5. Justice never to take a life without cause.

With a the code of ethics and with their skills in fighting the HwaRang became the HwaRangDo, which meant "way of the flower of manhood." The HwaRangDo became known for their bravery and fighting skill and soon supplied the leadership to defeat both the Paekje and Koguryo kingdoms and unify Korea in to one country known then as Koryo.

The Koryo Dynasty was a time for growth and development in the martial arts. During this time unarmed combat gained its greatest popularity. It was believed that SooBak was introduced to China and became known there as KwonPup. SooBak also changed its name to SooBakGi because of the new techniques and the mental discipline added to the style. SooBakGi became a popular sport by both the military and the general public. Martial arts were on an upswing and even new styles began to appear. One such style was Tae Kyon. Tae Kyon involved many more and new kicking techniques and was designed as more of a fighting sport than a discipline. Tae Kyon and SooBakGi contests were held at annual festivals given by the king. The winners of this contest were given high court offices and also taught the styles to the military, which now made these unarmed arts mandatory. Since the soldiers learned and practiced these arts, during their travels though out the kingdom they also spread the study of martial arts.

During the Yi Dynasty, Korea (Yi-shi-Choson) underwent a dramatic change from Buddhism, the predominate religion, to Confucianism. This change brought a Chinese influence over the government and the people of the time. Military leaders began to lose their power to civilian statesmen who believed in the cultural development of their civilization. The people as a whole began to lose interest in the study of martial arts. The study of martial arts, including weapons, was banned to all but the military. The HwaRangDo, which were rooted in the Buddhist teachings, gradually lost its importance among young people. Martial arts began a great downfall. There was, however, an important contribution to the martial arts when King Jong Jo ordered a manual of military arts to be written, including weapons, Tae Kyon and SooBakGi. The manual, written by Lee Duk Mu, included detailed sections on unarmed combat thus preserving in writing the techniques of these fighting arts. During the Yi Dynasty several invasions by the Japanese were fought off. However, due to the eventual decline of military power, the Yi Dynasty ended with the Japanese takeover on August 2, 1910.

Now that Japan had great influence in Korea (Choson) many things were changed. All competitive sports and martial arts were outlawed. Only the military, now under Japanese control, could practice martial arts. SooBakGi was practiced in secret and soon changed its name again to SooBakDo. Japanese combat arts were introduced to Korea at this time. The people of Korea received them with great interest. Due to peace treaties between the Japanese and Koreans, Japanese educational curricula were taught in all Korean schools and also such Japanese arts as Kendo ("way of the sword"), Judo, Karate, and Aikido. Once again martial arts began to flourish with each side, Japan and Korea, trading techniques and styles of martial arts. On August 15, 1945 Korea was liberated from Japan and Korean arts could once again develop.

Within Korea there were five major martial art academies or Kwans. They were called Mooduk Kwan, Jido Kwan, Changmu Kwan, Chungdo Kwan, and Songmu Kwan. Within these schools lie a variety of styles such as KongSooDo, Tae Kyon, SooBakDo, TangSooDo, KwonPup, etc. The way of teaching and employing many of the techniques varied as much as the schools and in 1946 an attempt was made to unify Dojangs (training halls) and standardize instructional methods. Some of the leaders wanted to uphold the martial art character of the schools while others wished to create a combat sport. These meetings met with no success.

In 1955 a board of instructors, historians and prominent society members sat down to coordinate all the schools and select a name for the hopefully unified art. In April 1955 a new name was from a group of names by the board, it was Taekwondo.

In 1962 the Korean Amateur Sports Association recognized the Korean Taekwondo Union, which later became known as the Korean Taekwondo Association (K.T.A.).

On May 28, 1973 the World Taekwondo Federation was officially established at the Kukkiwon (headquarters) by Dr. Un Yon Kim. Located in Seoul, Korea the World Taekwondo Federation is the governing body which preserves Taekwondo's roots and development, controls testing and testing requirements, and promotes the study of Taekwondo all over the world. In this way the WTF hopes to continue the unification of their native art.

Taekwondo today is just as exciting as ever. Taekwondo, under the leadership of the World Taekwondo Federation has grown into an international art and sport practiced in over 190 counties worldwide.

In 1975 the U.S. Amateur Athletes Union (AAU) accepted Taekwondo as an official sport. Taekwondo was also admitted to the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and the International Council of Military Sports (CISM) in 1976. In 1980 the WTF became an International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognized sports federation, making Taekwondo a demonstration sport for the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. Taekwondo is now an official event for the 2000 Olympiad to be held in Australia.

The American Taekwondo Association (ATA) is the premier North American organization dedicated to the martial arts discipline of taekwondo, and is the founding organization of other international affiliates that include the World Traditional Taekwondo Union (WTTU) and the Songahm Taekwondo Federation (STF). Counting both the U.S. and worldwide, our organizations have over 1,500 independently owned and operated licensed schools and clubs, and have registered over one million students since the ATA's inception in 1969.

Since the first class was taught many years ago, the focus of Songahm Taekwondo has remained the same: to provide students the highest quality martial arts instruction available in a safe and positive learning environment that people of all ages can enjoy. The instructors combine excellent student instructor ratios with state of the art training facilities. This has helped establish licensed schools and clubs as the leaders in the martial arts industry. Each instructor is a graduate of an instructor program that represents more than thirty years of research and development. He or she will be with you every step of the way to help you reach your individual goals (and maybe even reach some new goals you never before thought possible).

For more info, use the links to the left, or choose from the convenient list below:

• History: A brief history of the ATA.
• Affiliated Organizations: Read more about the affiliates and branches of the ATA.
• Programs: Find out about some of our various martial arts programs.
• Leadership: Learn about the masters who founded our organization and those who shape it today.
• Media Gallery: Media and Information.
• Join ATA: Get involved in taekwondo; find a school in your area.
• Careers: Become an instructor or start a school.
• Fast Facts: Facts about ATA.