Taekyon, or Taek kyon (hangul: 택견)is a traditional Korean martial art, stemming from Soobak which was first practiced in Korea during the Koguryo dynasty (37 B.C. - A.D. 668).
It spread to the Silla kingdom and became the bare handed way of fighting of the Hwarang.
Rise and fall
At the height of its popularity even the king practiced taek kyon and taek kyon matches were frequent. However, the next king outlawed taek kyon matches, motivated by the gambling which took place around them - where people would gamble away their wives and houses, thus making it a purely military art. Soobak eventually separated into different segments - grappling, kicking, etc. Taek kyon being one such segment.
Taek kyon took a severe blow when Neo-Confucianism grew in popularity, and then the Japanese occupation damaged the art even more. Taek Kyon has had a slight resurge in recent days, getting the classification "Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 76" in June 1, 1983.
Techniques
Taek kyon movements are very fluid and dance-like with the practitioners constantly moving. It does not have the hard, snap kicks of Tae Kwon Do but a softer way of generating power.
Taekkyon is a traditional bare-hand martial arts developed by the Korean people and is recognized as the original form of bare-hand martial arts in Korea.
Before the 6th century, Taekkyon was practiced by the ruling classes and from the 9th to 12th century, became very popular, even among the common people.
On Jan. 1, 1991, the KoreaTaekkyon Association was established and on Nov. 30, 1998, Taekkyon became an official member of the National Sports Council for All.
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