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Old 09-02-2004, 08:41 AM   #14 (permalink)
ipscshooter
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No reason to apologize. I think that it is a common misconception, which is furthered by Gen. Choi and GM Kee in their texts. Gen. Choi received his original black belt in, I believe, Shotokan Karate. Both cite some carvings or statues dating back to ancient Korean dynasties as proof of the lineage of Korean martial arts. And, perhaps there is a little bit of Tae Kyon influence in the high kicks in the Korean arts, as I understand that the Japanese arts emphasize lower kicking. The similarity of names is one of the reasons that Gen. Choi opted for taekwondo for the name of his art. It was to instill some form of Korean nationalistic pride in the new art by making a tenuous connection to the older art, and to erase some of the perceived stain of a connection to Japan. I notice a lot of similarities between the Chang Hon Taekwondo Hyungs and the Tang Soo Do Hyungs. Almost as though Gen. Choi took a TSD pattern book and cut and pasted the forms into TKD forms.
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