Pre-Rational, Rational, Trans-Rational Views of Martial Arts

This year I haven't had much time to contribute to the Soo Shim Kwan blog. Practically of the posts were material I prepared for academic purposes such as academic articles, conferences and symposiums. However, before 2020 comes to an end, I decided to write one essay. I'm guessing that this essay may rub some people the wrong way, but I think the concepts are very useful and will hopefully help some people in understanding the martial arts better.

Pre-Rational, Rational, Trans-Rational Views of Martial Arts

By Dr. Sanko Lewis

I sometimes find myself bumping heads with rational people over certain aspects in Taekwon-Do because they seem to think my acceptance of some elements of Taekwon-Do is an irrational clinging to tradition or a cult-like following of the principal founder of Taekwon-Do, Choi Hong-Hi. I came to realize that there is a Pre/Trans fallacy at work. Therefore, for this essay I want to explore three paradigms for understanding martial arts, which we can name Prerational, Rational, and Transrational paradigms. We may also name these paradigms Premodern, Modern, and Transmodern.[1] I will apply these respective terms (Prerational:Premodern; Rational:Modern; Transrational:Transmodern) interchangeably.

An understanding of these three paradigms may help us to clarify and distinguish between various martial arts systems and the work of martial arts instructors and scholars.

 

Prerational Martial Arts, i.e. Premodern Martial Arts

Prerational martial arts—specifically within the East Asian martial arts context—are those martial arts that we usually group under the heading of “traditional” martial arts. These martial arts often have an exceptionally long historical claim, with a mythical or legendary origin or founder. Instructors’ authority is based on an unbroken lineage and their knowledge is supposed to be the accumulated wisdom passed down from one generation to the next, from master to disciple. Such martial arts claim to possess “secret” knowledge, secret techniques, maybe even secret manuals, that was passed down from the previous generation to only the most deserving disciples. The forms (patterns) are often believed to contain hidden or secret techniques that are only known or understood by the initiated. Thus, prerational martial arts may be defined as esoteric.

These martial arts’ pedagogies are often not very structured. Generally, there are no clear ranks (i.e. grades or belts). Rank distinction is very rudimentary. There is the master and his or her disciples, and the students’ seniority is based on their length of study and loyalty. In the most traditional systems, before a master dies, he would appoint his successor—usually the most loyal and longest studying student, who it is believed have learned everything the master knows, including the system’s secret knowledge. Premodern martial arts are also often tribal, believing their system is the best and other systems are weaker since they do not share the same secret knowledge. Not surprisingly, there tends to be a distrust of outsiders. 

 

A Chinese painting from the 2nd Century BC,
depicting Qigong (Doinsul) exercises.

Often, the theories of power in these premodern martial arts are based on an animistic worldview, such as Daoism (China) or Shintoism (Japan). Animism refers to a belief that everything (from stones to mountains to people) is permeated or animated with a life force or spiritual energy. In East Asia this life force is known as 氣 [Qi (Chi) in Chinese, Gi in Korean, and Ki in Japanese.] It is believed that humans can manipulate 氣 through certain training such as Qigong (China) or Doinsul (Korea). By cultivating and manipulating 氣, the practitioner can improve their own health and increase their physical strength—even, acquire supernaturally powerful martial arts techniques. 氣 cultivation training often involves meditation and/or breathing exercises, particular poses, and pose sequences (forms or patterns). Furthermore, if one knows the secrets, one can also inhibit the life force in your opponent, for instance through the striking of secret points on their body to create energy blockages. It is important to note here that these prerational martial arts are not necessarily ignorant of physics and physiology, although such knowledge is sometimes based on outdated scientific models.

Premodern martial arts are also known to include other quasi-religious teachings. The martial art is often used as an ascetic discipline for spiritual development. Thus, the martial art is viewed holistically. It is not just about learning how to fight, but also a means to better health, moral growth, and spiritual enlightenment. The student is an apprentice and disciple, and the instructor is a skilled artisan and spiritual teacher.

 

Rational Martial Arts, i.e. Modern Martial Arts

Jigoro Kana, the Founder of Judo, and pioneer of modern martial arts

 

The degree to which the label “rational” applies to different martial arts differs, since many rational martial arts also include some prerational elements because modern martial arts usually developed out of premodern systems. Rational or modern martial arts are those that developed during the 20^th century and culminated in MMA in the 21^st century. Probably the earliest modern martial art is Judo, which was created by Jigoro Kano in 1882. Kano had a Western education and it is believed that this greatly influenced his systematizing of Judo’s pedagogy. He was the first to introduce a belt ranking system in the martial arts. Most of the martial arts that developed in the 20^th century such as Taekwon-Do, Jeet Kune Do, and even kickboxing may be considered rational or modern martial arts.

Modern martial arts instructors’ get their authority from governing bodies (organizations) that certify their rank. Techniques are generally explained, not through lineage, philosophical metaphors, or esoteric notions of energy, but Newtonian physics and biomechanics. Research in Physical Education and Sport Science are embraced to enhance the athletes’ performance. In fact, the martial art is often streamlined to a singular focus, such as combatives (e.g. Krav Maga) or sport (e.g. Judo, WT Taekwondo).

Probably the pinnacle of modern martial arts is Mixed Martial Arts. MMA has nearly completely thrown-off its obligation to lineage and tradition. Techniques are aggregated from many different martial arts based purely on their efficiency within the MMA ruleset (most notably the UFC). Techniques are explained by means of a Western scientific understanding of physics, biomechanics, and sports physiology. There is no ascetic goal or focus on spiritual growth or development of the character. Instead, the focus is to become a better “fighter” (i.e. athlete), physically and technically.

Rational martial arts tend to reject and look down on prerational martial arts, viewing them as useless, outdated, and superstitious or fake.

 

Trans-Rational Martial Arts

For this section on transrational martial arts, I am going to talk more about transrational martial artists in particular, rather than transrational martial arts in general. The reason is there are very few martial arts systems that as a whole can be considered transrational because most practitioners within these systems are often blends of Pre-Rational and Rational.

Transrational refers to a transcendence (and inclusion) of the rational. It is the ability to use the rational, without fully rejecting everything that the prerational represent. It is an ability to re-investigate the prerational and reinterpret and re-apply premodern ideas and techniques from a new paradigm. Note that the transrational practitioner is not a blend of Pre-Rational and Rational, but a transcendence of both. I will provide some examples later which will help to clarify the distinction.

 

Applying these Paradigms to Taekwon-Do

To make these concepts more tangible, I will now apply these paradigms to (ITF) Taekwon-Do.

Taekwon-Do developed in the 20^th century. It was built on a foundation inherited from mostly Shotokan Karate which in turn came out of prerational martial arts. However, from the start, Taekwon-Do based its teachings on Newtonian physics. In all 15 volumes of the ITF Taekwon-Do Encyclopaedia, there is only one short passage referring to 氣 (“Ki” / “Chi”), and not within the context of power generation. Power generation is understood through such equations as Force = Mass x Acceleration or Kinetic Energy = ½ Mass x Velocity².

Even the language has been demystified. Nearly all terminology has been stripped of their poetic and metaphoric nuance. There are no techniques with names like “monkey steals peach”, “pulling the tiger’s tail”, or “silk reeling”. Instead, techniques are conspicuously descriptive: front punch, side strike, low block, back kick, joint break… There is no “secret” knowledge in Taekwon-Do that are only available to the grandmasters. At a technical level, Taekwon-Do instructors are simply coaches that help the practitioner achieve their athletic goals.

Taekwon-Do is a modern, rational martial art; however, occasionally we can find some prerational / premodern aspects within Taekwon-Do.

Considering WT / Kukki Taekwondo for a moment, the idea that Taekwondo has a 2000-year Korean history is still propagated by some members of World Taekwondo and the Kukkiwon. Even though this 2000-year history narrative has been thoroughly debunked, there are still people who cling to this notion because such a long lineage claim provides a sense of legitimacy. (And it sidesteps the inconvenient truth that Taekwon-Do has its roots in a Japanese martial art.)

While ITF Taekwon-Do has thankfully not taken up this untruth, there are nevertheless people with similar prerational views within ITF. One example is the unwavering loyalty to the Choi bloodline and lineage proximity to General Choi Honghi, who was the principal founder of Taekwon-Do and first president of ITF Taekwon-Do. There are some people within ITF who are obsessed with their lineage proximity to General Choi; in other words, the idea that if you trained directly under General Choi or if your instructor trained under General Choi, then your Taekwon-Do is more legitimate than someone who is a third or fourth or later generation practitioner. Before General Choi passed away, he appointed North Korean IOC member, Chang Ung, as his successor. Dr. Chang Ung was succeeded by Grandmaster Ri Yongson. Some people are of the opinion that those who do not follow this lineage are not really doing authentic ITF Taekwon-Do. Similarly is the idea that there is “magic” in the Choi bloodline; the notion that General Choi’s son, Grandmaster Choi Junghwa, is the only true embodiment of Taekwon-Do and that people who are not following him are not practicing true Taekwon-Do. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not disrespecting General Choi or the Choi-family, I’m just pointing out that this type of thinking is prerational and tribalistic. One is definitely able to practice real ITF Taekwon-Do—and be great at it—even if you have never trained directly with General Choi or Grandmaster Choi Junghwa. You can also be a true practitioner of the ITF system, even if you are not affiliated with any of the mainstream ITF branches. There is no magic in the lineage, bloodline, or organization. General Choi broke with that prerational lineage notion when he made it clear that Taekwon-Do is a new invention based on Karate and a few other sources and by teaching Taekwon-Do not to a few selected students, but all around the world to anyone willing to learn. There are no secrets passed down to a select few. Taekwon-Do has been democratized. Anyone may have access to the Taekwon-Do knowledge as provided in the ITF Encyclopedia and other sources.[2]

A further example of prerational martial arts thinking you may have come across are those people who search for “secret” applications from the patterns and go through great pains to show applications from the patterns—sometimes the applications are ridiculously contrived but they are presented as “hidden” discoveries. Rational martial artists often fall into this trap because they want to explain the inclusion of the patterns within the system in a rational way. They want to legitimize the training in patterns, since it is so obvious that the patterns are unnatural and do not reflect actual combat.

Another example is the ‘sinewave motion’, which is a teaching aid that conveys a number of useful principles, which I will simply reduce to (1) as far as possible begin each movement from a state of relaxation, (2) accelerate all of your body mass in the direction of the technique, (3) when possible move with gravity. Apart from these technical functions the ‘sinewave motion’ also have a cultural funtion; it provides a Korean cultural character to the techniques by including Korean Body Culture elements such as ogeumjil  오금질  (knee-bending / knee-spring), three-beat rhythm, gokseonmi 곡선미 [曲線美] (Korean curved line aesthetics), etc. Unfortunately, there are some people who consider the ‘sine wave motion’ in a prerational manner as a “secret” or “magical” way to increase power. They use it as a tribal identifier to look down on other martial artists who do not know and use this “secret” method. Also, they often apply the ‘sinewave motion’ not as a teaching aid to convey certain principles of movement, but in all contexts even when it would be illogical to do so. For instance, the full ‘sinewave motion’ contains a relaxation, rising, and execution or falling phase, often mnemonically chanted as “down-up-down”. Doing the falling phase during an upward technique such as a high punch is counterproductive, nevertheless, these practitioners apply the ‘sinewave motion’ in a blanket fashion to nearly all techniques. 

Tribal premodern thinking is also evident when certain organizations prohibit their members to train with non-affiliated members (i.e., “outsiders”) or prohibit them to compete in tournaments or participate in seminars of other organizations. Nearly a decade ago, a friend and I who both practice ITF Taekwon-Do and Hapkido used to train together. At the time, we could freely train Hapkido together, but not Taekwon-Do because the ITF organization he belongs to did not allow members to train with “outsiders.” One would hope that such tribalistic and esoteric thinking would be something of the past; however, I heard of a recent case where one ITF group expelled a master who opened his private seminar to members outside of the ITF group he was affiliated with.

Moving on, I believe, based on General Choi’s continual evolution of his system, that Taekwon-Do was intended not to be simply a rational martial art, but rather a transrational martial art. Rational martial arts, as I mentioned before, are usually myopic. They tend to have a single focus such as competition or combat exclusively. MMA as exemplified by the UFC or Krav Maga are such examples. At the very beginning, even General Choi viewed his new style in such a manner—primarily as a combat system for the ROK military.

Like the holistic prerational martial arts, transrational martial arts also acknowledge that the martial arts may have many different goals. ITF Taekwon-Do is foremost an “art of self-defence,” but it can also be a means to improve health and develop character, be a recreational sport, a way to promote Korean culture, and even a soft diplomacy tool. In his further development of Taekwon-Do, General Choi started to include these and other goals for Taekwon-Do. Instructors are therefore not reduced to sport coaches only, but to life coaches—and based on the ITF Taekwon-Do terms for instructors, they are conceived as teachers of moral wisdom.

Rather than disregarding everything prerational as irrational, as proponents of rational martial arts tend to do, transrational martial artists revisit prerational aspects and reinterpret them from a new enlightened vantage point. Meditation and danjeon-breathing are a common part of prerational martial arts, which is often disparaged by modern martial artists because these breathing exercises are part of the 氣-development curricula of premodern martial arts. Transrational martial artists, however, are aware of the contemporary scientific research on the numerous benefits of meditation practices such as visualization for performance enhancement, mind-training for focus, and conscious breathing techniques (aka “breathwork”) that can be used to achieve various physiological and psychological states.

The patterns are similarly upcycled by transrational martial artists. The patterns are not viewed as 氣-cultivation poses, as in the case of prerational martial arts, nor do they pretend that the patterns are combative manuals as sometimes happen with rational martial arts. They accept that the patterns are cultural artifacts inherited from the prerational martial arts and has value as part of the intangible cultural heritage of the system. Transrational martial artists are honest about the fact that patterns do not reflect real fighting and that we do not fight like we do patterns. Instead of trying to derive hidden secret applications from the patterns, transrational martial artists rather use the patterns in a more general way to teach certain movement principles or use sequences of the patterns as inspiration for dynamic context drills. Note this is different from searching for secret or hidden applications, because generally these secret-technique hunters try to find specific applications for a movement sequence. Whereas, applied to dynamic context drills, these sequences are used to find combative or tactical principles, rather that specific applications[3]. A good example of someone who use the patterns in a transrational way is Master Colin Wee[4]. Transrational martial artists will also employ the patterns for purposes beyond combat; for example, the patterns are great for suhaeng 수행, a type of movement meditation practice.

Moving on to the ‘sinewave motion’: instead of seeing the ‘sinewave motion’ as bad science, as so many of the modern martial artists do, transrational martial artists understand that the ‘sinewave motion’ is simply a tool for teaching particular principles about movement and Korean culture; and they use these principles not dogmatically but as they are situationally apt. 

 

Pre/Trans Fallacy

At the start of this essay, I mentioned the Pre/Trans Fallacy. This fallacy occurs when rational martial artists mistake transrational martial artists as prerational. The problem is that transrational martial artists sometimes use the practices, terminology, and metaphors of the prerational system. Rational practitioners have a knee-jerk reaction to this, and then simply dismiss transrational instructors as prerational. The difference between prerational martial artists and transrational martial artists is vast. When a transrational martial artist use aspect from prerational martial arts, they do so from a completely different paradigm. They are not working from a prerational “magic” paradigm, but from one that is rational and open-minded. They view the martial arts in a broader context, for instance not simply as a means for fighting but as a tool for enhancing individuals’ lifes and affecting society—informed by modern science, personal experience, and cultural awareness.

For example, I am an ITF Taekwon-Do practioner who performs the ‘sinewave motion’ during patterns. When someone tells me that what I’m doing is “too slow” and will never work “in the streets” I can only shake my head. This is obviously a case of Pre/Trans Fallacy. I know full well that it is too slow and that doing such a block/punch/kick sequence is not reflective of actual fighting. I don’t perform patterns because I think ‘it’ is ‘reality’. There are many other valuable reasons for training in the patterns and doing the the ‘sinewave motion,’ which I have written about extensively elsewhere on my blog. And truth be told, I’ve come to realize that doing the patterns simply because they connect me with an intangible cultural heritage is of value in and of itself. (Although I definitely think that there is useful skill transfer when the patterns are properly employed as part of a sensible pedagogy.) Similarly, I am aware that General Choi Hong-hi was a flawed man, so I do not venerate him in a cult-like manner, as so many ITF practitioners do. Nor do I participate in contemporary “cancel culture”, which is an approach followed by many non-ITF people. Instead, I am appreciative of the great legacy of General Choi Hong-hi and other Taekwon-Do pioneers and as a martial art scholar I try to objectively contribute to correcting the narratives with regards to the history of Taekwon-Do. In this sense, I have an appreciation of lineage and those that came before me, without having an unhealthy obsession with it.

 

Take Away

Firstly, I’d like to encourage you to evaluate your training practices and to make sure that you are not doing Taekwon-Do as a premodern martial art. I don’t think most people who practice Taekwon-Do are practicing it in a prerational way, but I am convinced that many people do cling to some prerational notions, such as the examples I mentioned earlier. Furthermore, Taekwon-Do had its major development between the 1950s and 1980s. Since then, there has been ground-breaking research within the fields of Physical Education and Sport Science that can dramatically enhance your training practices. We should embrace the best of what scientific research can offer. There are many resources you can consult to make your training practice more scientifically sound[5].

Secondly, if you are already a rational or modern martial artist, there are two things to watch out for. First, be careful not to box-in the martial arts into your myopic idea of what it is supposed to be. For instance, I have interacted with great martial art scholars who said that Taekwon-Do should rid itself of all this extra traditional baggage and become simply a combat sport. This is such a blinkered view of what Taekwon-Do is and can be. People take up martial arts for many reasons. There is no reason why a martial art cannot be used and trained for different purposes. Second, be careful not to simply dismiss certain practices, and by implication certain instructors and practitioners, because you think that they are busy with prerational / premodern exercises. For instance, some people may completely dismiss pattern training or the use of the ‘sinewave motion’ as it is trained in patterns because it doesn’t prepare someone for a real fight. And, at face value I agree with this. However, I train and teach patterns—including the ‘sinewave motion’—not because I think they are good templates for fighting. There are lots of other value that can be derived from the patterns and certain ways of moving. The patterns can teach many principles that one cannot easily learn when sparring, when training at a faster pace, and so on. Some of these principles do indeed contribute, albeit in an indirect way, to actual combat. Just as skipping rope and speed ball training contribute indirectly to a boxer’s skill but are useless for fighting in and of themselves. Furthermore, the patterns may be used for all kinds of additional purposes, such as suhaeng or movement-meditation, breath-work practice, coordination practise, etc. Just because I teach patterns does not mean I’m stuck in a prerational / premodern paradigm. Quite the contrary.

Finally, I encourage you to become a transrational, transmodern martial artist. One that is rational, but intuitive; logical, but open-minded.

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[1] My use of the term “transmodern” should not be confused with “postmodern.” I believe that postmodern martial arts do exist, but for the purpose of this essay I’m not going to make that distinction as it would make the essay too long and complicated and is not necessary for my argument.

[2] While it is true that Taekwon-Do has been democratized, that does not mean that there are not some instructors with a better understanding of the material and underlying principles and who are better at teaching the material. Teaching is itself a talent and skill, and some people are better at it than others. Finding a good instructor is a great advantage.

[3] I should add here that I don’t mean to say that there are no applications for pum [i.e. movement sequences] in the patterns. There often are and it may be useful to teach them to students as long as they are mostly obvious rather than contrived applications. However, an obsessive search for “secret” or “hidden” techniques are a sign of prerational martial arts thinking.

[4] Joong Do Kwan Taekwon-Do, Perth, Australia. http://www.joongdokwan.com/

[5] Some recommended resources you can start with are Steven J. Pearlman’s The Book of Martial Power, Jason Thalken’s Fight Like a Physicist, Jung K. Lee’s The Science of Taekwondo, Larence Kane and Kris Wilder’s The Little Black Book of Violence, and Rory Miller’s Meditations on Violence, to name just a few. The Combat Learning Podcast by Josh Peacock is also a great entry into methodologies of effective training based on Physical Education and Sport Science research.

To my friends, students and readers of Soo Shim Kwan, I wish you all the best for 2021! 

Revisiting Taekkyeon Basics

Although I have around ten years of intermittent Taekkyun experience, I joined some friends last month for an introductory workshop in Taekkyeon. This year (#2020) presented few opportunities to train martial arts with friends, so when the Kyullyun Taekkyeon Headquarters asked me if I wanted to introduce a few of my friends to Taekkyeon I was more than eager.

Let me first give some context. The City of Seoul sponsors a certain number of foreigners to take introductory lessons in selected traditional Korean activities. One of them is Taekkyeon and due to the pandemic, the Kyullyun Taekkyeon Headquarters had not filled their quota for the year, so they asked me if I knew of a couple of foreign friends in Seoul who'd be interested. I immediately had two people in mind, acquaintances that I knew through social media. The one is a dancer with experience in traditional Korean dance and the other one is a model with experience in Hapkido. They were perfect candidates, I thought, to appreciate this traditional Korean activity. I was particularly curious to see which of the two would catch it the quickest, the one who understood Korean body culture the best or the one who practised a Korean martial art, albeit quite a different style.

I expected the class to be taught by one of the lower ranking instructors, but to my surprise Master Ki-Hyun Do (the president of Kyullyun Taekkyeon) graced us as the teacher on the day.  Master Do is one of my favourite grandmasters. Always friendly, always humble, always passionate. 

Dr. Sanko Lewis & Master Ki-Hyun Do

The lesson included some theory, basic etiquette, traditional breathing, the basic stepping pumbalbgi, some kicks and simple strikes. It was a very well structured workshop aimed at people with no prior knowledge of Taekkyeon. While I was quite familiar with these basic movements, I found it delightful nonetheless. It is also nice to be a student sometimes. I've been an instructor for over 20 years and also work as a professor, so most of my life I spend in teaching mode. I therefore really enjoy those times when I can just step back and be a student. 

While I'm beyond the basics, it was still sweet of them to also give me a certificate to prove that I can do pumbalbgi #품밟기! 😅 

Thank you to the Kyullyun Taekkyun Federation, Master Do and my friends Josh and Alessandro for a fun afternoon.

Preserving Korean Body Culture in Traditional Dance and Martial Arts

On 12 November 2020, UNESCO ICM (International Center for Martial Arts) hosted their Annual International Martial Arts Academic Seminar, in Chungju, South Korea at the new UNESCO ICM building. The topic for this year's seminar was COVID-19 Pandemic: Martial Arts Response and Beyond. There was a special session within this seminar dedicated to the book launch of UNESCO's Living Heritage Series: Traditional Martial Arts as Intangible Cultural Heritage. As I contributed a chapter to the book, UNESCO asked me to be a presenter during the special session.

The book is available as both a printed book and e-book. The e-book can be downloaded for free from UNESCO ICM's website as a PDF here. My contribution is chapter 15. 

The seminar was originally supposed to be live-streamed but there was some technical difficulties. However, the event was recorded and the different sessions have been uploaded onto UNESCO ICM's YouTube channel. Below is the special session (Session 2: Traditional Martial Arts as Living Heritage), in which I presented. My presentation starts around the 22 minute mark, and afterwards there was a panel discussion about preserving traditional martial arts in the Korean context in which I also took part.

https://youtu.be/IJjHGIh7HnI?t=1295

Royal Asiatic Society Lecture: Movement Characteristics of Korean Traditional Dance and Martial Arts

On Tuesday, 10 November 2020, I gave a lecture to the Royal Asiatic Society - Korea Branch, in Seoul. The lecture occurred via Zoom and was recorded.  Below is how the lecture was advertised, and below that is the YouTube link to watch the recording online. 

Movement Characteristics of Korean Traditional Dance and Martial Arts

In this lecture, Dr. Sanko Lewis reveals several key characteristics that give Korean traditional dance and martial arts their particular “Korean flavor.” Through ethnographic research, Dr. Lewis identifies similar kinetic principles employed in the traditional Korean movement disciplines and discuss their cultural origins and technical functions. He also points out how attempts to appeal to a younger audience may cause a martial art to lose its traditional identity; for example, taekwondo’s inclusion of K-pop music and urban dance is eroding those characteristics that taekwondo shared with traditional Korean disciplines such as traditional dance. After this lecture, you will be able to identify the movement characteristics of Korean traditional dance and martial arts, which will enable you to recognize and have a better appreciation for the kinetic aspect of Korea’s intangible heritage.

https://youtu.be/jPCXvRygq_4

A Lacanian Framework for Taekwondo Practice

On Friday, 6 November, I took part in Youngsan University's 2nd International Taekwondo Conference, co-hosted by the International Academic Conference of Taekwondo, in Busan, South Korea. Twelve presenters from around world took part, representing Korea, Germany, South Africa, Canada, Poland, the UK, and the USA. While most presenters participated via Zoom, we were about five presenters that could present in person here in Korea.

Apparently the Zoom-session was recorded, so I'm certain the conference as a whole will become available online eventually. However, I decided that since I have the slides and script ready, I will personally record my presentation as well, as there were several people that have asked me for it already. I uploaded it on YouTube, so you can watch it here. The abstract for my paper is below. [See the bottom of this post for an update.]

 https://youtu.be/2O5w4ZCbPiI 

Abstract:

A Lacanian Framework for Taekwondo Practice

Sanko Lewis, PhD

Martial arts act as a container for divergent phenomena, ranging from cultural and sometimes even esoteric aspects on the one end to violent combat on the other extreme. It can be difficult to understand how such different parts of a martial art may fit together into a coherent whole. This is particularly true for taekwondo that claims to be both a means to self-development, a sport, and a killing art. French psychoanalyst Jacque Lacan proposed a Three Orders paradigm to systemize the psychoanalysis into three orders: Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real. The Imaginary refers to how we imagine the Self and the Other to be. On the other hand, the Real is actual reality unfiltered by interpretation. The Symbolic is the systems (culture, society, etc.) which mediates between our image of reality (Imaginary) and reality as such (Real). Lacan’s Three Orders may function as a useful paradigm to discuss different aspects of taekwondo. Within the martial arts context, the Imaginary is strongly affected by myth and media from the origin myths of the martial art, to Hollywood and Asian films, to commercialized combat sports; as well as by the practitioner’s exaggerated image of his or her instructors, masters, and grandmasters. The Real, however, is the combative encounter as a true violent act. The Symbolic represents the codified pedagogy with its rituals and curriculum that ought to move the practitioner from the Imaginary towards preparedness for the Real.

Keywords: Lacan, psychoanalysis, taekwondo, martial arts, pedagogy

7 January 2021 Update: The recordings of the conference have been uploaded onto the iACT YouTube channel. My presentation was part of Panel 1.

Promoting Peace, Practising War: Mohism’s Resolution of the Paradoxical Ethics of War and Self-Defence in East Asian Martial Arts

My pre-Covid19 plan for this month (July 2020) was to travel to Europe and attend the 6th Martial Arts Studies Conference, focusing this year on Martial Arts, Religion, and Spiritually. The conference was supposed to occur in the scenic French city of Marseilles at Aix-Marseille University on the 15th, 16th, and 17th of July. Of course, nothing went as planned this year. At first it was thought that the conference was to be cancelled, but in the end it turned into a cyber conference, and although I couldn't visit southern France, I was still able to participate in the conference by recording my presentation as a video and participating in a live online panel discussion.

There were nine panels; I participated in Panel 4: Ethics in Modern Martial Fighting Games and Martial Arts.

Below is a summary of my presentation, below that the official abstract for my presentation, and at the bottom the actual presentation available on YouTube.

The panel discussion was also recorded; I will upload it once it becomes available.

Summary by Kai Morgan

Are the traditional East Asian martial arts physical methods of violence – or peaceful activities of self-cultivation, grounded in traditions such as Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism? Sanko argues that they are actually both at once – but many practitioners simply ignore the violent aspect, as it’s too complicated and/or uncomfortable to assimilate.

Sanko then asks whether the East Asian philosophy of Mohism can answer this paradox, and enable us to reconcile both faces of the martial arts, as it teaches both active peace promotion, and a duty to physically protect the weak and innocent from harm by means of defensive war . . .

Abstract

Promoting Peace, Practising War: Mohism’s Resolution of the Paradoxical Ethics of War and Self-Defence in East Asian Martial Arts

by Sanko Lewis, PhD

Many traditional East Asian martial arts seem to counsel against the use of violence, yet actively teach physical methods of violence; in essence “promoting peace, practising war.” In part, the paradox exists because East Asian martial arts derive their morals from the generally pacifist religio-philosophical traditions of East Asia, namely Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. There is therefore an internal conflict between the moral traditions that provided the context in which these martial arts developed and the original combative purpose for which the martial arts developed. Previous attempts at resolving the martial arts paradox of promoting peace while practising techniques of violence simply redefined martial arts as either activities of self-cultivation (cf. “Budo”) or as sport, rather than address the main issue of justified violence. Hence this study searched for ways to reconcile peace promotion with “war” practise. The East Asian philosophy of Mohism provides a framework capable of promoting peace while also justifying violence in a morally congruent manner. Mohism’s teaching of universal love and mutual benefit offers an example of active peace promotion, while accepting the duty to physically protect the weak and innocent from harm by means of defensive war. Likewise, traditional martial arts in the form of civilian defensive arts can also justify their training and conditional use of violence for the purpose of protecting innocent victims from attackers.

Keywords: Mohism, ethics, martial arts, self-defense, violence

From Individual Heroes to National Performers: The Shift in Taekwondo’s Peace Promotion Activities

In 2019 at Youngsan University's 1st International Academic Taekwondo Conference, in Ulsan, South Korea, I presented a paper entitled: "From Individual Heroes to National Performers: The Shift in Taekwondo’s Peace Promotion Activities". With the aid of my friend Dr John Johnson, my presentation was reworked into an article that was recently published in the academic journal Physical Activity Review. You can read the abstract below and a PDF of the article can be downloaded for free here: http://www.physactiv.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020_82_9.pdf

"From Individual Heroes to National Performers: The Shift in Taekwondo’s Peace Promotion Activities"

by John A. Johnson & Sanko Lewis

Abstract: The  writings  of  early  taekwondo  pioneers  promote  peace  through  the  practice  of  the  martial  art  and,  later,  the  combat  sport.  These  pioneers  charged  taekwondo  practitioners  with  a  duty  to  contribute  to  justice,  defend  the  weak,  and  build  a  more  peaceful  world.  National  and  international  taekwondo  organizations  such  as  the  Kukkiwon,  World  Taekwondo  (WT),  and  the  International  Taekwon-Do Federation  (ITF)  have  taken  up  the  charge  of  peace  promotion  through  taekwondo  by  means  of  tr  ansnational events, such as goodwill tours and joint taekwondo demonstrations by adversarial states (e.g., South and North Korea). These activities are soft diplomacy initiatives and have seen some level of success. While these soft diplomacy activities are  in  line  with  the  goal  of  peace  promotion  that  the  early pioneers advocated, they are qualitatively different from what the pioneers advocated. Originally, the  responsibility  of  peace  promotion  was  on  the  individual  taekwondo  practitioner,  who  ought  to  cultivate moral character, courage, and martial art skill in order to uphold justice and defend the weak. With  the  current  use  of  taekwondo  for  soft  diplomacy,  the  responsibility  of  peace  promotion  has  shifted  from  the  individual  practitioner  to  the  governing  bodies,  such  as  WT  and  the  ITF.  Instead  of  focusing on issues surrounding justice and the protection of the weak, these national and international organizations   focus   on   geopolitical   cooperation,   which   is   mediated   through   cultural   exchange   activities in the  form  of  taekwondo  demonstrations.  These  events  involve  activities  such  as  acrobatic  performances, dance routines, and board breaking that require little combat skill and may not pose the risk  of  serious  injury  to  the  individual  practitioners,  mainstays of  the  individual  heroes  of  old.  The  charge  to  safeguard  justice  and  physically  defend  the  weak,  which  are  acts  of  true  courage  as  was  envisioned by the taekwondo pioneers, is mostly ignored.

Keywords: sports diplomacy, cultural exchange, karate, Republic of Korea (ROK), People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK)

Johnson   JA,  Lewis   S.  From   Individual   Heroes   to   National   Performers:   The   Shift  in  Taekwondo’s Peace Promotion Activities. Phys Activ Rev 2020; 8(2): 64-71. doi: 10.16926/par.2020.08.23

Problems with Using Taekwondo as a Sport for Peace Promotion

In 2017 at the 6th International Symposium for Taekwondo Studies, hosted at the Taekwondowon in Muju, South Korea, I gave a presentation titled: "Problems with Using Taekwondo as a Sport for Peace Promotion." Originally, the idea was to develop the presentation into a paper for publication, but I never got around to it. In the meantime, sections from the presentation was developed into a different paper which was recently published. I've received several requests for this text of that 2018 presentation paper and since it has not been published--and probably will not be published in its current form--I decided to upload it here. It is a bit more academic than my usual posts here on my blog, but hopefully it will be useful to some people. This post also provides a locale for citation purposes. However, please note that this blog does not purport to be an academic resource. I usually use this as a space to brainstorm and share thoughts and ideas as there are still developing. Thus, the material I post here are usually pre-academic publication, and therefor not yet peer reviewed.

Problems with Using Taekwondo as a Sport for Peace Promotion

by Sanko Lewis, PhD.

Abstract

Taekwondo organisations such as the World Taekwondo Federation has made it a goal to use Taekwondo for peace promotion, which is in line with the moral goals of the early pioneers of this martial art; however, there is an intrinsic dissonance between the aim of peace and the violent techniques that are innate to Taekwondo. To overcome this dissonance, there has been a shift in focus towards the sport aspect of Taekwondo. By re-branding Taekwondo as primarily a sport, rather than a martial art, the focus is shifted from violent “martial” techniques, to simply sport competition. In so doing, the peace promotion goal can be accomplished through sport diplomacy, which is a type of soft diplomacy. However, a shift away from martial art to combat sport is problematic: most practitioners continue to view Taekwondo as a martial art, not simply a sport; a sport focus reduces the technical arsenal of the martial art to only those techniques appropriate for the competition context; there is also a loss of philosophical and cultural heritage when a martial art becomes a sport, which is then replaced by new Western sport ideals. The latter may be interpreted as a type of “soft colonialism” with the original Oriental heritage being replaced by Western ideas of sport. Although the aim of using Taekwondo for soft diplomacy is commendable, a sport focus may not be the best course for achieving Taekwondo’s peace promotion goal. Further thinking is necessary to find other means to achieve this peace promotion ideal.

Keywords: peace promotion, soft power diplomacy, sports diplomacy, cultural heritage, martial art, combat sport, taekwondo

Introduction

The Korean 'Unification Flag'

There are several international entities that govern what is commonly referred to as Taekwondo. For example, Word Taekwondo (WT), previously known as 'World Taekwondo Federation', focusses on the competitive aspect of Taekwondo, while the Kukkiwon is more concerned with the technical and educational foundation of Taekwondo. These organizations have put forth a goal of peace promotion through Taekwondo. WT, especially, has of late emphasized this goal. On 9 May 2015, at the 5th International Symposium for Taekwondo Studies the WT president said the following during the opening address: “Taekwondo is a combat sports, as you all know, a martial art sports, but Taekwondo is the only martial arts sports, supporting sports through world peace” (3). WT established the World Taekwondo Peace Corps Foundation already in 2009 and the following year it was showcased at the UN-IOC Sport for Development and Peace Conference in Geneva. Using sports as a means of peace promotion is a well-established method for “soft power” diplomacy. The famous example of sport diplomacy was the so-called “ping-pong diplomacy” used in the 1970s to open dialogue between an otherwise antagonistic United States and China. Another famous example of using sport for peace promotion was when Nelson Mandela used rugby as a means of bringing the racially divided South Africans together when the country hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Sport events have also been used to build connections between North and South Korea, for example at the 2000 Summer Olympics and several subsequent sporting events where the two countries shared a single flag (“Korea Unification Flag”). Sport diplomacy is indeed an admirable and possibly useful method for peace promotion. However, there are certain problems with attempts at using Taekwondo for this purpose.

This paper will highlight some of the problems with this sport emphasis towards achieving Taekwondo’s peace promotion goal.

First, a quick historic overview of Taekwondo and its peace promotion goal will be provided. Then, several problems with this goal will be pointed out. Firstly, there is an intrinsic issue with Taekwondo being a system of violent techniques used to promote peace. The solution to this problem is to suggest that Taekwondo should not be viewed as truly a martial art (i.e. fighting system), but that it should rather be reinterpreted as a combat sport. This view is problematic for several reasons, which will be addressed. It is important for organizations such as WT that wants to use Taekwondo as a political peace promotion tool to first address these issues.

Taekwondo’s Peace Teaching: An Overview

Taekwondo developed from nine Kwan (gyms) in South Korea in the late 1940s and 1950. From early on some of these Kwan taught ideals of peace promotion.  From writings dating to 1957 by Park Chul Hee who was co-founder of the Kung Duk Kwan, we learn that the Taekwondo students were “to make contribution to the world peace and prosperity of civilization” (sic) (8). Choi Hong Hi, founder of the Oh Do Kwan, wrote in 1965 that Taekwondo should not be used to start fights, but instead be used “to help the weak” (2). To be proponents of peace were stressed in Choi’s later writings as well. Practitioners should “never misuse Taekwondo”, but instead should be “gentle to the weak and tough to the strong” and aim to be champions “of freedom and justice” that strive to “build a more peace world” (1).  The Chung Do Kwan’s 1968 Taekwondo Manual also affirmed that Taekwondo practitioners should not initiate fights with others, that they should never make the first move in a fight. Rather, Taekwondo practitioners should “love peace, [and] protect justice and humanitarianism” (8). Rhee Ki Ha, one of the early promoters of Taekwondo outside of Korea describes Taekwondo as “the physical, spiritual and mental practice of human rights and human equality” (10).

Apart from such teachings, Taekwondo has also been used as soft power diplomacy since very early on. Already in 1959 a Taekwondo military team from South Korea toured Vietnam and China for intercultural exchange between these countries (7). This was only the first of many future “goodwill tours.” In 1965 a “Kukki Taekwon-Do Goodwill Demonstration Team” visited Egypt, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, and Turkey (7). Such cultural exchange using Taekwondo was not only used by South Korea, but North Korea has benefited from using Taekwondo in this way as well. The two Koreas have had Taekwondo exchanges since 2002 when a South Korean team visited North Korea, to be followed shortly thereafter by a team from the north visiting the South. A similar exchanged happened in 2007 when a North Korean Taekwondo demonstration team visited Seoul and Chuncheon. The two countries also took hands in 2015 at the WT Taekwondo Championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia, when demonstration teams from North Korea and South Korea shared the stage during the opening ceremony.

ITF and WT demonstration teams sharing a stage under the slogan "Peace is more precious than Triumph".

With peace teachings being part of Taekwondo, and the precedent of using Taekwondo for soft power diplomacy well established, what could be wrong with using Taekwondo in this manner? The next section will expound on this.

The Martial Art as Sport Approach

In a discussion of modern Taekwondo trends, Taekwondo sociologist Udo Mönig notes the often used “slogan of promoting ‘peace through taekwondo’” (9). Using “an aggressive martial art” for peace promotion is “awkward,” says Mönig (9). Attempts at using martial arts (i.e. fighting systems) for peace promotion seems antithetical—causing an intuitive dissonance. We can infer a similar dissonance from WT President Choue as well, when he pointed out that Taekwondo is a “combat sport” on the one hand, but that it is used for promoting “world peace” on the other hand (3). That he needs to emphasise the odd bringing together of war techniques for peace promotion reveals the innate dissonance of this endeavour.

Aikido is another martial art that emphasizes peace promotion. What makes Aikido different from Taekwondo in this regard is Aikido’s removal of nearly all offensive techniques. Aikido doesn’t actively teach kicks or strikes, nor hard blocks that can be used as offensive-defence. Rather, Aikido’s goal is the use of techniques that blend with the opponent’s force and redirect or lessen the opponent’s aggression. Aikido strategy often includes control-techniques aimed at immobilizing the opponent to prevent an escalation of “fighting” and violence. While the practical effectiveness of Aikido may be questioned by some, at least there is harmony between Aikido’s peace teachings and its physical practice that encourages harmoniously moving with the opponent to dissuade the violent energy. On the other hand, a kicking and striking art like Taekwondo have a discord between its aggressive techniques and its peace teachings.

To resolve the dissonance of using an aggressive martial art for peace promotion, WT and several scholars have claimed that Taekwondo must be understood not as a martial art (i.e. a system based on fighting techniques), but rather as a sport. Indeed, some scholars such as Mönig are arguing for the full metamorphosis of Taekwondo from a martial art with roots in military practice, to a pure sport stripped of all its historic martial arts baggage (9). Such an evolution of Taekwondo from combat system to sport would align Taekwondo with the goal of the Olympic Games, which is to “place sport at the service of harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity” and “to place sport at the service of humanity and thereby to promote peace” (6).

Is Taekwondo simply a sport?

The argument in favour of changing Taekwondo from martial art to sport is based on the notion that in “modern civil societies . . . martial arts have no purpose for real fighting” (9). In other words, Taekwondo’s function as a martial art used for fighting (either in military contexts or personal self-defence) has become obsolete because of the civility of modern societies. This is, however, a privileged interpretation by people fortunate enough to live in such “modern civil societies.” While martial arts may not be of much value in modern military combat, the value of martial arts as self-defence systems for people living in both first and third world societies are still of great value. In fact, a primary reason for a large percentage of people taking up martial arts continues to be the self-defence value of martial arts. Official attempts by Taekwondo organizations to brand Taekwondo as a combat sport, rather than a martial art, is doing so contrary to the millions of instructors and practitioners around the world for whom Taekwondo is more than just a combat sport, the likes of, say, western boxing.

The Unfortunate Cost of Evolving from Martial Art to Combat Sport

Furthermore, an evolution from martial art to combat sport comes at an unfortunate cost.

First, when a martial art changes into a sport there is a dilution of the rich historical arsenal of the original system. When Judo was developed as a streamlined version of Jujutsu, many of the original techniques were purged. Similarly, when the focus in Taekwondo becomes sport competition, a big percentage of techniques are inevitably neglected. Taekwondo enthusiasts are all aware how Olympic Taekwondo has reduced the martial art—that is by its very name supposed to be a foot-and-hand system—into primarily a kicking system. Sadly, an emphasis on kicking in sport Taekwondo has not enriched Taekwondo’s kicking arsenal with more kicks, but rather reduced the arsenal to only a handful of techniques that works well in the limited context of the sports ring.

Second, not only are there technical losses when a martial art becomes a sport, but there is also an intangible loss in the form of a reduced cultural and philosophical heritage. Of the surviving historic European martial arts (HEMA) that became modern sports such as western boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, and fencing, very little of the original cultural and philosophical heritage are practised and celebrated by the athletes practising these sports. Even Judo, which was intended by its founder to be a pedagogic tool to teach certain philosophical values, is in current times usually practised simply as a sport with hardly any philosophical teachings as part of training. Contrary to such combat sports, in martial arts the cultural and philosophical heritages are usually integral to their practise.

Olympism is based on Grecian (i.e. Western) philosophical ideas.

Third, when the philosophical and cultural heritage is removed it is often replaced with “[p]ositive sporting values and objectives” (9). In the case of Taekwondo as promoted by WT, an emphasis is given to the sport values of Olympism. This means that the original East Asian philosophy and values that are inherent to the martial arts are replaced with western values (i.e. Grecian inspired Olympism) for the combat sport. The adoption of Olympism may at first seem commendable. However, the East Asian martial arts are not culturally neutral. Quite the opposite: East Asian martial arts, like folk dances, function as containers of cultural heritage. Therefore, when focussing on the sport aspect of the martial art there is an emphasis on the new sport values, which inevitably results in a de-emphasis of the original cultural heritage. In a discussion on the western-centric Olympic sports, Allen Guttmann laments the resultant cultural imperialism (5). He argues that even when East Asian martial arts spread to the west, they often “[transformed] in accordance with Western assumptions about the nature of sports” (5). Ironically, instead of the intended goal of using Taekwondo for soft power diplomacy, the result is a form of “soft colonialism,” where the original martial art loses its Oriental identity—to be replaced with a western inspired identity. At the very least this should be considered culturally insensitive and a regrettable loss.

Finally, even if Taekwondo were to fully evolve from martial art to simply a combative sport, it doesn’t solve the original “awkward” issue of using combat (i.e. fighting) for peace promotion. The use of combat sport to bring people together is much too reminiscent of gladiator matches or monomachy used to settle disputes. Endorsing the use of violence to create unity is hardly a message that Taekwondo authorities should wish to promulgate.

Conclusion

The goal of using a martial art, with its violent techniques, for peace promotion is intrinsically “awkward” (9). To overcome this awkwardness there has been an effort to reinterpret the function of Taekwondo. Instead of viewing Taekwondo as a martial art with roots in military combat, Taekwondo is to be viewed as a combat sport. This evolution away from “martial” to “sport” is an attempt to remove the innately violent aspect of the martial art. If Taekwondo can be viewed as primarily a sport, then its violent aspects can be downplayed as simply sport competition. As merely a sport, Taekwondo can be used as a tool for soft power diplomacy (i.e. sports diplomacy). Unfortunately, the change from martial art to combat sport presents other problems and regrettable losses of both techniques and cultural heritage.

The goal of employing Taekwondo as a peace promotion tool is an admirable endeavour and clearly in harmony with the intention of the early Taekwondo pioneers. However, there is a difference between how the early pioneers viewed peace promotion and how such peace promotion is attempted by the current Taekwondo organizations such as World Taekwondo. From the writings of the early pioneers we notice that their peace promotion ideal was not separate from the combative function of the martial arts. Although they encouraged members not to be the instigators of violence and not to misuse Taekwondo, they did not try to remove the possibility of violent (re-)action. Practitioners were encouraged to protect the weak from the strong and to fight for freedom and justice—this may involve literal, physical fighting and cannot be understood only as figurative fighting. Their writings clearly imply that the use of Taekwondo’s violent combative techniques are to be used if necessary. Current attempts at de-emphasizing the violent side of Taekwondo and emphasizing Taekwondo as a peace promoting sport is at odds with Taekwondo’s historic development as a “Killing Art” and intrinsic function as “Korea’s Art of Self-Defence” (4, 1). What the pioneers had in mind was less political, in the form of soft power diplomacy, and more practical forms of empowerment. The practise of Taekwondo strengthens both body and mind and thereby empowers practitioners to stand-up for themselves and stand-up for others.

The current approach of envisioning Taekwondo as a sport to be used for sport diplomacy is praiseworthy, but it is the author’s opinion that this is ultimately not the best way to ensure Taekwondo’s peace promotion ideals. Instead, a way to harmonise Taekwondo’s innate “martial” nature with its peace promotion ideal should be sought. One path suggested is to emphasize the empowering nature of the martial arts. Further research into reconciling the martial arts and peace promotion ideals is necessary.

References

1. Choi, H. H. Encyclopedia of Taekwondo. 5th ed. Canada: International Taekwon-Do Federation; 1999.
2. Choi, H. H. Tae Kwon Do. 2nd printing. Los Angeles: Masters Publication; 2007.
3. Choue, C. W. The 5th International Symposium for Taekwondo Studies – Dr Chungwon Choue Opening Address [Internet]. 2015. [cited 2016 November 25]. World Taekwondo Federation – YouTube Channel. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxE7be83wAY
4. Gillis, A. A Killing Art: The Untold History of Tae Kwon Do. 2nd ed. Toronto: ECW Press; 2016.
5. Guttmann, A. The diffusion of sports and the problem of cultural imperialism. The Sports Process. 1993. p. 125-137.
6. International Olympic Committee. Olympic Charter. Lausanne: IOC; 2015.
7. Kimm, H.Y. Taekwondo History. Baton Rouge, LA.: Hando Press; 2013.
8. Kukkiwon. Taekwondo Leadership Training Manual – 1st Class. Seoul; c2014. 364 p.
9. Mönig, U. The Incomplete Transformation of Taekwondo from a 'Martial Art' to a 'Martial Sport'. Doctoral Dissertation. Department of Physical Education, Graduate School of Keimyung University; 2012.
10. Rhee, K. H. This Is Taekwon-Do. UK: Media Insights; 2012.
11. World Taekwondo Federation [Internet]. Taekwondo Peace Corps; n.d.; c2015. [cited 2015 Oct 4, 2015]. Available from http://www.worldtaekwondofederation.net/taekwondo-peace-corps

Symposium: "The Early Globalization Process of Taekwondo, from the 1950s to the 1970's"

Dr Sanko Lewis talking about the history of Taekwon-Do

On Tuesday, 22 June 2020, I attended a #taekwondo symposium at Youngsan University in #Busan, to discuss the article "The Early Globalization Process of Taekwondo, from the 1950s to the 1970's" by Dr Udo Moenig. The article was submitted to the 'Asia Journal of Sport History & Culture'. At the symposium, attended by several Taekwondo scholars and dignitaries, Professor Moenig summarised his article in a presentation. This was followed up by presentations, questions, and discussion from myself and Dr John Johnson. We also took questions from the floor.


One of the highlights, I think, was the last question by a Taekwondo bachelor's degree student asking, 'Who is Choi Hong-Hi?' Inevitable his name came up frequently in the discussions regarding Taekwondo's history. It is sadly ironic that still, in 2020, there are Taekwondo practitioners—even Taekwondo university students—who don't know who #ChoiHongHi is. Not only was he the person who came up with the name "Taekwon-Do" #태권도, but he was the person foremost responsible for the spread of this #martialart around the world. I call this young man's question the highlight for me at the symposium because we have opened another person's eyes to the truth of Taekwondo's origins.

During the event I shared a bit about the development of Taekwondo in South Africa. Afterwards Drs Moenig and Johnson encouraged me to write an article about this. I'm asking anyone that is familiar with aspects of the history of Taekwondo (ITF, Kukki/WT, and independent lineages) in South Africa to please contact me so that we can write up as thorough a document as possible.

Regards,

Dr Sanko Lewis

2019 International Academic Conference for the Promotion of Traditional Martial Arts

On Friday, November 1st, 2019, I presented a paper at the 2019 International Academic Conference for the Promotion of Traditional Martial Arts, hosted on Jeju Island, Korea, by the Korean Alliance of Martial Arts #대한무도학회. The theme of the conference was the "Popularization and Globalization of Traditional Martial Arts" with the additional aim of promoting the academic development martial arts.

The title of my presentation was "Preserving Korean Body Culture in Traditional Korean Martial Arts."

I started the presentation about Korean body culture with some audience participation, teaching them a basic movement sequence from traditional Korean dance. It worked well, but I must admit I was a bit nervous as I wasn't sure if the audience would go along with it, as they are all serious academics including some martial art grandmasters and even a judo Olympian. I'm glad they were all good sports though, as during my presentation I often referred back to this movement and I am sure that their participation made the abstract concepts I discussed much more tangible.

If you are curious about the particular movement I taught them, it was this one than can roughly be translated as "waist wrapping" [허리감기사위].

My presentation had two parts. First, I explained my ethnography of traditional Korean body culture as manifested in traditional movement disciplines, in particular traditional Korean dance and Korean martial arts. This involved movement analysis, whereby areas of overlap in the movements of Korean dance and martial arts were identified and described as kinetic characteristics. The study required ethnographic descriptive research, cross-referenced with written work. I identified eight kinetic characteristics that seem to be present in traditional Korean movement disciplines. While not all these elements are always present in all traditional Korean movement disciplines or in every technique, many or even most of them are usually perceivable and it is the combination of several of these elements that gives traditional Korean movement disciplines their particularly Korean identity.

In the second part of my presentation I showed how modern taekwondo (i.e. Kukki/WT taekwondo) is evolving away from these traditional Korean kinetic characteristics. Because of changes to modern sparring rules and the inclusion of popular music and dance in modern taekwondo, taekwondo may be losing its traditional Korean identity.

I concluded my presentation by referring to the English idiom “adapt or die” that suggests that it is necessary for survival to evolve with the times. However, if attempts at promoting traditional martial arts lead to adaptation of those very “traditional” kinetic characteristics that exemplify a traditional Korean martial art, then adapting is as good as dying.


I'm really thankful that my presentation was very well received and based on the questions during the final discussions section, I can surmise that my presentation was one of the favourites for the day. I also received some requests by other scholars to work together on related research projects. I'm glad that my research in this field is slowly gaining traction and recognition.

Since I'm currently still developing my paper for submission with an academic journal, I can't post it in full on my blog just yet. However, some of the ideas I address regarding Korean body culture have been touched upon on this blog through the years. The research paper it is just much more elaborated and much better substantiated with references to other research and academic publications.