Kick'em In The Ghoulies

    Dojo  I                        Dojo  II                           Dojo  III

Taekwondo a devasting Kicking art from Korea 'which of the traditional arts is one of the youngest at least that's what your led to believe ,but in fact it was developed centuries ago and was known in those days as tae kyon.

Some Olympic Taekwondo   from Athens 2004

A Buddhist monk named Won Kwangis said to have developed the principles that to this day remain evident in modern Taekwondo.It was developed as a means of self defense for tribal groups who where at threat from neighbors,and dates back over a thousand years.But as Taekwondo in the modern world well we have to go to 1955 when General Choi Hong Hi at a conference of masters submitted this Taekwondo name as it resembled the original tae kyon name.

And it's Japanese influence is evident because of the occupation of Korea between 1907 and 1945 of which most of the that time 1909-1945 the practice of martial arts was outlawed.

                                 Olympic Taekwondo at it's Fiercest

But we all know as with China also that people secretly practised their art otherwise a lot of arts would have vanished.After the war the top Korean masters came together to unify to create a National art Korea could be proud of 'Taekwondo was born on the 11th of April 1955'.  

                                     Traditional One Step Sparring

    In January 1971 Dr,uUn Yong Kim was elected President of the Korean Taekwondo association and under his leadership the W.T.F was born. In 1980 Taekwondo was recognized by the IOC as an Olympic event and was demonstrated at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic events.

And in 2000 became a fully fledged Olympic Event.

                                Traditional Taekwondo in action above

      Yes Fighting more then one opponent is a Traditional training method  often used

So Taekwondo a very kick orientated art that has lots of flashy but powerful kicks along with punches and strikes which resemble some boxing traits dependent on where and who you train with.From a Olympic point of view the punches are less evident and all is about landing those kicks for points ,but from a traditional point of view where all limbs are used in a 60% kicks and 40% punch combo ,you have  a devastating self defense.No other art has kicks as powerful as Taekwondo as practitioners of the art are taught certain ways to produce these kicks and along with specific stretching techniques for Taekwondo to get the desired effect from it's Disciples.

Tan Tao Liang or Grandmaster Tan as we should call him is a masterful exponent of Taekwondo who came to fame in the Seventies  in many films that showcased Taekwondo.Being also a teacher he went on to train the Legendary John Liu of Secret Rivals fame who was a also a real life combatant who went up against Chuck Norris in the ring and won.Grandmaster Tan was  born in 1947 in Pusan Korea but his family originated  from the Shandong Provence of China.

Tan also went on to open Taekwondo clubs in California whilst living there but is believed to be living in Taiwan now.                         Also known as Flash Legs Tan due to his hopping kicking ability which he developed for competition.And even a film was made called Flash Legs. Other Students of his where also Yuen Biao and Shannon Lee ,daughter of the late Bruce Lee.

                                           Grandnmaster Tan Tao Liang

Taekwondo in Action

 A selection of Kung Fu video's

In the Chinese martial arts, imagery of the Five Animals —Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake, and Dragon—appears predominantly in Southern styles, especially those associated with Guangdong and Fujian Provinces.Often refereed to as the Five Forms.

The Five Animal martial arts supposedly originated from the Henan Shaolin Temple, which is north of the Yangtze River.

Looking at the Snake Style first (of course it's first i am The Snake).

Snake style is based on whipping or rattling power which travels up the spine to the fingers, or in the case of the rattler, the body shake which travels down the spine to the tip of the tailbone.

                   With Books available and Video's films that feature the arts it's easy to see it's popularity

 Different snake styles imitate different movements of snakes. Some, for example, imitate the Cylindrophiidae, while others imitate the python, while some schools imitate other types of snakes, like the Cobra.On top of this there are also Two other Snake styles one from the North and the other from the South.

                                 A scene from Snake Deadly Act

Next we look at the Crane style.

White Crane Boxing is a Southern Chinese martial art which originated in Fujian  Province and is now practiced throughout the world.The characteristics of this style are deep rooted stances, intricate hand techniques and fighting mostly at close range pecking bird. The flying crane style however has a greater amount of long range techniques although it too does prefer close quarters hand oriented combat, which simulates the flapping of the wings.

You can just see me or any one else in a fight flapping like a Bird can't you.I think in this time my opponents may die laughing ,but i am sure it would be effective as the confusion wold give the advantage.

There are alternate styles of Crane to,with Sleeping Crane ,Flying Crane,Eating Crane and Crying Crane fist styles. 

Hung Gar is quite a stern Kung Fu deeply rooted in tradition ,there have been many Heroes of Hung Gar ,the most famous i would say is Wong Fei Hung the Doctor from Po Chi-Lam .Just click the link to find out more.

Note*Some of the free clip art used on this  page is from www.blackpoolkarate.com/

 and www.karate1.com

 The Flying flags on this page are free downloads from www.3dflags.com