Introduction 1

1. What is Taekwondo Philosophy?

Is there a philosophy to Taekwondo? If so, then where in Taekwondo shall we find it? Many scholars have concerned themselves with this question. Most have sought Taekwondo’s philosophy within the context of traditional Oriental philosophy and religion, and so they researched Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in an effort to apply their concepts to Taekwondo. And what was the result? Only a Taekwondo encumbered with the complex and abstruse terminology of Oriental philosophy, while nothing of the true and essential Taekwondo remained. There is a very simple reason for this: Confucius, the Buddha, Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu never discussed Taekwondo.

Is there a philosophy to Taekwondo?

If a true Taekwondo philosophy exists then it must be found nowhere else than in Taekwondo itself. I believe there is such a philosophy, and that it exists within the principle of motions of Taekwondo. This book, The Philosophical Principles of Taekwondo, will reveal its detailed nature.

Taekwondo philosophy should be established along these lines: First we should attain a full understanding of Taekwondo itself. We should then investigate its functioning philosophical principles. If, in searching the appropriate terms with which to conceptualize it, we come to realize that a certain traditional Oriental philosophy has shared aspects with Taekwondo, only then can we have sufficient reason to apply its terms and logical scheme to Taekwondo.

If one were to compare good Taekwondo philosophy to a well-fitting suit that was created from the cloth of another suit, then a Taekwondo philosophy loaded with improper terms and concepts having nothing to do with Taekwondo (despite their Oriental philosophical origins), might then be compared to someone else’s suit with your name merely sewn therein. The mere presence of your name is in no way sufficient to make that suit suitable to you. Again, Taekwondo philosophy must be conceived from the philosophical and constant principles immanent in the motions of Taekwondo itself.

Many are those who would confine Taekwondo philosophy to spiritual tenets. But a proper understanding of Taekwondo will recognize that the philosophical principles of Taekwondo can be applied equally to the activities of both mind and body. That is to say, its philosophical principle remains the same regardless of whether it concerns the mind or the body. You will come to understand this through this book. I believe one of the most pervasive and erroneous results of scholarly efforts to apply irrelevant philosophical concepts to Taekwondo is the confining of Taekwondo philosophy to the purely mental realm. This is akin to cutting your own arms and legs in order to better fit into another's suit. The ideal Taekwondo philosophy should explain both the spirit and the motion (i.e. mind and body) of Taekwondo. It should also be able to explain the relationship between that spirit and motion. This book shall attempt this task by showing that the principles of spirit and motion are one in the same in that they have the same formality. Taekwondo philosophy is the conceptualization of the philosophical principles immanent in both spirit and motion, just as every Taekwondo man manifests in his motion.