Modern history of East Asian martial arts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
East Asia, the region dominated by Chinese, Japanese and Korean culture, was greatly transformed following its contact with the West in the 19th century. This defining period can be considered as the start of the modern period of East Asian history, and also happens to be the time of origin of most schools of martial arts of East Asian origin practiced today. New approaches and ideas about martial arts were created that are distinctly different from the previous history of martial arts, especially under the influence of nascent nationalism in the region, which took the respective traditions of martial arts as being part of the nation's heritage to be polished and standardized into a pure form and showcased to the rest of the world.
As a result, the modern martial arts of China and Japan are for the most part a product of the nationalist governments in power during the 1920s and 1930s, in the case of Korea developed under Japanese occupation and cast in terms of a Korean national art during the 1950s. The modern history of Indochinese martial arts is closely related, and especially modern Muay Thai was developed in the years leading up to and following the Siamese revolution of 1932.
In many countries local arts like Te in Okinawa,[1] kenjutsu and jujutsu in Japan,[2] and taekyon and soobak in Korea[3] mixed with other martial arts and evolved to produce some of the more well-known martial arts in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries like karate, aikido, and taekwondo.
During the Republic of China's Kuomintang government of mainland China (1915–1949), the Jing Wu Athletic Association (established in 1910) together with the Central Guoshu Institute (established 1928) played an important role in the preservation of traditional schools of martial arts and their transformation into the various modern styles practiced today. In October 1928, the Central Guoshu Institute held a national examination, the so-called Leitai raised platform full contact competition, which came to be regarded as one of the most significant historic gatherings of Chinese martial arts masters.
Japan
Koryū is the Japanese term for all martial arts schools that predate the Meiji restoration (1860s); they are typically named with -jutsu (術) and emphasized effectiveness in Japanese feudal warfare. The systems of Japanese martial arts that post-date the Meiji Restoration are known as gendai budō, and are typically named with -dō (道). These include judo, karate, kendo, kyūdō, iaidō, and aikido. These newer systems are commonly valued as sports or arts for self- development, self-improvement, rather than methods for killing or maiming a battlefield opponent.
Korea
The modern Korean martial arts developed in the early 20th century, under influence of the Japanese martial arts of the period. Thus, hapkido originates from Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910–1945).[4]
Taekwondo was developed from karate for use in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces from 1954. For this purpose, karate terminology needed to be "nationalized". The name taekwondo was coined by shotokan practitioner and army general Choi Hong Hi. After the Korean War, Taekwondo was further developed into a purely sportive discipline, since 1973 overseen by the World Taekwondo Federation. During 1964–1966, Choi Hong Hi continued to promote taekwondo, working to put together a world-class exhibition team. Taekwondo's emphasis on jumping and flying kicks dates to this period. While taekwondo was based on karate, the structural changes made in the 1950s and 1960s were significant, and it cannot now be considered a branch of karate, but is a standalone modern martial art.[5] Taekwondo was presented at the Summer Olympics as a demonstration sport in 1988 and 1992, and became an official Olympic discipline in 2000.
