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The earliest known names for Korean martial arts that formed the foundation of Taekwondo were Subak or Taekkyon. In researching writings about ancient Korea, it is difficult to differentiate between these two ancient martial arts. The first references to Subak, claimed to be the predecessor of Taekkyon, are found in the Koryosa (History of Koryo) circa 1147. The first reference to Taekkyon is found in Chaemulbo, a book written by Yi Song-gi during the reign of King Chongjo (1776-1800). Many historical references consider the two terms synonymous since there is no clear dividing line between the two. Subak was the older of the two arts and Taekkyon built upon it by adding more foot techniques. Over the centuries, Subak has been called Subak-hi, Subak-ki, and Subyeokta; while Taekkyon has been known as tak-kyeon, gak-hi, gak-sul, and bigak-sul. Many other fighting styles developed in ancient Korea, such as Kannyok or Subak-chigi, Charyok, Yu-sul, and Oren-kwon but the most original and "most Korean" of them was Taekkyon. The name Taekkyon was always written using the Korean alphabet, while other style names were written using Chinese hieroglyphs.

Taekkyon did not use many stances, but it had very developed kicks, leg jams, and sweeps. The aim in Taekkyon fighting was to defeat the opponent, not to injure him. Kicks were below chest level and most were circular in movement, not straight. Hand techniques were circular movements without using fists. They primarily were used for palm-push blocks and grasping to set an opponent up for a kick attack.

All martial arts began the day the first human had to defend himself/herself against an attack from an animal or one the subsequent humans, so the search for the roots of Taekwondo must begin with the first humans. 

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