Question 016: Japanese influence on TKD

I have a disagreeing statement about Taekwondo primarily being influenced by Japan. If you are referring to the current international Taekwondo taught, I would have to agree that karate did influence Taekwondo since the way they are primarily taught are similar, but when you say Taekwondo in general I would strongly have to disagree w/ Japanese influences on Taekwondo. If anything Taekwondo in general should be more related to China. Inhabitants from Japan primarily migrated through the Korean peninsula. Not only did migration occur through the Korean peninsula to Japan so did information and communication from China to Japan. Information traveling into Japan in ancient times was primarily through Korea between Paleolithic and Post Classical era. This is also where a confusion in Judo comes to play. The first introduction of martial arts should have been from Korea or through Korea to Japan. 

Japan is known for "adopt and adapt" from the Chinese ways. But before information from China to Japan martial arts was also changed through first Korea then Japan. In general terms Taekwondo was not influenced by Japan. First by China then to Korea then to Japan then back to Korea. (then to world) Judoalso originates from Korea. Japan re-modified Judo but did not primarily originate from Japan. Recent Judo is mostly influenced by Professor Kano. But Judo did exist before Professor Kano's time. What Kano practiced was primarily Jujitsu not Judo. Judo was first introduced to Japan presented through merchant dealings with Korea. Later during the age of Industrialization, Professor Kano implemented scientific ways of martial arts into Judo. He then showed the world about Judo internationally by presenting it to British army. 

Japanese definitely influenced Judo greatly but does NOT mean Judo originates from Japan. Judo existed before Professor Kano influenced and changed it dramatically. So in all, martial arts influences generally came from China or northern parts of Asia then modified by Korea then re-modified by Japan.

If it quacks, looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it is probably a duck. I get lots of disagreement about the contention that Taekwondo was greatly influenced by karate, primarily Shotokan.TKD did not exist until it was conceived in the 1950’s by a group of Korean martial art instructors who had black belts in karate. Due to the long occupation of Korea by Japan and the basic extinction of Taekkyon and Subak in Korea, karate was the fighting art of choice at the time. These TKD founders took what they knew best, karate, blended it with what they knew of the ancient Korean martial arts, and came up with TKD. 

Check out these photographs of Master Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan karate, performing the Pinan Shodan kata, which came decades before Taekwondo was founded. Compare it to the Won-hyo hyung of traditional Taekwondo.

Which came first the chicken or the egg? This is first time I have heard that Korean Yudo came before Japanese Judo. Did the Koreans also found baseball? People were hitting rocks and balls with sticks in Korea centuries before Doubleday founded baseball in the United States. That does not mean that baseball existed in Korea before Doubleday founded it.

Kano modified Jujutsu to make it more palatable to the masses and called it Judo. Judo did not exist before that time. As Judo became more popular, it spread into Korea as Yudo.