Pattern Development - Modern Beginnings

Modern Beginnings

During the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and the Korean War (1950–1953), Koreans developed a new appreciation for military training and a nationalistic interest in Korea's own ancient military and cultural heritage. An attempt was made to create a traditional martial that could be traced from ancient times, but, since the ancient arts were long forgotten, any new martial art had to be based on the Chinese, Okinawan, and Japanese martial arts in which the Koreans learning during the occupation.

In creating a "Korean" martial art, martial artists had to rely on their own backgrounds, which came from training under Japanese karate instructors during civilian service in Japan, from military service under the auspices of the Japanese army, or from Manchuria where Koreans were exposed to both Japanese karate and Chinese martial arts. Since most of the founders of these early Korean martial arts schools held black belt rankings in karate , most of the techniques developed for the new national martial art were merely variations of standard karate techniques. Early Taekwondo (1954–1971) was basically a variation of Shotokan karate , incorporating Shotokan "Heian" patterns into its "Pinan" patterns. Although other patterns were developed during this time, they retained an intrinsic karate character in technical style, use of stances, and overall purpose.