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in_seoul_2003
Joined: 24 Nov 2003
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 Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 9:51 pm Post subject: ... |
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Last edited by in_seoul_2003 on Fri Nov 23, 2007 12:22 am; edited 1 time in total |
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markhan
Joined: 02 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:03 pm Post subject: Re: martial arts a good metaphor for korea's jingoist fallac |
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Jeez.., you must be a black belt at nitpicking.
| in_seoul_2003 wrote: |
found a korean article about korean martial arts in the joonang ilbo. pay attention to the bold. what it implies echoes what is often said on this board about the relative newness of 'korea' as a nation not just in terms of when it came to be called 'korea' but also when its people came to actually develop some sort of national awareness or sentiments.
secondly, despite all the 5000 year old pure korean blah blah, taekwondo is, as we know of so many other 'pure' korean things essentially bastardized, a composite of many non-korean elements and therefore impure in the korean jingoist scheme of things.
also, the writer should no better than to not include muay thai kickboxing as one of the most commonly known asian martial arts. sheesh, when koreans are not fantasizing about themselves as the center of asia it's always a fantasy that includes china and japan and no one else.
In Asia, three nations are most commonly known for their martial arts: China, Japan and Korea.
�The difference between the three,� said Huh Geon-shik, director of Mooto Research Center, �is Japan�s emphasis on form and repetition.�
Huh said Japanese martial art relies heavily on influences of Zen Buddhism and kendo, or Japanese fencing.
�Japanese martial arts, including judo, aikido or karate, are based on kendo, or attacking and defending with swords,� Huh said. �The hands become the sword.�
The use of armor differentiates the various Japanese martial arts.
For example, judo is designed for combat while wearing armor, while practitioners of karate do not use armor.
Chinese martial arts are more flamboyant in style and include more variety, Huh said.
Korean martial arts, according to Huh, are flexible and distanced from rigid forms, which allows for impromptu movements.
Interestingly, Koreans martial arts weapons mostly consist of farming tools.
The three countries� surviving martial arts took shape after gunpowder began to be used in weapons.
�The Japanese no longer needed to shoot arrows or attack enemies with their bare hands,� Huh said.
�That is why the Japanese started to emphasize marital arts in the form of kata [set movements as exercise],� Huh said. �Chinese martial arts transformed into health-oriented exercises like tai chi.�
In the case of Korea, after the Japanese attack on the Joseon Dynasty in the 1700s, Korean scholars collected information on the martial arts of Korea, China and Japan.
Unfortunately, information on most of the traditional Korean martial arts was lost during the Japanese colonial period.
�Japanese martial arts such as judo and kendo were incorporated into school curriculums [in Korea],� Huh said.
This continued even after Korea established its independence. The martial arts taught in the Joseon Dynasty�s royal court were imported from China. Only in the 1960s did Korean marital arts find their way into dominant culture.
However, there is no systematic data on how many forms of martial arts are traditionally based or were created in modern years.
The Internet Web site Wikipedia lists numerous traditional Korean martial arts, including charyok, kwansunmu and taekkyeon. The list of modern martial arts includes kumsul, kwonbup and gongkwon yusul.
Currently, three martial arts in Korea boast a historical background. Practitioners of some others claim a long historical tradition. Still others developed in the modern era after the Japanese colonial period.
These include taekkyeon, ssireum and hoheupbyeop (literally translated as �ways of breathing�), Huh said.
Among these, taekkyeon is considered the representative traditional martial art.
The Korean government designated taekkyeon an intangible cultural assets on June 1, 1983.
Taekkyeon is a barehand combat technique which relies heavily on use of the legs. It is also known as gakhee.
Instead of utilizing striking blows and kicks like karate, taekkyeon takes advantage of an opponent�s blind spots. Thus, those who practice this art can kick or throw their opponents down to the ground before an attack even registers.
This form�s style is very different from taekwondo, which uses direct actions. Taekkyeon is very flexible and those who practice it appear to taunt their opponents by prancing around them with light footsteps that closely resemble a dance. These movements are smooth and elastic.
The martial art is believed to have originated from subak, a lost martial art with roots in the Goguryeo Dynasty.
Taekwondo, according to Huh, is a combination of different martial arts, including those native to Korea, Chinese and Japan.
�This shows the absorbable and flexible qualities of Korean martial arts,� Huh said.
Taekwondo is relatively new although some say that the martial art can be traced back to the Goguryeo Dynasty.
The taekwondo that we know today only took shape in the 1950s after the end of the Korean War. Like taekkyeon, taekwondo is based on kicks. However, its movements are more straightforward and powerful.
Ssireum, Huh said, used to be more prevalent as a martial art.
�The rules [in the past] were less restrictive than what we see today,� he said.
�While practitioners of the modern form of ssireum could only throw the opponent down on the ground, in the past, opponents could be pushed out of a ring, very similar to today�s sumo.�
Today, ssireum is a sport in which athletes compete to show their strength.
Despite their rich history, many of these traditional marital arts are dying out, Lee said.
�To preserve such marital arts is to preserve our traditional culture.�
By Lee Ho-jeong Staff Writer [[email protected]] |
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Atavistic
Joined: 22 May 2006
Location: How totally stupid that Korean doesn't show in this area.
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| Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:17 pm Post subject: Re: martial arts a good metaphor for korea's jingoist fallac |
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| What is your complaint about the article? It told the truth about taekwondo. What are you bitching about? |
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Alyallen
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!
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| Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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Asides from the claim that TKD is not repetitious  I found nothing wrong with the article.
Sorry... |
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in_seoul_2003
Joined: 24 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:25 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by in_seoul_2003 on Fri Nov 23, 2007 12:18 am; edited 1 time in total |
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whatever
Joined: 11 Jun 2006
Location: Korea: More fun than jail.
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:45 am Post subject: |
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I thought it was all about kicking motherf*ckers. 
Excuse my ignorant ass, but they seem to have kicking--at the expense of other moves--down. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
Jeez.., you must be a black belt at nitpicking.
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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| in_seoul_2003 wrote: |
| pay attention to the article as a metaphor for exposing jingoist fallacies and stop paying attention to the post as an attack on the article. |
Pay attention to my head hitting the pillow as I roll over and go back to sleep until 7.30, or maybe 8, as a metaphor for the semi-comatose stupour that results from reading long-winded, not-entirely-clear, tedium-inducing posts at this ungodly hour of the day.
"While visions of jingoistic fallacies danced in their heads..."
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Last edited by JongnoGuru on Thu Oct 25, 2007 12:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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doggyji
Joined: 21 Feb 2006
Location: Toronto - Hamilton - Vineland - St. Catherines
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 12:37 pm Post subject: Re: martial arts a good metaphor for korea's jingoist fallac |
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| in_seoul_2003 wrote: |
| secondly, despite all the 5000 year old pure korean blah blah, taekwondo is, as we know of so many other 'pure' korean things essentially bastardized, a composite of many non-korean elements and therefore impure in the korean jingoist scheme of things. |
TKD's "impureness" is common knowledge. At least, in the Korean internet world.
| in_seoul_2003 wrote: |
| also, the writer should no better than to not include muay thai kickboxing as one of the most commonly known asian martial arts. sheesh, when koreans are not fantasizing about themselves as the center of asia it's always a fantasy that includes china and japan and no one else. |
That's just one introductory line to bring up the two adjacent countries in the light of the direct influence to Korean martial arts? If one decides to be nitpicky, who can stop that anyway.  |
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