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Extra
Training |
Hwa-rang
tul (29 moves)
In his encyclopaedia
General Choi told us:
Hwa-Rang
is named after the Hwa-Rang youth group, which originated in the Silla Dynasty
in the early 7th century. The 29 movements of this pattern refer to
the 29th Infantry Division, where Taekwon-Do developed into
maturity.
What I’ve discovered
There are two references in this pattern meaning,
the first part refers to the Hwa-Rang and it is here I will begin.
The Hwa-Rang
(flowering youth) were selected from the young sons of the Silla nobility; this
idea had developed after the most beautiful females had been sought in a kind
of beauty contest, which had ended in bitter rivalry and murder.
At around 576 A.D. the King converted the Hwa-Rang
groups into elite military units, they were taught the ‘Five Injunctions for
Mundane Life’, written by a Buddhist Monk.
The male youths were trained in art, literature,
dance, science and of course combat, archery, charioteering and warfare.
They were the elite fighting force of the day.
Often said
to be the predecessor of the Samurai, the Hwa-Rang were surrounded by legend
and lived by an honour code comparable to the Knights of King Arthur.
Many of the Great Korean military tacticians were
Hwa-Rang.
The art of foot fighting had been practised in
The hand to hand combat learned was based on the
Buddhist principles of Um-Yang (Yin-Yang in Chinese), this philosophy included
the blending of hard and soft techniques and linear and circular techniques.
The rank Hwa-Rang was awarded after the position of
teacher in the martial arts had been achieved; the Hwa-Rang would then be put
in command of between 500 and 5000 students, or Hwarang-Do as a Kuk-Son.
Code of the Hwarang:
Sesok Ogye
Loyalty to the King
Obedience to Parents
Trust among friends
Never retreat in Battle
Justice in killing
The 29 movements in the pattern refer to the 29th
infantry division, this is the division commanded by General Choi Hong Hi (9th
Dan). This division was also known as the fist division and its symbol was a
fist on the Korean peninsular representing the desire to end the division of
the country. The number 2 represents the divided
It was in this military division and under General
Choi’s command that Taekwon-Do developed into its modern form, after a blending
of Tae-Kyon and Karate.
For sources of this information please see the bibliography section of
the site.
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