TEA
02-03-2006, 16:56
I've seen this discussed tangentially in a lot of threads, but haven't found a specific thread dedicated to this contraversial topic, though. As a student of history specializing in the Korean Colonial Period and a martial artist who specializes in Tae Kwon Do and who has trained in both Japan and Korea, this is an area that interests me, but which I find to be poorly documented and emotionally charged. A friend of mine once showed me a discussion on a BBS (remember those?) that was hosted by Chalmers Johnson back in the early to mid '90s that discussed this topic and had good and relatively objective discussion.
A few of the salient features that I remember from that discussion were:
1) The practice of martial arts by civillians in Korea was actually banned by the Choson Court in the 1870s in response to a spate of gan violence in the capital. The Japanese Government General simply continued this ban.
2) It is probable that a small group of civillian practitioners continued to pass on the teachings of their art "underground" until the 1920s. However, given the Neo-Confucian disdain for the military that was a dominant feature of Korean society until Liberation, it would seem logical that such underground practitioners would be rare and would most likely have existed in the margianilized groups within society.
3) In 1920, the Government General allowed Koreans to study martial arts in the public schools as part of the education reforms following the March First Uprising in 1919. At this time, any "underground" practitioners would have been provided some legitimate cover. At the same time, martial arts instruction in Korea was dominated by Japanese and Okinawan influences.
4) Until 1932, the Chinese character used for Kara in Karate was the one that is usually romanized as T'ang or Tang for T'ang Dynasty China. This character is pronounced as Kara in Japanese. The Japanese government changed the character to the Kara meaning "empty" in order to erase the Chinese via Okinawa origins of Karate. The overwhelming sense of those involved in this discussion was that Karate spread from China to Okinawa and Korean with Ch'an/Son/Zen Budhism during the T'ang Dynasty and later spread into Japan during the Tokugawa period.
5) Most of the founders of the seven Kwans studied Karate in Okinawa and a few in Japan. Whether they had studied any underground traditional Korean martial arts is speculative but not improbable.
6) While it may not be accurate to say that all modern Korean martial arts are derived from Japanese martial arts (after all, even "purely" Japanese martial arts have been influenced by Chinese and/or Okinawan martial arts to some degree), it is fair to say they were heavily influenced by the Japanese during the Colonial Period.
My main interest in this topic is with points 1) and 2) and a bit with 3). I have found historical accounts that indicate that the Pobusang (pedlers) guilds (note: I say guilds here instead of the more commonly used Guild to differentiate between the Choson Gvt's attempt to organize government controlled guild system and the more regional and local guild type structures that developed during the late Koryo period and continue to a very limited degree even now) often had a para-military/youth brigade type organization to train in self defense for the members and to enforce order. It would seem to me that these groups would have continued to train in martial arts even after the Choson Court's proscription against civillian practice of martial arts, and may have even continued into the Colonial Period. This is conjecture on my part with regards to the Colonial Period, although it does seem logical.
Also, I have found that kkangp'ae (Korean gangsters) likely practiced martial arts in the '20s and '30s, based on accounts of the MA skills of some of the more famous leaders of these gangs. Following Liberation and prior to the Korean War, martial arts were often referred to as "kkangp'ae training" by residents of Seoul.
My biggest problems are:
1) I only have a single BBS reference from an undocumented source with regards to the Choson Court's proscription against civillian practice of martial arts;
2) I have been able to find absolutely no Japanese Government General order related to this proscription - although there was a general order to continue the Choson penal code for Koreans in Korea in addition to the Japanese penal code. This order was rescinded in 1920.
3) I have been able to find no evidence that the Japanese Governement General enforced any proscription against the civillian practice of martial arts in any of the crime statistics maintained by the Government General.
4) I have been unable to find any evidence of any private martial arts schools, either Japanese or Korean owned, in the records of registered businesses contained in the ecomic records maintained by the Government General.
My questions are:
1) Does anyone have any evidence to support the assertion that the Choson Court banned the civillian practice of martial arts?
2) Does anyone have any evidence that the Japanese Government General did, and if so, any evidence of enforcement of this ban?
3) Were there any legitimate (i.e. legal) privately run martial arts schools in Korea prior to 1945?
4) Were the martial arts used by kkangp'ae learned in Japanese run public schools prior to the introduction MA into the public school curriculum in 1920, were they learned "underground," or was it a combination of the two?
A few of the salient features that I remember from that discussion were:
1) The practice of martial arts by civillians in Korea was actually banned by the Choson Court in the 1870s in response to a spate of gan violence in the capital. The Japanese Government General simply continued this ban.
2) It is probable that a small group of civillian practitioners continued to pass on the teachings of their art "underground" until the 1920s. However, given the Neo-Confucian disdain for the military that was a dominant feature of Korean society until Liberation, it would seem logical that such underground practitioners would be rare and would most likely have existed in the margianilized groups within society.
3) In 1920, the Government General allowed Koreans to study martial arts in the public schools as part of the education reforms following the March First Uprising in 1919. At this time, any "underground" practitioners would have been provided some legitimate cover. At the same time, martial arts instruction in Korea was dominated by Japanese and Okinawan influences.
4) Until 1932, the Chinese character used for Kara in Karate was the one that is usually romanized as T'ang or Tang for T'ang Dynasty China. This character is pronounced as Kara in Japanese. The Japanese government changed the character to the Kara meaning "empty" in order to erase the Chinese via Okinawa origins of Karate. The overwhelming sense of those involved in this discussion was that Karate spread from China to Okinawa and Korean with Ch'an/Son/Zen Budhism during the T'ang Dynasty and later spread into Japan during the Tokugawa period.
5) Most of the founders of the seven Kwans studied Karate in Okinawa and a few in Japan. Whether they had studied any underground traditional Korean martial arts is speculative but not improbable.
6) While it may not be accurate to say that all modern Korean martial arts are derived from Japanese martial arts (after all, even "purely" Japanese martial arts have been influenced by Chinese and/or Okinawan martial arts to some degree), it is fair to say they were heavily influenced by the Japanese during the Colonial Period.
My main interest in this topic is with points 1) and 2) and a bit with 3). I have found historical accounts that indicate that the Pobusang (pedlers) guilds (note: I say guilds here instead of the more commonly used Guild to differentiate between the Choson Gvt's attempt to organize government controlled guild system and the more regional and local guild type structures that developed during the late Koryo period and continue to a very limited degree even now) often had a para-military/youth brigade type organization to train in self defense for the members and to enforce order. It would seem to me that these groups would have continued to train in martial arts even after the Choson Court's proscription against civillian practice of martial arts, and may have even continued into the Colonial Period. This is conjecture on my part with regards to the Colonial Period, although it does seem logical.
Also, I have found that kkangp'ae (Korean gangsters) likely practiced martial arts in the '20s and '30s, based on accounts of the MA skills of some of the more famous leaders of these gangs. Following Liberation and prior to the Korean War, martial arts were often referred to as "kkangp'ae training" by residents of Seoul.
My biggest problems are:
1) I only have a single BBS reference from an undocumented source with regards to the Choson Court's proscription against civillian practice of martial arts;
2) I have been able to find absolutely no Japanese Government General order related to this proscription - although there was a general order to continue the Choson penal code for Koreans in Korea in addition to the Japanese penal code. This order was rescinded in 1920.
3) I have been able to find no evidence that the Japanese Governement General enforced any proscription against the civillian practice of martial arts in any of the crime statistics maintained by the Government General.
4) I have been unable to find any evidence of any private martial arts schools, either Japanese or Korean owned, in the records of registered businesses contained in the ecomic records maintained by the Government General.
My questions are:
1) Does anyone have any evidence to support the assertion that the Choson Court banned the civillian practice of martial arts?
2) Does anyone have any evidence that the Japanese Government General did, and if so, any evidence of enforcement of this ban?
3) Were there any legitimate (i.e. legal) privately run martial arts schools in Korea prior to 1945?
4) Were the martial arts used by kkangp'ae learned in Japanese run public schools prior to the introduction MA into the public school curriculum in 1920, were they learned "underground," or was it a combination of the two?