Erie Institute of Taekwondo & Hapkido
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Brief History of Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art, characterized by its emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping and spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques. Taekwondo was developed during the 1940s and 1950s by various martial artists by incorporating elements of Karate and Chinese Martial Arts with indigenous Korean martial arts traditions such as Taekkyeon, Subak, and Gwonbeop. The oldest governing body for taekwondo is the Korea Taekwondo Association, formed in 1959 through a collaborative effort by representatives from the nine original kwans, or martial arts schools, in Korea. The main international organizational bodies for taekwondo today are the International Taekwon-Do Federation, founded by Choi Hong Hi in 1966, and the partnership of the Kukkiwon and World Taekwondo Federation, founded in 1972 and 1973 respectively by the Korea Taekwondo Association.

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Brief History of Hapkido

Hapkido is a highly eclectic Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs similar joint locks, grappling and throwing techniques to other martial arts, as well as kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. There is also the use of traditional weapons, including knife, sword, rope, sasng juhl bong, cane, short stick, and middle-length staff which vary in emphasis depending on the particular tradition examined.