Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957), pictured above, is known as the Father of Karate and is one of the most well-known martial arts masters.

Funakoshi Sensei’s story is similar to many other martial arts stories. He was born a frail child, and was introduced to martial arts during his primary school years. He took to the rigorous martial training well, and studied conscientiously under several Okinawan martial arts masters.

In the 1920s, at an age where others would be contemplating retirement, Funakoshi Sensei was tasked to bring his fighting art to Japan. Modernizing his syllabus and martial training objectives, he then dubbed his art ‘Kara-Te,’ meaning empty hand. Karate, taught at universities, gained wide appeal and was accepted as part of Japan’s then nationalistic movement.

In the 1940s, a variant of Karate (Tang Soo Do Chung Do Kwan - or Korean Karate) started being developed in Korea. Officially called Taekwondo (the ‘hand and foot way,’) it was formulated as a training program for Korea’s developing army. This early Taekwondo drew significantly from Funakoshi’s syllabus, further organising training content and emphasizing the equal use of hands and leg techniques. In the mid 1950s, a version of this early art was exported out of Korea to the United States; this style was to be known by several names, among which it was called Korean Karate, American Karate, and then later, American Taekwondo.

The above pictures may be old, but the moves and the uniform are unmistakable. What Funakoshi Sensei is performing is the opening sequence of Shotokan’s Heian Nidan or Taekwondo’s Won Hyo pattern.

HRGB predominantly practices 'Traditional Taekwondo.' This is Taekwondo from the 1950s looked at with a contemporary understanding of the martial arts. Traditional Taekwondo is heavily influenced by other traditional Japanese arts, and is made accessible to the modern practitioner.

Today, a century after Japanese practitioners started donning white uniforms, Traditional Taekwondo has a compelling story to be told, and still has a captivating training program. People still want to ‘gain confidence,’ learn ‘self defence,’ and ‘get fit.’ There is this magic surrounding the martial arts – it draws us to its secrets. It calls us to take the techniques – and make it our own.