Book Review:

A Killing Art: The Untold History of Tae Kwon Do

By Craig Willits

The Korean martial art of taekwondo is a direct descendant of Japanese karate that did not exist prior to the 1950s.
The various modern styles of the art did not begin to take their current forms until the 1980s. However, most
taekwondo organizations present it as an ancient Korean art dating back 1,000 years or more. How did such a
revisionist view of the historical roots of taekwondo develop? Canadian journalist and taekwondo black belt
Alex Gillis attempts to answer that question in his book A Killing Art: The Untold History of Tae Kwon Do.

In keeping with the personality-driven nature of the martial arts, Gillis develops the early history of taekwondo
by comparing and contrasting the personal histories of two of its most influential leaders. We are introduced to
Choi Hong-hi, a South Korean general who claimed the title of "founder" of taekwondo. Contrasted with Choi is
Kim Un-yong, a government functionary and sometime intelligence operative who became the first president of
the World Taekwondo Federation, and was responsible for bringing taekwondo to the Olympics. As the stories
of these two men unfold and intertwine, we meet -- and hear from -- the major players in the international rise of
taekwondo during the second half of the twentieth century, from the Korean dictators Lee Seung-man and Park
Chung-hee to such influential grandmasters as Jhoon Ree, pioneer of taekwondo in the U. S.

Gillis performed meticulous research prior to writing A Killing Art. The book cites nearly 100 printed or
electronic sources, as well as face-to-face interviews with nearly 50 influential figures in taekwondo, including
two sessions with Choi himself shortly before his death. As a result of Gillis' efforts, a much more complete
picture of the history of taekwondo emerges than that usually publicized by modern organizations and
instructors. He does not shrink away from describing the squabbling, intrigue, and downright gangsterism
shown by many senior taekwondo leaders, particularly during the years of the Park regime. He examines in
great detail the links between taekwondo instructors, Korean intelligence, and the Unification Church, and gives
an enlightening account of the intrigue behind the effort to have taekwondo accepted as an Olympic sport.

Furthermore, Gillis presents complete, objective character studies of Choi and Kim, showing their faults as well as
their strengths. Those who hero-worship either man will find it hard to read the documentation of their negative
qualities and questionable behavior. Other early taekwondo pioneers receive the same objective treatment.

By his own account, this was a difficult book for Gillis to write. For those like him who love taekwondo, it is not a
comfortable read. In the end, however, Gillis shows that out of the tangled web of intrigue and personality
conflicts, the art of taekwondo still remains, prevailing over its difficult past to influence millions of practitioners
worldwide.

A martial artist functions best looking forward, training in the here and now to be physically and mentally
prepared for the needs of the future. However, a martial artist must also be mindful of the past, because by
having an objective view of history we can keep from recycling past mistakes. As a history of taekwondo, A
Killing Art is the most comprehensive and objective work written in the past 20 years. It is a must-read for serious
martial artists seeking a fuller understanding of taekwondo and its historical context.

Craig Willits has been teaching traditional martial arts since 2001 and reality-based self-defense since 2003. He is the owner and chief
instructor at Spotsylvania Martial Arts in Fredericksburg VA. For more information on training at Spotsylvania Martial Arts, please visit
http://spotsybba.com or call 540-891-9008.

Copyright © 2010 by Spotsylvania Black Belt Academy, LLC (d/b/a Spotsylvania Martial Arts) - all rights reserved. This article may not be
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