Taekkyon
Taekkyon, Taekgyeon, Taekkyeon, or Taekyun (Korean: 태껸; 택견; Hanja: 托肩, Korean pronunciation: [tʰɛk̚k͈jʌn]) is a traditional Korean martial art.
| Also known as | Taekgyeon, Taekkyeon, Taekkyon |
|---|---|
| Focus | Self-defense with a focus on kicks, trips, throws in competitions |
| Hardness | Light-contact (pushing hands) Full-contact (strikes, kicks, throws, takedowns etc...) |
| Country of origin | Korea |
| Parenthood | Subak |
| Official website | Four associations: |
| Taekkyon | |
|---|---|
| Popular spelling | |
| Hangul | |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Taekgyeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | T'aekkyŏn |
| IPA | tʰɛk̚k͈jʌn |
| Dictionary spelling | |
| Hangul | |
| Revised Romanization | Taekkyeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | T'aekkyŏn |
It is characterized by fluid, dynamic foot movement called pum balki, or "stepping-on-triangles". Taekkyon includes hands and feet techniques to unbalance, trip, or throw the opponent. Taekkyon has many leg and whole-body techniques with fully integrated armwork. A Taekkyon practitioner is called a "Taekkyon-kkun".
Since the twentieth century, Taekkyon has come to be seen as a living link to Korea's past. As such, it has provided historical references for modern Korean martial arts and is often considered as the oldest martial discipline of Korea. It was almost wiped out during the Japanese Occupation, before being rediscovered after the Korean War. It has influenced the name and conceptualization of Taekwondo.
Taekkyon was the first martial art enlisted in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is also the 76th Intangible Cultural Property of South Korea.