Training with video game technology at American Taekwondo



BROOKFIELD -- Brian Kramp spent the morning at American Taekwondo in Brookfield learning about their 20/20 armor. It's a video game technology that helps kids pratice taekwondo. Kramp spent the morning learning the different games kids can play to help their training.



History of Taekwondo (website)

During the 6th Century A.D., the Korean peninsula was divided into three kingdoms, Silla, Paekche, and Koguryo. Silla, the smallest was in constant exposure and danger of being over run by her more powerful neighbors. In response to this pressure, Silla assembled an elite fighting corps of young members of the higher class, which they called the “Hwarang Do” or “Flower Youth Corps”.



The fighting form of the Hwarang Do was known as Tae Kwon. At Kyungju, the ancient capital of Silla, two Buddhist images are inscribed on the Kuemkang Giant Tower portraying two giants facing each other in a Taekwondo stance. About 935 A.D., the art evolved into Soo Bok Do. It was the first art which combined the mind and the body into one art. In the Yi Dynasty about 1392 A.D., Soo Bok Do became a requirement to enter the military schools.

That art evolved into Taekwondo, as we know it today. Taekwondo was first introduced into the United States in the 1950’s. In 1973, the first World Taekwondo Championships were held in Seoul, Korea. This led to the formation of the World Taekwondo Federation. In 1974, Taekwondo was admitted into the AAU. In 1980, Taekwondo was formally recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a Class A sport, leading the way for Taekwondo to be admitted into the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul, Korea, as a demonstration sport. In 1984, the AAU, in response to its growth, was renamed the United States Taekwondo Union, and its office established at the U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs. In the year 2000 Taekwondo became full medal sport, held in Sydney, Australia.