| Taekwondo is undoubtedly the foremost example
of the globalization of Korea's cultural heritage. Estimates put the
current number of Taekwondo practitioners the world over at more than
fifty million. This figure tells us something about Taekwondo's popularity,
all the more unfortunate then that despite such enthusiasm the profound
philosophy of Taekwondo has never been adequately explained outside
the country that gave it birth. Rather, it has been a case of various
masters revealing its nature implicitly in their own actions and motions,
from which others induced its nature. Now, however, a clear and distinct
explanation of the philosophical aspects of Taekwondo is necessary to
establish a firm foundation for its future development. This volume
attempts just that.
Although almost no one doubts the depth and value of Taekwondo's philosophy,
it is also generally agreed that it still demanded systematic theorization,
something several Taekwondo masters attempted to do unofficially. As
it was an unofficial undertaking the project had no particular title,
though someone named it the "Taekwondo Bible Project". I was
the author of this project's texts. But the Taekwondo Bible Project
did not last long, for some masters wanted and tried to appropriate
it for their own private use, something that is perhaps inevitable in
almost every big and well-set organization.
Thinking the Taekwondo Bible ought not to be distorted
or used for anyone's private political ends, I removed
it from the many politically powerful masters of the Taekwondo
world. At the same time I wrote the entire text, reorganizing
all the teachings of master Lee Kwang Hee, who had been
practicing and studying Taekwondo for over 30 years. He
is also my master. Because he had studied all aspects
of Taekwondo in the course of his own comprehensive research,
he alone could teach me more than several masters of Taekwondo.
Around 1990 I completed the first volume of the Taekwondo
Bible titled, űǵµÀÇ
öÇÐÀû ¿ø¸®(The
Philosophical Principles of TAEKWONDO).
Although I had completed the entire text I could not immediately publish
it. On the one hand, my master said I was too young and that it might
harm me to become well-known so early; on the other hand, I felt the
need to await a more opportune time to teach the key aspects of Taekwondo
philosophy to everyone. The key aspects of Taekwondo philosophy are
also that of Taekwondo technique, so I believed it demanded correct
timing. It was in 2000 that I finally published The Philosophical Principles
of TAEKWONDO in Korea, while also creating a website to share the contents
of the Taekwondo Bible via the internet with all those interested in
Taekwondo. In order to preserve the original implication, the website
was named www.TaekwondoBible.com. The world's best infrastructure of
information technology in Korea made this latter a relatively easy task.
As the Taekwondo philosophy of this book became known to people through
the internet, everyone came to call it simply the "Taekwondo Bible".
Many Taekwondo practitioners also began cooperating to translate it
into their own native languages. Francoise, Juan Lewis, and Fernando
are the friends that I met in this way. I believe it is because they
had recognized the book's value as soon as I had begun uploading portions
of the work online that they suggested its translation.
Five years passed and a long period of laborious translation. And now
we await the English, Spanish and Portuguese versions of the Taekwondo
Bible. In contrast to the Korean version, we decided to add illustrations
to each chapter, a task undertaken by the Korean artist Hee Soo Kim.
This was also arduous work but we believe the efforts have paid off.
This volume is not the whole of the Taekwondo Bible.
The entire contents of the Taekwondo Bible are too great
to be included in a single volume. But it is true that
this volume is the first, and the most important. The
second volume, Samjae
and Kang-Yu of TAEKWONDO, has already
been published in Korea. But there is more to come. I
estimate that as the Taekwondo Bible Project progresses
a total of 3-5 volumes will be published. Throughout this
large undertaking my friend Daniel(who is the translator)
has been inestimable sources of help and support. I thank
them for everything they have done and so let me end this
preface with my joyful and heartfelt appreciation.
July, 2005.
Master Blue(Lee, Chang Hoo). in Korea
|
[francesco] 
