June 24 - July 4 (cont.)

On Thursday, June 28th the tour flew to Busan (former spelling of Pusan) and toured the city, including a visit to the Royal Tombs.

Meng family at the Royal Tombs.

After a driving tour of the city, the group proceeded to Gyeongju and went to the hotel. The next morning, the tour resumed in the city of Gyeongju by visiting two important Buddhist temples, the Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple located far up a mountain. Before the statue of Buddha in the Grotto are two stout guards engraved in a blocking stance. These two statues are often used to lend proof to the existence of Taekwondo as an ancient, indigenous skill of Korea.

After visiting Gyeongju, the tour began a long drive to the capital of Seoul. Along the way, the tour made a second martial arts stop - a visit to the National Taekkyon Dojang located in Cheongju city. Taekkyon is one of the original martial arts practices on the Korean peninsula. This martial art is rapidly growing in popularity through out the country. Taekkyon is one of the oldest forms of martial art on the Korean Peninsula. Before the 6th century, Taekkyon was practiced by the ruling classes and from the 9th to 12th century and became very popular, even amongst the common people. According to the Koryusa, a Korean history book written in the 15th century, Taekkyon was widely encouraged and practiced by everyone from the king himself to farmers. This trend continued until the early Chosun Dynasty when Taekkyon declined in popularity. Taekkyon is a martial art that consists of kicks, strikes, throws, and takedowns. Training is broken down into solo practice and partner practice. Solo practice includes basic movements such as stances, footwork, kicks, strikes, blocks and forms. Partner practices include a step-sparring format, arranged sparring/drilling, and free sparring.

Kaekkyon demonstration
 

Sign inside the Kaekkyon Dojang
Proficient in hundreds of kicks