Although martial arts in Korea can be dated back some 1300 years, there is no documentation for these arts. Legends passed down by different instructors and masters are the only source of history. Often, there is little fact among these legends. The only documented history begins in the mid-1900's with General Choi.

You must understand that past history does not change to meet your current needs. It is often true, yet disturbing, that masters and instructors of various arts (including Taekwondo) change or alter past history to make themselves seem more important than they really are; to appear to be the only "real" martial art; or to show that they were the "first" of the current arts. Of course, it is difficult to answer any of these questions concerning any ancient material because there is no documentation.

Original Forms
Although we all agree that the technique of Taekwondo can be traced back in Korea over 1300 years, it is historic fact that Taekwondo as an organized art is relatively modern. Even the oldest "Taekwondo" forms are derived from Japanese and Okinawan forms systems. The original forms developed under the name "Taekwondo" were the Cheon-jee (or Chahng-hun) forms developed in the mid-1960's. Following this system were the Pal-gae forms in the early 70's. Both sets of forms systems were based on Japanese forms and did not demonstrate the incredible kicking skills of Taekwondo nor its traditional values or philosophy.

Songahm Taekwondo
As a result of evaluating all the forms systems and realizing the absence of tradition, Master Haeng Ung Lee, assisted by Master William Clark (with additional input by Masters Soon Ho Lee, Jee Ho Lee, and Robert Allemier) developed a forms system that encompassed the kicks, traditions and philosophy of traditional Taekwondo. This system was known as "Songahm."
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