Songahm Taekwondo was developed to further the traditional martial arts, but not remain stuck in the past. It focuses on developing courtesy, humility, justice, friendship and many other important attributes. This is woven into the system, pattern and philosophy of Taekwondo.

Taekwondo: "the martial art that trains people physically and mentally"
Although the roots of Taekwondo can be traced back to the third century A.D., the actual word "Taekwondo" was not adopted until 1955. Because of the Japanese occupation of Korea, the martial arts of Korea went underground and was taught only in secret. After Korea gained its independence, war General Hong Hi Choi began a movement to unify the styles of training into one body (based on the traditional name, (Taekyon). His purpose behind the name change was to make the art a Korean art. The names being used at the time were Tang-soo Do (the Chinese word for "empty hand"), Gong-soo Do (the Chinese word for "empty hand" used by the Japanese in the translation Karate-Do), and Soo-bak Do (based on the ancient Korean art of Soo-bak), dated to over 1300 years ago.

Since the words were primarily reflective of the Chinese and Japanese arts, and because the poome-sae (forms) used were of Chinese, Japanese and Okinawan descent, General Choi decided to use the ancient word of Taekwon as a root from which to develop the current name for the art, Taekwondo.

"Taekwondo" officially recognized
General Choi presented the name "Taekwondo" to a committee specifically organized to choose a name for the national martial art. This committee voted unanimously to use the name and on April 11, 1955, the name was officially recognized by the government and Taekwondo became the national art of Korea. Taekwondo is made of three Chinese/Korean words: Tae, which means to kick or jump; Kwon, which means the fist or hand; and D, which means "the way" or the path as in a way of life.
Traditions - Part II
Traditions - III
Traditions - IV