| In the beginning
of Taekwondo training, the practitioner encounters
the tobok and learns ettiquestte from the
Sabomnim. The tobok is a special clothing
for training the mind and body in which the
spirit of Korea and the centuries-old tradition
is alive. So it is called a "handobok".
The tobok consists of trousers, upper garment
and belt, of which is called "hanbul",
The tobok has a similarity withtraditional
Korean clothes "hanbok". The origin
of the hanbok is not known. There are, however
records that shows the use of costumes in
the period of Shilla(Samkuk Sagi), Kaya(Samkuk
Yusa), and Koguryo-Paekche-Shilla periods
(Saso, China), It is written in the "Koryo
Tokyong" by Sukyong of early China
that "people in the Konguryo Kingdom
wear white costumes with black silk belts
around the waist."
It seems that the white costumes could
be daily clothes for the Koguryo people.
It also seems that the long upper garment
and trousers must have been the same type
of cloth that were found on the wall paintings
in the tombs of the three kingdoms.
Taekwondo tobok which is similar to the
traditional Korean clothing in the method
of making, has three kids of sapes : circle(O),
square(Up), and triangle(¡â). The waist line
of the uniform is circular shape, the cuffs
square and the hip area triangular. The
upper garment is made according to the same
manner.
It seems that tobok which is quite different
from common clothing has a stradition of
comservatism, and therefore, it is reasoned
that the tobok that Kokuryopeople used to
wear must be quite similiar to the one that
people during the Tangun-choson used to
wear(BC37-AD668). It also seems that Ch'oesonin
of Kokuryo and Kunson-hwarang of Shilla
were from the same tradition of Tangun-choson
and that Kukjarang of Tanlgun-Chonson became
the ch'oesonin of Kokuryo and Hwarang of
shilla. "Won(O), symbolizes the heaven,
"Bang(Up), the earth, and "Kak(¡â)"the
man.
The circle denotes the heaven, the square
the earth and the triangle the man. The
three symbols are the foundation of the
universe(Samilshingo). The traditional Korean
costumes are made based on the three symbols,
and the symbols transform into the unity
of the three called "han."
The numeric concept of the Ch'onbugyong,
which contains the principles of the heaven
as one, the earth as two, and the man as
three, brought the complete theoretical
background for the formation of the traditional
Korean constumes. From these conclusions,
it can be reasoned that tobok has the same
historical records of transformation as
the traditional Korean costume has had.
According to the theory of the "Yin"and
"Yang", the man is the small universe,
trousers which is Yin the earth, upper garment
which is Yang the heaven, and belt the man
himself, which stems from the supplies to
the every aspect of the life of Koreans
including in the production of all different
sorts of costumes.
Tobok and hanbok have the form of no beginning
and no ending and it is quite difficult
to conclude that the methods of making them
were designed by one person's idea. There
is some historical proof that shown the
history. One example is from the article
of the Choson daily Newspaper on the day
18th of april in 1990. It says that a Japanese
female professor discovered a 400 year old
Ch'onik Chollae p'um-male costume used during
the period of Choson dynasty.....found as
an original shape ......seems booty.........given
by the Shogun Poongshin..
At the beginning the tobok were made only
in white color. In 1970, the division was
made between the uniform for the under black
belt and the black belt. The tobok has a
Vneck shape. the p'um uniform has red-black
stripes along the neck and the tan uniform
only a black stripe.
The white color in the uniform symbioses
the background of the universe. According
to the philosophy of the Korean tradition,
the origin of the universe is the oneness
which proounced in Korean as Han. Han stems
from the color of white. Teh white is the
essence of the universe in Korean belief.
The reason of the V-neck is to reduce the
uncomfortableness of the previous traditional
uniform which would be loosen too often
during the practice. The V-neck uniform
looks neat and is convenient to wear.
Tobok is not only a costume for daily practice
in Tojang but also a competition cloth for
national level as well as the Olympic Game.
The philosophical significance of the tobok
is in Keeping it clean and having proper
respect and etiquette toward it.
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