abstract
| - Chul-Gi (also called Chulgi or Naihanchi Cho-Dan) is the name of one of the oldest "taekwondo" forms (having originated from karate, before the formal establishment of what is now called taekwondo); nowadays it is rarely practiced in taekwondo, though sometimes it is still seen in ITF-style and Traditional Taekwondo schools. Many of the founders of the Nine Kwans studied Shotokan karate, and as a consequence many of the earliest taekwondo forms (such as Chul-Gi) are based on karate forms. Shotokan Karate is a derivative of Okinawan shurite, and the basis of shurite is form called Naihanchi; more specifically this form is the first in a series of three Naihanchi forms: Naihanchi Cho-Dan. Or to put it another way, there are three Naihanchi forms, of which Chu-Gi is one:
* Naihanchi Cho-Dan - also known simply as Chul-Gi, the form described here
* Naihanchi Ee-Dan - sometimes also called Chulgi Ee-Dan
* Naihanchi Sam-Dan - sometimes also called Chulgi Sam-Dan When the name "Chul-Gi" alone is used (without a number such as Cho, Ee, or Sam) then the term Chul-Gi usually refers just to the form shown here. Some believe that these three forms were originally a single form with more than 100 steps, but that the single form was eventually divided into these three smaller pieces. Gichin Funakoshi renamed this form Tekki when he brought Karate to Japan. In Korean, Tekki is known as Chulgi. Chulgi is a very old form thought to be Chinese in origin and possibly brought to Okinawa by the legendary Bushi Nabe Matsumura. Others say that it was practiced in Okinawa even before Matsumura was born. In either case, Chulgi was practiced from Matsumura's lifetime (1860-1930) onwards. Chul-Gi literally means Iron Horse and stresses techniques performed in a Horse-Riding Stance.
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