There are many similarities between the Katas of Shotokan Karate and the Tuls of Taekwondo. The early masters of Taekwon-do made grateful use of these Katas. In this blog, I will explain it.

A number of Taekwondo masters around Choi Hong-Hi developed the first forms (called Hyungs and later Tuls) at the inception of Taekwon-do. It is likely that they had knowledge of the Katas of Shotokan Karate. In a number of these Katas, it is clearly evident that they are the source of the Tuls.

(To avoid infringing on any rights, I will mention the Katas, but without a link. The name of the Kata is easily found on the internet.)

There are 26 Katas in Shotokan Karate. I have highlighted a few of them below because the similarities with the first Tuls are clear. In the other Katas, you will find even more combinations that also appear in the Tuls:

Heian 1 Shodan Kata, the structure and techniques from this Kata can be found in Chon-Ji and Dan-Gun Tul.
Heian 2 Nidan Kata, The I-shaped structure and the combinations of techniques can be found in Do-San and Won-Hyo Tul.
Heian 3 Sandan Kata, the beginning of Won-Hyo Tul can be seen, as well as the stomping movements from Toi-Gye Tul.
Heian 4 Yondan Kata, part of Do-San and Toi-Gye Tul, is derived from this.
Heian 5 Godan Kata, parts of which have found their way into various lower and higher Tuls.

A selection of other katas with similarities:
Taikyoku Shodan Kata has a similar structure and techniques as in Chon-Ji Tul.
Pinan 2nd Kata includes elements from Do-San and Whon-Hyo Tul.
Kanku Kata features combinations of techniques that also appear in Kwang-Gae and Po-Eun Tul.

It is remarkable that many Katas, and thus also in Tuls, take a step forward to make a block. From a defensive perspective, this is illogical. The first reaction to an attack is usually to ‘move out of the striking point’, for example by stepping back and then making a block. The Tuls follow the Katas in this. I have elaborated on the intention behind this in Blog 3 ‘What the Tuls teach us’ (https://tulsonline.com/9804-2/). In fact, Taekwon-do follows the didactics of Karate in this regard.

The difference between Karate and the current Taekwon-do is clearly visible. While Karate has relatively long, low stances that emphasize grounding, Taekwon-do features shorter stances that allow for better movement and foot techniques. Footage of the first generation of Taekwondo practitioners shows that this development only started to emerge later on.