Sïn-Ang Karate Center
Ancient Tang Soo Do History
The history of Tang Soo Do dates back some 2,000 years, and is based upon techniques adopted from Chinese warriors of the T’ang Dynasty (618-906 A.D.). These techniques were then merged with native Korean fighting arts, such as Soo Bahk Ki, Tae Kyon, and the suite of military skills known as Kwon Bup. However, modern Tang Soo Do bears little resemblance to these ancient fighting systems.
The more ancient history of Tang Soo Do dates back to the period of the “Three Kingdoms”(57B.C.-935 A.D.). During this time, the Korean peninsula and part of what is now China was divided into three separate kingdoms. These were: Koguryo (37B.C.-668 A.D.),Baek-Je (18 B.C.-660 A.D.),and Silla (57 B.C.-935A.D.). Through out their development each of nation had periods of war and peace with each other and their other Asian neighbor. In the 7th Century, the Silla began to grow in power, and had established a powerful fighting force known as the Hwa Rang (Flowering Youth), a group of young, aristocratic warriors.
During this time in China, the T’ang rose to power and overthrew the Sui Dynasty(589-618 A.D.). The T’ang Dynasty was instrumental in the development of the martial arts in China. Many martial arts theories, rituals, and techniques were developed during this time. It was during this time that early forms of Tae Geuk Kwon (Tai Chi Ch’uan) were being developed, and the monks of the So Rim (Shaolin) temple were beginning to craft their famous fighting systems. Many believe these early fighting systems grew out of exercises brought to China from India by a Buddhist priest called Dal Ma Dai Sa (Bodhidharma). Many modern scholars, however, dismiss this as mere myth.
The Silla formed an alliance with T’ang China, and conquered Baek-Je and Koguryo, uniting the Korean peninsula for the first time in 668 A.D. and began the Silla Dynasty (668-935 A.D.). The Hwa Rang warriors of the Silla Dynasty mastered many of the fighting techniques of the T’ang armies, and combined these techniques with the indigenous fighting systems of ancient Korea. These were sometimes referred to as Tang Soo Ki (Tang Hand Techniques). A monk named Won Kwa created a set of ethical precepts derived from Confucian principles, which the Hwa Rang used as a "warrior's code. These principles passed down generation to generation, and are represented today in the Tang Soo Do Sae Sok Oh Kyae (Five Codes of Tang Soo Do).
In 935 A.D., Silla surrendered to the Koryo nation, forming the Koryo Dynasty(935-1392 A.D.). At this time in China, the T’ang fell to the Sung rule in 906 A.D. The Sung Dynasty held tremendous influence over all cultural development in asia, including the martial development in Koryo. The Koreans began to refer to their indigenous fighting systems as Soo Bahk Ki (Hand Striking Techniques), while the Chinese arts were referred to as Kwon Bup (Fist Method). Koryo lasted until 1392 when it was overthrown by General Yi Song Kee, and the last dynasty of Korea, known as the Chosun or Yi Dynasty (1392-1910) was created.
During the Chosun Dynasty, by order of the Emperor, Lee Duk Moo compiled the first known comprehensive text of Korean martial arts, known as the Moo Ye Dobo Tong Ji (Illustrated Manual of Martial Arts). This is one of the oldest surviving texts documenting ancient Korean martial arts. Toward the end of the Yi Dynasty, a fighting style known as Tae Kyon was developed, emphasizing many of the kicking techniques common in many modern Korean martial arts.
In 1910, the Japanese invaded the Korean peninsula as part of its imperial expansion into Asia. From 1910-1945, the Japanese occupied Korea exerting a tremendous amount of control over virtually all aspects of Korean culture. During the occupation, the practice of Korean martial arts was banned. The Koreans were only allowed to practice Japanese martial arts. Many Koreans traveled to Japan to study Japanese Karate, and brought Karate back to Korea. Karate, means “Empty Hand”, in the modern translation which is a homonym for an older term which meant "China Hand", is a generic term used to describe the empty hand fighting systems developed in Okinawa based upon fighting techniques of the T’ang Dynasty in China. Japan was later introduced to Karate by Funakoshi Gichen, founder of Shotokan, performed a demonstration before the Japanese Emperor. These fighting arts were originally known by the Okinawans as “To-te” (China Hand), or simply “Te”.
Mordern Tang Soo Do History
The Japanese Occupation – 1910 to 1945
It was a difficult time when the only martial arts allowed in Korea were Kendo and Judo. The Grandmaster studied and trained on his own from 1921 until 1936. In 1936, while working with the railroad in Manchuria, he was introduced to a Chinese master, Master Yang with whom he trained until his return to Seoul in August of 1937.
In 1939, he began work with the Cho Sun Railway Bureau. There he had a library with many books on martial arts, particularly Okinawan Karate. Through the books, he studied this art which later influenced Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan and is evidenced in the Pyung Ahn forms as well as Bassai and Kong Sang Kun.
The Development Period – 1945 – 1960
With the end of Japan’s occupation, the Grandmaster was free to pursue the development of his art according to his vision. On November 9, 1945 he founded the Moo Duk Kwan and named his art Hwa Soo Do (art of the flowering hand). Unfortunately, it was not immediately popular so it struggled to gain and keep students. He later met Won Kuk Lee, the founder of Chung Do Kwan, whose art was Tang Soo Do. Lee had trained in Karate in Japan, was very successful and had many more students than the Moo Duk Kwan. Because Tang Soo Do had a more recognizable name, it was better received by the public. The Grandmaster decided to combine it with his Hwa Soo Do and what he learned from the Okinawan books. In 1947 he began teaching his new art of Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan to the public.
At the start of the Korean War in 1950 the development of the art was again disrupted until the war’s end in 1953, when the Kwan Jang Nim returned to Seoul to continue his work. He leased his first commercial space in 1955 and it grew to be known as the legendary “Joong Ang Do Jang”.
Joong Ang Do Jang
As the Moo Duk Kwan’s popularity grew, more dojangs sprang up. The Moo Duk Kwan system was taught in schools, to the police and the military, both at the Naval & Air Force Academy of Korea and the Republic Of Korea Air Force Academy where the Grandmaster taught personally.
In 1957, Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan was first introduced to U.S. servicemen. Classes were held at the U.S. 8th Army’s Trent Gym in Yong San, Seoul. By 1960 it had spread to five other U.S. military bases which led to introduction of Tang Soo Do in the U.S. by returning servicemen.
1957 was a pivotal year in another respect. During his research, the Kwan Jang Nim discovered a 300 year-old Korean manuscript called the “Moo Yei Do Bo Tong Ji” that documented Korean martial techniques known as Soo Bahk. This was a fortunate find as his vision was to have a truly Korean martial art and a traditional Korean martial arts organization. In Korea at that time there were only five original Kwans – Moo Duk Kwan (Hwang Kee), Yeon Moo Kwan (Yun, Kwei Byong), YMCA Kwon Bup Bu (Lee, Nam Suk), Chung Do Kwan (Shon, Duk Song), Song Moo Kwan (No, Byong Jik).
Ji Do Kwan, an offshoot of the Yeon Moo Kwan merged with the Moo Duk Kwan and on June 30, 1960 they were officially registered as the Korean Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Association, with Grandmaster Hwang Kee as its head.
More Difficult Times – 1961 to 1966
1961 marked the beginning of another round of hardship for the Moo Duk Kwan. On May 16th, a military revolution led by Lt. General Chong Hee Park took place. The Grandmaster was removed as instructor for the ROK Air Force base and the national police, and was prohibited from publishing his monthly publication, Moo Yei Si Bo. Between 1961 and 1965, operation of the the Association became very difficult as the government exercised great political control over it.
In 1964 the Korean Tae Soo Do Association was formed, which in 1965 became the Korean Tae Kwon Do Association. Due to its political influences, the Tae Kwon Do group, led by its second President, General Choi, Hong Hee, tried to unify it with the Korean Soo Bahk Do Association. Kwan Jang Nim’s organization was the largest of any martial arts system in Korea at the time. Grandmaster Hwang Kee agreed to discuss unification, but when it became clear that the move was designed to gain control over his organization, he ultimately refused. The result was a weakening of the Moo Duk Kwan as the Tae Kwon Do movement grew in strength, absorbing many Moo Duk Kwan members in the process.
In 1965 and again in 1966, the Kwan Jang Nim won two legal battles that would allow him to run his organization without interference and thereby work to rebuild his organization. As a testament to the Grandmaster’s perseverance in the face of great adversity, Tang Soo Do (Soo Bahk Do) is today practiced in 45 countries around the world.