Tang Soo Do History

Modern Tang Soo Do development occurred with the help of Grandmaster Hwang Kee, who founded Mo Duk Kwan (Korean Martial Arts Academy) in November 1945.

Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee was born on November 9, 1914. His first encounter with martial arts was at the age of seven, when he had the opportunity to observe a man who defeated several attackers using only his hands and feet. He followed the man home and, watching the man, tried to imitate his hand and foot movements. One day the boy gathered courage and asked the man to teach the little boy, but the man refused, saying the boy was still too young. Despite this missed opportunity, the boy couldn't forget what he had seen and continued to repeat the movements he had observed.

In May 1936, while working at a railway company in Manchuria (region in Northeast Asia), Lee met Master Yang Kuk Jin. After several requests, Lee and his friend Park were accepted as students.

Another important element in Tang Soo Do is the hip turn (kihap). It allows generating and giving greater power to each movement. Grandmaster Hwang Kee recognized it as very useful and thus almost every movement in Tang Soo Do includes this hip turn element, with the idea that by applying less effort, a greater effect could be achieved.

The hip turn is a small movement with potentially great power.

Hwang Kee initially used "Hwa Soo Do" (flower hand path) to describe his martial art, but unfortunately this attempt was unsuccessful. As early as 1947, he began teaching Tang Soo Do (Mo Duk Kwan) (Tang was a more widely used term specifically in Korea).

Unfortunately, on June 25, 1950, the Korean War began. Grandmaster Hwang Kee had to relocate and continue conducting training in South Seoul. In 1951, he conducted training in Pu San city, Cho Ryang railway station. After the war, in 1953, he returned to continue teaching training in Seoul, and in 1955 he could afford to rent a building located opposite the central station. This building became the legendary "Joong Ang Do Jang" (Central Training Hall). At this time, Grandmaster Hwang Kee also began developing martial arts and, driven by purely scientific purposes, incorporated the hip turn into each movement to increase the effectiveness of each movement.

Police, schools, as well as military personnel - all sought Tang Soo Do instruction and as a result, new training halls continuously opened in Korea. The Mo Duk Kwan system was also taught at the Navy and Air Force academies in Korea. At this time, American soldiers in the region also began regularly attending martial arts training.

In 1957, Grandmaster Hwang Kee discovered Mo Yei Do Bo Tong Ji. It is the oldest and most valuable historical documentation of ancient Korean martial arts, known as "Soo Bahk". He spent many years interpreting the texts and trying to understand their meaning.

On June 30, 1960, Grandmaster Hwang Kee included Moo Duk Kwan in the Korean So Bahk Do Association as a traditional Korean martial art.

In May 1961, discussions began about uniting all Korean martial arts schools under one name. Moo Duk Kwan was the most successful of the schools and was offered to take 3 places out of 21 total board director positions and name the new organization Tae Kwon Do. Grandmaster Hwang Kee refused to participate in this unification process because he believed that Soo Bahk Do is a traditional Korean martial art.

At this time, pressure on Tang Soo Do increased and many organization members switched to the newly created Tae Kwon Do. There were also attempts to force the closure of the Soo Bahk Do Association. In 1965, Grandmaster Hwang Kee filed a lawsuit against the Korean government. He won the court case in November 1965, and the future of Soo Bahk Do was secured, but the government continued the fight in the Supreme Court in January 1966. And in June 1966, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Grandmaster Hwank Kee. This turn of events allowed him to lead his organization without any external interference and continue work on the organization's restoration.