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Key dates:
Silla 57 BC
Koguryo 37 BC
Paekche 18 BC
Three Kingdoms Unification 668 AD
Moo Yae Dobo Tong Ji 1790 AD
Bith of Kwan Jang Nim9.11.1914
Moo Duk Kwan 9.11.1945 AD
Death of Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee 14.07.2002 AD
The roots of Tang Soo Do are far reaching, and date further back than 2000 years through Korean history. "Soo Bahk Ki" (the ancient name) is described in the "Moo Yae Dobo Tong Ji" (the Korean book depicting all known martial arts of the day circa 1790) as already being a widely practiced, popular and sophisticated art.
The period of the three kingdoms was so called because the country had been all but severed into three separate kingdoms by feudal families; The Koguryo 37 b.c., the Silla 57 b.c. and the Paekche 18 b.c. Concurrently the Tang dynasty was in power in China.
The Southern tip of of the Korean peninsular was known as Silla. It was here, in 540AD that King Chinhung created the Hwa Rang Warriors. These young warriors were taught the art of warfare, archery, combat as well as dance, literature, arts, sciences and Buddhism. Their hand-to-hand combat techniques were designed to embody the Um Yang (opposites); hard, soft, linear and circular attacks. Stories of the Hwa Rang warriors became legendary and influenced Korean history for many centuries to come.
The kingdom of Silla dispatched the Hwa Rang to study Moo Do (martial way). With help from Tang, the Silla defeated her rival kingdoms and was ale to unify Korea (668 a.d.). Due to this action and her patronisation of the arts, monasteries and learning, the Tang dynasty became known as "the worthy ones". For this reason, Tang Soo Do is sometimes translated as "the way of the worthy hand" rather than "the way of the China hand". Many Korean arts trace their cultural lineage to this period. Few however follow the teaching of the Moo Yae Dobo Tong Ji.
At the end of the 36-year Japanese occupation of Korea in 1945, Grand Master Hwang Kee opened his first martial arts school, the "Moo Duk Kwan". He initially received six students teaching "Hwa Soo Do" the way of the flowering hand. This name paid tribute to Korea's warrior history with reference to the "Hwa Wrang" knights (flowering youth).
The Grand Master's teaching was basic and intense, loosing him those first students within three months. After some deliberation he reopened the "Moo Duk Kwan" under the banner "Tang Soo Do, Moo Duk Kwan". At that time in Korea the term "Tang Soo Do" had become generic meaning Chinese martial Arts. From that day to this, the Moo Duk Kwan has grown into one of the most scientific and influential martial arts in the world. The art was renamed Soo Bahk Do in 1994 at the Grand Master's request.
The latter name paying stronger homage to Korea's own martial past, reflecting the higher indigenous portion of the curriculum after the introduction of both the "Chil Sung" and "Yuk Ro" Hyung sets. At length, the name "Moo Duk Kwan" translates as: A brotherhood and school of stopping inner and outer conflict and developing virtue through training. In essence, Moo Duk Kwan is the philosophical framework supporting the technique of Soo Bahk Do.
