Brief History of Tang Soo Do

Nam Jin's Korean Martial Arts Academy teaches the traditional Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do.   Martial arts have existed out of necessity for thousands of years and passed down through many cultures, continents and countries.  

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Tang Soo Do is a traditional Korean martial art of which the art's fundamental teachings are approximately 2,000 years old and is one of the martial arts systems with the longest existence.

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Training in Tang Soo Do is for the betterment of Mind, Body and Spirit.  The Five Moo Do values of History, Tradition, Philosophy, Discipline/Respect, and Technique are the backbones of the art.

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The philosophical aspect includes character development and the overall health of the mind, body, and spirit.  Tang Soo Do is a defensive martial art and is meant to be used for self defense only. The philosophy of Tang Soo Do helps its practitioners to lead healthy lifestyles and deal with internal conflicts such as anger and frustration and external conflicts such as bullying and aggression.

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When combined, these aspects result in the development of confidence, discipline, focus, self control, and many other critical life skills.  This allows Tang Soo Do practitioners to experience the true value of the martial arts, which is its application to everyday life.

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The modern day art itself was created in the mid 1900's by Master Hwang Kee of Korea.  He studied under different masters that came from China and as well as studying the Japanese styles of Shotokan and Shito-Ryu Karate-Do during the Japanese occupation in the early 1900's.  After the occupation he started teaching his martial art at the Ministry of Transportation.  He named it Hwa Soo Do - the way of the flowering hand.  After moving to Seoul, he appealed to Korean martial arts and changed it to Tang (Dang) Soo Do and later to the martial art of Soo Bahk Do, which was his Moo Duk Kwan (the School of Martial Virtue).  

 

Master Hwang Kee founded the Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan and is credited with being the start of modern day "Korean Karate" - Tang Soo Do.  After his passing, his son, Hyun Chul Hwang is now the President of the original Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan today. 

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All of our arts, have a family tree, but they all somehow start in modern day at the same point and have significant influence from mainland China and their storied past in the martial arts.  Most trace their lineage back to Bodhidharma and Koreans trace back to the ancient text of the Mooyae Dobo Tonji.

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Over the last few decades, branches of senior masters from the original Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan have founded their own associations and federations as grandmasters.  Through these different organizations, they have kept the art of Tang Soo Do alive and constantly growing.

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Over the years, more and more masters split off of the original "Kwan" and started their own associations and federations and became Grandmasters of their own groups.  Some of it was caused by natural growth (ryu pa) and a new direction and some of the history of the art has political controversy as well.  As more and more of the first generation of Grandmasters pass, we are seeing many changes in the art of Tang Soo Do as the years go on, hopefully in the direction of unity and quality rather than a reduction standards, ego and politics.  

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Below are a few of the associations and federations.  Most of the Grandmasters and senior instructors of these organizations studied directly under Grandmaster Hwang Kee in senior leadership positions prior to founding their own association/federation to address the needs of their students.  You also see second generation organizations as well.

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World Tang Soo Do General Federation Korea - Yung Duk Kim #2, Hee Suk Choi #3, Koe Woong Choung

World Dang Soo Do Union - Song Ki Kim #312

World Moo Duk Kwan - Hyun Chul Hwang #509

International Tang Soo Do Federation - Chun Sik Kim #915

Tang Soo Do Martial Way Association - Andy Ah Po #10187

Hwa Rang World Tang Soo Do Federation - Ho Sik Pak #13282

Intercontinental Tang Soo Do Organization - Dominic Giacobbe #18656

World Tang Soo Do Federation - Jae Chul Shin #698/ Robert Beaudoin #5661/ William Strong #19040

Tang Soo Do Mi Guk Kwan Association - Charles Ferraro #20629

Atlantic Pacific Tang Soo Do Federation - John St. James

U.S. Goodwill Tang Soo Do Association

International Tang Soo Do Practitioners Association

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The Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan's Grandmaster, H.C. Hwang has seen the mission to unify Soo Bahk Do and Tang Soo Do groups and practitioners, in order to bring our art together and has founded the World Moo Duk Kwan Heritage Program of which Master Walker Jr. is a member of.

 

Our Academy's mission is to maintain the standard of quality practiced in our training. Our goal is to emphasize all parts of our training to make it a life's journey for our students with practical application.  We hold membership in world organizations to maintain the integrity of the art of Tang Soo Do.