Name
Tang Soo Do (Hangul: 당수도) is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese characters 唐手道. Tang Soo Do literally means "The Way of The Chinese Hand" or iron fist and has roots in various styles of martial arts including those found in Korea, China, and Okinawa. These roots started in Korean Tae Kyon, Chinese Shaolin and Japanese Shotokan.[1] According to World Tang Soo Do Association, it sounded like a Chinese martial art, because the first word "Tang" could be interpreted as representing the Chinese Tang Dynasty (617-907 AD).[2]
Prior to the unification of the Kwans under the Korea Taekwondo Association, most of the major Kwans called their style Tang Soo Do, Kong Soo Do, or Kwon Bup. The first recorded use of the term "Tang Soo Do" in contemporary history was by Chung Do Kwan founder, Won Kuk Lee. The Chung Do Kwan, along with the rest of the Kwans, stopped using the name 'Tang Soo Do' and 'Kong Soo Do' when they unified under the name Taekwondo (and temporarily Tae Soo Do). The Moo Duk Kwan, being loyal to Hwang Kee, pulled out of the Kwan unification and remained independent of this unification movement, continuing to use the name 'Tang Soo Do'. Some Moo Duk Kwan members followed Hwang's senior student, Chong Soo Hong, to become members of a unified Taekwondo. Their group still exists today and is known as Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan (Moo Duk Hae) with an office in Seoul, Korea.
The late Hwang Kee officially changed the name of the art of the Moo Duk Kwan style to Soo Bahk Do as early as 1957, shortly after his discovery of Korea's indigenous open hand fighting style of Subak. This change was officially registered, and the Moo Duk Kwan refiled with the Korean Ministry of Education on June 30, 1960. The organization was officially reincorporated as the "Korean Soo Bahk Do Association, Moo Duk Kwan."
Most schools of Tang Soo Do use the transcription "Tang Soo Do". However, scientific texts apply the official transcription 'tangsudo', written as one word. Some authors write "Tang Soo Do" and give "tangsudo" or "dangsudo" in the parenthesis.
Founder
The origin of Tang Soo Do can not be definitively traced to any single person. However, Lee Won Kuk is credited as being one of the first, if not the first, instructor of Tang Soo Do (Chung Do Kwan) in Korea. Lee Won Kuk had an established Dojang in Korea before Korea was liberated from Japanese occupation. His background was primarily in Okinawan Karate (early Shotokan) and he also studied Taekkyon in An Gup Dong(Seoul) and Kung Fu in Henan and Shanghai China. Additionally, the history of the Moo Duk Kwan (from which the majority of all modern Tang Soo Do stylists trace their lineage) can be traced to a single founder: Hwang Kee.[3] Hwang Kee learned Chinese martial arts while in Manchuria.[4] He also was influenced by the indigenous Korean arts of Taekkyon (택견) and Subak. Kee claims he learned the philosophy of Okinawan Karate from Gichin Funakoshi's books. Hwang Kee also was highly influenced by a 1790 Korean book about martial arts called the Muye Dobo Tongji (武藝圖譜通志 / 무예도보통지).[5]
Early history
Much like Tae Kwon Do, historians have described ancient connections to Korean history to legitimize the art. According to texts published by Hwang Kee, the ancestral art of Korean Soo Bahk Do can be traced back to the period when Korea was divided into three kingdoms: Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo.
Goguryeo was founded in 37 BC in northern Korea. The Silla Dynasty was founded in 57 BC in the southeast peninsula. The third kingdom, Baekje (sometimes written "Paekche") was founded in 18 BC.
(Korean;태권도IPA: /thɛʔkwʌndo/; English;IPA: /ˈteɪˈkwɒnˈdoʊ/) is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. It is also regarded as one of the world's most popular martial art in terms of number of practitioners.[1] Kyeorugi, or sparring, is an official Olympic sporting event. In Korean, tae 태 跆 means "foot"; kwon 권 拳 means "fist"; and do 도 道 means "way"; so taekwondo is loosely translated as "the way of the foot and fist".
Taekwondo's popularity has resulted in the varied evolution of the martial art into several domains: as with many other arts, it combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, meditation and philosophy. Taekwondo is also used by the South Korean military as part of its training.
History
- See also: Korean martial arts
The history of taekwondo has been a matter of contention. Taekwondo organizations officially state that taekwondo was derived from earlier Korean martial arts.[Others state that taekwondo is derived from native Korean martial arts with influences from neighboring countriesor that it was primarily derived from karate learned by Koreans during the Japanese occupation
The oldest Korean martial art was an amalgamation of unarmed combat styles developed by the three rival Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje.[18] Young men were trained in unarmed combat techniques to develop strength, speed, and survival skills. The most popular of these techniques was subak, with taekkyeon being the most popular of the segments of subak.
Those who demonstrated strong natural aptitude were selected as trainees in the new special warrior corps, called the Hwarang. It was believed that young men with a talent for the liberal arts may have the grace to become competent warriors. These warriors were instructed in academics as well as martial arts, learning philosophy, history, a code of ethics, and equestrian sports. Their military training included an extensive weapons program involving swordsmanship and archery, both on horseback and on foot, as well as lessons in military tactics and unarmed combat using subak. Although subak was a leg-oriented art in Goguryeo, Silla's influence added hand techniques to the practice of subak.
During this time a few select Sillan warriors were given training in Taek Kyon by the early masters from Koguryo. The Taek Kyon trained warriors then became known as the Hwarang. The Hwarang set up a military academy for the sons of royalty in Silla called Hwarang-do, which means "The way of flowering manhood." The Hwarang studied Taek Kyon, history, Confucian Philosophy, ethics, Buddhist Morality, and military tactics. The guiding principles of the Hwarang warriors were loyalty, filial duty, trustworthiness, valor, and justice. The makeup of the Hwarang-do education was based on the Five Codes of Human Conduct written by a Buddhist scholar, fundamental education, Taek Kyon and social skills. Taek Kyon was spread throughout Korea because the Hwarang traveled all around the peninsula to learn about the other regions and people.
In spite of Korea's rich history of ancient and traditional martial arts, Korean martial arts faded into obscurity during the Joseon Dynasty. Korean society became highly centralized under Korean Confucianism and martial arts were poorly regarded in a society whose ideals were epitomized by its scholar-kings. Formal practices of traditional martial arts such as subak and taekkyeon were reserved for sanctioned military uses. However folk practice of taekkyeon as a kicking game still persisted into the 19th century.
Hapkido contains both long and close range fighting techniques, utilizing dynamic kicking and percussive hand strikes at longer ranges and pressure point strikes, jointlocks, or throws at closer fighting distances. Hapkido emphasizes circular motion, non-resisting movements, and control of the opponent. Practitioners seek to gain advantage through footwork and body positioning to employ leverage, avoiding the use of strength against strength.
The art evolved from Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu or a closely related jujutsu system taught by Choi Yong Sul who returned to Korea after WWII, having lived in Japan for 30 years. This system was later combined with kicking and striking techniques of indigenous and contemporary arts such as taek kyun and tang soo do. Its history is obscured by the historical animosity between the Korean and Japanese peoples following the Second World War.