Facts, Fiction, Lies and actual accounts

[Daniel Sullivan]

And no...Han Solo would not have been Korean...If so he would have been called Daehan Solo.

And he would have put Jabba and all of his goons, Boba Fett included, in their place, thereby shortening Return of the Jedi by about forty minutes.

 

[andyjeffries]

I think the acid test would be to ask what image a Korean would have when they hear 'Tang Soo Do'. If they think of white gi and people screaming 'hi-yah!' I think it's likely that karate is an appropriate enough synonym for common parlance.

The question really would be though - what would people have thought of in the 1950s when people heard "Tang Soo Do". They might have thought it was a martial art, but I don't know how well known karate was in Korea at the time, so they may have thought it more akin to Kung Fu.

 

[andyjeffries]

As I understood it, BB in Korea, no matter which art, must carry their card at all times, and are held to a different standard regards fighting. They are expected to try hard to avoid a fight, and if they get in one, to be ready to identify themselves to the police.

I'd be interested to know if this is fact (as opposed to your understanding). The reason is that I'd always heard the same thing as a youngster growing up (also sometimes having it added in that you had to register with the police as your hands/feet are weapons). It was only as I grew up that I learnt it was all BS.

 

[dancingalone]

The question really would be though - what would people have thought of in the 1950s when people heard "Tang Soo Do". They might have thought it was a martial art, but I don't know how well known karate was in Korea at the time, so they may have thought it more akin to Kung Fu.

Maybe. Then perhaps it would be more important to know what the term meant to GM Lee and why he picked it as stated above.

 

[terryl965]

I'd be interested to know if this is fact (as opposed to your understanding). The reason is that I'd always heard the same thing as a youngster growing up (also sometimes having it added in that you had to register with the police as your hands/feet are weapons). It was only as I grew up that I learnt it was all BS.

Well as far as being held at a higher standerd very doubtful since TKD is thought in elementary school and all of them. Probaly every single Korean has a Black Belt in TKD since it is mandatory for them to take in school. I believe it to be false like the register of your hand and feet as weapons.

 

[miguksaram]

Well as far as being held at a higher standerd very doubtful since TKD is thought in elementary school and all of them. Probaly every single Korean has a Black Belt in TKD since it is mandatory for them to take in school. I believe it to be false like the register of your hand and feet as weapons.

You would be correct sir. Koreans BB's do not have to carry a card around nor are they held at a higher standard. In cases of fights, be you a instigator or defender, you butt is going downtown.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

The question really would be though - what would people have thought of in the 1950s when people heard "Tang Soo Do". They might have thought it was a martial art, but I don't know how well known karate was in Korea at the time, so they may have thought it more akin to Kung Fu.

So far as I know, the only martial arts the Japanese permitted to be taught in Korea during the occupation were judo and kendo. Prior to the occupation, I would suspect that karate was known of, but it is unlikely that it was practiced either at all or on any broad ranging level. The upper classes outside of the military were more inclined towards intellectual pursuits and the common folk already had taekkyeon and ssereum.

I do recall in the seventies, taekwondo was marketed in the US as Korean Karate. I believe that Jhoon Rhee may have even written a book by that title.