Heres a lil history paper I wrote a while back ago , you guys might like :
Tang Soo Do :
The Truth
By David E. Somers
Ever since I was a Teenager when I bought a Shotokan
book I have noticed a striking simialarity between the
Kata of Shotokan , and the Tang Soo Do Hyung . That book
has lead me into much confusion at first , but has lead
me to the research of this article .
The True Founder of Tang Soo Do :
The name Tang Soo Do was first used in Korea by Chung Do
Kwan founder Won Kuk Lee , who studied with Shotokan
founder Gichin Funakoshi . Hwang Kee didnt use the name till
a few years later .
Grandmaster Hwang Kee was born
on Nov.9 , 1914 , and was given the birth name of Tae Nam ,
which means Star Boy . We have heard that he mastered Tae Kyon
& Subahk at an early age , but has never trained in either
one of these arts under any instructor . As a young boy
Kee seen several thugs trying to jump a man , who used
Tae Kyon to defend himself , he later approached this man ,
requesting to train with him , and was turned away , because
of his young age . So Hwang spied on him , to learn his
tae Kyon methods , and there is no record of him training in
Subahk , which was a form of wrestling taught to the Hwa Rang .
I have never seen any type of wrestling in Tang Soo Do .
So where did he get those forms from ?
He did train with Chung Do Kwan founder Lee Won kuk for a
short time , but no one really knows for how long or if any
rank was ever awarded to him , but there is a rumor that he
recieved a 6th gup from Lee Won Kuk ; But , he also states that
he learned Okinawan Karate from books , while working at the
railroad in Manchuria .
The Tang Method:
So what is it ? Where did he learn it , and from whom ?
Hwang Kee's only real training took place when he went to
Manchuria in 1936 for a period of a year , where he studied
Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan under Yang Kuk Jin , he then returned
to korea in 1937 . He did return for a short visit in 1941
for a short time , less then a year .
The Moo Duk kwan :
In 1945 Kee founded the Moo Duk Kwan ( Meaning : Institute of
Martial Virtue ) originally calling the art he taught Hwa Soo Do ,
meaning flowering hand way , but he had to close his Dojang twice ,
due to the fact that he could not get any student's to train ,
because no one knew what Hwa Soo Do was .
It wasnt till he met with Won Kuk Lee
& Chan Sang Sup ( Ji Do Kwan ) , in 1947 , when they suggested
that he should use the term Tang Soo Do , and at that point
it was then that he would begin to have a following ; and
in September 1953 Hwang Kee formed the Korea Tang Soo Do
Association . Then in December 1953 , tried to join the
Korean Athletic Association , but was unsuccessful .
Then in June 1960 The Korea Tang Soo Do association was
renamed The Korea Soo Bahk Do Association .
The Split :
In March 1965 , The korea Soo Bahk Do Association attempted
to join The Korea Tae Kwon Do Association , but was unsuccessful .
After this happened a large majority had left Hwang kee's
leadership , and joined the Korea Tae Kwon Do Association.
In April of 1965 the Moo Duk Kwan was finally accepted ,
and Kang Ik Lee became the President of The Tae Kwon Do
Moo Duk Kwan .Then Chong Soo Hong became president , followed
by In Seok Kim , then Nam Do Choi . The Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk
Kwan was further divided when Chong Soo Hong broke off ,
and created the Moo Duk Hae , and Chun Jae Kyu became it's
second president .
The new forms :
It wasnt untill 1957 , that Kee found a copy of the
classical Military text , The Moo Yea Dobo Tongji ,
and began translating it , then in the 1970's he began
creating the Chil Sung Hyung's , Hwa Sun , and later
the Yuk Ro's with what he learned in this book , and
the Yang style Tai Chi Chuan that he had learned from
Yang Kuk Jin years earlier .
The formation of Soo Bahk Do :
Due to the fact that several of Hwang Kee's senior students
broke off , and created their own associations , The United
States Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation officially changed
their name to The United States Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan
Federation on the date of August 3 , 1996 to seperate itself
from other Tang Soo Do organizations .
On Sat July 13th , 2002 Grandmaster Hwang Kee passed away ,
leaving his system to his son Master H.C.Hwang . He has influenced
thousands , if not millions of people in the martial arts .
It was a tragic day in to the followers of his art , and a loss
felt by many people the world over , but his art will be
passed on by many of his followers as a reminder of his mark on
this world .
