Excerpt
from History and Traditions of Taekwondo Song Moo Kwan
(published in the December 1994 issue of Inside Taekwondo)
The earliest records
of Taekwondo, which date around 50 BC., show the practice of Tae Kyon. During
that time Korea was divided into three kingdoms - Silla, Koguryo, and Baekche.
Many of these records, including murals and paintings, show many of the modern-day
Taekwondo components. The Silla warriors were, apparently, the reason for the
growth of Korean martial arts. These warriors, the Hwarang, had been taught
the fitness-oriented Tae Kyon by the soldiers from Koguryo who helped to defend
the Silla kingdom from Japanese pirates. Tae Kyon was introduced into the military
training for Silla's young nobility. This training evolved into Hwarang-do,
the Way of flowering manhood. Through the teaching of the young nobility to
become warriors, the Five Codes of Human Conduct were established. These codes
were:
Be loyal to your country
Be obedient to your parents
Be trustworthy to your friends
Never retreat in battle
Never make an unjust kill
During the Koryo dynasty, 935 AD. to 1392 AD., Tae Kyon was modified and became
Subak. Subak was less fitness-oriented and more of a fighting art. The training
declined over the years until only a few families were still active. This decline
lasted until 1909 when the Japanese invaded and occupied Korea for the next
36 years. While under Japanese control, all military arts were banned. This
ban is what sparked the revival of Subak. When the people were told that they
couldn't train in any martial arts, they revolted by going underground and training
in secret.
Generally, history has stated that the kwans began to appear around 1945. This
does not seem credible, however, since Korea was in the process of rebuilding
itself after the occupation of the Japanese from the prior 36 years and the
destruction that had occurred during World War Two. There were no extra funds
available to families at this time to afford the cost of lessons in the martial
arts, and many had difficulty paying for mere essentials. Then came the Korean
War which also greatly affected martial arts growth, making it impractical to
pay for training unless it was supplied by the military.
Many accounts of the appearance of the kwans have their emergence around 1943
or 1944 and the actual numbers, names, and locations are still hotly debated.
One version of this history has the following kwans opening in 1944:
Won Kook Lee Chung Do Kwan
Hwang Kee Moo Duk Kwan
and the following kwans opening in 1946:
Sup Chun Sang (or Sup Jun Sang) Yun Moo Kwan
Yun Pyung (or In Yoon Byung) Chang Moo Kwan
Yon Kue Pyang Chi Do Kwan
These were the original five kwans but the following apparently emerged in 1953
and 1954:
Gae Byang Yun Ji Do Kwan (Jee Do Kwan)
Hong Hi Choi and Tae Hi Nam Oh Do Kwan
Byung Chik Ro Song Moo Kwan
This information can be misleading and, in some places, incorrect. The turmoil
throughout the country caused poor communication and record-keeping during the
period after World War Two. Subsequently, the rebuilding of Song Moo Kwan was
greatly hampered. The study of the available information and necessary corrections
has taken a long time but is finally cleared up, beginning with the history
of the kwan. The individual largely responsible for this endeavor is the Grandmaster
of Song Moo Kwan, Byung Jick Ro (preferred spelling according to his son, Hee
Sang Ro).
The opening of the Kae Sung dojang in 1944 was done upon Grandmaster Ro's return
to Korea from university work in Japan. He had learned Tae Kyon and Subak from
his neighbors and had been interested in the defensive techniques that were
taught at the local temples during his youth. This interest in martial arts
lead Ro to search out Gichin Funakoshi, Shotokan founder, during his college
years. Ro studied under Funakoshi and earned a black belt before returning to
Korea. Although his first attempt was thwarted, he tried again in May 1946 to
open in Kae Sung. The second attempt was also unsuccessful due to the onset
of the Korean War. Following the Korean War, a dojang was successfully opened
in Seoul during 1953. This has generally been accepted as the emergence of Song
Moo Kwan as one of the eight original kwans. It should be noted that other than
the first attempt in Kae Sung, which was in an archery school, Song Moo Kwan
was taught in its own dojang. The only other kwan to do this was Chung Do Kwan.
The rest that appeared were taught within YMCA-type organizations where they
would rent space in which to teach class.
On 25 May 1953, the (Grand)masters of the eight kwans attended a conference
which concluded with the establishment of the Korean Kung Soo Do Association.
This was the first organization developed by the Korean martial arts community.
This association did not elect a president but had the following positions filled
plus, one representative from each kwan.
These positions and how they were originally filled are:
Vice President: Cho, Young Joo (Yudo, Korean for Judo)
Executive Director: Byung Jick Ro (Song Moo Kwan)
Directors: Hwang, Ki [Kee?] (Moo Duk Kwan)
Lee, Jong Woo (Youn Moo Kwan [Ji Do Kwan?])
Yun, Kwae Byung (Han Che [Chi Do Kwan?])
Hyon, Jong Myung (Chung Do Kwan)
Lee, Nam Suk (Chang Moo Kwan)
Kim, In Hwa (Yudo)
(the author apologizes for any incorrectly spelled names)
The association placed Grandmaster Ro in the chair of the rank promotion committee
and as the master instructor. The most important decision made by this association
may be the adoption of the name "Taekwondo", which was presented to
them by General Hong Hi Choi, as the formal name for the arts taught by these
eight kwans. The name Taekwondo is made up of three words: "Tae" meaning
feet or kicking, "Kwon" meaning hands or punching, and "Do"
meaning the way or path or road. It was chosen for its similarity to Tae Kyon.
In November 1958, Hwang Kee separated from the Kung Soo Do Association and established
the Korean Tang Soo Do Association. Grandmaster Kee petitioned the Korean Amateur
Sports Association (KASA) to become a member of the organization but was refused
due to lack of unity being presented by the original kwans..
The Korean Kung Soo Do Association and the Korean Tang Soo Do Association met
in July 1959. This meeting resulted in the creation of the Soo Bahk Do Association.
This organization petitioned the KASA for membership with the claim that it
contained all of the original kwans in one united group but they were refused.
At the same time, Hong Hi Choi became president of Oh Do Kwan, which had emerged
in 1953 with Jong Myung Hyon as its leader. Hong Hi Choi and the Soo Bahk Do
Association held a conference in September 1959. This lead to the formation
of the Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA).
Shortly after the KTA was established, Grandmasters Hwang Kee and Yon Kae Pyong
left the organization for apparently political reasons and have remained separate
ever since. Another problem that had arisen was the loss of several grandmasters,
for many reasons. Some were missing in action after the Korean War. This left
students to fill the vacancies to carry on the traditions. This accounts for
the assertion by Ro, Hee Sang that his father could be considered the "Supreme"
Grandmaster of Taekwondo since he is the only grandmaster to still be actively
involved with Taekwondo.
The KASA accepted the petition for membership of the KTA in June 1962 through
help from Hong Hi Choi. Grandmaster Ro became president of the KTA from 1966
to 1967 and also served as the chairman of the rank promotion committee post
from 1962 until 1969. Throughout that time and still today he has dedicated
his life to the promotion and expansion of Taekwondo.
During the late 1970's, the kwan identification was dropped to leave the art
simply known as Taekwondo. The dropping of this identification may have been
done, in part, to show unity of the kwans once South Korean president Park proclaimed
that Taekwondo was to be the national sport. Today, as more students are searching
for the roots and traditions of their schools and instructors, more may go back
to including the kwan name in their identity.
Song Moo Kwan expanded to the United States in the 1960's. Grandmaster Ro did
not set up specific regions or assign instructors to certain locations which
allowed the freedom to establish a dojang wherever an instructor chose. Some
of the notable instructors are Master Hee Sang Ro in Minneapolis, MN; Master
Moo Myung Yun in Willmar, MN; Grandmaster Byung Yul Lee in Maple Grove, MN;
Master Joon Pyo Choi in Columbus, Ohio; Master Yong Kyu Yu in Houston, Texas;
and Masters Chang Jin Kang, Jin Il Chang & Tae Ryang Chang in California,
New York and New Jersey respectively. Another instructor who deserves mention
is, the now retired, Master Jay Hyon. Master Hyon moved into the Minneapolis,
Minnesota area and opened the Karate Center dojang on 1966. He played a large
part in bringing Taekwondo into Minnesota. He also played a role in bringing
Grandmaster Byung Jick Ro to the United States. Master Hyon retired in 1980,
turning his teaching responsibilities over to Grandmaster Hee Sang Ro, who had
come over from Korea four years earlier. Grandmaster Ro continues to develop
Taekwondo and carry on the traditions of Song Moo Kwan through his North American
Taekwondo Federation (NATF) and World Song Moo Kwan Association. He has also
been working on the development of a more organized Song Moo Kwan community,
which would include a central promotion committee.
Currently you can find Song Moo Kwan instructors as members of a multitude of
Taekwondo Associations and Federations. This comes partly from Grandmaster Byung
Jick Ro's belief that personal development should play a greater role than the
politics of rank. In fact, you will find that a variety of poomse are taught
within the Song Moo Kwan community including Pinan, Chang Han, Taeguek and Chung
Bong. The Chung Bong poomse are unique to Song Moo Kwan since they were developed
by Master Hyon and were first performed in 1974. These poomse were designed
to be realistic yet they allow for some of the flashy kicking techniques that
can be found in Taekwondo. The seven poomse in this set were developed so the
majority of the combinations within them can be quickly and easily adapted to
apply to combat situations. They also include the symmetry that will develop
the student equally. Lastly, jumping and spinning kicks can be found as well
as stances that fit combat/tournament situations and a variety of hand techniques.
There are no official poomse for Song Moo Kwan. Although poomse plays an important
role in the development of a Taekwondo student, the choice of which set to study
is less consequential. All poomse are intended to build the student's stamina,
endurance and technique. Particular patterns learned do not have a significant
affect on the student's overall abilities.
Today the practice of the Chung Bong poomse can be found through the teaching
of Grandmaster Hee Sang Ro, who continued to develop the series when Master
Jun Sun "Jay" Hyon retired. They are also the main curriculum component
of Tom Sullivan, a 5th Dan, who was trained by Master Hyon. Mr. Sullivan began
his training in the fall of 1969 at the Karate Center. Mr. Sullivan was consistently
in the top 10 of Karate Illustrated's regional rankings for tournaments until
the late 1970's. In 1973, he moved to Duluth, MN, and opened Karate North Taekwondo.
Today, Pine Tree Taekwondo teach the forms and principles of Song Moo Kwan Taekwondo
as Robert Frankovich carries on the kwan's lineage.
Click here for a Song Moo
Kwan Lineage chart
Please note that this list has been updated and, hopefully, corrected since
the original published version. If you have been in contact with me and
your name is not listed, its
because I’m uncertain as to where it should fit. Please forward
the appropriate information to the email listed.