Tang Soo Do – The Way of the Open Hand

Tang Soo Do is a Korean form of martial art that focuses on traditional forms, ways, and aesthetics. Relatively modern, it is a form derived from the ancient martial art Soo Bahk Do, which had been practiced by Koreans for centuries. Martial arts from China, Korea, and the Japanese province of Okinawa are said to have influenced the style. Tang Soo Do means “The Way of the Open Hand” when translated. It is sometimes called Kong Soo Doo or Kwon Bup.

According to some associations, the martial art is 60% Soo Bahk Do, 30% Chinese Kung Fu, and 10% Southern Chinese Kung Fu. The martial art’s kicking techniques, one of the best in all forms of martial arts, is taken from Soo Bahk. Styles from the Okinawan karate are also incorporated. Lee Won Kuk is considered as one of the earliest instructors of Tang Soo Do, although as with most martial arts, the origins of the Korean style remains debatable. Lee ran a school in Korea during the occupation of the Japanese.

The school Chung Do Kwan, whose founder was Won Kuk Lee, claims to have been one of the first groups to refer to the style as Tang Soo Do. The Moo Duk Kwan faction split from the school when the school stopped started going by the name Tae Soo Do and eventually, Taekwondo. The Kwans loyal to Hwang Kee, continued using Tang Soo Do.

Hwang Kee was the one who changed Moo Duk Kwan, which he founded, into Soo Bahk Do in 1957. He is said to have discovered the Subak open-hand style of martial art while he was in Manchuria. The style he developed was influenced by Korea’s Taekkyon as well. He also claimed to have learned the Okinawan Karate principle from textbooks.

During the Japanese occupation, Koreans mostly practiced Japanese martial arts like Karate from Okinawa. The philosophical aspects of Karate were readily accepted by the practitioners and are then seen in many local martial arts, including Soo Bahk and Taekkyon.

When the country was liberated in 1945, five schools of martial arts emerged in Korea. These schools, called the Kwans, were later unified under one association. The lessons in the said schools, whose founders are knowledgeable in Soo Bahk, Karate, Taekkyon, and Kung Fu, were called the Korean Karate. Each of the schools, however, implements varying techniques.

Second-generation Kwans surfaced around 1953 and two years later, the government ordered a;; Kwans to unite under the designation Taekwondo. Thus, the Korean Taekwondo Association came into being in 1959. The organization aims to set a unified standard for all kwans and organized tournaments also. In the same year, the first international tour of taekwondo was held. Some 19 black belts competed in the event.

However, Kwans still exercise the freedom to train their students according to their preferred styles. For instance, Moo Duk Kwan founder Hwang Kee did not stop improving his techniques until he and his constituents formulated a new style known as the Soo Bahk Moo Duk Kwan. Compared to Tang Soo Do, the movements are smoother and more fluid, similar to certain martial arts originating from China.

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