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Chung Do Kwan, founded in 1944, is the first of nine schools or kwan teaching what came to be known as taekwondo.[citation needed].
[edit] FoundingThe Chung Do Kwan name was first used by Won Kuk Lee. An article claims he had studied Taekkyon in An Gup Dong[2] (a street in Seoul), karate with Sensei Funagoshi in Okinawa, and kung fu at centers in Henan and Shanghai in China. Lee earned 4th dan in Shotokan karate, the highest dan aside from the founder at that time. However, the Korea Taekkyon Association master and historian Yong Bok Lee disagrees and states that Won Kuk Lee never practiced Taekkyon. Also, according to Hae Man Park, Won Kuk Lee never practiced Taekkyon. However, according to information quoted on the website for GM Yong Taek Chong (a student of GGM Lee) "it is probable that he did practice in secret as a teenager because he told this author that when he first started training he and his first teachers would not exchange names due to possible consequences if someone got caught." Lee first began training under Sensei Gichin Funakoshi at Chuo University in Japan. Lee also traveled to China and Okinawa, studying martial arts technique, history, and philosophy. He returned to Korea in January 1944 because of the bombing raids on Tokyo at the time. He eventually opened the Chung Do Kwan in September 1944 after being twice refused permission by the Japanese government. His original name for what he taught was "Tang Soo Do". Won Kuk Lee first came up with the name Tang Soo Do. The original name of the art in Okinawa was Toudejitsu, which in Japanese is Karate-jutsu and in Korean, Tang Soo Sool. Tou/Kara/Tang in this case refers to the Tang Dynasty. When the first character was changed to the character meaning "Empty" (Kara in Japanese and Kong in Korean), the last character was also changed from Jitsu to Do. The character for Tang was never used with the character Do in Japan, and it was only until Won Kuk Lee used it in Korea in 1944 that the term Tang Soo Do came into being. It is therefore correct to state that Won Kuk Lee was the first to use the name Tang Soo Do, and not Moo Duk Kwan HWANG Kee, who had first named his art Hwa Soo Do. The belt system of the Chung Do Kwan under Lee was as follows: White (8th-5th Guep), Red (4th-1st Guep)and Black (1st to 7th Dan). Testing occurred every six months and students would jump two guep levels per test (8th to 6th guep for example). [edit] TaekwondoAlthough the name "Taekwondo" was proposed in 1955 by Chung Do Kwan students, it was slow to catch on among other Kwan Heads (Kwan Jang). Two of the other Kwan Jang preferred the name "Kong Soo Do" (Way of the Empty Hand). Some felt that "Kong Soo Do" would be more easily understood by potential students, in the same way that many people are familiar with the term "Karate" (Japanese versions of Chinese martial arts). This idea was quickly voted down in meetings with various Kwan Heads. As a result, a compromise name -- "Tae Soo Do" -- began to be used. On August 5, 1965, the name "Tae Kwon Do" was adopted by all Kwans because that became the official name under the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA). [edit] DevelopmentThe Chung Do Kwan was the first Kwan to open in Korea. Because of his law background, he was appointed as a teacher at the Korean Police Academy and many of his early students were police. Later, the President of Korea, Rhee Seung Man, offered Lee the position of Minister of the Interior. However, when Lee politely refused, President Rhee arrested Lee[3] as well as one of his senior students, Son Duk Sung. After being released, Lee and his family emigrated back to Japan immediately prior to the beginning of the Korean War. Before leaving Korea, Lee appointed his senior student, Yoo Ung Jun to succeed him as the Chung Do Kwan Kwan Jang. Yoo instead became a supporter of North Korea and eventually the position went to Son Duk Sung. Son was succeeded as President of the Chung Do Kwan by Uhm Woon Kyu in 1959. Uhm continues as the Chung Do Kwan President to this day. Uhm also serves as President of the Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters). [edit] First GraduatesFirst generation Chung Do Kwan students include:
[edit] Uhm Woon Kyu
Uhm Woon Kyu was the fourth Chung Do Kwan Kwan Jang, after Lee Won Kuk, YOO Ung Jun and Son Duk Sung. He is also the present leader of the Chung Do Kwan, as well as the current President of the Kukkiwon, succeeding longtime President Kim Un Yong. Uhm's nickname was "Sliding Side Kick God," due to his unmatched ability with that technique. Reportedly, he could kick an opponent from ten feet away using it. Uhm helped devise the current rules governing modern Taekwondo free sparring, and is one of the pioneers responsible for the formation of modern Taekwondo. He was also Special Instructor for the South Korean Military. He also played a large part in the formation and development of the Korea Taekwondo Association, the World Taekwondo Federation and the Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters). As one of Lee Won Kuk's original and first students, Uhm remains a link to the earliest days of Taekwondo. As Head of Chung Do Kwan and President of the Kukkiwon, he has spent decades ensuring that Kukki Taekwondo retains the power, etiquette, high technique, manners, and Way that makes it one of the world's preeminent martial arts. He is one of the most important Taekwondo figures in Korea, and one of the most important in the world today. [edit] Kang Suh ChongKang Suh Chong started his martial arts training in 1938 in Yudo, Su Bahk Do, and later became a student of Tang Soo Do/Kong Soo Do under Lee Won Kuk (Chung Do Kwan Founder) and is a graduate of the first class of Chung Do Kwan Black Belts. In 1953 he founded his own branch of Tae Kwon Do and named it Kuk Mu Kwan. From 1957 to 1969 Kang served as the head instructor of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), formerly known as Korean Military Intelligence Agency, and from 1960 to 1968 he was the commanding instructor for the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army. Kang came to the United States in 1969, already an 8th Dan Black Belt, with his family and founded his own Tae Kwon Do academy in Brooklyn, New York. Physically he was known for his power, breaking techniques, and superior knowledge of the Chang Hon Forms. He became the first President of the American Tae Kwon Do Association (ATA) from 1969 to 1978.[4] However his name is not mentioned in the history of the ATA. Even though Haeng Ung Lee (ATA Co-Founder) was a student of Kang. This is due to the political take over of the ATA by H.U. Lee in 1978. Previously there had been a highly influential Chung Do Kwan Grandmaster, Myung Kil Kim, who moved from Korea to South Bend, Indiana, USA, and was as an advisor to the ATA. In 1977, Grandmaster Myung Kil Kim died of throat cancer and the political structure of the ATA changed. H.U. Lee, then an 8th Degree and ATA vice-president, took over as President. The ATA continued to use the Chang Hon system of forms created by General Hong Hi Choi, following Choi's 1965 book on Taekwondo as a Bible reference guide. In 1983 the ATA discontinued using the Chang Hon forms as its base curriculum and H.U. Lee created the Song Ahm Forms for the new system.[5] This made him the founder of the "New" American Tae Kwon Do Association and Song Ahm Taekwondo, which is very different from the original Chung Do Kwan/Oh Do Kwan version. After leaving the ATA, Kang, Suh Chong served as Vice President of the International Tae Kwon Do Federation (ITF) from 1977 to 1983, and President of the American Taekwondo Federationn from 1978 to 1995. Before his death, Lee Won Kuk promoted Grand Master Kang Suh Chong to 10th Dan Black Belt. Making him the first of the original Chung Do Kwan Black Belts to receive this honor. Today at age 79 Kang still teaches and is the Chairman of the All American Tae Kwon Do Federation (AATF) and the World Tae Kwon Do Chung Do Kwan Federation. His Tae Kwon Do system continues to grow through the teachings of his 3 sons, all of whom are masters themselves and have their own schools and orgaizations as well. The Kang Tae Kwon Do System has schools in the New York Metropolitan Area and Puerto Rico. Also, they have established Tae Kwon Do clubs at MIT and Johns Hopkins University. In April 2009, Grand Master Kang was inducted into the Tae Kwon Do Hall of Fame. [edit] Later Graduates
[edit] Jhoon RheeJhoon Rhee was a Chung Do Kwan school graduate .[citation needed] Thus, Chung Do Kwan is often associated with what Rhee originally taught Americans. Rhee introduced Americans to the Oh Do Kwan Hyungs called Chang Hon, which were introduced by General Choi and Nam, Tae Hi, and HAN, Cha Kyo and are still used by the late Choi's ITF today (Cheon-Ji, Dan-Gun, Do-San, Won-Hyo, Yul-Gok, Jung-Geun, Toi-Gye, Hwa-Rang, Chung-Mu, Gwang-Gae). He did this at the urging of Choi, who wanted Taekwondo to establish its own Korean identity, something it couldn't do with Japanese forms. Jhoon Rhee states that he learned the Chang Hon forms from the South Korean Army Field Manual sent to him by Choi Hong Hi. The Chang Hon set of forms are still taught by independent American Taekwondo instructors who came from the Jhoon Rhee lineage. Rhee's 1970–1971 publication of the Chang Hon forms in a series of 5 separate books through Ohara Publications. Originally the ATA even used the Chang Hon forms until the 1980s, even today there are dozens of private American Taekwondo organizations that trace what they teach, and the forms they use, to a Chung Do Kwan/Chang Hon influence.[citation needed] Such organizations include: ITF, United States Taekwondo Federation (USTF), National Taekwondo Federation of America (NTFA), American Karate and Taekwondo Organization (AKATO), American Karate Black Belt Association (AKBBA), National Progressive Taekwondo Association (NPTA), etc. [edit] Hae Man ParkPark Hae Man began his martial arts career when he saw a demonstration at the Seoul YMCA in 1949. After witnessing that demonstration, he asked his father if he could join the YMCA Kwon Bup Bu under Yoon Byung In. His father approved, and Park spent six months learning under Yoon before the Korean War broke out. Prior to training in the martial arts, Park was active as a gymnast. During the Korean War, Park was assigned to the ROK Army Signal Corps and served in the same unit as Uhm Woon Kyu. After the Korean War, Park studied under Uhm and eventually was promoted to 1st Dan in 1954. He first began teaching at Seoul National University in 1955 before becoming the Chief Taekwondo Instructor for the Presidential Protective Forces at the Bluehouse in 1962. Park taught at the Bluehouse for eighteen years. [edit] Technique and PhilosophyBeginning in early times, Chung Do Kwan technique and philosophy centered on mastering basics, developing powerful technique, pinpoint accuracy in application, strong kicking, and deep appreciation for manners and etiquette. Its trademark techniques are the side kick, jumping side kick, and sliding side kick although it practices many other techniques as well-all in accordance with Chung Do Kwan principles. From the start, Lee Won Kuk wanted his students to be men of honor, only allowed upright individuals as his students, and encouraged them to live honorable lives as Chung Do Kwan students. All in an effort to restore the good reputation once held by Korean martial arts and distance itself from the notion of Taekwondo students as troublemakers. Chung Do Kwan philosophy is that Taekwondo is a method of self-defense, self-improvement, and a Way of Life. According to Hae Man Park, Vice-President of Chung Do Kwan (retired), today Chung Do Kwan is a social friendship club that endorses 100% the curriculum of the Kukkiwon system. Park states that Kukkiwon Taekwondo is Chung Do Kwan Taekwondo, and has been developed from the old systems of Chung Do Kwan and the other eight Kwans. [edit] Chung Do Kwan Oath
Before students could become members of the Chung Do Kwan, LEE Won Kuk would have the prospective members read the Chung Do Kwan membership oath as well as sign a paper agreeing to abide by the oath. Today, some Chung Do Kwan affiliated schools have their members recite the membership oath before the start of each class. [edit] The logoThe Chung Do Kwan logo is the Korean Um/Yang symbol containing a clenched fist (symbolizing physical power) holding a scroll (symbolizing scholarliness). In a sense, balance is what Chung Do Kwan students should strive for in life. The two ends of the scroll contain the Korean Hangul characters for "Chung Do". The Official Chung Do Kwan logos include the Hanja for "Blue Wave School": 靑濤嚴. The same logos include the Hanja for Blue Wave on the two ends of the scroll. [edit] TodayThe Chung Do Kwan still exists in Korea and now functions as a fraternal friendship social club which is no longer a martial arts style. It, along with eight other recognized Kwans (Song Moo Kwan, Jidokwan, Chang Moo Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Han Moo Kwan, Jung Do Kwan, Kang Duk Won and Oh Do Kwan), formed the basis of the Korea Taekwondo Association, and the Kukkiwon. The Chung Do Kwan still issues Dan and other types of certificates from its world headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. Chung Do Kwan members also receive Kukkiwon poom and dan certification. [edit] Chung Do Kwan formsAccording to Uhm Woon Kyu, the President of Taekwondo Chung Do Kwan, the Chung Do Kwan today follows the complete curriculum of Kukkiwon. Some of the older Chung Do Kwan based schools practice the original Pyong-Ahn forms which LEE Won Kuk incorporated from Shotokan karate. (The Pyong-Ahn forms originated in Okinawa, where they are called Pinan. In Japan, these forms are called Heian.) Other older Chung do Kwan schools practice the Palgwae forms, a predecessor of the Taegeuk forms. After black belt, practitioners of the Kukkiwon system practice the Yudanja and Kodanja series of black belt Poomsae of the Kukkiwon (Koryo, Kumgang, Taebaek, Pyongwon, Sipjin, Jitae, Cheonkwon, Hansoo, Ilyo). [edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
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