The exact origins of our art is obscure. One theory is that a Buddhist monk traveled on foot from India to china and took shelter at the temple of Shaolin and to repay the priest for food and shelter, he taught them a means of deep meditation and self defense. Thus is credited with the birth of martial arts in 517 A.D. in China.
From China, the art spread to Korea, Okinawa and Japan. Now the founder of the Moo Duk Kwan Hwang Kee, rejects this theory upon finding the rare book Muye Dobo Tong Ji which was written in the Yi dynasty in 1790. It contains Tang Soo Do Like martial arts practiced approximately two thousand years prior to the monk Dahlma's vist to China. Tang Soo Do's ancient name was known as Soo Bahk, however one can understand that since the beginning of time, the dawn of mankind, man had to develop a means of primitive self defense. This was through the use of makeshift weapons and self defense with his bare hands and feet.
Empty hand fighting can be looked at in four stages as follows:
1. Age of instinctive action
From the dawn of man, approximately one million years ago when no conscious action was involved in defense. Our ancestors fought with animals or same human race for food and survival. They fought like animals without any weapons.
2. Age of conscious action
From the stone age, about 500,000 years ago, to the end of the primitive era. During this time man acted consciously to develop methods of protecting his body and gathering daily needs. This plateau was in Asia and Europe. In this era, humans consciously used stone, sticks and any materials as weapons.
3. The early age of systemization
This was the iron age which covered the period from 10,000 to 2,000 years ago, at which time the self defense arts were consciously developed and systemized by civilized men.
4. The age of the flowering arts
This period begins about 2,600 years ago and is the period in which the art reached its fullest development in various systems in different parts of the world. This is the period of most interest to us.
Through archaeological remains, vestiges of an ancient civilization, an evening story, we now know that martial arts have been all over the world for over 2000 years. For example, about 2300 years ago, in the time of the Veluglese regime in Greece, there was a fight which was called Bangulighon. This fighting game was, with a bare hand, to attack in opposition an opponent with all resorts, except attacking, biting and pulling out the other's eyes. In the orient 1,970 years ago, there are some reports in materials of history that fighting called Soo Bahk (Kwon Bop) was in being in the Aeje dynasty of the Han empire in China. In Korea 1,700 years ago, the early part of the Kokuryo dynasty, there was a grapple which was called Soo Bahk, Tack Kyun, Kwon Bop, and the facts still remain in many written sources, mural paintings, and the archaeological remains. Therefore, this manual art (simply self defense or instinctive reaction) was systemized as a contest 2,000 years ago.
In this period of time, the martial arts had spread over most oriental countries; China, India, Korea, Okinawa, Thailand and Japan. Also well known practitioners were priest Dahlma, Jang Sam Bong, Jang Sang Kye in China and Lee Yui Moon in Korea.
The Development in Korea.
Korean martial arts is one of the oldest in the world, and has had a colorful and rich history. The ancestry of Korean Martial arts can be traced back to the period of the three kingdoms founded more than two thousand years ago. Not long after its development in China, the early version of the art showed up in the Korean peninsula. This process of change started early in ancient times in what is now Korea. At that time Korea was divided into three separate kingdoms, and each of them developed Soo Bahk or Kwon Bop on their own. The kingdom of Koguryo ruled in the north, Silla in the southeast and Paickche in the southwest. After a long series of wars, Silla emerged victorious over it's neighbors in 668 AD.
The age of Koguryo Dynasty.
Buddhism was introduced into the northern kingdom of Koguryo in the fourth century as part of a general Chinese cultural invasion of the Korean peninsula. The Buddhist monks were quick to adopt Kwon Bop fighting styles. As in China, the art flourished on temple grounds. The monks saw in Koguryo at the time a turbulent area, infested with bandits and wild beasts. The monks did a great deal of traveling, and to protect themselves they practiced Kwon Bop. They had time to train in the art and did refine many techniques. Living by themselves in the mountains, they could train quietly and with the intense concentration demanded by Buddhism. We know and recognize that Soo Bahk, Tae Kyun and Kwon Bop were the most popular martial arts in the Koguryo regime. There is documentary evidence of the existence of specialized hand and foot fighting even this far back. Ruins of royal tombs built during this period contain murals depicting scenes of unarmed combat practice. In 1934 a group of Japanese archaeologists discovered Muyong Chong and Kakchu Chong, two royal tombs dating back to the Koguryo dynasty. The tombs were located in Tungku, China, in the Tung-hun providence of Manchurian where Koguryo had its capital. The ceiling of the Muyong Chong carried a painting portraying two unarmed men confronting each other. The mural painting of the Kakchu Chong shows two men wrestling. Since the construction of the two tombs mentioned took place between the years 300 and 427 AD. one may be surprised how old the art of Tang Soo Do is. The art was taught not only to the most powerful army at the time, but also to all civilians, like our manners and folk customs, becoming part of public games and fairs. Therefore Moo Duk Kwan decided to wear the same colored training clothes (Toe Bohk) as ancient warriors. Especially, the black belt coat of Toe Bahk was derived from ancient warriors clothing.
The age of Silla Dynasty.
Approximately 2,000 years ago in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, there was a small kingdom constantly under invasion and harassment from its two more powerful northern neighbors. To preserve themselves, the young aristocrat of the country formed a young officers' warriors corp., called Hwa Rang Dan. This was in the reign of Chin Heung, 24th king of the Silla Dynasty. The warriors corps trained themselves by practicing mental and physical discipline throughout the years in the wild mountains and along the rugged seashore. They trained and drove themselves unmercifully to prepare themselves for their task; to guide themselves and give purpose to their knighthood. they incorporated a five point code of conduct set forth by their country's greatest monk, Won Kwang, and the code became our Tang Soo Do's basic principles even today.
1. Loyalty to Country.
2. Obedience to parents and elders.
3. Honor friendship.
4. No retreat in battle.
5. In fighting, choose with sense and honor.
The Hwa Rang Dan became known for their courage and skill in battle, gaining respect from even their bitterest foes. They derived strength from their respect for the code enabling them to attain feats of valor that became legendary. Through their feats, however, they inspired the people of Silla to rise and unite and eventually conquer the other two kingdoms. From the victory of Sille, the Korean peninsula became united for the first time in its history. During the time of the Hwa Rang Dan, the original primitive art of self defense called Soo Bahk Ki (foot and body fighting) was popular among the people as well as the military. The people had a high regard for Soo Bahk and through the inspiration of the Hwa Rang Dan, warriors began to train themselves and develop their art. Soo Bahk was combined with the Hwa Rang Dan principles to become Soo Bahk Do and formed the traditional martial art of Korea. During this Silla dynasty, Soo Bahk Do became combined with different self defense techniques and fused and developed into Tae Dyun in the next kingdom. After World War II, these were the techniques that the art of Tang Soo Do could borrow.
The vestiges of that age.
Two sculptures assuming postures of early Tang Soo Do stand guard outside a temple, named Sok Kul Am, at Toham mountain in Kyungju, this was the capital of Silla dynasty. The two sculptures are called Kum Kang Ryuk Sa, and the forms they are demonstrating could be considered the same as those of the Plasek and Sipsu form of today. The Suk Kul Am temple is a small Buddhist cavern temple going back to 751 AD. From this we know that the present method of Korean Fighting, known as Tang Soo Do, traces its lineage back to those early and troubled times. Also we see, the most important part of this training was to develop a fighting spirit to supplement the rigorous technical training.
The times of Koryo Dynasty
The greatest period of Soo Bahk came after the establishment of the Koryo kingdom. In 935 AD the Silla kingdom was overthrown and the kingdom of Koryo founded. From Koryo comes the western name Korea. Founded by a warlord, the soldiers of the Koryo dynasty were among the finest the country has ever produced and their martial spirit and bravery has been an inspiration ever since. The kingdom was strictly militaristic in spirit, a fact necessitated by the need to defend the country against foreign enemies on many occasions. According to an old authoritative history book Koryosa, every may, the king of Koryo held a match for unarmed government posts. King Uijong, 16th of the Koryo dynasty, admired the excellence of Yi Ui Moon in Soo Bahk and he was promoted to Dae Jung (General). Also, Jang Jung Boo, Sa Kang Sung were recorded as excellent Soo Bahk Ki winners. Thus the art, having its inception in religious discipline, received royal patronage, and became a permanent segment of national life.
The age of Yi Dynasty.
After 475 years of rule, Koryo dynasty was defeated by Yi Sung Kye, who was the founder of the Yi dynasty. The Yi dynasty was started by him in 1392 AD. During the first part of the Yi dynasty the feudal lords put more emphasis on literature and this fighting art remained merely among the younger people. A small group of people continued to practice this technique and even to improve upon it. In earlier dynasties of the Korean peninsula, this fighting art was called Soo Bahk Ki and Taek Kyun. However, the people used both words without discrimination. A period of civil enlightenment set in during which time anything related to military training was frowned upon. In spite of its unpopularity in the Yi dynasty a most important record was made in this period. It is a fully illustrated martial arts record book called Muye Dobo Tong Ji written in 1790 which contains illustrations that substantiate the theory that Soo Bahk Ki quickly developed into a sophisticated form of combat techniques art. Even the pictures and statues mentioned earlier reveal expressions and postures quite advanced relative to similar arts at that time. There is no exact record but there are many legendary stories flowing from generation to generation among the people. Soo Bahk Ki or Tuck Kyun, Sippal Ki or Sansin Yuk Ki were well spread to the common people as very frightening arts. Still the people of Korea say Sansin Yuk Kyo Jul Hang Rang, which means run away as soon as possible.
The Japanese invasion of Korea!
In 1909 Japan invaded Korea and all current practice of martial arts were forbidden. the occupation lasted until Korea regained her independence in 1945. thus the freedom to practice Martial arts once again and in 1945 Hwang Kee formed his Moo Duk Kwan or Institute of martial virtue. other kwans as well emerged at this time as follows
Moo Duk Kwan 1945 Hwang Kee
Chung Do Kwan 1945 Won Kook Yi
Yun Moo Kwan 1945 Sup Jun Sang
Chi Do Kwan 1946 Yon Kue Pyang
Ji Do Kwan 1953/54 Gae Byuang Yun
sang moo kwan 1953/54 Byung Chic Ro
Many of the kwans formed together to join a sport body and unite under one roof and elected the name Tae kwon Do however hwang kee refused change and did not desire his living art Tang Soo Do to become a game or sport.
After the end of WWII, many American service men were stationed in Korea to help with the rebuilding of the nation. While stationed in Korea many were instructed in Tang Soo Do and returned home and brought the art back with them. Soon they sponsored at the request of Hwang Kee Korean masters to help with the promotion and instruction of Tang Soo Do here in the USA. Today Tang Soo Do has blossomed and grown into the most popular martial art in the world as a traditional martial art. Today the art of Tang Soo Do is practiced around the world and the Tang Soo Do Community will forever be grateful to its founder Hwang Kee.
***Foot note this history is displayed in the spirit of Tang Soo Do