note is that tang soo do, unlike the other Korean martial arts, does not use the traditional black belt in its ranking system. Hwang Kee believed that black is the color in which all other colors merge—that is, any color that is mixed with black also becomes black. If an individual wears a black belt, it means that he has mastered the art. However, no one can ever truly master the martial arts, because they are a continual learning process. Therefore, advanced tang soo do practitioners wear a navy blue belt.
The Chang Moo Kwan
The Chang Moo Kwan was founded at the YMCA in the Jong Ro section of Seoul in 1946 by Yoon Byung In. In Japanese-occupied Korea, Yoon is said to have studied a Chinese system of self-defense known as joo an pa. This system is more commonly known as chuan fa. He then moved to Japan to attend Nihon University. While there, he studied karate under the direction of Toyama Kanken, the founder of Shotokan karate.
When Korea gained independence, Yoon returned to his homeland and taught karate at the Chosun Yun Moo Kwan Kwon Bup Bu for approximately one year. He broke away from this school, and in 1946 opened the YMCA Kwon Bup Bu or Chang Moo Kwan. This school initially had over 500 students, but Yoon's training method was so severe that fewer than 200 students remained after only a few months.
In 1946 Lee Nam Suk was named the first official instructor of the Chang Moo Kwan. When Yoon Byung In went missing in action during the Korean War, it was Lee Nam Suk and Kim Soon Bae, another advanced student of Yoon's, who reopened the school at the Seoul YMCA at the end of the war.
The Kang Duk Won
As the second incarnation of the Chang Moo Kwan came into existence in 1953, Lee Nam Suk and Kim Soon Bae began to have conflicts with two other senior students: Hong Jung Pyo and Park Chul Hee. These two men left and formed the Kang Duk Won, "House of Teaching Generosity," in the nearby Shin Sul Dong district of Seoul in 1956.
The Song Moo Kwan
The Song Moo Kwan was founded in Kae Sung City, Kyung Ki Province, Korea, by Ro Byung Jick, on March 11, 1944. Like the Chung Do Kwan, this school was actually established prior to the end of Japanese occupation. The original classes of the kwan were taught at the Kwan Duk Jung School of Archery.
Due to the repressive political conditions, the kwan was forced to close its doors a few months later. It was not until May 2, 1946, that Ro could reopen his school in Dong Hung Dong, Kae Sung City, Korea.
On June 25, 1950, the Song Moo Kwan again closed its doors, due to the onset of the Korean War. On September 20, 1953, the school was reestablished in the Ah Hyung Dong, Mapo Gu district of Seoul.
Ro's training in the martial arts began in 1936 in Japan. He studied Shotokan karate alongside Chung Do Kwan founder Lee Won Kuk, under Shotokan karate's founder, Gichin Funakoshi.
The Oh Do Kwan
The Oh Do Kwan was founded by General Choi Hong Hi and Major Nam Tae Hi. Both of these men were advanced military officers in the newly formed army of liberated Korea. Their classes were originally taught at the Korean Third Army Base, Yong Dae Ri, Korea.
Choi Hong Hi was born into a prominent Korean family. He moved to Japan in his adolescence to further his education. While there, he studied Shotokan karate and earned a black belt. At the point when World War II broke out, he was forced into the service of the Japanese military. After World War II and the defeat of the Japanese occupying forces, he became a pivotal figure in the newly formed Korean military.
Nam Tae Hi became a student of Chung Do Kwan immediately after Korean independence. He quickly mastered the art and began teaching at the Korean Army Military Signal School in 1947. During the same period, Nam Tae Hi met Choi Hong Hi. This laid the foundation for the birth of the Oh Do Kwan.
As the years progressed, in no small part due to General Choi's senior position in the Korean military, Oh Do Kwan became the main martial art taught to the Korean Army.
Many individuals already possessed a black belt by the time they were inducted into the Korean armed forces, but due to General Choi's influence, the rank of black belt was only accepted and transferable from students of the Oh Do Kwan and the Chung Do Kwan. Those practitioners who held black belts from other kwans had to be retrained and retested to be considered for official black-belt status. This regulation was questioned by many practitioners of the modern Korean martial arts, but it was, nonetheless, the impetus that brought the various schools of the Korean martial arts together under the banner of taekwondo.
The Unification of the Kwans
The unification of the Korean kwans, congregating under one banner, began in the early 1950s. This began when the leaders of the various schools first began to come together and attempt to form a central governing body. Due to the outbreak of the Korean War, however, these initial attempts did not prove to be successful.
The Korea Kong Soo Do Association
During this period of war, several kwan leaders, who were living in the Korean wartime capital of Pusan, formed an alliance and vowed to create a governing body. At the end of the Korean War, the kwan leaders joined forces and set about formalizing an organization. They named this governing body the Korea Kong Soo Do Association.
Because politics influenced all aspects of Korean culture, the first president of the organization was Jo Young Joo, the head of the Association of Korean Residents in Japan. He was soon followed by a new president, the Republic of Korea minister of finance, Lee Joong Jae. Ro Byung Jick was elected its director and Lee Chong Woo the secretary general.
The focus of this organization was to provide a standardized system of testing. As each kwan leader had his own system of teaching and testing, this proved to be problematic. Nonetheless, the first two tests were given at the central dojang of the Chung Do Kwan, which was actually located in the Si Chun Church, when it was not in use for worship. The next two tests were given at the Chae Shin Bu Dojang.
At this time, the rank of fourth dan was the highest degree awarded by the Korea Kong Soo Do Association. This rank was given to the original kwan founders and the advanced teachers of the various kwans.
There was immediate conflict among some founders of the original Korean kwans, however. They were dissatisfied with the promotion standards within this organization. Two of the leaders of this dispute were Hwang Kee (Moo Duk Kwan) and Son Duk Sung (Chung Do Kwan).
Hwang Kee was the first to leave the organization, one month after it was formalized. His departure was in no small part due to the fact that he was not given a position on the Central Testing Committee—which set the standards for the organization. Approximately one month later, Son Duk Sung removed his group, Chung Do Kwan, from the organization for the same reason.
It was less than a year before the Korea Kong Soo Do Association began to disintegrate. Hwang Kee was pushing forward his Korea Tkng Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Association, by petitioning the Korea Amateur Sports Association to grant it formalized status. This attempt eventually failed because it was blocked by a key player in the Korea Kong Soo Do Association, Ro Byung
