You may hear two different endings on various martial arts, "-jitsu" and "do". A good example is Japanese Aikijitsu and Aikido. The "-jitsu" ending indicates an emphasis on physical technique and practical fighting application as an end in itself. Martial arts whose name ends in "do" seek to develop the full person through physical, mental, and spiritual discipline. The word "do" means way, as in a way of life.
At the risk of too broad a generalization, Martial arts which end in "-jitsu" are appropriate for teaching to soldiers whose primary mission is to overcome an opponent in combat. Martial arts which end in "do" teach a way of life, including a system of ethics, etiquette, and values. Teaching begins with physical training in self defense and may on the surface resemble a "-jitsu" martial art, but the training goes much deeper to develop all aspects of the person, not just the capability for physical self-defense.
There are three primary Korean martial arts: Soo Bahk Do Mu Duk Kwan (also known as Tang Soo Do Mu Duk Kwan), Tae Kwon Do, and Hapkido. Tae Kwon Do is the best known of these, having a large following in both the US and in Korea. In Albuquerque where I live there are probably 12 Tae Kwon Do studios compared to one Tang Soo Do and no Hapkido studios.
Tae Kwon Do is a sport oriented martial art, aimed at sparring for points. It is primarily a physical style. Hapkido (Way of Coordination and Internal Power) is closely related to Japanese Aikido and Juijitsu. In fact the founders of Hapkido (Yong-Sul Choi) and Aikido (Ueshiba Morihei) both studied Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu under the same Japanese master (Takeda Sokaku). Hapikido concentrates on joint locks and throws, compared to a heavier emphasis on kicks, punches, and blocks within Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do.
My style of Tang Soo Do, is what the rest of this page is about. Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan was originated by Grandmaster Hwang Kee on 3 November, 1945. As indicated by the "Do", Tang Soo Do is not only about self defense but about personal development of the entire person. The physical technique, the Tang Soo Do may be translated as follows. Tang means Chinese or Empty, Soo means Hand, and Do means way. So Tang Soo Do means the Way of the Chinese or Empty Hand. Mu means martial or to stop conflict, Duk means virtue, and Kwan means brotherhood or organization. So Mu Duk Kwan means an Organization based on martial virtue, or an organization based on the virtue of stopping conflict (both external and internal).
What we call Soo Bahk Do or Tang Soo Do is composed of ancient Korean Soo Bahk and Tae Kyun techniques, combined with Chinese (T'ang) Kung Fu techniques. It was originally called Tang Soo Do and that name has remained in many schools. Grand Master Hwang Kee later changed the name to Soo Bahk Do in recognition of the Korean heritage and the central role of Soo Bahk techniques. The bottom line is that Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do are really the same martial art.
Unarmed combat has been part of the human experience since before we were even human - most animals engage in unarmed combat with other of their species to secure territory or mates. The development of formalized methods of unarmed (or armed) combat, passed on from teacher to student, are lost in the mists of time and probably predate the development of writing.
The Moo Yei Dobo Tong Ji (written 500 years ago) indicates the name "Bahk" originated in the age of Chun Chu, 2700 years ago. Soo Bahk Do is the way of hands and feet and is the only Korean martial art handed down from the Koguryo dynasty making it the oldest Korean martial art at about 2000 years. The Monk Won Kwang originated the principals of Soo Bahk Ki (the art of foot & body fighting). I saw modern martial arts uniforms (white uniform with black trim) in a diorama of the Koguryo kingdom at the Korean Cultural Museum in Seoul. Tomb paintings from the Koguryo dynasty and statues from the Silla dynasty depict people practicing Soo Bahk techniques.
What we know today as Tang Soo Do was developed by Grand Master Hwang Kee and publically introduced on 3 November, 1945. Grandmaster Hwang Kee began his study of martial arts in 1921 at the age of 7. He was recognized as a master at the age of 22. He studied under Chinese Kung Fu master Kuk Jin Yang from 1936 until 1946. Under Master Yang he studied Seh Bop (postures), Bo Bop (steps) and Ryun Bop (conditioning), as well as Hyung (forms). Grandmaster Hwang Kee died 14 July, 2002.
Grandmaster Hwang Kee founded Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan combining both physical and philosophical principals. The physical aspects of Tang Soo Do were formed by combining the 2000 year old Soo Bahk Ki and Tae Kyun (kicking techniques) with the soft flowing movements of northern and southern Chinese Kung Fu. Tang Soo Do is considered to be about 60% Korean (Soo Bahk and Tae Kyun), 30% northern Chinese, and 10% southern Chinese.
Moo Duk Kwan is the philosophical side, combining elements from Tao (Do), Lao Tzu (No Ja) and Confucius (Lee Do Ja). All Tang Soo Do schools have a set of codes and tenets (which are typically repeated at the beginning and end of each class). While they vary a bit in wording, they are all essentially the same, emphasizing proper respect to various members of society (the Confucian principals described on the Korean history page) and a set of values (derived from the Hwarang principals of the Silla Dynasty Monk Won'Gwang). From the Korean History page, the 5 Confucian relationships are king-subject, father-son, husband-wife, elder-junior, friend-friend. While the Confucian ideals are loyalty, justice, knowledge, truth, virtue, piety, and decorum. The Hwarang values of Won'gwang are loyalty to king, filial piety, fidelity and amicability among friends, valor and to never retreat in battle, and the evil of needless or indiscriminate killing. To see the influence of ancient Korean history and philosophy on todays martial arts, these can be compared to the US TSD Federation 10 Articles of Faith and 10 Training Principals and to the International Martial Arts Association (IMA) 5 Codes and 7 Tenets.
While all practitioners of Tang Soo Do trace their lineage back to Hwang Kee, there is no single Tang Soo Do Federation. Hwang Kee founded the original Korean Tang Soo Do Mu Duk Kwan (now Soo Bahk Do Mu Duk Kwan) in Seoul in 1945. Later, Jae Chul Shin (who trained under Se Jun Oh who trained under Hwang Kee) founded the World Tang Soo Do Union in Songtan, Korea (19??). He trained Song Ki Kim who is the current president of the World Dang Soo Do Union. Song Ki Kim in turn trained Chun Sik Kim and Ki Yun Yi who went on to found the International Tang Soo Do Federation (ITF) and International Martial Arts Association (IMA) in the US (both in 1984). In the meantime, Hwang Kee authorized the US Tang Soo Do Mu Duk Kwan Federation (now the US Soo Bahk Do Mu Duk Kwan Federation) as his only officially recognized organization in the US (1976). Prior to forming the ITF, Chun Sik Kim was president of the US Tang Soo Do Federation. The current president is the son of Hwang Kee, Hyun Chul Hwang. Richard Byrnes, who trained under Chun Sik Kim and Ki Yun Yi at Osan AFB in Songtan, Korea, founded the American Tang Soo Do Association (ATA) in the US in 1973. When C.S. Kim founded the ITF, the ATA joined the ITF as a subsidiary organization until 1997 when it spun off as a fully independent organization. Meanwhile, in Seoul Korea, Yong Hwan Kim founded the Soo Bahk International organization in 2002.
A lineage chart showing the training relationships from Hwang Kee to each of these organizations, and then on to my own training, is available on the "My Experience" web page.
I recommend the following "classic" martial arts books to anyone interested in the martial arts. Perhaps my favorite tidbit out of these is the expression, "To receive training, you must empty your cup", from Zen in the Martial Arts. Gichin Funakoshi is the father of modern karate in Japan, having introduced karate to Japan from Okinawa. Miyamoto Musashi is reputed to have been the greatest swordsman in Japanese history.