Kong Soo Do (공수도) is a name used to refer to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

s derived from

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

, that was used by couple of the original

kwans Kwan (Hanja: 館; Hangul:관) in Korean literally means building or hall, but when used in martial arts it can also refer to a school or clan of martial artists who follow the same style and/or leader. Taekwondo: The Five Kwans / The Nine Kwans ...

before the unification and creation

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

as the universal striking art of Korea. As with

Tang Soo Do Tang Soo Do (Hangul: 당수도, Hanja: 唐手道 ) refers to a Korean martial art based on Karate and may include fighting principles from subak (as described in the Kwon Bup Chong Do), as well as northern Chinese martial arts. Before the Ni ...

, the name Kong Soo Do is composed of the Korean pronunciation of the

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the Written Chinese, writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are k ...

s for " karate-do", meaning "empty-hand way" in English. Kong Soo Do is a not a systemized style of martial arts and the styles used by their perspective kwans are influenced by the individual backgrounds of their founders/head instructors. The name Kong Soo Do was used by

Yun Mu Kwan Yun Mu Kwan (Hangul: 연무관, Hanja: 研武館, eng.''Hall or Institute for Martial Study'') was one of the original five "kwans" that arose in Korea following World War II. It was the name of the place where a generic form of Japanese karate ...

(sometimes Yun Moo Kwan Kong Soo Do Bu, Hanja: 朝鮮硏武館拳法部) and the YMCA Kwon Bop Bu (later named Chang Moo Kwan) to refer their martial art.

Background

Yun Mu Kwan

was founded by Chun Sang Sup (전상섭) learned

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

from

Gichin Funakoshi was a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of Shotakan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, Gichi ...

. Chun had a very close relationship with Yoon Byung-In (윤병인) the founder of the YMCA Kwon Bop Bu. Chun and Yoon would travel together to train with other martial artists, sometimes traveling to

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

. They trained with each other so much that they became known as brothers. Chun went missing during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

; subsequently, this kwan voted to change its name to the

Jidokwan Jidokwan is one of the original nine schools of the modern Korean martial arts that became Taekwondo and was founded in what is now South Korea at the end of World War II. Its name translates as "School of Wisdom". The Jidokwan in Korea stil ...

. After Chun disappeared in the Korean War, the original students of Chun voted for Master Yoon, who trained in

Chuan Fa Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

in Manchuria, as the Jidokwan's first President.

Kwon Bop Bu/Chang Moo Kwan

The Kwon Bop Bu/Chang Moo Kwan was founded in 1947 by Yoon Byung-In who had studied Chinese Chuan Fa under the guidance of a Mongolian instructor in Manchuria. Later, Yoon trained

at the

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

karate club in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

with

Kanken Tōyama Kanken Tōyama (遠山寛賢 Tōyama Kanken, 24 September 1888 – 24 November 1966) was a Japanese schoolteacher and karate master, who developed the foundation for the Shūdōkan karate style. Background Kanken Toyama, was born Oyadomari K ...

. At one point, Japanese karate students pursued and started to beat up another Korean karate student who had skipped karate class to spend time with his sweetheart. After being persuaded by the other Korean student for help, Yoon used his Chuan Fa to skillfully deflect and evade the karate students’ strikes and kicks to the point that they gave up and ran back to tell their teacher what had happened. Teacher Tōyama invited Yoon to tell him about the skillful non-karate martial art he had used against his students. Yoon explained to Toyama about his Chuan Fa education in Manchuria. Toyama appreciated the Chuan Fa background since he (Toyama) had previously studied Chuan-fa in Taiwan for seven years. They decided to exchange knowledge; Yoon would teach Toyama

and Toyama would teach Yoon his Shudokan

. Yoon later created his own art and called it Kwon Bop Kong Soo Do. Kwon Bop is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese word Chuan Fa. Early Chang Moo Kwan was mainly based on

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

(Chuan Fa). The early Chang Moo Kwan taught Palgi kwon (which was influenced by

Bajiquan Bajiquan () is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its elbow and shoulder strikes. Its full name is kaimen ba ji quan (). Origins Baji quan was originally called bazi quan ( or ) or "rake fist" ...

).history view of taekwondo
Yoon went missing during the

. His teachings were carried on by his top student Lee Nam Suk, who changed the name of the school to

Chang Moo Kwan Chang Moo Kwan is a style of Korean martial arts that was founded by Yoon Byung-in and Lee Nam Suk. History At the end of World War II, several Kwans were set up to teach martial arts to Korean public. In the late 1950s, spearheaded by Choi ...

. Even though Yoon had disappeared during the

, information about him was later recovered by original Chang Moo Kwan student, Kim Pyung-soo in 2005, when he found Yoon Byun-in's family. Yoon's teachings were carried on by his top students Lee Nam Suk (Chang Moo Kwan), Park Chul-hee, and Hong Jong-Pyo (both Kang Duk Won). During the Korean unification of the KTA in the 1960s, a small sub Kwan broke away to form the Kong Soo Do Kang Yu Do style founded by Grandmaster Jae Soo Kwon. Its location was Yongsan District Korea outside of the U.S. military base; it then made its way to the United States. Outside of Korea very few martial artists know or practice this style today. The art stands for 'the hard and soft way' or 'path of Korean empty hand.'

Notes

:1. Tang Soo Do is derived from "Tang Hand", which was one of the names of early

. Kong Soo Do adoptes the later "Empty Hand" convention.

References

External links

Taekwondo Hall of Fame

www.kimsookarate.com Intro

Taekwon Do Han Moo KwanHan Moo Kwan

The International hosinsool Federation
{{Korean martial arts Korean martial arts