[Tang Soo Do] Discussion of well known TSD masters

[PsiCop]

Hwang Kee - He was the founder of Tang Soo Do. Without Hwang Kee, this style wouldn't exist. He adapted it from Soo Bahk Do and had it officially recognized in 1947. I don't know the details of Tang Soo Do history, but more in-depth knowledge can be found in other threads. He died recently, (about 2 years ago) and Tang Soo Do hasn't had a strong head since. His son, according to my understanding, is now the head of his organization, but he hasn't received the same recognition as his father. (My details could be a little off, if so then don't hesitate to tell me or add on in this subject)

Chuck Norris - He has an 8th Dan in Tang Soo Do, I believe. He is part of the 3rd generation of TSD. His teacher was Shin Jae Chul (Dan #600) who learned from Oh Se Jun. Oh Se Jun was a direct student of Hwang Kee. Carlos (Chuck) Norris was undefeated in sparring in his tournament days. I heard stories about how this is due to the Tang Soo Do back kick , because the back kick wasn't very prominent in "hard-style" schools in America back then. He was able to perfect the technique and use it to his advantage. Certainly a great technique if mastered. It's hard to see and almost impossible to block if done correctly. All the opponent can do is get out of the way. This was the pioneer technique of Tang Soo Do he introduced into these tournaments, and he won with it indefinitely. He later became a popular and well known actor. He then used his influence to create a nationwide anti-drug campaign, "Kick Drugs out of America", which later became "KICKSTART". He now has a couple of residencies in Texas, USA. His main one is near Dallas. He's now in his mid-60s and is still alive and well.

Master Chun Sik Kim - He's the founder of the International Tang Soo Do Federation (ITF), the largest for this style in the world. He's a millionaire and still is an ardent Tang Soo Do practitioner. He was the one who taught my teacher's teacher, so that makes me 4th generation under Kim and 6th under Hwang Kee. Master Kim learned from Kim Jae Jun (Dan #38) who learned the arts from Hwang Kee directly. On a more personal note, I've trained under him in a few seminars as well as on a short trip to Korea. Master Kim is a very friendly and joyful person to be around, but is very dedicated to his martial arts work. I remember one seminar I had with him, he spent 2 or 3 hours discussing the deep intricacies of the most basic of techniques. He would talk about low block for 15 or 20 minutes. His feeling is that one should master the basics before moving on to the more advanced techniques. It shows in his teaching style and the structure of the ITF. One phrase he's famous for, which my instructor has adopted, is "Um yung hajimada!!!". This translates to "There is no excuse!!!". He's been known to say this to his students whenever they would forget something due to no practice or studying. He always meant it in a semi-playful way, but one should never take his advice as a joke. He's a charming and easy-going person with a strong dedication to Tang Soo Do. However, some have challenged his techniques, which can deviate from Hwang Kee's original teachings. He's in his 60s and still practices and teaches.

This is my knowledge to those Tang Soo Do masters which have made a large impact. There are many more which I could name, such as Master Kang Uk Lee who heads a large Tang Soo Do federation in Britain and Nam Sam Hyun (Dan #3) who helped spread the art through Korea. This is not to mention the hundreds of masters who have have contributed to the style as a whole in one way or another. Feel free to add any knowledge or stories on these masters or those which I neglected to mention. (It'd take days to write an article on every person who had an impact on TSD )

[Jang Bong]

The reference book we use is the one published by Master Kang Uk Lee in 1998, and is a great back-up to the things we learn in class.

I've shown it to the Karate instructor, and he was most impressed with the photographic representations of the hyungs (which are extremely similar to his Shotokan kata).

[Topher]

The chief UK master of our organisation, Tiger Gym International trained under Grandmaster Han Eung Kyo, a direct student of Hwang Kee. I believe Hwang Kee gave him the nickname ‘Tiger’, thus the name “Tiger Gym…”

There are some very old pictures of Grandmaster Hwang Kee and Grandmaster Han at the 1960's opening of Tiger Gym, in Seoul, Korea in the site in my sig.

[Andy Cap]

We might also mention:

H.C. Hwang - Hwang Kee's son, and an outstanding martial artist in his own right. He is now the Grandmaster of the Soo Bahk Do organization.

Dale Drouilard 1st American Serviceman to achieve Dan

William Clingan - 8th dan - Korean Karate Academy ( Master Clingans TSD Academy), Beale AFB, CA

Richard Byrne - 8th dan - American TSD Association

Dominick Giacobbe 8th dan - 1ST Tang Soo Karate Academy

Charles Ferraro - 8th dan - West Haven Academy of Karate schools & Tang Soo Do Mi Guk Kwan Association

J.C. Shin - 9th dan - World Tang Soo Do Association

[PsiCop]

Originally Posted by Jang Bong

The reference book we use is the one published by Master Kang Uk Lee in 1998, and is a great back-up to the things we learn in class.

I used a book written by Kang Uk Lee as one of my resources. It's called "Tang Soo Do - The Ultimate Guide to the Korean Martial Art", and has all of the main forms. It also has a TSD family tree which was helpful in seeing who learned from who. This may actually be the same book. For anyone one else interested, it's a great resource and has a little history of the forms as well.

[Jang Bong]

Originally Posted by PsiCop

I used a book .... It's called "Tang Soo Do - The Ultimate Guide to the Korean Martial Art",.... This may actually be the same book.

It is the same book. I find it very useful when I'm first learning a new form (my memory is not what it was!!!), as the pictures and movement descriptions are very clear.

As I've said elsewhere, I'm not into 'history' but the brief description of the origins of the Hyungs are interesting to compare with the matching kata in shotokan karate.

[KickChick]

More here http://www.completemartialarts.com/i.../tangsoodo.htm
besides those mentioned.....

Jae Chul Shin
Pat Johnson
Ho Sik Pak

[PsiCop]

Originally Posted by KickChick

Pat Johnson

I didn't know Pat Johnson was a student of Tang Soo Do. He was the man who was the center judge in The Karate Kid 1 & 3. He also did all of the choreography. I knew he was a dedicated martial artist, but wasn't sure of his style. Interesting, indeed.

[MALibrarian]

Also, Grand Master Y.U. Min (presently located in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania)

He is also listed on this page


I only know about him because my instructor's instructor (Master James Bostic) trained under him.

[KickChick]

Oh and Psicop... did you know also that Pat Johnson also was the personal martial arts instructor of celebrities such as Steve McQueen, Priscilla Presley, Bob Barker, Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi) and Ralph Macchio (the Karate Kid) ???


another addition.....
National Tang Soo Do Alliance founded by Master Dan Nolan

He has an excellent site dedicated to the history and philosophy of Tang Soo Do ... features pictures, establishing a club, famous instructor and miscellaneous information
http://www.chatlink.com/~dnolan/

[Jang Bong]

General MAP query - is there anything this lady doesn't know about???

[KickChick]

Originally Posted by Jang Bong

General MAP query - is there anything this lady doesn't know about???

Yes as a matter of fact there is!

It's just that I have a friend that is taking Cheezic TSD who comes to my cardio classes.

I would be very interested in training TSD one day! ...

[Andy Cap]

Pat Johnson was also involved in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well.

Another well worth mentioning is Dominic Giaccobe.

[PsiCop]

Any idea how many living masters there are today in TSD? My guess would be a few hundred to a thousand worldwide. Of course you always have the real masters and the self-proclaimed 8th Dans.... I'll ask how many "real" masters are there?

[Andy Cap]

Man, I would imagine it is well over 1,000. I GM Byrne's organization (ATA) alone there must be 500 worldwide. I remember the World TSD Championship C.S. Kim had hosted back in 1993 (?) there were well over 75 masters present. This as C.S. Kim said was a drop in teh bucket.