Taekwondo Kwan history part 3: Yun Byung In and YMCA Kwon Bup Bu

This is part 3 of a blog post series that is based on a secret book project I am working on. In this series I have quoted from my introduction section of the book and I am looking BRIEFLY into the major schools that were founded between 1944-1955, their founders and their roots. This time we are looking into Yun Byung In, whose lineages include Chang Mu Kwan and Kang Duk Won, Pasa Ryu and Chayon Ryu among others. The man who has done perhaps the most to preserve his teachings in modern time is GM Kim Soo in his Chayon Ryu, and it is also thanks to him that we even know what happened to Yun Byung In after the Korean war. The blog post is brief, there is a lot of stuff that could have been said but did not make the cut when you try to be economical with words, something I struggle a lot with and it was a fun challenge to try to boil the story of a Kwan founder down to rougly 1/2 a page. If I publish the stuff I have written on the Kwan that I am focusing on I think you will forgive my brief handling of the other Kwan. For now you can guess which Kwan is the mysterious Kwan I am focusing my super secret book project on. It will be easier to guess the more blog posts I publish I guess :-P Spoiler: It is not Yun Mu Kwan, Ji Do Kwan, or Yun Byung In lineage Kwan ;-) For now, sit down, relax with a good cup of tea and read a brief (but as accurate to my abilities I could get it) summary of Yun Byung In, his roots and his legacy.

"Yun Byung In and the YMCA Kwon Bup Bu

Yun Byung In was born in 1920 and grew up in Manchuria, China, where his family had relocated. In his youth, he studied an unspecified Chinese martial art before traveling to Japan in 1938 to continue his academic studies at Nihon University in Tokyo.

While in Japan, Yun became known for an incident that showcased his martial skill. He intervened when a fellow Korean Karate student was attacked by his seniors, who resented the student’s decision to spend time with his girlfriend rather than train. Yun successfully defended him by skillfully deflecting all attacks, and word of the encounter soon reached the university’s Karate instructor — Toyama Kanken.

This encounter led to a friendly exchange: Yun taught Toyama elements of his Chinese martial art, while Toyama taught Yun Shudokan Karate. Yun earned instructor certification in Shudokan before returning to Korea in 1945.

Upon his return, he initially assisted at the Yun Mu Kwan, but soon began teaching his own system at the Jung Ahn YMCA in Seoul. There, he established what became known as the YMCA Kwon Bup Bu. The term Kwon Bup (권법, 拳法) is the Korean pronunciation of the same characters as the Chinese Chuan Fa — often translated as “Fist Law.”

Tragically, Yun disappeared during the Korean War (1950–1953). It was later discovered that he had been taken to North Korea, where he reportedly died in 1983.

Despite his absence, Yun Byung In’s teachings lived on. His school would go on to give rise to two important postwar Kwans: Chang Mu Kwan and Kang Duk Won — both of which continued to carry elements of his unique blend of Chinese and Japanese martial influences." End quote

I did not include any speculation on his chinese martial art, nor did I include how he organised shoes as a way to prove his good attitude to get into said school, nor the loss of his fingers which is the origin of the white gloves often worn in Yun Byung In lineage schools by instructors when they teach, etc. I often think that many of these men should have their own biopics and I hope that some day we get movies in the same wane as Fighter in the wind got (founder of Kyojushinkai). There is so much material to work with, so many fights, arguments, adversity and interesting history. Even when you shorten everything down to just 1/2 a page you get the sense of great men and great legacies. 

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