This is part 5 of a blog post series that is based on the introduction section in a book project which focuses on one Kwan, but it is relevant to know something of all the other major Kwan as well :-) I have therefore been forced to keep it brief for the Kwan that I am not focusing on, so the Kwan I am focusing on can be more indepth. I have been a little coy on what I am working on because it is very very niche and I am having such a fun time making you all guess. Its easier now that we have covered 5 though, it is not Yun Mu Kwan, Ji Do Kwan, Chang Mu Kwan, Mu Duk Kwan or Chung Do Kwan. So which is it? I will still not tell you :-P But I want to share the essiential points on Lee Won Kuk and the Kwan he founded; The Chung Do Kwan. Lee is as all the other Kwan founders a very interesting and special individual, but a few things makes him stand out: He is the first Korean to open up a "Karate Kwan" in Korea (Chung Do Kwan was opened in 1944), he is credited of being the first to add the "Do"-suffix to Tang Su, creating the full term Tang Su Do, and under his leadership the Chung Do Kwan became one of the biggest martial arts schools in korea before the Korean war. He was also among the absolutely first ones to study Karate in Japan, meaning even by Japanese standards he was an early Karate student... I hope you enjoy reading about him and his school :-)
Quote from my super secret book project that is not about Chung Do Kwan:
"Lee Won Kuk and the Chung Do Kwan
Lee Won Kuk was born in Korea in 1907 and traveled to Japan in 1926 to pursue higher education. While studying law at Chuo University, he began training in Shotokan Karate under Gichin Funakoshi, making him an early Korean student of Karate—even by Japanese standards.
After returning to Korea, Lee requested permission to open a martial arts school. According to some accounts, he had to make the request three times before finally receiving approval. In 1944, he established his school and named it Chung Do Kwan (청도관, 靑濤館), meaning “Blue Wave School.”
Lee Won Kuk is widely credited as being the first Korean martial artist to use the full term Tang Su Do (당수도, 唐手道), by adding the philosophical suffix Do (도, 道) — “the Way” — to Tang Su, the Korean pronunciation of To-de (or Kara-te) meaning “China Hand.” This usage reflects the early terminology of Karate, which originally referred to itself as To-de (“Chinese Hand”) before Funakoshi popularized the homonym Karate (空手), meaning “Empty Hand,” in the 1930s.
As a result, in early Korean martial arts circles, terms like Tang Su Do and Kong Su Do were used — both being alternate Korean readings of the same characters used in Japanese Karate-Do (空手道). These were not different martial arts, but alternative names for the same system, rooted in Japanese Karate.
Sometime after the World War II and before the Korean War, Lee faced accusations of pro-Japanese collaboration. Although the full details remain murky, this led him to leave Korea and relocate with his family to Japan in 1950. Later in life, around 1976, Lee moved to the United States, where he continued to teach. He passed away in 2003.
Leadership of Chung Do Kwan was passed on to his student Son Duk Sung, who became the second Kwanjang (관장, Headmaster) after Lee’s departure." End quote
There is a lot more to say about the Chung Do Kwan that did not make it into the book, and I could possibly make a whole article on Son Duk Sung alone as he too is a very interesting character in Taekwondo history. I actually have two books authored by Son Duk Sung in my collection, which I regard as my window into Chung Do Kwan seeing as he was the 2nd Kwangjang of that school. In the books he covers the Karate derived forms like pyongahn, cheolgi, palsaek/bassai etc, and he also covers traditional training methods you do not often see in modern taekwondo. It is fascinating to compare one Kwan´s forms to other schools forms. Even if the forms are the same there are differences.
In the back of my mind I think I read Sun Duk Song invented his Kuk Mu forms in America for streamline teaching for West Point Cadets. Sorry cannot find an actual reference to see if my memory is right.
ReplyDeleteI believe there is a passing mention of this in his 1968 book :-) I did not include much information on Son Duk Sung in this series as the "history section" of the book is just there to put stuff into historical context and for that I only needed up until 1966, although I continued up to 1973 so I could also put all Korean forms and ITF, Kukkiwon and WT(F) into historical context as well :-)
DeleteIt might also be helpful readers consider that GM Son Duk-Sung called his own Instructor, GM Lee Won-Kuk a traitor when GM Lee ran away to Japan during the Korean Civil War. The use of the term traitor to me is an indication that GM Lee's trouble was around actions he took or failed to take during the time the communists from the north were in total control of Seoul during their Civil War.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a reference to this? An interview with Son, or an article he wrote? I am a bit weary of heresay in martial arts history, although sometimes that is all we have to go on :-)
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