Dragon Tang Soo Do

QI for the Tang Soo Guy!

Who invented ‘Tang Soo Do’?
If you said Hwang Kee, you’re wrong! Hwang Kee, although teaching the predecessor to all modern Tang Soo Do styles, originally called his art Hwa Soo Do. Won Kuk Lee first used the term Tang Soo Do in 1944, prior to that the words ‘Tang’ and ‘Do’ had not been used together.

What is a ‘Dan’?
Not strictly speaking, a black belt. It is actually a step or grade, though now we associate it with degree, and its use pre-dates martial arts ranks in the Edo period of Japan (1603-1868) by players of the logical board game ‘Go’. The first martial art Dan system was by instituted by Kano Jigoro, the founder of Judo, in the mid 1880’s. Prior to that, martial arts students used the often confusing Menkyo system to denote rank.

What does ‘ha dan mahk ki’ mean?
Nothing! Like most of the Korean phrases in all Korean arts they are merely a sound-a-like of the original Chinese or Japanese words, made to sound more Korean to protect national identity. In Korean, ‘Nakda’ means low and ‘Anda’ means to block. Also if you were to read the Korean martial arts words for low block in Korean it would actually be pronounced ‘arai makki’. Phrases like Ko Map Sum Ni Da (thank you), and counting (Hana, Tul, Set etc) are the only 100% genuine Korean in Korean martial arts.

What is the Chinese phrase for opposite and complimentary forces?
Certainly not Ying and Yang! YIN and yang mean soft and hard respectively, the word YING actually means ‘Eagle’ in Chinese!

What is the Korean phrase for opposite and complimentary forces?
Thought it was yin and yang like the Chinese? Nope! It’s actually Um and Yang in Korean.

Which country did Tang Soo Do come from?
It actually comes from China, Okinawa, and Korea! Hwang Kee learnt Chinese martial arts in Manchuria, added elements of Korean Soo Bak and Tae Kyon, and also philosophies from Gichin Funakoshi’s Okinawan texts. Won Kuk Lee also studied and combined martial arts from the same three countries.

What do the four sets of three lines around the centre of the Korean Flag mean?
Strictly speaking, they don’t mean heaven, earth, fire and water. Each ‘trigram’ has a literal meaning and several associated meanings: three unbroken lines mean SKY, spring, east, humanity, father, metal and justice, three broken lines mean EARTH, summer, west, righteous, mother, earth (the element) and fertility, two broken lines and one unbroken line mean MOON, winter, north, knowledge, daughter, water and vitality. Finally, two unbroken lines and one broken line mean SUN, autumn, south, courtesy, son, fire and wisdom. Traditionally the closest meanings to martial arts represented by the trigrams are of the elements Metal, Fire, Water and Earth.

What is the Japanese name for the weapon brown belts use?
The Bo, not the Bo staff! Bo is Japanese for staff, so you’re technically asking for a staff-staff when you add the English word.

What colour clothes did ninjas wear?
Not black! Like modern spys and assassins they wore anything that would blend them into their surroundings whether it was peasants clothes or higher class robes. The black do bohk comes from this century when stage hands in the Peking opera moved equipment between acts, they wore all black to hide in the background, and the actors portraying ninja assassins then started to wear black to blend in amongst them and the back of the stage.

Tang Soo!

by Paul Long

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