Hwang Kee

By Master David Allerton (5 th Dan)

Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee ( 9th Nov, 1914 – 14th June, 2002) This month I am honoured to write a short biography of GrandMaster Hwang Kee. Of course, I can not do it justice, however, for the benefit of students new to the art, I shall attempt to begin this two part history with a factual account of his early life and challenges.

Hwang Kee was born on 9th November, 1914. His first contact with martial arts was at the age of 7 when at a village celebration he witnessed a man defeat several attackers with hand and foot movements. He followed the man home and from a distance attempted to copy the strange movements . One day he plucked up courage and asked the man to teach him but was refused on account of his young age. Nevertheless, he could not forget this experience and continued to practise what he had seen.

Later, in May 1936 he was working for the railroad company in Manchuria and met a Chinese Master Yang, Kuk Jin. After several requests he was accepted as a student with his friend, Mr Park. The training consisted of basics and conditioning together with Tae Geuk Kwon and Dam Toi form and application. He returned to Seoul in August 1937 and began work for the Chosun Railway in 1939. When the 2nd World War ended in 1945 GrandMaster Hwang Kee founded the Moo Duk Kwan school meaning “ Institute of Martial Virtue “. It was his aim to better peoples lives through martial art. He had a philosophy which brought together the Taoist view of nature; the virtue of Buddhism and the conduct of Confuscian ethics. Central to this theme were the 5 basic principles used by an elite warrior corp and created by a Buddhist monk many centuries before. He too believed that the martial artist should also be a scholar. KJN Hwang Kee first used the name “Hwa Soo Do” to describe his art, unfortunately this was unsuccessful. At the beginning of 1947 he started to teach Tang Soo Do (Moo Duk Kwan) adding the knowledge gained from Okinawan books he had studied in the Railway library from 1939. At last he was successful and the number of students increased every day. The future looked decidedly bright, however, on 25th June, 1950 the Korean war began. Everyone moved to the south of the country for safety . He continued to teach Tang Soo (Hwa Soo) Do at the Cho Ryang Station in Pu San City during 1951. When the war ended there was much unrest and in September 1953 KJN returned to Seoul and carried on teaching Tang Soo Do in a building destroyed by the ravages of war. In May 1955 he was able to lease a building in front of the Central Station which became the legendary “Joong Ang Do Jang”. He was by now developing the art scientifically incorporating the application of hip power to perform techniques more effectively. The number of dojangs grew nationally as schools, military and police forces all sought instruction. The Moo Duk Kwan system was also taught at the Naval and Air Force Academy of Korea. Around this time the art was in constant demand by American servicemen some of whom still train today including Dale Drouillard (Dan Bon 757) who was the first to achieve cho dan.

In 1957 KJN discovered the Moo Yei Do Bo Tong Ji . It is the oldest and most valuable historical documentation of the ancient Korean art known as “Soo Bahk”. Realising it’s importance he spent many years studying and interpreting the text. On 30th June, 1960 he incorporated his organisation with the government under the name Korean Soo Bahk Do Association as the traditional martial art of Korea.

Once again the future seemed assured but disaster was just around the corner. On May 16th , 1961 Korea experienced a military revolution. KJN Hwang Kee was released from duty as instructor at the ROK Air Force Academy and National Police Academy with no reason given. During this time discussions were being held regarding the unification of all the Kwans. The Moo Duk Kwan were by far the most successful accounting for around 70% of the total students in Korea. It was proposed that the Moo Duk Kwan should have just 3 seats out of 21 on the Board of Directors and the new name for the Korean martial art would be Taekwondo. Tang Soo Do was not considered as it had Chinese connotations. To KJN Hwang Kee “Soo Bahk Do” was the traditional martial art of Korea and he strongly felt it was his responsibility to maintain it’s heritage to pass down to future generations. He therefore refused to take part in unification. As a result political pressures were exerted on the Moo Duk Kwan and over time many members crossed over to the new Taekwondo. Remaining Tang Soo/Soo Bahk members were subjected to employment and travel restrictions. These were extremely difficult circumstances and if ever there was a time which required his wealth of Moo Do discipline and spirit then this was it. Furthermore, an attempt was made to destroy the Kwan Jeok Bu which was the unique register of Dan seniority. To cap it all orders were given to close the Soo Bahk Do Association itself. KJN Hwang Kee had no alternative but to commence legal proceedings in the High Court of Justice against the Korean Government. In November 1965 he won his lawsuit and was jubilant that Soo Bahk Do had been saved , however, the Korean Government continued the fight in the Supreme Court in January 1966. It was not until June of 1966 that the final decision was made in his favour and KJN Hwang Kee was once again the victor.

I shall continue with GrandMaster Hwang Kee’s achievements next month and also consider how Tang Soo (Soo Bahk) Do first arrived in the UK and the progression of the art since that date to the present.

Yours in Tang Soo !