Tang Soo Do/Soo Bahk Do
Tang Soo Do is a Korean Martial Art whose roots date back some 2000 years and is based upon techniques adopted from Chinese warriors of the Tang Dynasty (618-906AD). These techniques were merged with native Korean fighting arts, such as Soo Bahk Ki, Tae Kyun and numerous military skills known as Kwon Bup.
Tang Soo Do literally means "China Hand Way" (Tang referring to the Tang Dynasty mentioned above) which was once used to refer to a broad group of techniques which were taught by the various Kwans (martial arts schools) in Korea. Tang Soo Do is the Korean pronunciation of the Hanja characters which in Japanese are pronounced "Karate-Do".
​
Grandmaster Hwang Kee (founder of the Moo Duk Kwan) at the age of 7 attended a Korean festival called "Dan O". Whilst at this festival he encountered a group of 7 or 8 men arguing with an older man. The group became very angry and attacked the man. Grandmaster was amazed at the way the man defended and countered the group with his feet. After he confrontation he knew he wanted study the martial arts.
​
Grandmaster Hwang Kee
(9th November 1912 - 14th July 2002)