Early Tang Soo Do Historical Articles

In the Toe Chang (practice room) thirty men dressed in practice garb exercise and perfect their fighting form. The thirty men in the room are soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas. They are practicing Tang Soo Do.
Tang Soo Do, meaning "Art of the Knife Hand" effectively combines the use of the feet stressed in Soo Bak Do, and the coordination of the hands and feet stressed in karate to form one of the most effective forms of self defense known to the modern world. In Korea, the largest school within Tang Soo Do is the Moo Duk Kwan, "The Institute of Martial Virtue." Founded by Mr. Kee Hwang on November 3, 1945, in Seoul, Korea. Moo Duk Kwan has grown and expanded until now it has a membership of over 100,000, with 8,000 of them Dan (Blue belt) holders. Sgt. Martin's group is affiliated with the Moo Duk Kwan.

The art of Tang Soo Do is taught in Korean high schools and universities. In the Korean military academies it is a compulsory course, and it is also taught in the basic training of the military forces. Throughout Korea, Tan Soo Do students have been accorded high regard by the people because of the humility and modesty associated with them.
Sgt. Finis Martin, instructor and founder of Ft. Hood Tang Soo Do began his study of this art three years ago while he was stationed in Korea. In one year's time he earned the 1st degree blue belt. Under the belting system of Tang Soo Do, no black belts are awarded since such an award would represent a perfection believed to be nearly unattainable. On his return to the United States in 1963, Sgt. Martin began looking for a teacher to help him continue his studies. Unfortunately, he found no one, but a friend of his was anxious to begin lessons, and together they began practicing.

     Married and the father of five children, one boy and four girls, Sgt. Martin's club activities have been given overwhelming approval by his family. He is teaching Tang Soo Do to the children, and Finis, his son, is very enthusiastic. His wife and daughters are more reserved. The prospect of swinging at father, who is over six feet tall, frightens them. They normally confine their activities to applause for Sgt. Martin and the other club members.
      Mr. Hwang, president of Moo Duk Kwan and chairman of the board of trustees of the Korean Amateur Soo Bak Do Association, has set forth principles for the members of Moo Duk Kwan to follow to retain the regard and prestige earned by their predecessors.
     This makes it easy to recommend Tang Soo Do. Sgt. Martin has very little reservation about a novice's character. As one member explained, 'You begin to feel a pride in the knowledge you have, and you are really going to hesitate before you break any rules. It's an art, you know, not just a sport. We really believe in it."

Tang Soo Doo Flies High at March Air Force Base

The spark of interest in Karate on March Air Force Base has been enthusiastic. The team now has approximately 40 students ranging from White to Green Belts.
Lieutenant General Archie J. Old, Jr., Commander of Fifteenth Air Force and a member of the Karate team, was presented with an honorary First Degree (Shodan) by the President of the Moo Duk Kwan, an extremely rare award, for his outstanding personal support and participation in physical fitness programs. The honorary award came as a most pleasant and welcome surprise to General Old, who said, "Since physical fitness is stressed in my command, I have great respect for Karate and those devoted to it."
Airman Norris has developed an amazing professional polish in the March AFB team in the short time since its organization. During exhibitions the team performs every movement with split-second accuracy.

Over 75 law enforcement officers form the Riverside City police, sherriff's department, and California Highway Patrol got a close look at Karateists in action recently when the March AFB team presented a demonstration for the group.
The officers, including Sheriff Joe Rice, watched the Tang Soo Do members perform everything from Kicho Il Bu (motion one) through the complicated Ba-sy ( motion nine). Almost unbelievingly they followed every action unfolding before them as team members demonstrated Karate methods of taking clubs, guns, blades and bottles from a would-be aggressor. Boards and tiles were split asunder with hand and foot with effortless ease.
When the event came to a close team members were enthusiastically singled out by the officers to answer questions by the score on the application of Karate techniques.

Sheriff Rice was impressed with the performance and stated that Karate seemed to have a great potential in police force use. He asked that a study be started to determine the merit of phasing Karate instruction in with the regular training at the Sherriff's Training Center in Riverside, California.
Airman Norris stressed the major benefits of this ancient art of self-defense. They include confidence of ability, speed and alertness and coordination of mind and body.
The ultimate aim of the Karate art, according to the American Tang Soo Do, lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of character of the participants.

Tang Soo Do: Child's Play

I became acquainted with the Moo Duk Kwan association about three years ago when I studied with a Korean officer, Choii, Sung Hak, at Lowrey Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. After he left, I met Robert Thompson and Fran Heitmann, both 2nd-Dans, who had trained at Ocan Air Force Base in Korea. By studying with these fine teachers for two years, I made Sho-Dan. Then I opened my own club, the Denver Tang Soo Do Academy.
After a short time, the idea of a children's class frequently passed my mind, but I wasn't sure if Tang Soo Do would be able to hold their interest. I decided to experiment with my oldest son, Scott, eight years old. One of my students, Fred Criswell, also had a son who was the same age. So with these two, we began.

It was slow going at first and took a great deal of patience. But gradually the boys became interested and took the training seriously. Coordination and balance began to improve through repeated basic blocks and strikes. Soon they were advancing to the many kicking techniques that Tang Soo Do is famous for.
When Scott started training, his report card in physical education at school read, "Needs improvement in coordination and competitive play." Six weeks later, his report card read, "Outstanding in physical education, coordination, and self-confidence."

This convinced me the training had done wonders for my boy and encouraged me to develop the children's class. Slowly we began to fill the class. Another of my students, Ralph Krause, with great patience and care, became the boys' instructor. He taught awkward, self-conscious boys to become graceful and self-confident. They were also taught the value of self-restraint and the high honor code of the Hwa Rang Dan warriors.

Advanced Rapidly Scott and Fred Jr. advanced rapidly and were soon doing formal exercises or Hyungs. Next they began mastering flying kicks and semi-free fighting. The boys took part in many demonstrations and were always received well by the audience. Doing Hyungs in front of as many as 200 persons really built their self-confidence. Then in November came a very proud day for me; I presented Scott and Fred Jr. with their green belts.

Hapkido

The young man in the black oriental pants and white jacket carefully studied the three men slowly advancing toward him. Suddenly he leaped into the air and kicked two of them in the face simultaneously. As he fell to the ground he spun under the knife with which the third man had lunged at him, grabbed the attacker's wrist, and threw him to the ground.
After the demonstration Sea Oh Choi, America s leading proponent of the Korean fighting system of hapkido, explained the history of this relatively unknown art.
In Japan during the early nineteen hundreds, says Sea Oh Choi, Tatujutu Yoshida (in Korean, Choi Yong Sool) studied yawara fighting from the system's inheritor, Sokaku Takeda, master of Daito-Ryu ju-jitsu. (Yawara is a modern development of this system ) . After years of diligent study Mr. Yoshida moved to Seoul, Korea, in 1954 and started teaching DaitoRyu yawara using an old garage as his gym. His best students were Ji Han Chei, an instructor of Korean martial arts, and Sea Oh Choi, who, being a Black Belt expert in Korean Tang Soo Do karate, had challenged Yoshida and lost.

Mr. Choi explains that the three of them decided to make the art more complete. They added specialized Korean kicking and offensive techniques to the basically defensive forms of Daito-Ryu yawara. In addition they developed what Choi calls "fine motion," a style of body movement similar to that of aikido. They named their new art "hapkido" (the Korean characters used are the same as the Japanese characters for aikido).

The beginning student of hapkido first learns the breaking of wrist holds and other hand techniques. Then he systematically works up the arm and down the back and finally practices counters for knives and other weapons.
At the same time the student learns the very diversified methods of Korean kicking. Hapkido makes use of over fifty types of kicks utilizing almost every part of the foot. For example, the front kick may be done with either the instep, ball, knife-edge or heel, or it may be applied as a slash with the Achille's heel portion of the foot as it swings past the opponent's face. Kicks are executed from every conceivable position, including five or six feet in the air.

Besides the combination throwing-and-striking techniques, club tactics both offensive and defensive are learned.
Contrary to most karate systems, the blows and kicks in hapkido are never "snapped"—they are done with a continuous motion, mind and body crashing through the point of impact and far beyond to develop as much power as possible.
To develop power and accuracy hapkido men use pieces of corrugated cardboard as targets. These can be held by a partner at any conceivable angle and height and don't interfere with the continuous motion of the technique. And while they do not develop their hands and feet on makiwara punching boards, the power they develop in their punches and kicks is about the same as that developed by most karatemen.

    Hapkido is taught in an unusual way. During the hour before class starts, the higher ranking students teach the novices how to fall. Class time is considered too valuable to use for this purpose. After the traditional bow the instructor leads all the students in what look like isometric exercises "to practice breathing and develop the ki ('Life Energy' flowing through the body)."
    Following the exercises, class is held with all ranks participating. Instead of having separate classes, the students pair off and practice according to rank while the instructor supervises each one according to his needs. While separate classes for various ranks might be an improvement, there is at least in the system a direct and personal contact with the instructor.
    Examinations are held periodically and students advance in rank from the White belt to the Blue, the Red, and, finally, the Black Belt of the expert.
    According to Choi a person can earn a Black Belt with 18 to 24 months of diligent practice. By the time the student attains Blue Belt rank, he says, he should be able to defend himself against attack from a single assailant without any trouble. From that point he concerns himself with learning how to defend against attacks from multiple assailants. After the serious student reaches Black Belt level he goes into the stick and club techniques and is taught the techniques of attacking vital nerve and pressure points.

Sea Oh Choi, while a student of architecture at Han Yang University in Korea instructed at the main gymnasium in Seoul, and at the Korean Military Academy (equivalent of our West Point). He also taught hapkido to the U.S. Army's 7th Division in Korea, and also gave demonstrations on Korean television. Early in 1964 he was given the opportunity to come to the United States and study interior design.
Immediately after enrolling at Woodbury College in Los Angeles Choi went to the Downtown YMCA where he persuaded the director to let him put on a hapkido demonstration. He gathered followers immediately and soon his class grew so large that he opened his own school where he and his students practice six nights a week.

This is the only hapkido school in the United States that Choi knows of. There are four gyms in Korea and one in Germany. One reason for hapkido's slow progress is probably the fact that it appears to be a mixture of many arts and does not have any dis- tinguishing characteristics. BLACK BELT Magazine feels that while hapkido may be only a combination of other martial arts, it is never- theless an extremely effective method of self-defense which can hold its own under all forms of attack.

A two-time Hall of Fame honoree already (1968 as the first karate fighter so honored and again in 1975 as Instructor of the Year) Chuck Norris is on the list again for 1979 as FIGHTING STAR's Editor's Award winner. Norris has been selected by BLACK BELT readers and editors for his contributions to the martial arts through his filmic endeavors.
    At 39 years of age, Norris has devoted his life to the martial arts. After having served a hitch in the Army, which took him to Korea where he earned a black belt in tang soo do, Norris reentered civilian life as an instructor, teaching at first in the backyard of his parents' home. That was in 1962. In succeeding years, the affable and engaging young instructor also entered competition. After a couple of tournament losses, Norris put it together and began bringing in notices. Finally, he took a first place at the 1966 Internationals in Long Beach and a grand championship at the 1967 Long Beach meet.
    But having gained fame in tournament karateat a time when tournament karate was in its youthful heydayit was almost pre-ordained that one day the handsome young karate fighter and instructor would make an impression in martial arts films as well. Norris first appeared on film in the 1968 production, The Wrecking Crew. Next came lead roles in a film called Yellow Faced Tiger and the Bruce Lee film Return of the Dragon. It was this latter film that brought Norris fame in the martial arts community and gave him a platform from which to launch his own film career on a sound basis.
    But though it was a Bruce Lee film that gave Norris material arts movie stardom, the blond-haired karate champion never intended to follow the Lee film tradition or even attempt to emulate the late martial arts superstar. And with the passing of Lee from center stage, the martial arts film genre soon faded as a marketable entity.
    Norris says his goal is to create a kind of martial arts movie (read it "action-adventure") that actually imparts to the audience what to him are the truly impressive aspects of the art. In so doing, Norris has starred in two recent filmsGood Guys Wear Black, and A Force of Onein which the martial arts do not provide the motivating force for the film but provide instead a backdrop to an action-paced storyline. And although the intention of such films is entertainment, Norris says he hopes to impart on screen some of the philosophy of the martial arts as a vehicle for improving life. Noble aims indeed, and if the box office grosses are any indication, Norris' entertainment cum educational slant is in fact giving the martial arts a new lease in movie houses across the United States.

Tradition is the natural way to achieve harmony with nature."
    This statement neatly summarizes the philosophy of tang soo do and reflects the personal outlook of its founder and current head, the venerable master Hwang Keel At age 77, Hwang has literally devoted a lifetime to the development and perfection of his art.
    He started his martial arts by training from books, in the mountains around Jangdan, Korea, and by age 21 had already gained a reputation for expertise in the Korean arts of soo bahk do and tee kyun. When these arts were forbidden in Korea during the Japanese occupation, Hwang left for Manchuria to study Chinese martial arts, which heavily influenced him.
    Returning to Korea in 1945, Hwang began to teach a combination of tang (Chinese) arts and soo bahk do, which he eventually named tang soo do (way of the Chinese hand). There is more emphasis on hand techniques than in tee kwon do, and the art incorporates thrusting motions, sweeps, and pressure-point techniques.
    However, Hwang never lost sight of the ultimate purpose of training: to enhance oneself spiritually, mentally, and physically. He therefore presented tang soo do as a discipline rather than as a fighting system, teaching that it was wrong to use it in streetfighting, and forbidding his students from testing their techniques by seeking out real fights, believing that it is in consistent practice, training in spite of heat, cold, and pain, that one actually shows courage.
    Although there are tang soo do tournaments and competitions, Hwang doubts that tang soo do can be made into a sport like judo. He believes that tang soo do would thereby lose its capacity for creating personal happiness and helping the development of society. Games and sports stress winning and being first, and the first to lose is tradition.
    Tradition. Hwang is so firmly committed to tradition that when the Korean military tried to unite and regulate all martial arts under a single tae kwon do umbrella, Hwang fought in the Korean court system to remain independent, and won his case in spite of continuous harassment and intimidation by the military.
    But Hwang, who now lives in Springfield, New Jersey, does not preach a blind adherence to tradition. He changed the color of the traditional black belt in his organization; his "black belts" wear belts of midnight blue. And his rationale is again indicative of the man's outlook: "The black belt (is taken to mean that) you are the ultimate and you've reached the highest level of the art. Therefore, you can't go any higher. You can still learn and grow when you are a blue belt."
    Yet even in this bedrock of tradition there is an open acceptance of individual differences and personal creativity within tang soo do. In his book Tang Soo Do, Hwang writes: "It is reasonable to discover and develop special techniques according to your physical condition and personal hobbies while you practice. However, this is not for the beginner. This should develop after you have reached a certain level."
    Today, tang soo do has a huge organization with practitioners on several continents, standardized forms, specialized training techniques, ranking systems, and a reasonably consistent level of instruction. There are more than 20,000 certified blue belts actively embodying the tang soo do philosophy. And it all started years ago with one man, Hwang Kee, the Black Belt Hall of Fames 1989 Man of the Year.

If you don't believe Pat Johnson deserves to be Black Belt magazine's 1995 Instructor of the Year, you try teaching turtles how to fight.
    Among Johnson's mountain of accomplishments is, of course, his work with the stuntmen who doubled for the famous fighting amphibians known as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the film trilogy of the same name. But that is no more than the tip of the proverbial iceberg as far as Johnson's martial arts resume goes. This is a man who has seen and done just about everything there is to do in the martial arts industry. Let's roll some of his credits.
    Johnson began training in tang soo do in 1963 in South Korea during a stint in the military. From 1968 to 1973, after returning home, Johnson served as the captain of Chuck Norris' undefeated black belt competition team, which won its division at 33 consecutive tournaments. During that span, Johnson fought nearly 200 matches, losing just once.
    In 1968. Johnson formulated penalty-point rules to discourage excessive contact in tournament sparring matches a system still in use today. And in 1975, and again in '76, he won the Golden Fist award, recognizing him for his outstanding work as a sparring referee.
    Johnson ruled with not a golden, but an iron fist when, in 1968, he became the chief instructor at Norris' Sherman Oaks, California, school.
    "I believe in firm, hard-nosed karate," says Johnson, who quickly established a set of rules students at the school had to follow. "If you wanted to speak during class, you raised your hand. All instructors were referred to as 'Mr.' And if you had dirty fingernails or your uniform wasn't ironed, you did push-ups."
    If parents of the students disrupted class by talking while they watched the training, Johnson would order them to leave. Despite the disciplined atmosphere, the school thrived under Johnson's direction. In six months, enrollment grew from less than 30 students to more than 350. "We were raking in a fortune," Johnson recalls.
    Success bred expansion, as Norris opened a chain of Southern California-based schools and founded the National Tang Soo Do Congress, naming Johnson the executive vice-president. The two eventually split up due to philosophical differences, and most of the organization's students followed Norris to his new United Fighting Arts Federation. A small number of students remained with Johnson and the National Tang Soo Do Congress, which today numbers 160 black belts and 11 schools over five states.
    "My organization is small, but it is close-knit and there is a lot of loyalty, which is everything to me," Johnson says. "I can forgive a lot of shortcomings if someone has loyalty. When the organization fell apart, a lot of people went with Chuck. Since that time, a lot of them have called and said they wanted to join my organization. But I say 'Sorry.' I want people around me who are loyal and who I can rely on. And I will be there for them when the bell sounds, by their side all the way."
    Today, Johnson spends most of his time working as a fight and stunt coordinator. In addition to his work on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films, he served as the fight choreographer for all four Karate Kid pictures, and he is currently working in that capacity on Batman and Robin, the much-anticipated fourth Batman blockbuster due out in 1997. Johnson, who has also appeared as an actor in nine movies, has been the personal martial arts instructor of celebrities such as Steve McQueen, Priscilla Presley, Bob Barker, Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi) and Ralph Macchio (the Karate Kid)
    Johnson's biggest thrill from teaching is watching students improve. "That might mean the student comes home with a grand championship trophy or, in other cases, it may mean the student got all the way through a form," he says. Seeing someone reach his full potential is a great feeling."
    Nearly 30 years have passed since Johnson started teaching tang soo do, but he has changed little, if at all.
    "I'm still a rule-following, strict son of a gun when I teach," Johnson admits. "It's the only way I know."

When Chun Sik Kim was 8, his uncle decided he should study martial arts. His mother acknowledged that the lad needed some sort of exercise, but she was not convinced martial arts was the answer.
    Kim's uncle prevailed, however, and the boy began his practice. He trained two to three hours a day under grandmaster Song Ki Kim and earned his black belt at age 10. Kim did not pass his black belt test on the first try, but he trained hard and succeeded the second time.
    In 1963 Kim joined the Korean army and became head instructor at a base in Osan, Korea, where he taught tang soo do to Korean and U.S. Air Force personnel. His next assignment teaching troops of the Korean Tiger Divisionlasted for four years. He was then asked by the commander of the U.S. forces in Korea to resume teaching at Osan Air Force Base.
    In the years that followed, Kim's martial arts prowess continued to grow. In 1967 and 1968 he was the Korean army's tang soo do champion. In 1969 he led the Korean team at the Fifth Asian Karate Tournament in Malaysia. In 1970 he became the undefeated heavyweight champion at the First World Championship in Japan.
    In 1972 Kim's grandmaster sent him to the United States to spread tang soo do. Kim spent two years teaching in New Jersey, then moved to Pittsburgh in 1974.
    Once in the United States, Kim's already-impressive rise in the tang soo do world became meteoric. In 1975 he became a charter member of the U.S. Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation. In 1978 he was coach of the U.S. team at the First World Tang Soo Do Championships in London. In 1982 he was elected chairman of the U.S. Tang Soo Do Federation, and in 1983 he founded the International Tang Soo Do Federation. He has directed the All Martial Arts Championship, one of the United States' largest traditional tournaments, annually since 1974.
    Because of his vital role in preserving and spreading traditional tang soo do, Kim has appeared on the cover of many martial arts magazines, including Black Belt in March 1979, November 1987 and May 1995, Karate Illustrated in January 1980, and Karate/Kung Fu Illustrated in June 1996.
    Tradition and history play a big part in everything Kim does. "For thousands of years, tang soo do has been a tradition," he says. "Our techniques and training are the same as those of the ancientspart of the tradition we still follow today in the practice of our forms."
    Tang soo do originated some 2,000 years ago in Korea, Kim says, but it has been called by many names throughout the centuries. The art was popular because it helped develop strength and endurance, but when the Japanese occupied Korea, it was prohibited. Those who wanted to continue their training fled to other countries, including China, Kim says.
    "During the holidays in ancient days, everyone would get together to exchange ideas about tang soo do," Kim says. "Some of the older men put on demonstrations and exchanged techniques. They continued to practice tang soo do secretly, passing down their knowledge to the next generation."
    Kim is grateful his ancestors struggled to keep tang soo do alive, even through the darkest days of Korea's past. Maybe that's why he is so determined to keep the art the way it always has been practiced.
    "I'm very glad to have the opportunity to preserve original tang soo do in the United States," Kim says. "Changing the art is not good because tang soo do comes from the mind and body of Korean people thousands of years ago." Kim claims it's better to have one group controlling the art and making sure students practice it the same way. "Tang soo do should exist under one organization," he says. "It makes me sad [that it is not that way now]. Unfortunately, the art has spread in three or four directions.
    "My goal is to unite tang soo do," Kim continues. "International Tang Soo Do, U.S. Tang Soo Do and World Tang Soo Do should come together. I believe that if you knock on the door' the first time it may not happen, but if you try again and again, it is possible." The lessons about perseverance Kim learned when he first tested for black belt are as appropriate today as they were then.
    "Until there is one big union, l will work hard in the United States, Europe and Africa to continue teaching the original, traditional tang soo do," he says.
    If Kim gets his way, tang soo do students the world over will one day be practicing the exact same forms, learning the same strikes and blocks, and memorizing the same history and lineagejust the way tang soo do training took place when he was a boy. That, in his view, will be the best way to keep the art from changing even though the rest of society rushes headlong into the 21st century.

Side Stepping

The Secret to Success in Tang Soo Do Sparring

A young C.S. Kim (right) stands in front of the Quonset hut in which he taught dang soo do (an alternate spelling for tang soo do) to U.S. servicemen.

Whether it is spar with an opponent in the ring or fending off a thug on the street, practitioners of most martial arts tend to think of offense and defense in terms of a straight line: a quick shuffle forward to attack or a hasty hop backward to evade. That's fine if they're fighting on a balance beam in a gymnastics school, but in the real world such limited movement ignores the entire x-axis-that vast part of space that exists to the left and right of the line that connects the attacker and defender.
Tang soo do students prefer to utilize every bit of the two-dimensional surface upon which they live. In other words, whenever the opportunity presents itself they use lateral movement or sidestepping to avoid an attack and initiate a strategic counterattack.
"Punching and kicking forward is very natural, but learning to jump to the side for attacking and blocking takes patience and concentration," says C.S. Kim, president and founder of the Monroeville, Pennsylvania-based International Tang Soo Do Federation. "But it can make the difference between winning and losing a fight."

Logical Reasons

    Kim believes all martial artists can benefit from adding tang soo do's brand of sidestepping to their fighting repertoire for a number of reasons. "When somebody kicks at you, you can move aside, avoid the strike and not get hurt," he says. This simple fighting philosophy mirrors the old martial arts maxim: If your opponent can't hit you, it doesn't matter how much power he puts into his attack.
    Energy conservation on your part also plays an important role. When you sidestep an attack, you expend less energy than you would if you tried to block the kick, says Kim, who was selected as Black Belt's 1995 Man of the Year. That means you will be able to spar longer in the ring or fight longer on the street without experiencing the fatigue that comes from over-exerting your muscles or from having them walloped by your opponent's hands and feet.
    Self-preservation during defense is not the only area to benefit from the sidestepping tactic, Kim insists. When you're on the offensive, a basic technique such as the reverse punch can be made more effective by leaping to the side just before or during its execution, he says. Then you can blast away with your punch without worrying about his arms, which for a moment will still be pointing toward the place you used to be standing.
    "An attacker cannot come in the way he [had planned] if his target has moved to the side," Kim says. "He is forced to rethink his assault plan, [and that gives you] an opportunity to strike or retreat."

Practice Required

    During free-sparring, martial artists tend to use the offensive and defensive techniques that come most naturally to them. That's because for most people, sidestepping is not an instinctive way of moving. "We don't walk sideways," Kim says. "Moving to the side is not natural."
    Consequently, learning how to apply lateral movement in the heat of battle takes a good deal of effort. "To make it natural, you have to practice with discipline and patience," Kim says. Only then will you be able to effortlessly incorporate it into your game plan, he says.
    For a realistic introduction to sidestepping, Kim suggests using one-step sparring techniques (il su sik dae ryeon in Korean) such as those taught in tang soo do. In those drills, two students face each other. One takes on the role of the attacker and punches at the head of the other. The defender uses a predetermined sequence of techniques to ward off the incoming blow and deliver a basic counterattack-often moving off the centerline at a 45 degree angle while doing so.
    The first one-step sparring hand technique taught to tang soo do white belts demonstrates the effectiveness of sidestepping. As the attacker throws a right-hand punch to the defender's head, the defender abandons his relaxed ready stance and moves to the right and slightly forward into a horse stance oriented at a 45 degree angle. That movement allows him to evade the punch, but for safety's sake he also deflects it with a left knife-hand middle block. At the same time, he punches the attacker's temple with his right hand.

Natural Transition

In addition to teaching aim, focus, distance, stance and concentration, one-step sparring helps students progress from controlled attack-response sequences to free-sparring and finally to self-defense, Kim says. It adds to beginners' experience in realistic confrontations, and that can be especially valuable for white belts who are ready to engage in free sparring for the first time, he says.

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C.S. Kim (right) squares off with his opponent (1). As the other man chambers his leg for a front kick, Kim darts to the side (2). Because the opponent is committed to the kick, Kim can easily deflect the leg with his left hand (3). He is then free to punch the opponent's chin (4).

    "When standing [in front of] a person face-to-face, many people are nervous," Kim says. They know their basic blocks, attacks and lateral movements, but 'they have never had to use them on an opponent in an unrehearsed exchange. Onestep sparring allows them to build their experience in and knowledge of sparring. They can safely practice moving to the right and left during every class, he says.
    In one-step sparring, students learn to anticipate their opponent's actions by recognizing the facial expressions and body movements that signal an impending attack, Kim said. That gives them a perfect opportunity to employ a lateralmovement defense.
    Eventually, Kim says, one-step sparring becomes freesparring, and for tang soo do students sidestepping in mock combat becomes second-nature.

Real World

    Kim admits that when he began training in Song Tan, South Korea some 47 years ago, he never paid much attention when his instructor, Song Ki Kim, told him to practice onestep sparring exercises every day. But after attending numerous tournaments and analyzing the actions of winning fighters, Kim discovered that attacks and blocks delivered from the opponent's side were often crucial to victory.
    Unfortunately, many present-day students fail to practiceor even try to understand the purpose of-one-step sparring, Kim says. "They just think it's exercise, but this is really basic sparring."
    Kim insists that one-step sparring exercises are the key to successfully learning how to move to the side. "Many karate schools do not teach the [exercises], but I think instructors have a responsibility to demonstrate what we learned when we were beginners," he says. Otherwise the traditions and history of the martial art could be lost as time goes by, he adds.
    Although practitioners of many arts fail to associate onestep sparring techniques with the spontaneity of free sparring, tang soo do students learn that every part of their art-forms, self-defense, one-step sparring and free-sparring is interrelated, Kim says. "Every basic move relates to another."
    For example, tang soo do's forms teach the balance and relaxation needed for efficient self-defense and sparring, and one-step sparring teaches sidestepping and evasion and attack techniques that function well in free-sparring.
    When practicing one-step sparring or free-sparring, martial artists occasionally get injured. Most of those injuries occur when one student strikes the back of the opponent's head or below the belt, Kim says. That's why students must strive to develop control-even if their instructor does not emphasize it in class. Control will allow them to avoid most instances of accidental contact.
    Another boost to safety comes whenever a student uses lateral movement in free-sparring because a blow to the groin is less likely to be delivered when the striker is standing at a 45 degree angle to his opponent's centerline.
    Obviously, sidestepping is an essential skill for any martial artist who trains to compete in tournaments or defend himself on the street. It is also a practical and tangible link between the present and the past.
    What more could any practitioner ask?

About the author Roberta Burkhart is a free-lance writer based in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. To contact C.S. Kim, write to International Tang Soo Do Federation, 3955 Monroeville Boulevard, Monroeville, Pennsylvania 15146. Or call (412) 373-8666.

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C.S. Kim (left) faces his opponent (1). As the opponent punches high, Kim prepares to sidestep and block the strike(2). As Kim lands, he delivers a knife-hand strike to the opponent's temple (3), grabs his shoulder (4) and pulls him into a knee thrust

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To illustrate the usefulness of lateral movement for self defense, C.S. Kim (right) starts in a ready position (1). As the opponent steps forward and punches high, Kim moves the target-the upper portion of his body-to his left and out of the fist's path (2). As the opponent's arm is about to reach full extension, Kim blocks it (3). He then grabs the arm and chambers his right leg (4), after which he delivers a kick to the head (5).

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As C.S. Kim (right) detects his opponent's roundhouse kick, he quickly steps to his left to avoid the force of the attack (1-2). For added safety, Kim blocks the kicking leg with his right arm (3). He is then in a perfect position to throw a left punch to the opponent's face (4).

Transplanting Tang Soo Do From Korea to Pennsylvania

by Robert W. Young

Chun Sik Kim heads the International Tang Soo Do Federation, one of the largest traditional martial arts organizations in the world. In addition to 14 dojang (studios) in the Pittsburgh area, he oversees more than 100 schools in the United Kingdom, Korea, Canada, Greece, Panama and other parts of the United States. But no matter where this brand of tang soo do is taught - Asia, North America or Europe - the stances, techniques and forms are exactly the same. That's because Kim believes that, when it comes to martial arts, traditional is definitely terrific. Here's the short version of his life story.
    Chun Sik Kim wasn't a particularly tough kid. Like millions of other children around the world and plenty in his hometown of Songtan, Korea, he had problems with things like self-esteem and coordination. And as the only son in a single-parent family, he worried about being able to defend himself and his mother should the need ever arise.
    What made Kim different from his peers is that very early in life, he found a simple solution to all his problems: the martial arts. He started when he was 10. "At that time, I did weight lifting, judo and boxing," he says.
    Then Kim happened to visit a tang soo do school run by a master named Song Ki Kim. He watched as hordes of children kicked and punched like nobody's business. The next day, he joined. "I loved it," he says. "We trained about two or three hours a day for five days a week. Sometimes I would come home late, but my mother knew where I was and the tang soo do school was close to my home, so it was OK."
    The master-to-be didn't have as many styles to choose from as modern-day students have. "There was moo duk kwan, ji do kwan, chung do kwan and others, but they were all tang soo do," he says. "I liked moo duk kwan because it looked more traditional, more strict and more focused. I thought the students worked harder."
    Months later when Kim received his moo duk kwan green belt, he thought he knew everything there was to know about tang soo do. His head grew two sizes too big, and he stopped attending class.
    "But I came back three months later because I missed it," Kim says. "When I started, my mother didn't want me to go because she was afraid I might get hurt, but I went anyhow. This time, my mother made me go. And I wanted to go back."
    Kim was concerned that his master would be angry about his three-month vacation, but he wasn't. In fact, the master welcomed the lost sheep back into the fold. "But I still feel very bad because I had 'betrayed' trim for three months," Kim admits. "I never quit again."
    For any Korean boy obsessed with the martial arts, times were tough. "Before my master got a school, we practiced outside in the dirt," says Kim, who earned his black belt when he was 12. "If it rained, we couldn't practice. In the summertime, we would go to the mountains to train. We didn't have any equipment, but sometimes we used a rice bag filled with sand as a punching bag."
    Back then, the dobok (uniform) was a bit different from the way it is now, Kim says. "The sleeves were shorter; they came to just around the elbow. And the pants came down to just below the knee. I'm not sure why - maybe it was because we were poor and didn't have enough material to make the uniform longer. Anyway, it was cooler in the summer because the wind blew through, and it didn't stick to your skin."
    Kim and his young classmates spent most of their time drilling in the basics: kicks, punches, forms, one-step sparring and free sparring. Especially free sparring. My master would have 20 people stand up, and each student would spar 20 times for five minutes with each person," Kim says. When you add in short rest periods between rounds, that comes to about two hours of bone-smashing, flesh-pounding torture.
    There weren't a lot of tournaments where students could test their techniques against others, Kim says. "About once a year, martial artists from across the country would come together for one, or there would be a big Asian tournament." These were full-contact events in which competitors wore only basic chest and head protection.
    The skills Kim worked so hard to perfect then are identical to the ones he and his federation's instructors teach now. "Our ha dan mahk kee (also spelled hadan makgi, meaning low block) was the same as what we teach now," he says. "I don't believe in changing techniques. I tell people I can teach only what I learned. Modern instructors may create new styles, but what's going to be around in the future? The traditional martial arts.
    "The world changes every day, but anything traditional should not," Kim continues. "People need some stability in life, and traditional martial arts can provide that." One of the most important things the traditional arts teach is respect, and that should never change, Kim insists.
    To help promote traditional tang soo do to a wider audience, Kim packed his bags and moved to the United States in 1972. In 1973 he appeared on his first magazine cover-Official Karate. In 1974 he organized his first tournament, which attracted about 700 people. After that, he made the cover of Black Belt, Karate Illustrated and Karate/Kung Fu Illustrated.
    The master, who is now based in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, admits that the teaching methods he and his instructors currently use have been modified a little to better deal with students' busy schedules. Because of school activities and sports, children just can't invest as much time in their training, he says. "But parents need to remember that martial arts can help academic studies," Kim says. "I tell students what my master told me: 'On one side you have education, and on the other side you have martial arts.' " It's the perfect balance, he claims.