Tang Soo Do 2000 is located in downtown Klamath Falls, Oregon. We teach a Korean-originated Tang Soo Do system which emphasizes self-defense in our school. As a result of our focus on self-defense, we incorporate several other martial arts in order to provide our students with a broader background of tools. We accept all concepts and ideas of other styles which allows us to evolve our system into one that can serve each individual's uniqueness.
Tang Soo Do 2000 is a member of AIKIA, American Independent Karate Instructors Association. AIKIA WEBSITE
SPARRING STYLE
Tang Soo Do 2000 is neither a point-based nor a full-contact based sparring system. Mr. Finnianous believes that while some basic rules are essential for safety, the "point" aspect and emphasis on tournament winning does not always serve the student best in self-defense, although we do participate in about 5 tournaments a year. Our emphasis in tournaments is not on the winning, but what did the student learn from having the opportunity to spar other systems. In sparring, we focus on self-defense oriented fighting, therefore we blend techniques and principles from several different systems such as Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Ju-jitsu, Kenpo, Aikido and some Judo. This approach allows our students more diversity to implement techniques which suit them best based on their personal strengths/weaknesses such as various body and skill abilities, being short & stout, tall & athletic, overweight, small boned, child or adult, male or female. We also believe it is imperative that our students learn to defend themselves from both standing positions and on the ground, as self-defense situations can end up on the ground. Our school is open to learning new ideas and tries to attend as many seminars of other styles as we can.
The martial art of Tang Soo Do is relatively modern. its basis is the Korean art of Soo Bahk Do, which dates back many centuries. The Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do style originated as a combination of three major styles: Yang Tai Chi Chuan, Northern and Southern Chinese styles of Kung Fu, combined with the Okinawan/Japanese discipline of Karate, with modified forms by former Grandmaster Hwang Kee.
Literally translated, the word “Tang”
means the Tang Dynasty of China, which reflects the shared cultural background
between China and Korea. “Soo” means hand, but it implies fist, punch, strike,
or defense. “Do” means the way of life or art. Thus “Tang Soo Do” means “Way of
the open China Hand”.
The first recorded usage of the term “Tang Soo Do” in contemporary history was by Chung Do Kwan founder, Won Kuk Lee. Prior to the unification of the “Kwans” under the Korea Taekwondo Association (please see modern history), most of the major Kwans called their style Tang Soo Do. Most practitioners ceased using the name Tang Soo Do when they unified under the name of Taekwondo to provide an Olympic sport, while the Moo Duk Kwan, loyal to Hwang Kee, pulled out of the Kwan unification and remained independent, continuing to practice their original style.
The history of Soo Bahk Do can be traced back to the period when Korea was divided into three kingdoms, Goguryeo in the north, the Silla Dynasty in the southeast peninsula, and Paekche. All three kingdoms were united by the Silla Dynasty in 668 AD. During this period, the martial arts were very popular as a method of self-defense in warfare. A group of young aristocrats who were called “Hwa Rang Dan” were most influential, and played a large part of the Silla Dynasty uniting the three kingdoms. Most Korean martial arts can be traced to this group; in fact some continue to use the names Hwa Rang Do and Hwa Soo Do to reflect this origination.
Wang Kun overthrew the united Silla Kingdom in 918 AD. Wang Kun’s kingdom Koryo lasted until 1392, when it was succeeded by the Yi dynasty, which remained intact for 500 years. During the Koryo Kingdom and Yi Dynasty, what is now known as Tang Soo Do became increasingly popular with the military and the general public.
Modern Changes
During the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945), many Koreans were exposed to Japanese karate. As the Japanese moved deeper into the continent, karate was adopted and mixed with more traditional Korean martial arts such as Tae Kyon, as well as traditional Chinese martial arts studied by Koreans in Manchuria and China.
Around the liberation of Korea in 1945, men who were trained in Japanese Karate formed five martial arts schools called Kwans. Around 1953, shortly after the Korean War, four more additional Kwan schools were formed. In 1955, all martial arts schools were ordered to unify by South Korea’s President Syngman Rhee. A governmental body selected a naming committee’s submission of “Taekwondo” as the name.
In 1959, the Korean Taekwondo Association was formed in an attempt to unify the dozens of Kwans as one standardized system of Taekwondo. Despite this unification effort, the Kwans continued to teach their individual styles. The Korean government ordered a single organization be created, and on September 16, 1961, the Kwans agreed to unify under the name Korea Tang Soo Do Association (which changed back to the Korean Taekwondo Association in 1965).
Taekwondo became very popular and was soon adopted by the Korean Government as it’s national sport, and is now an officially recognized as an Olympic sport. Many Korean traditionalists wanted to preserve the original self-defense and self development aspects of the martial art with out any sport influence, and decided to continue to teach under the name of Tang Soo Do.
Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan means “ a brotherhood and school of stopping inner and outer conflict and developing virtue according the way of the worthy hand.” Some have shortened the definition to “Art of the knife hand”. Here is what Grandmaster Hwang Kee said about his art: “It is not a sport. Though it is not essentially competitive, it has great combat applications. It is a classical martial art, and its purpose is to develop every aspect of the self, in order to create a mature personality who totally integrates his intellect, body, emotions, and spirit. This total integration helps to create a person who is free from inner conflict and who can deal with the outside world in a mature, intelligent, forthright, and virtuous manner.”
(References available upon request.)