ChungDoKwan and Kim's Academy History

In the 6th century A.D., the Silla Dynasty ruled the smallest of the three kingdoms of Korea and was under constant attack from its neighbors. During the reign of the twenty-fourth king of Silla, the young aristocrats and warriors formed an elite corps called the Hwa-Rang. To guide themselves and give a purpose to their knighthood, Hwa Rang Warriors adopted a five-point code of conduct set forth by their greatest monk and scholar, Won Kwang:

1. Loyalty to one’s country
2. loyalty to one’s parents
3. Trust and brotherhood among friends
4. Courage never to retreat in the face of the enemy
5. Justice never to take a life without cause

These students were also required to learn and live by the following Hwa Rang Nine Virtues:

• humanity
• courtesy
• trust and friendship
• goodness
• loyalty
• honor
• knowledge
• courage
• consciousness

The Hwa Rang warriors became known for their courage and skill in battle, gaining respect from even their bitterest foes. From their victories, the Korean Peninsula was united.

TaeKwonDo warriors were taught to keep their minds and bodies in balance. They were taught to read and write and studied literature, painting, sculpture, dance, and musical instruments. The moo kwa (national examination for military officials) consisted of an actual martial arts contest and tests covering theory and strategy. The moo kwa produced military officials with both fighting knowledge and a good classical education. In the past, TaeKwonDo artists were known to be the kingdom or community members with the greatest skill and knowledge. They were expected to dedicate themselves to continuous training of the mind, body, and spirit (ki).

During the Koguryo Dynasty, martial arts flourished. However, by the Yi Dynasty, an anti-military posture was taken, debasing anything martial. The final blow was delivered by the Japanese occupation of Korea (1909 – 1945) when it was forbidden to practice any form of martial arts. However, Taek Kyon was secretly practiced and passed on to a handful of students. With the liberation of Korea in 1945 came the freedom to again openly practice martial arts. All of the present day TaeKwonDo Instructors can trace their beginnings to one of five Kwans:

1. Chung Do Kwan - The first kwan
2. Song Moo Kwan
3. Ji Do Kwan
4. Moo Do Kwan
5. Chang Moo Kwan

The ACTA can trace its roots directly to Grandmaster Lee Won-kuk, who founded Chung Do Kwan and developed the largest civilian gym, the Gym of the Blue Wave. Grandmaster Lee Won-kuk is thus the first to organize and found modern Korean TaeKwonDo. (Grandmaster In Mook Kim received his 9th DAN from G.M. Lee Won-kuk.) As the new Republic of Korea (ROK) Armed Forces became organized, Choi Hong Hi, an officer in this army, began to teach martial arts to his soldiers. Chung Do Kwan’s was the largest and the only gym whose ranks were recognized by General Choi when civilians became soldiers. On 11 April 1955, a board of instructors from the different Kwans, historians, and other prominent persons selected Tae-Kwon-Do (foot – hand – art) as the new name of the national martial art of Korea.

Tae Kwon Do's combination of classical techniques and new modifications has resulted in a form of self-defense and mental conditioning unrivaled in the modern world. As General Choi Hong Hi said, “TaeKwonDo indicates the mental training and the techniques of unarmed combat for self defense as well as health, involving the skilled application of punches, kicks, blocks, and dodges with bare hands and feet…enabling the weak to possess a fine weapon together with the confidence to defend him or herself, and defeat the opponent.”

The ACTA continues to preserve the historic traditions of TaeKwonDo first conceived by G.M. Won Kuk Lee. The ACTA acknowledges Grandmaster Lee Won Kuk the founder of Chung Do Kwan as the beginning influence from which we came. Grandmaster Lee was the teacher of many students who eventually assumed major positions within the martial arts community. Grandmaster Lee said that students must never forget to appreciate their teacher. At the same time, students should always strive to have better techniques and a higher moral character than his teacher. Grandmaster Lee compares this idea to an old saying: “The color green comes from the color blue, but the green color is brighter than the blue. The ice comes from water, but ice is colder than water.” In other words, the student is always better than his teacher. He believes that the martial arts will have a bright future if students live by these ideas. When a student does become better than his teacher, he must always remain humble and never forget to appreciate the techniques and moral code that he learned from his teacher. Once a student becomes a master, he should not forget that his position was a joint effort of both his and his teacher’s sweat. Without the teacher, he could have never reached the level of master just like there could be no ice without water and no green without blue.

So where do you fit in the history of Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do? GM Won Kuk Lee was the founder of Chung Do Kwan which was the first kwan that eventually became Tae Kwon Do. GM Lee presented GM In Mook Kim his 9th Dan black belt. GM Kim is the founder and president of the ACTA. You as a student in an ACTA school receive your black belt from GM Kim so your Tae Kwon Do family tree as it were:

1. GM Won Kuk Lee
2. GM In Mook Kim
3. You

As you can see you, as an ACTA student, are not far removed from the very beginnings of Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do's very beginnings. So one must ask do you live by the Tenets (Courtesy, Integreity, Perserverance, Self Control and Indeomitable Spirit) of Tae Kwon Do and even the Virtues (humanity, courtesy, trust and friendship, goodness, loyalty, honor, knowledge, courage and consciousness) of the Hwa Rang from which Tae Kwon Do evolved?

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