Tang Soo Do
Funakoshi claimed Okinawan karate could "now be considered a Japanese martial art" and found the China reference "inappropriate" and "in a sense degrading".
Outside of the Far East, the term "Tang Soo Do" has primarily become synonymous with the Korean martial art promoted by grandmaster Hwang Kee.
Some of the older Chung Do Kwan schools practice the original Pyongahn forms which Lee Won-Kuk incorporated from Shotokan karate.
Schools tracing their lineage to Duk Sung Son when he founded the World Tae Kwon Do Association in the U.S. after leaving Korea also practice Kuk Mu forms.
Because of its political influence, the KTA, led by its second president, General Choi Hong-hi, tried to assimilate the Moo Duk Kwan.
This modified version of Tang Soo Do incorporates more fluid "soft" movements reminiscent of certain traditional Chinese martial arts.
These versions of Tang Soo Do are heavily influenced by Korean culture and also appear to be related to Okinawan Karate as initially taught in Japan by Gichin Funakoshi.
In 1979, Norris dissolved the NTC and formed his current organization the United Fighting Arts Federation (UFAF) and named Johnson as executive vice president.
Mi Guk Kwan ("American Brotherhood of the Empty Hand Defense") is an organization of 35 schools, founded by Grandmaster Charles J. Ferraro.
Moo Yea Tang Soo Do (MYTSD) is a national association of 35+ martial arts schools that aims to serve its members while helping each studio maintain its independent spirit.
They do not exist to govern the practices of individual schools, but rather provide a Tang Soo Do community that allows for continued learning, business success, and rank advancement.
Moo Yea was formed by grandmaster David Sgro to provide a national network to help Train, Test, and organize Tournaments.
Tang Soo Do uses the colored belt system that was instituted by Judo's founder Jigoro Kano and popularized in Karate-do by Gichin Funakoshi.
It was also a belief of the founder of Moo Duk Kwan, Hwang Kee, that black is a color to which nothing can be added, thus blue signifies that a dan holder is still learning.
In many organizations, the titles of kyosa (instructor 교사/敎師) and sa bom (master 사범/師範) are separately awarded after successfully demonstrating ability, knowledge, understanding and character for that level in a dan simsa (심사/審査), or test.
Tang Soo Do forms are a set of moves demonstrating a defensive or aggressive action for every movement taken mainly from Japanese shotokan karate kata.
Traditionally, nine forms are included in the curriculum of most Tang Soo Do schools, which are required study to earn the midnight blue belt.
The Pyung Ahn series was adopted from Okinawan and Japanese karate, where they are called Pinan/Heian and are the creation of Yasutsune Itosu, who also was one of Funakoshi's teachers.
[18] Chil Sung or "Seven Star" Forms developed in 1952 by Hwang Kee, add a soft/ hard combination to the style, also incorporating/practicing more functional techniques like elbows, knees, shin-blocks, and others.
Yuk Ro or "Six-Fold path" Are a collection of 6 forms that were created in 1947 by Hwang Kee and develop advanced techniques.
Most scholars agree that the primary text Hwang Kee relied upon was Gichin Funakoshi's Rentan Goshin Toudi-Jutsu published in Japan in 1925.
[19] One-step sparring (Il Su Sik Dae Ryun) techniques are best described as a choreographed pattern of defense moves against the single step of an attack.
Despite the name, some of these techniques are illegal in tournament sparring due to moves such as shoulder strikes or back fist that could inadvertently hurt the opponent.
In the World Tang Soo Do Association version of this, called Ho Sin Sul, there are 30 different grab defenses taught.
[18] Though variation is extensive, Tang Soo Do free-sparring is similar to competitive matches in other traditional Okinawan, Japanese and Korean striking systems and may include elements of American freestyle point karate.
However, in order to score, the final kick in the pump-kick combination should be delivered from a solid base (with erect posture) and with sufficient power, or the technique is not considered decisive.
Consequently, the pace of a Tang Soo Do match can be somewhat slower than would be seen at a typical NASKA-type tournament, but the techniques, theoretically, should be somewhat more recognizable as linear, powerful blows that are delivered from reliably stable stances and body positions.
Though often billed as "light" or "no-contact," the typical level of contact is moderate, being controlled to both the body and head (in dan divisions).
Most Tang Soo Do practitioners feel that contact in sparring is essential to understanding proper technique and necessary for developing mental preparedness and a level of relaxation critical to focused performance in stressful situations.
