Hwa Rang Do
Hwa Rang Do, also known as "The Way of the Flowering Knights", is a comprehensive Korean martial art that was developed in the 1960s by Joo Bang Lee and his brother Joo Sang Lee. It has multiple areas of focus, including stand-up fighting with open-hand striking, weapons, throws and takedowns; ground fighting; various types of meditative practices; intellectual and character development; and artistic and cultural pursuits.
History
Ancient Hwarang
The martial art of Hwa Rang Do was named after a buddhist elite youth order of the Silla kingdom during the Three-Kingdoms period in what is now South Korea. These young men known as Hwarang were cultivated from a young age to fill significant roles in politics, civil service, and military duties. These individuals were selected exclusively from the royal family and aristocracy and led members of the broader public who were described as Nangdo. This group through various names lasted through the Koryŏ dynasty until they were officially disbanded at the beginning of the Joseon dynasty.Founding of the modern art
The modern martial art of Hwa Rang Do was founded by two Korean brothers, Joo Bang Lee and Joo Sang Lee, who started their martial art training with their father who taught them Judo and Kumdo at a young age. In 1942, their father worked out a deal with a monk who was locally known as Suahm Dosa to educate his sons in traditional Korean cultural training. Suahm Dosa claimed to practice within a tradition that had its roots with the ancient Hwarang, which he called Um-Yang Kwon. Both Joo Bang Lee and his brother Joo Sang Lee trained with Suahm Dosa at the Sogwangsa Temple in the Kangwon Province, before the breakout of the Korean War and they had to flee south to avoid the communist military. The Lee family relocated to Seoul and Suahm Dosa, according to the Lee family, relocated to Odae Mountain.The Lee brothers continued their training with Suahm Dosa when they could until around 1950 when their family moved further south to Daegu. Being too far away to continue their training, they began to be involved with the local martial art communities in the area. There, they met a martial artist named Choi Yong-sool, a practitioner of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu and who is recognized as the father of modern Hapkido. They continued their training with Choi through the 1950s and became registered Hapkido instructors in Seoul in the early 1960s. It was also around 1960 when the Lee brothers became involved with Suh In-Hyuk, who is the founder of Kuk Sool Won. Their involvement with Suh In-Hyuk ended in the mid-'60s and the Lee brothers continued to work within the Hapkido community until 1968.
In 1968, Suahm Dosa died and left the title of "Do Ju" to Joo Bang Lee, as well as designating him as the 58th successive holder of this title. The two brothers then took all their martial arts knowledge and generated the Hwa Rang Do syllabus. They established the name "Hwa Rang Do" as its own entity separate from their involvement with the Hapkido community and they continued with their Hwarang teachings. In 1969, Joo Sang Lee moved to the United States to start a school and in 1972, Joo Bang Lee followed, taking the World Headquarters of Hwa Rang Do with him.
Early days in America
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Hwa Rang Do grew throughout California and the adjacent states as well as making its mark on the international martial art scene. Both Joo Bang Lee and Joo Sang Lee performed in expo style demonstrations in the south west United States, particularity in California and Arizona, as well as on TV shows including “That's Incredible!” and “Unknown Powers”. Notably, Hwa Rang Do students who trained under the Lee brothers like Vietnam veteran Michael Echanis, were fundamental with Hwa Rang Do's involvement with the US Army Rangers and Special Forces, thus bringing additional credibility to Hwa Rang Do's martial art training. In addition, because of what was being offered within Hwa Rang Do, many martial artists during this time became interested in what the art had to offer. Notable names included Graciela Casillas, who trained in Hwa Rang Do for a short while and who later through her involvement with Kempo-Karate, became the first female World Champion of professional full-contact Karate.In the 1980s into the early 1990s, Hwa Rang Do continued to grow in the United States as well as the South-East Pacific. Joo Bang Lee's sons, Henry Taejoon Lee and Eric Taehyun Lee moved into the spotlight by performing at martial art expos and demonstrations throughout the US and Europe. Henry Taejoon Lee was also involved with expanding Hwa Rang Do in college clubs throughout southern California by establishing the Intercollegiate Hwarang Society. This sub-group of the World Hwa Rang Do Association was in operation from the mid-1980s to the early to mid-1990s. Their main focus was to introduce college students to Hwa Rang Do and foster a sense of community and brotherhood within a college environment. Towards the early to mid 1990s, other universities in the US used the Intercollegiate Hwarang Society as a model to set up their own college clubs, especially where black sashes were either going to school or were employed as professors, with the same goals as the Intercollegiate Hwarang Society.
Time of change and development
As Hwa Rang Do moved into the 1990s and the new millennium, the younger generation began to make its mark on the art.In the 1990s, Hwa Rang Do schools, while continuing to grow in the United States and the South-East Pacific, began to expand throughout Europe. Because of the demonstrations presented by the Lee family in Europe through the 1980s as well as students who had been traveling to train with Joo Bang Lee, schools were opening up in countries like Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany. Because of the amount of travel, Henry Taejoon Lee was involved in much of these developments making trips to Europe to help with the growth and development there. Today, Italy is one of the largest centers of Hwa Rang Do in the world with over a dozen Academies and clubs.
It was also in 1990 that the World Hwa Rang Do Association introduced an introductory program to help new students learn and develop their skills in a more sport-like atmosphere. The program was named Tae Soo Do. Students who learn Tae Soo Do learn the basic fundamentals of kicking and punching. They are also introduced to beginner level sweeps, throws, and ground fighting. A black belt in Tae Soo Do has the same level of quality as a black belt in other martial arts including Tae Kwon Do and Karate. Once a student has a Black belt, they receive an honorary Yellow sash in the color ranks of Hwa Rang Do.
In 2005, Henry Taejoon Lee headed operations to expand and grow the application programs within Hwa Rang Do to keep their students competitive with the larger martial art community and to expand their understanding of the many aspects of the core material.
- Gotoogi: Solid Fighting Skill : Gotoogi is a grappling program that was introduced to teach students fundamentals of ground fighting, opponent control, throws and takedowns, and lockouts in a competitive setting.
- Gumtoogi: Blade Fighting Skill : Gumtoogi is a sword sparring program similar to Korean Kumdo, but with leg strikes and spin attacks. Students who participate in Gumtoogi use similar equipment that they use in Kumdo, but with additional armor added to protect the legs. Both long sword and twin swords are used within competition.
- Bongtoogi: Stick Fighting Skill : Bongtoogi is a stick sparring program that allows students to learn how to fight with both long staff and double mid-sticks within a competitive setting. Students who train in Bongtoogi use the same uniforms and armor as students who train in Gumtoogi.
2010 to present
Depending on the school, Hwa Rang Do academies and clubs will either stay truer to the traditional aspects of the art, focusing more on the core material and traditional self-defense or they will embrace the expanded application programs and work to grow their skills within a competitive sport environment. Many clubs and academies, however, look to find a balance between the two.WHRDA has continued its development of the sports applications by improving the quality of the Gotoogi, Gumtoogi, and Bongtoogi programs as well as introducing an advanced sparring program called Yongtoogi.
Yongtoogi was initially introduced in 2012 and has become the standard for all Hwa Rang Do color sash and black sash sparring. Yongtoogi consist of full round, semi-contact sparring, with kickboxing, throws, and ground submissions. Also in 2011, the World Hwa Rang Do Association applied for 501c3 not-for-profit tax status. “Our desire to expand our humanitarian work around the globe led to the change,” said Grandmaster Taejoon Lee, President of the World Hwa Rang Do Association. Many of the members of WHRDA participate in public self-defense clinics, humanitarian organizations like the Peace Corp, as well as other independent humanitarian missions both locally and internationally to help with this cause.
Philosophy
Hwa Rang Do Maeng Se
Hwa Rang Do, in addition to its martial training, teaches moral principles with the belief that those who receive martial arts training must also be taught to use their skills responsibly. The foundation of Hwa Rang Do's code of ethics is the Hwa Rang Do Maeng Se, composed of the O Gye, and the Gyo Hun. The Hwarang O Gye is rooted in the ancient warrior code originally developed by a Buddhist monk known as Won Gwang Beop Sa in the Three Kingdoms period. This code included loyalty to one's Lord, piety to your parents, trust among friends, courage in battle, and discrimination in killing. Because of the changes in political structures in both Korea and the Americas, Joo Bang Lee updated the English translation to reflect modern society. In addition to these five rules, he developed the Gyo Hun to support the O Gye.The five rules and nine philosophical principles of Hwa Rang Do.
| Numbers | Rules in Korean | Translation |
| Il | 사군이충: Sa Gun I Chung | Loyalty to one's country |
| I | 사친이효: Sa Chin I Hyo | Loyalty to one's parents and teachers |
| Sam | 교우이신: Gyo U I Sin | Trust and brotherhood among friends |
| Sa | 임전무퇴: Im Jeon Mu Toe | Courage never to retreat in the face of the enemy |
| O | 살생유택: Sal Saeng Yu Taek | Justice never to take a life without a cause |
| Korean | English |
| 인: In | Humanity |
| 의: Ui | Justice |
| 예: Ye | Courtesy |
| 지: Ji | Wisdom |
| 신: Sin | Trust |
| 선: Seon | Goodness |
| 덕: Deok | Virtue |
| 충: Chung | Loyalty |
| 용: Yong | Courage |