Won Kuk Lee

This is a Korean name; the family name is Lee.
Won Kuk Lee
Born 13 April 1907
Seoul, Korea
Died 2 February 2003 (aged 95)
Arlington, Virginia
Style Karate Shotokan, Tang Soo Do
Teacher(s) Gichin Funakoshi, Gigō Funakoshi
Rank 10th degree black Belt in tang soo do
3rd degree black belt in Shotokan
Notable students Duk Sung Son, Suh Chong Kang,Woon Kyu Uhm, Choi Hong Hi, Frank Massar

Won Kuk Lee (Hangul: 이원국, Hanja: 李元國) (April 13, 1907 – February 2, 2002) was a martial artist, black belt in Japanese karate and pupil of Gichin Funakoshi. He introduced karate in the Republic of Korea (1944), creating his own style of Karate known as Tang Soo Do Chung Do Kwan style, which became known as “Tae Kwon Do” as of 1955; instilling a profound influence in this martial art through teaching future masters and authoring the book “Tae Kwon Do handbook“ in 1968.[1][2][3][4][5]

History

Won Kuk Lee was born on April 13, 1907 in Seoul, actual capital of South Korea, which was occupied by Japan and whose regimen regulated all of the population’s activities in the peninsula. It prohibited the practice or teachings of any martial arts, so those interested, had to go outside of Korea (either China or Japan) to learn the arts. Won Kuk Lee was interested in the martial arts at a very early age, and he used to get together with the elders in his natal Seoul to listen to the old stories that narrated the practice of millennial Korean martial arts like the Taekyon, which was prohibited due to the Japanese regime over Korea.

It was a custom for very affluent Korean families to send their children to study in Japan, where they would learn the Japanese language and obtain the best education possible, and get to know the right contacts and improve their chances of success in a Japanese dominated society. In 1926 Won Kuk Lee travelled to Tokyo, where he attended high school and later attended the Central University of Tokyo (Chuo University) specializing in Law. During his school years, he started training in the martial arts currently known as Karate-Do Shotokan style, under the tutelage of Gichin Funakoshi and his son, Gigō Funakoshi, who was the instructor in charge of the karate club of the Central University of Tokyo. It was there that Won Kuk became one of the first students of karate in Japan, obtaining the highest rank for a person who was not a Japanese national. After his graduation in Chuo University, he travelled Japan, visiting Okinawa and many other cities in China, including centers where Chuan Fa (kung-fu) was taught.[5]

Return to Korea

Soon enough, Won Kuk understood the meaning of his karate teachings and saw how the history and legacy of the original Korean martial arts were been erased slowly from his own culture; so he decided to return to Korea wishing to teach Karate in his homeland. This return was easily done by using his connections with high ranking Japanese officials, who allowed him to gain employment at the ministry of transportation. In 1944, Won Kuk made an official request to the Japanese Governor in Korea and army general, Nobuyuki Abe, to teach karate classes to Japanese citizens residing in Korea and later on, to a select group of Korean citizens. The permit was denied two times and was finally given after a third petition. Won Kuk Lee started teaching Tang Soo Do (the Korean translation for Karate-Do, which literally means “road or way of the Chinese hand”) at the school gym Yung Shin, located in Sa De Mun Ok Chun Dong, a district in Seoul. He named his school “Chun Do Kwan”, which can be translated as the school of the Blue Wave.

With the arrival of the independence of Korea (August 15, 1945), a wave of political and social problems followed, making Won Kuk Lee move his school to the Sichungyo church located in the Kyunji-dong district in Seoul. Using his own resources, he kept teaching the practice and the promotion of the Tang Soo Do. A year later after he started to teach his classes, he was able to demonstrate to the government the benefits of the martial art, obtaining the support of public institutions and starting to teach in the Korean police general headquarters, universities in Seoul, and the army; making the government recognize the priority of the Tang Soo Do teachings and practice.[5]

During that time, the Tang Soo Do training of the Chun Do Kwan School reflected the training that Won Kuk Lee had received from the Funakochis years before. The Chung Do Kwan school made emphasis in the strong training of basic movements, forms (Korean: Hyung; Japanese: Kata), 3 step and 1 step combats, and working with the makiwara. It didn’t take long for the Chung Do Kwan School to gain popularity, and for Wok Kuk Lee’s teaching to get the entire nation’s attention. In 1947, President Syngman Rhee asked for all school members to join the government party, offering Won Kuk the position of Minister of Internal Affairs. Won Kuk Lee declined the offering and was incarcerated, accused of being the leader of a band of assassins. The other advanced members of the school were persecuted and tortured (according to Kuk Lee). Other versions of the events mention that he was incarcerated for supporting the colonialist Japanese regime. He was liberated in 1950 and he immigrated to Japan that same year.

From Tang Soo Do to Tae Kwon Do

Sparring match in the style of the World Taekwondo Federation

Won Kuk Lee was one of the first Koreans to study karate in Japan, just as the majority of other future Korean Taekwondo masters, who studied in Japanese universities or belonged to the Imperial Army of Japan, and later returned to Korea with a first or second degree black belt. Many schools were founded at the end of the 1940s and beginning of the 1950s, calling the martial art “Korean Karate”

Won Kuk Lee called his art Tang Soo Do (the “road or way of the Chinese hand”), which was the Korean pronunciation of the Funakoshi word “Karate-Do” during the decade of 1920, using the Chinese character TANG (唐). All of the original Tang Soo Do schools taught the original Okinawa-Japanese Kata, dressed in the traditional kimono and taught karate with little influence from the millenary Taekyon martial arts. The peak of the Tang Soo Do Chung Do Kwan started the opening of new schools, ran by direct Won Kuk students or by their technical support and his promotional impulses. That’s how other Kuk Lee’s students established their own schools. Nam Tae-Hi Under the direction of Choi Hong hi (Ohdokwan), Lee Yong-woo (Jungdokwan), Ko Jae-chun (Chungryongkwan), Hwang Kee (Moodukwan), Kang Suh Chang (Kukmookwan) schools were created and developed. The Taekwondo is one of the youngest oriental martial arts, and its story started with the opening of the Chung Do Kwan School in Seoul in 1944. The term “Tae Kwon Do” was suggested by the members of the Chung Do Kwan School during a meeting in 1955 as one of the first efforts to unify the different name used to designate the martial arts that included kicking and fist techniques. Slowly, this name was adopted by all the schools.

Chung Do Kwan

The term "Chung Do Kwan" can be translated as “the School of the Blue Wave”. Won Kuk explained how he came up with that name:

“I was seating at a beach in Korea, looking at the waves crash upon the shore. Suddenly, it came to me the name ‘Blue Wave’ (Chung Do) and I thought it would be a great name for the school. I didn’t want to name my school Shotokan because a son should have a different name from his father.”[5]

The first master of the Chung Do Kwan School was his founder, Won Kuk Lee (1944-1950, he renounced to his position). He was followed by Duk Sung Son (1950-1959) who was left in charge directly by Won Kuk Lee, and who left the position due to differences with the school high rank members. After Duk Sung Son, General Choi Hong Hi[6] (1959) acted as temporary school master, Woon Kyu Uhm (1959–present )named by a committee of high rank members of the Chung Do Kwan School.

During its first years, the attack and blocking techniques taught by the Chung Do Kwan School consisted of ten hand techniques and eight kicking techniques done to the body’s vital points. The hand techniques were: fist punch, spear hand attack, knife hand attack, ridge hand attack (done with the inside edge of the hand, created by the thumb and the index finger), attack with two fingers to the eyes, attack with one finger, reversed fist punch and tiger hand. The kicking techniques consisted of front kick, side kick, crescent kick, and back kick to different body levels. The school kept two trends with characteristics and training philosophies completely different from each other.

The branch of the school ran by Woon Kyu Uhm headquartered in Seoul, and whose associates are affiliated to the World Taekwondo Federation and ruled by the Kukkiwon lineaments, is what is known as Olympic Tae Kwon Do today. The Chung Do Kwan School in Korea functions as a social club, not necessarily offering official tournaments or other activities on its own.

A second branch of the school that is less known is the one developed by Duk Sung Son, who followed his teachings independently in an orthodox or traditional way; without the influence of belonging to a federated sport association and keeping the same training system, forms, uniforms and philosophies taught originally by Won Kuk Lee. This school was developed mostly in the United States, in Venezuela and Australia.[7]

Black Belts promoted by the Chung Do Kwan School in its beginnings

First generation promoted by Won Kuk Lee ( 1944-1950)

Second generation black belts, promoted by Duk Sung Son (1951-1959)

Masters that were influenced technically and philosophically by Won Kuk Lee

Legacy

During the highest peak of the Chung Do Kwan School, it gathered more than 50,000 participants. During the decade of 1940 and beginning of the 50s, its trainings and teachings were considered the best and the most authentic. Actually, it is estimated that Tae Kwon Do students exceed 70,000,000 around the world.[8]

A great number of schools that followed the Chun Do Kwan School were influenced somehow by the effort of the pioneer of the modern Korean martial arts. In 1951, Won Kuk Lee retired from teaching and left the leadership of the school to Duk Sung Son. In the following years, he would visit his old students, who were recognized later as “Masters,” and acted as judge in tournaments, belt test promotions and other events. He always criticized the changes that were made to the martial art and those who valued the sport aspect of it and put aside the philosophical bases of the style.

In 1976 Kuk Lee immigrates to the USA with his wife and settles in Arlington, Virginia, living around Washington DC the remainder of his life where he dedicated his time to the practice of calligraphy, acupuncture and giving interviews occasionally. He died from pneumonia in the Hospital of Arlington in Virginia close to his 95th birthday, on February 2, 2003. The eulogy at his funeral was read by one of his student, Yong Taek Chung.

References

  1. ↑ "A Modern History of Taekwondo"By KANG Won Sik and LEE Kyong Myong
  2. ↑ Global Taekwondo 2003 (English) Kyo Yoon Lee ISBN 89-952721-4-7
  3. ↑ A Guide to Taekwondo 1996 (English) Kyo Yoon Lee
  4. ↑ Duk Sung Son, Letter in Seoul Shinmoon newspaper (16 June 1959)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Kuk Lee interview ,Tae Kwon Do Times, Volume 17, Numero 3 del Marzo 1997
  6. ↑ Kimm, He Young,General Choi Interview
  7. ↑ The cultures of Chung Do Kwan on YouTube
  8. ↑ According with the World Tae kwon Do Federation