Martial Arts Spotlight: Tang Soo Do

The culture of Korea is one steeped in martial arts, and one of their best known is the art of Tang Soo Do. Translated as “The Way of the Tang Hand”, Tang Soo Do has its roots in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean martial arts alike, combining elements of all three in a distinctive approach to combat all its own.

Many know Tang Soo Do best thanks to Chuck Norris, but that only scratches the surface of the vast history of Tang Soo Do. That history, of course, is one that KFK is keen to take a deep dive into, so join us, readers, for the subject of our latest Martial Arts column, Tang Soo Do!

Origins

The Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do has a complex history, with much of it intertwined with Korea’s history of warfare and specifically the Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula in the early 20th century.

During this time, Japanese martial arts such as karate had been imported and taught in Korea. Following the end of Japanese rule over Korea, a set of five “kwans”, or Korean halls of martial arts, remained in place, with different philosophies of how to best proceed with the teaching of Korean martial arts. One of the key figures in the history of Tang Soo Do is Grandmaster Hwang Kee.

A student of Korea’s ancient martial art of Taekkyon, Hwang also had extensive knowledge of such martial arts as kung fu and Shotokan karate. He eventually founded the Mook Doo Kwan school of martial arts in 1945, which became one of the earliest schools of Tang Soo Do in Korea.

Additionally, Wong Kuk-lee became an equally pivotal figure in the early development of Tang Soo Do in the 1940s, founding the Chung Do Kwan school of Tang Soo Do in 1945, which itself eventually evolved into traditional Taekwondo in the 1950s.

An offshoot of Tang Soo Do’s development would also occur in the United States, courtesy of none other than future action movie star, and the living internet meme that is Chuck Norris.

American Tang Soo Do Master's Form

First taking up Tang Soo Do during his time in the U.S Army while stationed in Korea, Norris went on to master a wide array of different martial arts disciplines.

Norris eventually founded his own martial arts system known as American Tang Soo Do, principally combining elements from Korean Tang Soo Do, Shotokan and Shito-Ryu Karate, and Judo.

As with its namesake, American Tang Soo Do remains a widely practiced martial art to this day (including by the author of this very article!)

Techniques

If there’s one thing Korean martial arts are famous for, it’s their powerful and often flashy kicking techniques, and Tang Soo Do is no exception.

Like Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do includes kicks of every sort and from every angle, with the practitioner learning to turn the lower half of their body into a weapon of combat.

Additionally, Tang Soo Do also makes use of its karate and kung fu lineage with powerful strikes.

Practitioners You May Know

By far the world’s most renown Tang Soo Do exponent is the aforementioned meme man himself, Chuck Norris, and his own variation of the art, American Tang Soo Do, has made Chuck Norris inseparable from it.

Meanwhile, there are numerous other well-known Tang Soo Do practitioners, as well, with many of them making a name for themselves and their art in the martial arts movie world just like Chuck Norris.

One of them is one of the most acclaimed female martial arts stars in the world, Cynthia Rothrock, who holds a black belt in Tang Soo Do alongside her expertise in Taekwondo, Northern Shaolin kung fu, Eagle Claw, Ng Ying, and Pai Lum kung fu, and modern Wushu.

Cynthia’s outstanding flexibility and kicking skills seen in her career in martial arts films are a testament to the depth of her training, with her Tang Soo Do background being obviously a key element when it comes to her kicking skills.

Cynthia isn’t the only superkicker with a Tang Soo Do background, either. Arguably the world’s most famous kicking machine, Hwang Jang-lee, is well-known as the villain of countless Hong Kong martial arts films, including “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” and “Drunken Master” opposite Jackie Chan, along with the occasional hero in “Hitman in the Hand the Buddha”.

While Hwang is best known as a Taekwondo practitioner, holding a 9th dan black belt in the art, he also holds the same rank in Tang Soo So, with Hwang also being a teacher for the World Tang Soo Do Federation since his retirement from moviemaking.

Tang Soo Do is also known for being the martial arts discipline taught to the students of the Cobra Kai dojo in “The Karate Kid” franchise and Netflix’s acclaimed follow-up series “Cobra Kai”.

William Zabka, known for his portrayal of Johnny Lawrence in “The Karate Kid” franchise, began in the role with no formal martial arts training, but the experience stuck with him.

This led to Zabka taking up Johnny’s art of Tang Soo Do later in life, with Zabka bringing his newly refined skill set as a martial artist in his return as Johnny for “Cobra Kai”, and helping propagate Tang Soo Do to a whole new generation of students in the show and in the real world.

So, that wraps up KFK’s Martial Arts breakdown of Tang Soo Do, readers. Stay tuned for the next column, but let’s also end things on one more clip of the amazing martial art of Tang Soo Do in action!

And that’s KFK’s breakdown of the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do!

Have you ever studied Tang Soo Do? What are some of your favourite Korean martial arts? Let us know in the comments below; Like, share and join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram!

Add more TANG to your combat arts in the KINGDOM of FU, along with these Top 10’s, Top 5’s, deep-dive interviews, POWER UP YOUR TANGY SOO DO FIST in KFK wear, and TAKE UP MORE KOREAN COMBAT on YouTube!

Brad Curran

From the earliest days of childhood, Brad Curran was utterly fascinated by martial arts, his passion only growing stronger after spending time living in the melting pot of Asian cultures that is Hawaii. His early exposure developed into a lifelong passion and fascination with all forms of martial arts and tremendous passion for action and martial arts films. He would go on to take a number of different martial arts forms, including Shaolin Ch'uan fa, Taekwondo, Shotokan Karate and remains a devoted student, avid and eager to continue his martial arts studies. Brad is also an aspiring writer and deeply desires to share his love for martial arts and martial arts movies with the world!

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