Category: Martial Arts

Defend, Takedown, Submit! Hwa Rang Do®’s 3-Stage Fight Formula (Black Belt Magazine – Feb 2006)

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By Mark Cheng

Photos by Rick Hustead

 

In the self-defense world, the hot topic is mixed martial arts. In this eclectic arena, almost anything goes when it comes to techniques. The nonstop action has drawn in a whole new generation of competitors and spectators. Long before TV cameramen pointed their lenses on the octagonal ring, however, an art of countless possibilities and similar guiding principles bloomed on Korean soil.

Born out of the martial and medical kingdom of Korea’s ancient Hwarang Knighthood and organized into a modern system by Black Belt Hall of Fame Member Dr. Joo Bang Lee in the mid-20th century, Hwa Rang Do encompasses the entire gamut of combat techniques. While other arts showcase their power primarily from punches and kicks, Hwa Rang Do practitioners soar through the air with whirlwind hand and foot strikes, as well as grounded locks, throws and grappling moves that demonstrate the utmost finesse.

Taejoon Lee, the eldest of Joo Bang Lee’s children and heir-apparent to the system, sheds light on the historical evolution of the art: “When Hwa Rang Do first came to the United States, everyone wanted to learn how to punch and kick. The flashier moves brought in more students, and my father adjusted the curriculum and ranking system from his original Korean teaching structure to fit our new home.”

“Back then, grappling wasn’t very popular,” he continues. “People who were interested in martial arts wanted effective techniques that looked good, too. With a kick, you can generally get an idea of its power without having to feel it, but a submission technique requires experience for you to appreciate it. Ground grappling, by and large, isn’t as visually exciting as percussive techniques are. Just look at the way the rules have changed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Because spectators demanded more visual excitement, the promoters restart the fights [in a] standing position if there’s too little action on the ground.”

Viewing footage of Hwa Rang Do training and demonstrations held in Korea during the 1960s, it’s easy to see that Joo Bang Lee was right on the money. Between demonstrations of their breaking and weapon prowess, practitioners can be seen performing a plethora of joint manipulations, throws, takedowns, ground-grappling moves and submission techniques.

Continuing with his father’s mission to make Hwa Rang Do a viable and well-rounded system that meets the needs of its environment, Taejoon Lee has developed a new system for training students to survive non-lethal encounters – which, no matter what some might argue, make up the majority of self-defense situations. The three-step process combines the joint manipulations, takedowns and throws of Hwa Rang Do into a defend-takedown-submit format that’s an effective alternative to knockdown-and-drag-out combat.

 

Three-Part Plan

One truth of combat is that the more techniques there are in a combination, the less likely it is that your opponent will move the way you’ve planned. To deal with that, Lee divides his lesson plan into stages. Stage I deals with encounters that happen in a standing position at long range – where kicks and punches dominate. The primary objective is to close the gap safely while nullifying the attacker’s technique.

Stage II addresses close-range combat, where the transition from standing to the ground occurs. The objective centers on the execution of joint manipulations, pressure-point techniques, takedowns and strikes with the elbows, knees and forehead. This stage ends with the opponent on the ground in a nondominant position.

Stage III is divided into two parts. Stage IIIa is the one-knee position. It applies when you’re on one knee and your opponent is supine or prone. The goal is to finish the fight using joint-lock dislocations or submissions without rolling on the ground with him. This stage is vital in street-survival, law-enforcement and military applications in which grappling with a single adversary can reduce your ability to fend off multiple threats and, if you’re armed, to maintain control of your weapon.

Stage III itself occurs when you and your opponent are on the ground. It’s the last and least favorable option, one in which you must submit him or finish him. The emphasis on learning how to control him utilizing grappling and submission techniques.

For each Stage I attack, Lee covers the bases with different Stage II and Stage III options, depending on the positioning and reaction of the opponent. The beauty of the system is that it contains techniques that range from simple to athletic, so there are options for every skill and fitness level. A snapshot of this revolutionary fighting method can be seen in the classic two-hand C-lock.

 

The Fundamentals

The basic C-lock is one of the most widely used wrist-manipulation techniques in the martial arts. It’s effected by placing your opponent’s wrist and elbow at a 90-degree angle with his forearm, forming a rough C shape. While there are many ways to enter into this technique, the most important component is establishing control over the opponent’s hand so you can create the proper angle on the wrist.

The two-hand C-lock is essentially the same as the C-lock, but with a modified hand position. One of your hands is placed on your opponent’s hand near his wrist, while the other controls his elbow. The additional elbow control increases the strain on his shoulder, which can be dislocated by a little extra vibrating pressure. While the technique differs from a figure-4 application, it places similar stress on the joints and can be used to enter into the figure-4. The two-hand C-lock requires solid control over the opponent’s hand, forcing it into a C shape with his arm.

 

Stage I: Acquiring Grip and Angle

In this stage, one of your hands contains and pushes your opponent’s hand while the other pulls his elbow. The hand on his hand applies its force to the outside, while the one on his elbow applies its energy to the inside. With quick vibrational force, the shoulder can be dislocated. (The photos illustrate the application of this position against an attacker who’s pushing or grabbing the defender’s chest with one hand and preparing to strike with the other.)

Stage II: Setups and Takedown

There are two main outcomes in Stage II: The opponent doesn’t react in time and gets thrown by the outward C-lock joint manipulation, or he resists and tries to avoid the outward rotation of his arm.

  • Variation 1 – Wrist Throw: To apply this takedown, use the same principles as you did when executing the C-lock. Step through with the leg that’s on the same side as the hand you’re using to control your opponent’s hand. (In the photo sequence, it’s the right arm and the right leg. Notice how Lee drops to his knee to use his body weight to take down the opponent.) The most common mistake is trying to execute the takedown by swinging your arms laterally or downward. That increases the chance of losing the proper angles of control and manipulation on your opponent’s joints. Rotating and pivoting shouldn’t be emphasized because excessive lateral movement can open the angle of control. A direct, constant drive from your hand against his hand, along with a pulling counterforce on his elbow, is far more necessary for the takedown.
  • Variation 2 – Spinning Shoulder Throw: The way it’s executed is similar to the basic shoulder throw. When the attacker tries to resist the outward rotation of his arm and shoulder, don’t fight the force with force. Instead, go with the attempted counter, drawing him into another takedown technique. “Why butt heads with someone who has his mind set on doing something?” Lee asks. “If he doesn’t want to allow his shoulder to be rotated outward and insists on rotating his shoulder inward, use his motion, his resistance to help you put him in another throw – which is a spinning shoulder throw, in this instance.” To explain the finer points of this move, Lee adds: “Instead of putting your shoulder into his armpit to execute the throw, place your right forearm under his triceps close to his armpit to create the leverage for the shoulder throw. Maintain the C-lock by keeping your right hand on his hand and your left hand pulling on his elbow. It is important to keep his right elbow elevated so he does not slip off to the side. If he does, however, this technique easily transitions back into a standard two-hand C-lock.”

Stage III: Ground Control

Just as Lee teaches two options for taking the opponent down, he offers two variations for ending the conflict with a submission. The submissions vary with the placement of your right knee, which can be affected by the momentum of the throw.

  • Variation 1 – Outside Knee-on-Neck Wrist Quick Lock: This technique can be enough to immobilize or submit your opponent. However, it’s usually a transition move, suitable for use as a temporary hold or to transition into a tighter submission. Lee teaches five important points:
  1. Place your knee on the outside of your opponent’s neck. If he has his chin down and is facing straight up, apply pressure with your right hand on the point below his ear or under the jaw to gain compliance.
  2. Contain his elbow on the fold of your arm near your bicep ad press your body forward to pin the limb with your upper arm, thus preventing his escape.
  3. Cup your left hand over your right to ensure greater control.
  4. Don’t fall onto both knees as you drop. Rather, place only one knee on the ground, then bridge by pushing your hips forward and arching your back. Or sit up. Either option will put pressure on his wrist.
  5. Keep his right shoulder up. If he tries to turn toward you, this action will stop him. (This is another reason for placing your knee on the side of his neck.) If he tries to turn away from you, his shoulder position will enable you to apply greater tension on his wrist.
  • Variation 2 – Inside Knee-on-Neck Wrist Quick Lock: This option allows you to place your leg over his shoulder by first stomping on the inside of his face, then slipping your foot under his neck. While the technique employs another quick lock on the wrist, it has a high probability of submission. That’s because placing your knee or shin on his throat creates panic. The upward pull of his bent wrist works with the downward pressure on his throat to amplify the pain in both locations.

Maximum Benefit

Lee says his three-stage method of training benefits everyone because it places both sides – the defender and the aggressor – at minimal risk while progressively familiarizing students with effective combat techniques. While many people are socialized to believe that striking another person is wrong, join-manipulating and grappling techniques don’t suffer from the same stigma. Indeed, with so much media coverage of cases that involve excessive use of force – often in the form of percussive techniques – this method seems logical and legally sound.

“Everyone knows about the effectiveness of grappling, but many people overlook standing grappling range, where joint manipulation is at its finest,” Lee says. “That’s one of Hwa Rang Do’s strong points. We train to handle aggressive opponents without having to resort to pummeling them into prime-time news. This also gives teachers, police and security personnel a way to regularly drill and internalize a set number of self-defense techniques in a systemize and progressive manner. Nobody has to be reduced to a victim or turned into a savage for lack of a politically correct self-defense system.”

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Choong 충 – Loyalty Part 1

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Choong 충 - Loyalty “The True Meaning of Martial Art”

Published in Budo International November 2018 Issue

By: Grandmaster Taejoon Lee

 

Part 1 – The Story

In 660, during the Three Kingdoms Period in Korean History, the kingdom of Baekje on the western border fell to the Hwarang Warriors of the Silla Kingdom who made an alliance with the Tang Empire (China). Soon after, the kingdom of Goguryeo, the largest of the three kingdoms to the north, also fell in 668 to the Silla-Tang Alliance, which completed the unification of the Korean Peninsula for the first time. The Unification Wars were led by the Hwarang Knight, General Yushin Kim, and his successful campaign elevated his reputation to legendary status as the greatest general of the Silla Kingdom and one of the most important figures in Korean History.

This is a heroic tragedy, mythical in nature yet a true Hwarang story of the second son of General Yushin Kim, Wonsul Kim. He was an accomplished Hwarang Warrior who also became a general like his father. After the successful unification of the Three Kingdoms under the Silla banner, now Unified Silla, the Tang Empire betrayed the Silla Kingdom, aiming to conquer what General Yushin Kim worked his entire life to achieve, aiming to subjugate the Silla Kingdom as a territory under the Tang Empire. General Wonsul was near Baeksu Castle in August of the year 672, fighting the Tang Army. The Hwarang Warriors of Silla seemed to have been winning the battle in the beginning and anticipating an imminent victory, the generals decided to disperse the regiment. The Tangs (Chinese) decided to take advantage and attacked with full force. The Silla Army took heavy casualties with countless soldiers killed as well as several of the other Hwarang Generals.

Realizing defeat was unavoidable, Wonsul prepared to die by charging into the enemy lines. His executive officer, Tamnung, held him back and said, "It is not difficult for a heroic man to die, but it is difficult to choose the proper time. It is better to make plans in life for future success than to die without having any victory."

Wonsul answered, "A Hwarang cannot retreat in battle and die as a coward. Besides, I would be too ashamed to face my father." This is the Fourth Code of the Hwarang O Kae (The Five Codes of the Hwarang): “Im Jeon Mu Twae - Never to retreat in the face the enemy.” It also meant that if you go to battle, either you win, returning in victory or you die in battle, never to return.”

The Hwarang O Kae

SA GUN E CHOONG – Loyalty to one’s King and Country

SA CHIN E HYO – Loyalty to one’s parents and teachers

KYO WOO E SHIN – Trust and brotherhood among friends

IM JEON MU TWAE – Courage never to retreat in the face of the enemy

SAL SENG YOO TECH – Justice never to take a life without a cause

Wonsul whipped his horse to make a dash for the frontlines, but Tamnung seized the reins of his horse and did not let him go despite Wonsul’s resistance. As a result, Wonsul did not die at the battle and reluctantly, set off with the Supreme Commander to return to Gyeongju, the Capital City of the Silla Kingdom to face his father and the king. However, they were in hot pursuit by the Tang Army, who were gaining on them. The Chief Inspector, Taegam, stepped up and said to the Supreme Commander, “Strengthen yourselves and depart quickly. I am already 70 years old. How much longer can I live? Today will be the day of my death.” Then, he charged fearlessly into the enemy ranks, swinging his halberd, taking out many of the Tang soldiers, but outnumbered he was eventually killed. Seeing this, his son also charged and fell to his death.

Taegam’s sacrifice was not in vain as it gave the Supreme Commander, Wonsul and the troops the critical time needed to escape to safety. By taking hidden routes, they were successful in returning back home to the Capital, Gyeongju. When the great King Munmu heard what had happened, he asked his General Yushin Kim, who was also a good friend and confidant to the king, “Why is it that our army has suffered such a devastating defeat?”

General Kim answered, “The plans of the Tang (Chinese) are inscrutably devious. We should send troops to watch over strategic positions. Wonsul, however, has not only dishonored the charge of Your Majesty, but also neglected the instructions, which were given to him at home. He should be beheaded."

The Great King said, "In this campaign he was only the Adjutant General, Wonsul, cannot alone be punished so severely and if I were to behead him, then all the other commanders must be beheaded," and thus the King pardoned him.

General Kim replied, “I disagree, but you are the King so I shall abide. However, I am Wonsul’s father and as his father, I disown him. From this day forward I have no second son as a Hwarang would never return from battle defeated. Thus, he is dead to me.” Wonsul was ashamed and left with dishonor in tears. Fearing his father, he dared not appear before him and hid himself in the countryside.

In June 673, people witnessed several dozen crying soldiers in armor with weapons in their hands walking out of General Yushin Kim’s home. Then suddenly, they vanished without a trace. Rumors spread of this strange incident until it finally reached General Kim’s ears. He said, “They were the heavenly guardian soldiers who protected me. Now, my luck has run out. I shall die very soon." On July 1, 673, General Yushin Kim died of natural causes at an old age of 79, after spending more than two-thirds of his life fighting on the battlefield for his King and Country.

Wonsul returned home to attend his father's funeral. However, his mother, Lady Jiso, rejected him even though he was wrongfully accused of being a coward. She said, "For women there are three rules of obedience. Now, that I am a widow it is proper that I should obey my son. But since, a man like Wonsul could not be the son of his father, how could I be his mother?"

Wonsul was devastated and wept, beating his chest in agony, and would not leave. No matter how much he persisted, the mother, Lady Jiso, would not see him. With a deep sigh of anguish, Wonsul cried out, "How cruel is Heaven that I should suffer more by living than dying. I should not have allowed Tamnung to stop me. It would have been better to die than to live in shame and dishonor." Then he retreated deep into the forest of Taebaek Mountain.

In September 675, once again the Tangs invaded with an army of over 40,000 (according to some Korean sources, it is said that the Tang’s army was actually about 200,000) led by the Tang General Li Jinxing. Wonsul came out of seclusion, returning once again to fight against the Invading Tangs with a Silla Hwarang Army of only about 30,000 at the Battle of Maseo. General Wonsul fought fearlessly as if anxious to die on the battlefield. However, he would not die; although he entered battle once more so that he may redeem himself with an honorable death that he was previously cheated from by dying in battle, once again it would elude him. He was invincible and no matter how hard he tried to die, he could not be killed. As a result, he achieved a great victory over the Tang troops and saved the Silla Kingdom from ruin. Lastly, a victory at the Yellow Sea by the Silla navy against the famous Tang General Xue Rengui secured the Unified Silla Kingdom against the Tang Invasion.

When the war was over, Wonsul was scheduled to be highly awarded with a hero’s welcome in Gyeongju, the Capital of Silla. However, Wonsul never returned to Gyeongju, but rather went deep into the mountains regretting his impiety to his parents.

Wonsul Kim spent the rest of his days in the mountains, never to be seen or heard from again, and died alone in an unknown year, at an unknown place, at an unknown age.

 

PDF: Budo-2018-11Nov(1)-Choong(Loyalty)P1

Decathlon of Hwa Rang Do® (Black Belt Magazine – Sep 2014)

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By Fernando Ceballos

Photos by Robert Reiff

"New Form of Standup Competition is the Final Element Needed to Evaluate All-Around Martial Arts Skill!"

At first glance, you’d think you’re watching a Muay Thai match up. However, if you look closer at their equipment you’ll notice some key distinctions.

They have shin guards and black head gear, however the head gear itself has a face guard and padding on the top of the head. And the gloves are open finger gloves similar to MMA.

The fighters engage with lighting fast punching and kick-combos, including flying and spinning kicks followed by takedown attempts and throws.

They go to the ground frequently, but there is no long drawn out grappling stalemate. In fact, after a 5 count, the fighters are always brought to their feet if there is no successful submission victory.

We see a single leg takedown attempt, immediately followed by a leg lock and yell of “tap” within a second of hitting the mat.  It happens so quickly, you look around for a replay monitor.

The fighters return to center ring, the referee gives the command to bow, raises the winner’s arm and brings the two combatants together for a hug. After some good sportsmanship, the two depart to calmly take their seats beside an open mat ring and the next two fighters are announced.

What is being described is one of the many martial sporting events, Yongtoogi (or Stand-Up & Submission Fighting), which takes place during 2 days of competition for the World Hwa Rang Do® Championships. Other events during the Championships include grappling, sword fighting, stick fighting, and other events comprising of over 10 categories of competition.

“This is our unique and the world’s only, decathlon of martial arts competition” Lee says – 8th Dan Hwa Rang Do Grandmaster and President of the World Hwa Rang Do® Association.

“Most martial artists spend months training for 1 fight or at most one tournament. Yet, over 40% of our competitors will compete in 10 tournaments, over the course of the two days, not only testing their skill in each category, but their endurance. Our advanced students compete in 1 additional tournament - Yongtoogi – our advanced submission fighting category, designed to condition fighters to master Hwa Rang Do’s Self-Defense formula – Defend, Takedown, Quick Submit”.

Lee observes all matches from behind the time keeper’s table, with a stoic expression on his face. Only smiling and clapping, along with the audience when the match finishes, acknowledging BOTH combatants for their efforts, displaying no favoritism.

What is most striking about the end of all matches, is how calm the winning fighters are after each match. None of them raise their own hands, gloat and celebrate after their victory – regardless of how difficult or dominant they performed.

The fighters’ mutual respect for one another clearly overrides any desire for an understandable emotional outburst, which follows most martial arts victories we may see on television or other live sporting events.

Yongtoogi and the rest of Hwa Rang Do’s tournament categories are held within a “closed tournament” format – meaning no groups without a direct affiliation to the World Hwa Rang Do Association (or WHRDA) may enter any of the tournaments.

“We’ve pretty much kept this format a secret, and have only recently held these events in public places, such as at the Origins International Martial Arts Festivals at Disneyland in 2011 and 2012. Those events were the first time, we allowed the rest of the martial arts community and general public to see what we have.”

A Brief History of Tournaments in 70’s & 80’s

It has been almost 25 years since Hwa Rang Do participated in any open tournaments – whether organized by the WHRDA or other martial arts groups.

“Before developing this decathlon of tournament categories we have today, like other martial arts groups, we previously participated in competitions all over the country and the world, dating back to the mid-70’s.”

In the 70’s, Kenpo and Karate groups hosted stand-up fighting tournaments, each with their own rules.  There was no protective gear and the rules were similar to what we all saw in the film, ‘The Karate Kid’ – one hit, one point.

Some of the Kenpo organizations allowed groin strikes. None allowed takedowns, except Karate but only in the form of a leg sweep, however no points were awarded for sweeps.

Rotational kicks were also not allowed, which posed a problem for Hwa Rang Do and other dynamic fighting arts.

“We couldn’t fully express the comprehensive nature of our art. We would be disqualified if we attempted a spinning kick or takedown, but since we were a small group at the time, we wanted to show the martial arts community that even with these limitations, we could still win and we did win – a lot.”

As described in Black Belt Publication’s new book, ‘The Complete Michael D. Echanis Collection’ book, these frustrations were even apparent when military combatives legend, Michael Echanis, who was studying Hwa Ran Do under it’s founder, Joo Bang Lee, would storm into tournaments and challenge the champion to a street fight, most of the time leaving the champion bloodied and unconscious.

“My father certainly did not condone or endorse Michael’s actions, which is why he encouraged him to go back to military and teach the Special Forces. He was a warrior, born for combat and he was better suited for the military, not civilian life.  However, the statement he was trying to make was clear. We have an art which cannot be fully expressed in, what at the time, were contemporary martial arts competitions.”

According to Lee, eventually Hwa Rang Do began running their own “open tournaments” organized by his father Joo Bang Lee, but they stuck to common rules, in order to attract outside groups. While they were very successful, the tournaments were a challenge to coordinate and appeasing all groups and their requests for rules changes and special treatment was not easy.

In the early 80’s the politics of running tournaments became more than Joo Bang Lee wanted to take on and Hwarangdo ceased running tournaments for 4 years and chose to simply participate in open tournaments hosted by other groups.

“The benefit of participating in tournaments & demonstrations were obvious. It was a marketing tool and a way to allow our students to test their skills and overcome fear through the experience of competition.  When we performed in tournaments, other martial artists and those in attendance wanted to join our organization. That allowed what at the time was a little known art called Hwarangdo to grow!”

When Taejoon Lee, entered college at the University of Southern California in the mid- 1980’s – already recognized then as a “master” rank – he had opened clubs not only at USC, but his group spread to UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Arizona State and others.  News of these clubs spread and within a couple years, Lee literally led an army of college-age practitioners in the art of Hwarangdo.

He asked his father permission to run inter-school closed tournaments and eventually received his blessing to once again hold 2 open tournaments per year under the name of ‘BIG MAC’ – “Martial Arts Championships (MAC)”.

They did this in partnership with NASKA, the North American Sport Karate Association, whose rules allowed fighters to get points for takedowns, which was important for Hwarangdo practitioners, giving them more freedom to express their skills.

Hwarangdo practitioners competed in BIG MAC, in addition to outside open tournaments through the 80’s. However, once again, the challenges of working with outside groups became a problem, but this time, it was far worse.

Lee states that, “Tournaments became increasingly unruly with a loss of respect for each other and poor sportsmanship, which severely diminished the value of participating.  Etiquette and respect for one another is a core part of our martial way, so clearly this was a problem.”

Lee recalls two incidents in particular, which ‘broke the camel's back’.

“There was one incident, I recall, where a competitor didn’t like a referee’s ruling, punched him in the face and a melee ensued.   A few weeks later, at another event, 2 opposing teams were fighting on a stage at the Team Fighting finals and spectators started throwing chairs across the stage at each other.

“We started losing students because of negative experiences. As a result, we reduced our participation by sending only select students as representatives and then stopped completely by the early 1990’s.”

Developing the World’s First Martial Arts Decathlon

Lee and his father, Joo Bang Lee, decided that developing their own tournament format exclusively for Hwarangdo, which also reflected the comprehensive nature of the art, was the best course of action.

Adding to the Point Fighting, Open-Hand and Weapon Forms competitions, which were already in place, Lee first implemented a Gotoogi (or Submission Grappling) program adapted from self-defense techniques in Hwa Rang Do, with no striking for the purposes of competition.  You could only win by submission or points, similar to Jiu Jitsu or Catch Wrestling.

Then came the development of the ‘mugidaeryun’ or weapon fighting categories, which began as Kumdo, Korea’s counterpart to Japanese Kendo.

As documented in the article of January 2014 issue of Black Belt Magazine, ‘Hwa Rang Do Weapons: Taejoon Lee and the Korean Martial Art’s New Spin on Traditional Sword and Stick Fighting”, Lee developed & patented a leg attachment to the traditional Kendo armor called the “Hache Hogu” or leg protector, which opened the category up to allow for strikes to the leg and spinning attacks, creating a new dynamic weapon fighting sport - Gumtoogi (Sword Fighting) and Bongtoogi (Stick Fighting).

Expanding the competitive categories further, the same armor was used for long sword, twin short swords, long staff, twin stick fighting and mixed weapon fighting competition as well.

By the late 2000’s, Hwarangdo’s World Championships had evolved from a simple half-day 3-category event consisting of forms and point fighting, into a 2-Day 10-category martial arts decathlon.

During this period, the advent of MMA had also simultaneously transformed the martial arts world, with a greater emphasis on ‘reality based’ competition.

It is said that MMA is “as real as it gets”, however that too would prove to be far from what would take place in a street fight or self-defense situation, yet there was clearly an interest in what a martial art like Hwarangdo could do in a full-contact format.

“Even back in the 80’s, my father had deep philosophical conflicts, about having our students engage in full contact fighting, yet always knew that competition would eventually evolve to what we’ve come to know today as MMA.

“However, being who we are, we had to think more deeply about what we wanted to represent.  Our art transformed the early days of empty hand and armed combatives in the Special Forces through Michael Echanis. We were dominant in the late 70’s and 80’s in sparring and forms competitions. And we now run the world’s only 2-day martial arts decathlon.  From a self-defense and combat sport perspective, we’ve had nothing to prove and since the 1990’s, we’ve only gotten better.

“In the past, there have been students of ours whom wanted to compete in full-contact tournaments outside our organization. We could not allow it while they were affiliated with our association, so in those cases, we mutually agreed to part ways so they could pursue their goals and they performed extremely well. However, we asked that they not claim having trained in Hwa Rang Do nor did we want credit nor did we support them. It wasn’t what we were about.”

“Our priority has always been maintaining that which is unique to us – our sense of brotherhood, our family bond, the spiritual component, our hwarang heritage and respect to our higher ranks and masters.”

In the late 1990’s & early 2000’s, Hwarangdo did in fact develop a full-contact sport category, “Kyuktoogi” with only advanced students & those demonstrating a strong mental maturity allowed to train and compete in. However, Lee was not yet comfortable with the social dynamics it created.

“In Full Contact Fighting, the goal is to hurt or incapacitate your opponent. How does a group or organization who thrives on our bond and brotherhood, operate like a family, while having the goal of hurting each other, inside the ring?”

“We also wanted to maintain our leadership hierarchy. In sport, that is broken. The champion and contender rankings is what dictates the hierarchy, however just because you are a champion, does not make you a leader, nor does it make you wise nor a good person.  What we wish to cultivate are leaders, not just fighters.”

“That’s not to say we didn’t want to create a ‘reality based’ fighting format, but it had to align with our values and goals.

“First, it had to promote the altruistic ideal of competition, which is to push one another and test the skill of our brother or sister across the ring from us. Second, the rules had to promote the development of a valuable skill set which could be potentially life saving, if mastered.”

Hwarangdo’s Fight Plan – Defend, Takedown, Submit

The answer came when Lee authored ‘Hwa Rang Do: Defend Takedown Submit”, published by Black Belt, which outlined the art’s self-defense strategy, which could be adapted for military, law enforcement or personal self-defense.

The strategy is broke down into 3 components:

Defend – Using distancing and striking techniques to defend and setup the next stage of the formula…

Takedown – Engage in a lock or hold, which will neutralize your opponents striking by taking them to the ground, then…

Quick Submit – While maintaining a dominant top position on the ground, quickly apply a lock-up to either, submit your opponent, choke them out or inflict more serious injury through a bone break or dislocation, should they not submit or pass out.

The important thing to know is that Hwa Rang Do emphasizes the “quick submit” strategy – meaning to quickly recognize the lock-up opportunity present and immediately execute the most effective finishing technique to dispose of an opponent, while avoiding a BJJ style ‘roll’ on asphalt or concrete, which leaves one vulnerable to injury and multiple attackers.

The dominant top position also allows the Hwa Rang Do fighter to quickly recover and react to other threats.

This formula is what the ‘Yongtoogi’ sport became based on.  Rather than encouraging Hwa Rang Do competitors to go for the ‘knock out’, Lee wanted them to focus their efforts on mastering the ‘quick submit’ and showcasing the full breadth of the art.

The matches would entail two continuous minutes of fighting. The striking would be limited to medium force attacks to the head and body, to prevent unnecessary injury while at the same time encouraging them to fully express the striking and takedowns available in Hwa Rang Do’s vast curriculum and to setup for a ‘quick submission’.  However, a fighter would have only 5 seconds to submit their opponent, before they are stood up by the referee and the match is allowed to continue.

Should a competitor successfully apply a submission and get the other person to ‘tap out’, the match would be over and he or she would be declared the winner.

Should the match go the full 2 minutes, 3 judges would score the bout for each fighter on a scale from 1 – 10, in the areas of “striking”, “takedowns” and “spirit”.  Each judge would add up their score and choose a winner.

The fighter with 2 judges scoring in their favor would win the match.

The “spirit” category is left up to the judge’s discretion to award a fighter credit for things not covered in the other two categories, such as energy level, difficulty of techniques performed and aggressiveness.

Now, five seconds on the ground may seem like a very short period of time, but that is precisely what Lee wanted.  He wants to train his practitioners to quickly recognize the available finishes and apply them without hesitation and with precision.

This experiment has proven fruitful in the past 2 years that these rules have been in place for Hwa Rang Do, with matches resulting in tap outs via armbar, shoulder locks, ankle locks in addition to many decisions.

Lee says “My goal is not really intended to create champion fighters, although that certainly is fun to watch and an excellent test of skill for our students via competition.  My goal is to help my students develop the self-defense skills against each other, which could one day save their lives, without the ego-driven culture of full contact fighting gyms and most importantly, preserving our martial way – our traditions, respect for your senior ranks, respect for one another and our familial bond.”

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Hwa Rang Do®’s Weapon Fighting (Black Belt Magazine – January 2014)

Posted on by taejoonlee

Hwa Rang Do Weapons: Taejoon Lee and the Korean Martial Art's New Spin on Traditional Sword and Stick Fighting

By Black Belt

Photos by Robert Reiff

Grandmaster Lee's task at hand: modernize hwa rang do's sword method for more modern appeal while preserving expression, uniqueness and safety.  No easy task, surely -- but Lee is no ordinary martial artist.

The two competitors kneel at opposite sides of the ring, a bamboo sword at each person's side. They slowly don their armor. As they stand, two additional plates — called hache hogu (leg armor) in Korean — reveal themselves, hanging down from their belts and covering their thighs. The referee brings them to the center, after which they bow, draw their swords and begin the bout. So far, it looks like a standard kendo or kumdo match, but as they clash, the flavor of the fight changes — with lightning-fast spins, low-level maneuvers and attacks aimed at more than just the head and wrists. While numerous forms of weapons sparring are practiced around the world, none is better-known than kendo. It's the frontman of competitive sword fighting and boasts more practitioners than any other art. However, in the eyes of many, it's badly in need of an update, especially with respect to the variety of techniques permitted. Enter hwa rang domaster Taejoon Lee. Taejoon Lee, president of the World Hwa Rang Do Association and son of the art's founder, Dr. Joo Bang Lee— as well as co-author of the landmark book Hwa Rang Do: Defend, Take Down, Submit— had his work cut out for him. The eighth-degree black sash knew that his art categorized its plethora of weapons according to how they're used in battle — slicing, striking, thrusting, throwing and so on. He also knew that much of that versatility was prohibited by kendo's rule structure.

Taejoon Lee tasked himself with modernizing his art's method of conducting sword fights to make it more appealing to modern practitioners. He wanted a solution that would permit the greatest possible expression of technique with both bladed and impact weapons, thus preserving the Korean art's uniqueness. And he knew that the solution would have to maintain the safety factor for which kendo is renowned.

To give a glimpse into the thought processes that went into the endeavor, he recalls an allegory from his homeland.

A Tale of Three Nations

“Three martial arts masters — one from China, one from Japan and one from Korea — came up to a massive stone wall," Taejoon says. “The Chinese master walked up to it, touched it, gave it a little push and then, realizing the wall was solid, went to look for a way around. The Japanese master walked up to the wall and stared at it, then took a stance and proceeded to punch it repeatedly. His fists were reduced to bloody stumps, but he eventually broke through. The Korean master looked at the wall, threw his favorite jump-spinning back kick and bounced off. He shrugged his shoulders, then went to search for a way around."

While it may sound like a cultural joke, the sociological implications of the story are spot on. The martial arts of each nation have been influenced not only by the personalities of their masters but also by the geography of the land.

Japan is a collection of islands. When attackers invaded, the locals had precious little room to retreat before ending up in the sea. Thus, it's not surprising that their combat mindset evolved to favor powerful and direct killing techniques. Systems such as kyokushin karate and kendo exemplify this idea with their hard-charging, one-punch-one-kill mentality.

China, on the other hand, is a vast land mass. If an invader came from one direction, retreat was almost always an option. Military strategies took into account the availability of maneuvering room and thus emphasized avoidance. That gave the Chinese the chance to develop martial arts that focused on yielding before delivering a finishing blow.

Situated between China and Japan, both geographically and ideologically, Korea is a peninsular nation. Historically, that afforded Koreans the ability to retreat toward the mainland if attacked from the ocean yet forced them to develop hard-core fight-or-die skills if backed up to the seaboard. Thus, their combative tendencies exhibit both linear and circular approaches.

Back to the Present

While striving to accomplish his task, Taejoon Lee appreciated that kumdo gave his students a chance to develop their linear sword skills in a sparring format, but he thought the standard rules prevented too many of the circular, spinning techniques that have always proved invaluable in combat.

“Hoi-jeon is a central concept in power development for hwa rang do," he explains. “To develop greater power output, you have to accelerate your weapon through a greater distance or place it under a greater torque. So when we spin — whether for a kick, a strike or a cut — we're trying to capitalize on that rotational force to impart the maximum damage to the target. It's not that you can't do that in kendo or kumdo; it's just that nobody really does it. So as soon as we implemented our new leg armor, which is now patent pending, spinning strikes or cuts to the thigh or belly suddenly had a lot more relevance."

To demonstrate his point, Taejoon Lee puts on his armor, picks up his bamboo sword and squares off with a student. They exchange blows and blocks for a few seconds, feeling each other out. As the opponent charges in with what ought to be a decisive head strike, Taejoon Lee blocks, spins and drops to one padded knee. The sound of his sword striking his adversary's leg armor resonates throughout the school. If the training equipment were replaced with live blades and the armor removed, a leg would have gone sailing through the air.

Circular Attack

Taejoon Lee then launches into an offensive application of the spin, upping the tempo of his footwork and movements. As the first few strikes are executed, it's obvious he's headhunting, unleashing heavy blows at his opponent, who can barely block in time. After each charge, Taejoon Lee backs off a bit more. Finally, he darts in with speed and ferocity, his weapon held high for a head attack. His opponent lifts his sword in hopes of blocking, but Taejoon Lee is one step ahead. Having drawn the man's weapon upward, Taejoon Lee spins underneath, effecting a beautiful belly strike. "A lot of martial artists say that any spinning technique is turning a blind eye to the opponent — they say that as soon as you turn your back, a straight- line technique will dominate you," Taejoon Lee says. "That's true — up to a point." To illustrate, he spins, and his opponent strikes him easily each time he does so. Point made: Using a blind spin without setting up the technique is a Hail Mary play in combat. Taejoon Lee then shows how the hoi-jeon principle should be used: He deflects his opponent's sword to the side, and by the time the man regains his composure and centerline control, he's already been cut. Mentally and physically, Taejoon Lee breaks his balance, drawing him into a specific reaction and capitalizing on the opening that's created.

With the modifications Taejoon Lee made to the safety gear, weapons training enters a whole new realm. Angles of attack and defense become less predictable — and more exciting to watch. Best of all, the improvement doesn't apply just to bamboo swords.

Taejoon Lee walks to the side of the ring, lays down his training weapon, picks up two shorter swords and goes to work. Then he switches to a rattan stick, a pair of sticks and a rattan staff. He and his opponent go sword against sword, double short swords against sword, double sticks against staff, and staff against staff, and the flavor of each weapon remains visible throughout.

“When I first implemented sword fighting, we used the standard kumdo format and I referred to it as kumdo," Taejoon Lee says. “But with the new safety armor and the emphasis on wider technique, we now call it gumtoogi (sword combat) or bongtoogi (stick combat)."

Like Against Like

In hwa rang do, impact weapons vie against impact weapons, and bladed weapons vie against bladed weapons because there are major differences in the associated strategies. With a stick or staff, students are allowed to make contact with any part of the shaft. With a sword, however, a cut must use the simulated edge and a thrust must use the tip and target the opponent's throat guard.

“It'd be easy to allow whatever contact to score, but that wouldn't honor the principles of each weapon's strong points," Taejoon Lee says. “Training should honor technique and revolve around principle. Scoring whatever just reinforces sloppy technique and dishonesty."

To that end, the spinning leg attacks effected with a simulated sword must be done with one knee touching the floor, and cuts that target the belly must be delivered from a standing position. Although, in reality, an edged weapon could certainly attack a leg from the standing position or the midsection from the kneeling position, the rule forces students to execute deliberate technique with a greater degree of precision. It also makes each move easier for officials to judge at tournaments, where more points are awarded for high-difficulty techniques such as spins.

Ready for Launch

To maximize the propagation of gumtoogi and bongtoogi, the World Hwa Rang Do Association has made the new weapons-sparring format open access. “This is a good program for traditional schools to teach applied weaponry with," Taejoon Lee says. “We took what kendo and kumdo brought to the table, used the majority of the targets and equipment, and modified it to allow for a wider expression of technique using a greater variety of weapons — while maintaining safety and emphasizing clear-cut attacks. For those who practice Korean martial arts weaponry, we've created a sparring format that allows them to express the real flavor of their art and develop the ability to attack at angles they couldn't use before."

As hwa rang do moves forward through its fifth decade, it's especially impressive to see a traditional art whose leadership has such a passion for maintaining and preserving ancient combat skills while applying ingenuity to improve the teaching and training methods. Taejoon Lee's commitment to this makes him one of the martial arts trailblazers of the 21st century.

Videos:

Grandmaster Taejoon Lee Gumtoogi Fighting Highlights

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Instructional Videos on Gumtoogi with Budo International 

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The Karate Kid Re-make Banking on America’s Ignorance

Posted on by taejoonlee

“Man should not follow money. Money should follow man”
– Supreme Grandmaster Dr. Joo Bang Lee, Hwa Rang Do Founder

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I have had the privilege of being able to travel to many countries throughout the globe. Each country I have been to all had the similar martial arts history. Judo was first introduced along with Jiujitsu, and then came Karate, which was the byproduct of Japanese imperialistic regime during the early 1900s and lasted until the end of WWII. Then came along Kungfu as well as Tae Kwon Do in the 70’s.

In America during 1970’s, due to the TV series, “Kung Fu” and Bruce Lee’s films, Kung Fu became very popular. Asian culture was new to America and was slowly being accepted through the popularity of martial arts. I came to America in 1974 and I grew up in predominantly white neighborhoods. The Asian ethnic communities were small and scarce. The majority of Caucasians could not identify the different Asian races and we were all clumped together as either “chinks” (Chinese) or “nips” (Japanese). Then of course the “gooks” during the Vietnam war. And, these terms were not used exclusively for each race; rather it was used interchangeably to describe any Asians.

Martial art was relatively a new thing in America and the only terms that the public was familiar with was Judo, Karate, and Kung Fu. So, many of the Korean martial arts had to refer themselves as “Korean Karate” and since we were both soft/circular and hard/linear, we called ourselves “Karate/Kungfu.” The term martial arts was rarely used. Even the Yellow Pages had all the different martial arts listed under the heading of “Judo.” It was not until the 80s did they change it to the appropriate heading of “Martial Art.” Many people back then mistakenly thought we were a Chinese restaurant with the name “Hwa Rang Do,” and we are still mistaken occasionally. As we tried to find our identity and place as a unique form of martial art within the new country and culture, so was I searching to find my identity, my source of empowerment.

I lived through these prejudiced times, growing up in Orange County and let me tell you, it was not pleasant. I was reminded daily that I was different and ridiculed for something that I could not change even if I wanted to. I remember as a freshman in high school, the kids all thought that I was Hawaiian as I had a beach bleached long hair from surfing. This was accepted as cool and really the only way for me to make friends, especially girlfriends. Of course the other part was because I could fight.

I remember my father carefully explaining the social/cultural differences and adamantly reminding us not to do anything to offend the white people. In Korea, we make noise while we eat. It shows how much you are enjoying your food and it’s well received. However, he told us never to make loud noises when we are eating and chewing our food. We could not eat our primary staple diet of “kimchee” in the morning or for lunch and only for dinner, because the garlic smell was offensive to the white people. What’s even stranger now is that when I visit Korea, although I am aware of the Korean eating etiquette I am also offended and bothered by the noises people make while they are eating and chewing. I guess after 35 years I am no longer Korean, but Korean American.

There are many other stories of racial discrimination, but I am not here to bash the Caucasian people for their ignorance as they were the majority and this kind of mal-treatment towards minority racial groups happens all over the world. However, I am here to bring to people’s attention the regression of our social evolution and that we are not living in a third world totalitarian nation, but a democratic nation of the most eclectic ethnic mix all seeking the ideal of FREEDOM!

We are not in the 70s or the 80s. This is the 21st century with advanced technology bringing everyone together as a global community. This is also the decade of “Political Correctness” (PC). I remember there was a big stink a while back about Asians not wanting to be called “Oriental” as that describes rugs and inanimate objects, not people. So, Asians rallied to be called “Asians”, not “Orientals.”

Then, the highly popular brand of clothing, Abercrombie & Finch, came out with a line of t-shirts making fun of Chinese stereotypes. Shirts that have slogans across the front in big bold letters, “Two Wongs Don’t Make Write.” What made them even consider this as an option as one of their biggest markets were Asians? Soon after, the Asian community rose up against the Abercrombie & Finch and they terminated the line. I wondered even in this PC era, how could such a thing happen from such a large corporation with so many levels of approval before it finally gets to the mass market. It was unbelievable!

Traditionally, Asians have remained quiet, as we are most conscious of offending others. As a product of assimilation, many Koreans today cannot speak or write Korean as their parents made them learn English as quickly as possible when they were children and did not reinforce learning the Korean language. I think we are out of the dark ages and into the light of global communication and no race should need to hide their culture, their way of life in fear of ridicule and discrimination. We as Asian Americans have paid our price to be Americans from working the railroads, to the sugar cane fields of Hawaii, to becoming one of the most educated and economically strong ethnic groups in America.

We must evolve, progress, grow and change together for the better. We must elevate ourselves out of racial tolerance to respecting racial differences. In my opinion, we can only achieve unity and racial harmony when we are able to respect each other’s differences and not deny one’s identity, source of empowerment. It is due to our individual and racial differences that make living as a global community so exciting, enjoyable and at times challenging.

Then, how can we allow “Hollywood” to set us back in our quest to find and empower ourselves through understanding our individual racial identity? It’s understandable that in the 60’s and 70’s, during the height of racial ignorance that our parents and grandparents did whatever they could to survive. However, there’s no excuse for us today to call something that’s Japanese as Chinese or vice-versa. If you called something German as French or Scottish as Irish, they would be screaming in protest, but why do we just sit and watch as they are clearly mislabeling the new remake of “The Karate Kid.”


The Karate Kid? – Looks Like Kung Fu (courtesy of eonline.com)

What’s even more appalling is that Jackie Chan, who is one of the most beloved, well-recognized Chinese martial arts actor/producer with the greatest wealth and influence is sitting idly, while “Hollywood” just clumps all of us Asians together once again as “chinks” or “nips.” His defense when asked about it, was that when he was making the movie, he didn’t know what it was going to be called and that it was referred to as the ‘Kung Fu Kid’ during production, shrugging his shoulders and hoping not to offend his bosses. (1) (2) (3)

It is imperative that we as Asian Americans as well as any ethnic group support each other in destroying racial ignorance and educate the people to respect our differences. We are not talking about Jackie Chan as an actor, playing another ethnicity. As actors one should be able to play other ethnic roles as long as they do it justice, maintaining the roles ethnic integrity. This is clearly calling something Chinese as Japanese. It should be called “The Kung Fu Kid.”

Jerry Weintraub, who was the producer of the original ‘Karate Kid’ and co-producer on this re-make along with Will Smith’s company, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal admitted that this issue was discussed.

Will Smith had concerns and asked him about possibly calling the film, “The Kung Fu Kid”. Mr. Weintraub’s response, with zero sensitivity or respect to Japanese or Chinese culture and identity simply replied, “I’m not going to do it. This is like changing Pepsi-Cola to Dookie-Cola. Why would you lose a brand like ‘The Karate Kid’? It’s a BRAND. In China it will be called the Kung Fu Kid, but in America it will be called ‘The Karate Kid’.” (4)

Karate, an art and cultural treasure to the Japanese, in America has been claimed as a “brand” to be misrepresented for the purposes of marketing and profit. Every single martial arts studio in America (except for mine) has been convinced to herd children into special screenings of the new ‘Karate Kid’, use their kids as recruiters and have them bring their friends to these screenings. This creates a new batch of fresh leads for the studio owners to recruit from, perpetuates ignorance into the next generation and inflates the profits of the production companies through the strengthening of a money-making “brand”, at the expense of our cultural identities.

There’s nothing wrong with making money or a savvy marketing campaign, but why can’t we respect each other’s race and culture? It’s a remake and they are banking on the success of the original “Karate Kid,” which I feel is something the industry really needs amidst the popularity of MMA and no-holds-barred fighting that’s become so prevalent. We need this, if it’s anything like the original. But, not like this….

I argued that no kid today remembers the original “Karate Kid.” They are more familiar with “The Kung Fu Panda” and should use Kung Fu. Ah, then the reply was that our generation who do remember are the parents and they are the ones who will take their kids to see it. Wow, marketing genius!

It’s all for money that we as Asians once again take it. I have even heard from other Asians who have said that they don’t care whether they mislabeled or not as long as more Asian culture, stuff, things are exposed to the masses. No matter how much money it should never overrule integrity and honor and this is the cornerstone of what Martial Art is. Wrong is wrong and yes two wrongs don’t make right!

I propose that we boycott this movie and deliver a loud message to “Hollywood” and to Jackie Chan, that we as Asians are not going to allow disrespect to our cultural identities and that we may be quiet, but when we roar it will be ferocious. Even in our greetings we are humble and not entitled. As the western greeting is a handshake, extending the right hand to show that there’s no weapon to kill you and our eastern greeting is the bowing of the head to show humility, looking down as to say please don’t behead me as I take my eyes off of you. It’s time we stand up for our beliefs and gain the respect we deserve and although we may be humble, we are not stupid.

  1. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Columbia-Pictures-Changes-the-Name-of-Karate-Kid-Remake-108132.shtml
  2. http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/04/02/the-karate-kid-or-the-kung-fu-kid-fans-debate-the-title-of-new-jackie-chanjaden-smith-movie/
  3. http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/01/07/jackie-chan-unsure-of-karate-kid-remake-title-reveals-fate-of-wax-on-wax-off-the-crane-kick/
  4. http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/04/10/jerry-weintraub-discusses-new-memoir-karate-kid-naming-controversy/

Grandmaster Taejoon Lee

Inside the Black Sash Conference 2009

Posted on by fernyceballos

During our annual Hwa Rang do Black Sash Conference (held this year from July 24 through August 1st, 2009), Black Sashes (1st Dan & Above) from across the globe, gather at the West Coast Headquarters in Los Angeles, CA USA for rigorous training of the mind, body and spirit, led by founder Dr. Joo Bang Lee and his eldest son, Grandmaster Taejoon Lee.

Throughout the conference a great deal of knowledge is passed down to these Hwarang Knights from the more than 4,000 techniques available through Hwa Rang Do. In addition to the physical, a great deal of time is devoted to the personal growth of our Black Sashes and that of their own students, in their respective home states and countries.

The pictures in this slide show were taken during these 10 days of private training with the founder, Dr. Joo Bang Lee and Grandmaster Taejoon Lee. The quotations were quietly recorded in a notebook by one of the Black Sashes attending from Italy, during the conference and later shared with all other Black Sashes, as a philosophical summary of her experience.

We would now like to share these quotes from Dr. Joo Bang Lee and Grandmaster Taejoon Lee with you…

Danbong – Short Stick (Black Belt Magazine – March 2003)

Posted on by taejoonlee

Danbong – Short Stick
Descended from an Ancient Musical Device,
It is Now a Signature Weapon of Hwa Rang Do
(Black Belt Magazine – March, 2003)

Danbong1a

At first glance, the short stick appears to be one of the most innocuous parts of the hwa rang do arsenal. Measuring only about a foot long, it carries none of the visual shock value that a baseball bat or even a carpenter’s hammer would have in a dark alley. It’s not made of any exotic materials, and it’s not wielded with any kind of flashy movements. However, when it’s used right, the short stick is rudely effective. Perhaps that’s why I figures so prominently on the crest of Joo Bang Lee’s World Hwa Rang Do Association, the group responsible for bringing the comprehensive Korean self-defense art to America and the world.

History

The dan bong, as it’s called in Korean, descended from the drumsticks that Buddhist monks used-and still use-to beat the large drums that sit in every temple in the nation. In olden days, the priests would pound the instruments for prayer services and during emergencies when an alarm needed to be sounded in the monastery.

Use of the drumstick for self-defense became popular in the secular world during Korea’s Koryo dynasty, which lasted from 935 to 1392. “Policemen who were weaker and couldn’t rely on sheer physical force to overcome criminals used it as a tool to subdue their opponents,” Lee says.

The effectiveness of the weapon enabled those early law-enforcement officers to neutralize any advantages the hoodlums had without inflicting mortal injuries. And its small size meant it could be easily concealed or stowed when necessary.

DanbongCombo1

Construction

Then and now, the typical dan bong was a cylindrical piece of wood approximately 1 inch in diameter and 10 to 12 inches in length. A hole was bored in one end to allow the attachment of a tether, which could be wrapped around the martial artist’s hand and thumb to ensure a more secure grip.

Lee’s elder son, Taejoon Lee, himself a seventh-degree black sash in hwa rang do, extrapolates on the short stick’s structural practicality: “Most of the uninitiated view the dan bong as a joke. They squint and see this small wooden thing barely jutting out of the palm of your hand, and they laugh.”

Indeed, the dan bong in nondescript and can be partially concealed in the palm, but that only helps the bearer swing it into action with the element of surprise on his side. And as hwa rang do practitioners love to demonstrate, the simplest item or movement can have the greatest potential in combat.

DanbongCombo2a

Application

According to Taejoon Lee, the simple structure of the dan bong conceals five major fighting tools: the edge, the forward tip, the shaft, the pommel and the tether. In battle, those features can be applied in a number of devastating ways-which is in accord with hwa rang do’s concept of applied combat versatility, meaning that the maximum number of effective applications must be derived from every weapon and body part.

The edge of the stick, especially when not smoothed or rounded, provides an angular surface that is not dissimilar to the blade of a knife. It can be used to gouge, cut into or scrape off an adversary’s skin. Further versatility comes from the fact that one edge lies at each end of the weapon. If an opponent deflects a dan bong head strike, a simple twist of the wrist can enable you to redirect the edge so it makes contact with his face, injuring him and leaving him open to a follow-up strike.

The forward tip of the short stick is employed much like the tip of a hammer-using thrusting, stabbing and hacking motions. Additionally, the sides of the forward tip can be used with a flicking action of the wrist. Taejoon Lee explains: “You hold the dan bong loosely between your thumb and forefinger, and power it with the rolling action of your fingers. That allows rapid alternation between pronating and supinating your wrist, making the forward tip much like a heavy whip.”

When it comes crashing down on a joint or other hard body part, the bone underneath will shatter. That kind of whipping motion is clearly seen in hwa rang do’s dan bong blocks and strikes, making defense potentially as painful as offense. Indeed, Joo Bang Lee is fond of demonstrating the myriad of uses to which the short stick can be put by answering an opponent’s kick with a flicking tap to the shin. The adversary’s face inevitably turns white with pain after the seemingly effortless strike makes contact.

The dan bong’s shaft exemplifies versatility. While most arts teach students to use the body of an impact weapon only for blocking and striking, hwa rang do does not encumber its practitioners n any way. “The shaft of the dan bong can be used as an additional appendage,” says Joo Bang Lee. To demonstrate his point, he blocks a punch to the face, then deftly flips the shaft over his opponent’s wrist and grabs the tip with his free hand. The slightest downward force drops the opponent in a screaming heap. Lee then points out that joint manipulations are an essential part of combat and that the short stick’s rigidity makes it the perfect tool for creating additional force on the targeted joint or pressure point. Additionally, he says, the shaft serves to stabilize the fingers in a fist, much like a roll of quarters that is held wile a punch is thrown.

The short stick’s pommel can function as an excellent striking implement. When the forward tip is blocked, the pommel can whip around and hammer home a punishing strike-to the collarbone for instance. In close-range fighting, the pommel is often used as a shorter tool for augmenting the power of a joint manipulation. “Many times, someone will grab your weapon arm,” says Joo Bang Lee. “If that occurs, you don’t have to forgo a joint-manipulation technique simply because one of your hands is occupied with a weapon.” In such a situation, the pommel of the stick can easily circle the opponent’s wrist to effect a lock, and the lock can be more painful than an empty-hand lock because it uses the wooden surface to simultaneously pinch down on the pressure points in the wrist.

The dan bong’s tether is actually an important offensive tool, despite the fact that most observers see it as merely an apparatus to keep the stick from flying out of your hand. It can also be used to assist you in restraining an opponent’s wrist during a lock or in choking him afterward. Additional utility comes from being able to use the tether to create a flexible weapon: You grasp it while you strategically fling the dan bong into your opponent’s face, then yank it back into your palm. The skilled practitioner also knows how to link two short sticks together to create a makeshift nunchaku.

DanbongCombo3

Extrapolation

Martial artists tend to think of wooden weapons primarily as impact devices, but the hwa rang do short stick is obviously different because it enables you to strike, cut, lock and throw. “That gives you the full gamut of fighting techniques so you’re not limited to just beating wildly on someone like a child with a stick,” Taejoon Lee says. “The problem for many people lies in failing to achieve an adequate understanding of basic empty-hand combat, which can make bearing a weapon a detriment.”

If you decide to train in the use of the short stick-or any other hwa rang do short-range weapon-you must learn how to use both hands in a coordinated fashion, blocking and striking in a figure-8 or circular pattern, Taejoon Lee says. “Maximum damage is the goal of both empty-hand and weapons [techniques], so a solid understanding of pressure-point striking is also necessary.”
When it comes to self-defense, the most important thing to remember is that dan bong techniques can be done with a plethora of household items. Whatever is handy-be it a coke bottle, wrench, cell phone, flashlight or TV remote control-can be wielded with the same authority.

“As long as it is semi-cylindrical and fits in your hand, it will have most of the [features] mentioned above and can be applied with dan bong principles,” Taejoon Lee explains. “While hwa rang do teaches the use of some ancient Korean weapons, it is all applicable to modern life and modern conflict.”

Aerial Kicking (Martial Arts Combat Sports – May 2002)

Posted on by taejoonlee

Extreme Hwa Rang Do®
This Korean Art’s Aerial Kicks Push the Human Body to Find The Maximum Range of Physical Expression Part 1 by Hyung-Min Jung.

In the past few years, the hwa rang do system has stayed out of the spotlight. But that dormancy has come to pass, and hwa rang do is coming out of its cave like a hungry tiger with an appetite for conquest. At the forefront of that charge is Taejoon “Henry” Lee, the elder son of hwa rang do’s founder, Dr. Joo Bang Lee.
Taejoon Lee is one of the most colorful figures of Korean martial arts, and his insights into the system founded by his father are no less exciting than the man himself.

“Hwa rang do is a compilation of my fathers martial expertise that came on the scene in the 1960s in Korea,” explains Lee. “Many people look at some of the techniques that Korean martial arts are known for, and they credit them to styles like taekwondo and hapkido, but the reality is that many of those techniques showed up in other systems after my father started teaching publicly in Seoul. From Seoul, the instructors that trained under my father spread out to influence other systems and schools.”

AirkickCombo1

airkick5a

KOREAN FOOT-FEST
One such branch of techniques is the amazing aerial kicking that the Korean martial arts are well known for, and hwa rang do kicking in particular may be indeed at the vanguard of the Korean foot-fest.

“If people just talked to anyone who trained with my father back in the 1950s and 1960s, they’ll know that hwa rang do practitioners were doing some of the 540 and 720 spin and combination kicks that some tournament forms competitors started doing only in recent years,” says Lee. “When I was a little kid back in Korea, there used to be footprints on the ceiling of my fathers Dojang (martial arts school) from the jumping dora chagi (spinning kicks) that his students used to practice.”

“Hwa rang do’s radical flying foot attacks fall under the heading of tuk soo jok sul or special kicking methods. Within tuk soo jok sul, there are a wide variety of kick attacks. Including in this category are jumping kicks, spinning jump kicks, flip kicks, flying kicks and kicks to multiple targets while airborne. This kind of extreme kicking is in keeping with hwa rang do’s philosophy of pushing the human body to find the maximum range of physical expression.

Careful consideration is required before “jumping” into this kind of training. According to Taejoon Lee, “people have to realize that this kind of training isn’t for everyone. The Hwarang warriors were the elite soldiers in ancient Korea, so they trained and developed skills that nobody else could do. Part of the reason that these Hwarang warriors were so feared is that during the time when Silla people fighting to unite Korea, their Hwarang knights would leap into the air and kick the mounted enemy soldiers off their horses. One of the most famous warriors in Korean history was named Kwan Chang. During the war with the Baekche tribe, Kwan Change leapt into the air and killed a mounted Baekche cavalry commander with a kick!”

SERIOUS INJURIES
But as a result of attaining such height, there is also a long drop back to the ground. This is where a great deal of injuries can occur with martial artists. There are countless incidents where aspiring martial arts students are sidelined by serious knee of ankle injuries sustained while practicing jumping kicks. Yet Lee has a quick answer for this situation.

“Injuries are a mark of something missing in the training, whether it be an issue of technical explanation, proper demonstration or safety precautions,” he says. “In many cases, it’s a situation in which the student isn’t taught the proper method for jumping and landing. Anyone can jump up high with a little practice, but are they prepared for the landing?”

RIGOROUS TRAINING
To prepare his students, Lee has a rigorous training regimen that builds muscular strength to attain height for the jump and power for the kick, while also building ligament and tendon strength to be able to absorb the impact from the landing. He begins from the most simple duck-walk drills to build leg strength and progress to practicing the components of the most complicated of hwa rang do’s kicks.

Following are some tips that are really important to remember when you’re jumping and landing, explains Lee.

You have to land “like a cat, not like a sack of bricks,” he says.

Your feet should touch the ground toe first, then follow with the heel.

Some people land heel first after jumping kick, and the shock of those landing goes straight up their legs to their kneed. If you land with your forefoot first, the ankle and knee together will absorb a lot more shock and give your body more time to decelerate. That prevents the kind of jarring injuries sustained most of the time with jumping kicks.

Also, it is important to tighten your dan jun or lower abdomen when you’re performing these jump kicks. When you tighten your lower abdomen, it’s like you’re making you body more compact, lighter, so that when you jump and spin, your center of mass isn’t spread out all over the place. When your center of mass is smaller, it’s easier for you to maintain your proper posture and positioning in the air, much like it is when you see a professional figure skater do a jumping spin and land on the ice.

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JUMPING, FLYING KICKS
Once the basic jumping and landing skills have been mastered, the next step for a hwa rang do student is to progress through a series of jumping and flying kicks, starting from the simple standing jump kicks, to the flying single kicks (usually for breaking), and then aerial combinations kicks. Lee was one of the first martial artists in the United States to popularize the flying sidekick breaking techniques, taking a running leap over several people to shatter a stack of boards. The aerial combination kicks progress in difficulty from double jumping front kicks (where both legs kick out at two separate targets simultaneously), to combination kicks in which the kicker strikes and opponent three times after leaving the ground.

Another type of tuk soo jok sul is the wol jang jok sul or kicking techniques after stepping or pushing off an object with the foot.

“You know the kicks you see a lot of action stars doing in films?” asks Lee. “In hwa rang do, we do many of those same kicks that you see on the screen, but without the wires to hold us up.”

To emphasize his point, Lee stands up and positions two of his students with kicking targets, one at chest height and the other at head height. He sprints towards the wall, leaping up and pushing off the wall with one foot, changing direction towards the first target and kicking solidly with his other foot. With the same foot, he spins in midair and nails the second target-some six feet away from the first target-with a spinning round kick before alighting on the mat again.

“That’s the essence of wol jang jok sul, says Lee. “We use this kind of foot technique to attack multiply targets and change direction in midair. At the beginning levels, students learn to take a few steps off a wall and then push off the wall to kick a target that’s a few feet away from it. Later on, at higher levels, we can use an aerial kick as a means to change direction and strike the next target. Just know you saw me jump up the wall and hit the first target using the wall as a means to push off and change direction, but I used the force from the first kick to propel me backward so I could kick the second target.”

Such flying techniques may seem almost unbelievable to the untrained observer, but this kind of technique is simple physics, biased on inertia-the propensity of an object in motion to remain in motion and an object at rest to remain at rest. Each time the foot touches a stationary object; there is resistance to motion. For instance, when Lee begins to sprint towards the wall, his body is accelerated into motion. When it hits the first target, the target provides resistance against which his kick pushes to propel him backward and upwards into the next target. However, don’t let the simplistic explanation fool you. There is a great deal of physical coordination required for such maneuvers.

ASKING FOR TROUBLE?
This kind of kicking may seem as if it would offer ample opportunity for an opponent to grab an outstretched leg, but Lee merely grins at the suggestion.

“If someone were lucky enough to grab a leg, part of wol jang jok sul training is to use the free leg to kick your opponent with a telling blow, and free your leg,” says Lee. “In addition, we set up our aerial spinning kicks, like the 540’s with both legs, using one leg when you first leave the ground to gage the distance or create a diversion, and the second kick has the finishing power from the spin.”

“Agility is defined as the ability to change directions rapidly,” he continues. “Wol jang jok sul requires a great deal of agility – twisting the upper body, balancing in mid-air, and torque from the waist – to create the proper angle and motion for that kind of aerial combination kicking. We are basing out movements one the harmonized motion of proper breathing, leg strength, waist twisting and torso alignment to create powerful movement in different directions while airborne. Its physics combined with ki power to make the body lighter is such a way as to facilitate the jump and following kick. That’s the wirework you see in movies, but done in real life, with real kicks and real people. This is part of hwa rang do’s basic philosophy of maximizing human potential. It’s not just about training the simplest techniques for combat, but more to challenge yourself to achieve options that are unthinkable for the average person.”

Black Belt Magazine – July 2001

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Taejoon Lee
Hwa Rang Do®’s Golden Child
Prepares to Lead the Korean Art into the New Millennium
(Black Belt Magazine – July 2001)
By Hyung-Min Jung

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The conflict between traditional values and modern living is an issue in many cultures these days. The martial arts have also become a battlefield for this conflict, with many practitioners wondering whether to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors or tread a new path. In an era when old-fashioned values are increasingly falling by the wayside, there are exceptional few who manage to retain the strength of the old ways while improving, growing and adapting with modern society. Taejoon Lee, chief master of the World Hwa Rang Do® Association, is one of them.

Personal History
The eldest son of Lee Joo-bang, the supreme grandmaster of the World Hwa Rang Do Association, Taejoon Lee has seen both sides of the tradition-vs.-modernization and has constructed a path for his students to follow. Born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised under the strict eye of his father, Lee under went an often painful forging process in his early years. “Children have life a little too easy these days,” says the seventh-degree, “Go talk to older people. Most of them went through things that would be considered child abuse by modern standards, yet the vast majority of them didn’t exhibit the kind of disturbing behavior we see so commonly in today’s youth, like breaking into their father’s gun cabinet shooting their schoolmates.”

Once when Lee was 4, he threw a temper tantrum in front of his parents. His father left him on the rooftop of their building in the freezing snow barefoot and in his underwear in the middle of the Korean winter until he realized the impropriety of his manner. “Doing that is illegal these days,” he says. “You’d be thrown in jail in a heartbeat, and your kids would be put in protective custody. In Korea, we called that discipline.” For most the story would end there, but that’s not all. The real clincher is: After sometime has passed, Lee’s father tells the mother to go let him in. When his mother approaches and tells Lee his father has given him permission to come in, Lee refuses and defiantly remains in the snow.

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The opponent (left) controls Taejoon Lee with a head lock (1). Lee activates a pressure point behind theopponent’s right knee to prevent him from stepping backward, then slides to his left so he can position his right arm for the escape (2). Lee scrapes his ridge hand and forearm across the opponent’s face as he arches his back and neck, thus loosening the head lock (3). The hwa rang do expert continues to bridge backward as he wraps his right arm around the other man’s neck and cranks it (4). Lee continues to roll the opponent and pull him off-balance as he steps forward with his right leg (5). To finish, Lee drops to one knee and tightens his hold on the opponent’s neck and hair (6).

Through daily menCombo2atal training like the aforementioned experience, Lee grew and learned within the Hwarang warrior tradition. “People, especially in the United States, think of discipline as a form of punishment,” he says. “It’s seen as an impairment of freedom, limiting the free expression of another human being. To the followers of the Hwarang tradition, we understand that without strong discipline accompanied by effective consequences, a human being cannot grow to full potential. The discipline and forging we undergo in our youth gives foundation on which to really grow mentally, physically and spiritually.

Yet there’s a caveat to those would misinterpret what Lee is saying. “Discipline isn’t punishment,” he cautions. “Discipline should come from love. Punishment comes from hatred. Children have to be guided with care and love, not with an abusive heart.”

The freedom Lee speaks of can be seen in everything from his beautiful West Los Angeles dojang (training hall) to the effortlessness with which he takes flight to kick. The spacious hall that houses Lee and his students offers the best in modern training equipment, complete with polished equipment, hardwood floors, comfortable mats, stereo sound and computerized attendance and bookkeeping systems. Yet there are reminders of traditional virtue all around in the shape of beautifully carved, wooden Chinese characters representing the qualities of perfect conduct as written by his father: humanity, justice, courtesy, wisdom, trust, goodness, virtue, loyalty and courage. Under the junior Lee’s strict guidance, such a training environment gives students the foundation on which to build their mind and body.

The physical discipline of Hwa Rang Do is another aspect of Taejoon Lee’s expertise. Speaking of the spectacular kicks for which his art is renowned, he says “A lot of people look at a kicking demonstration and talk about how much they want to learn that. But when it comes time to really practice, really train, really sweat push hard, their hearts might not be into it. Physical excellence isn’t something a credit card can buy. It’s one of the best B.S. detectors you can find. Someone who really works hard, really puts in the effort will be superior.”

In Hwa Rang Do, kicks abound, and the degree of difficulty is often underestimated by novices. “New students love to see advanced students practicing the aerial and spinning kicks, often trying to imitate them,” Lee says. “But the discipline it takes to stay focused on really perfecting the basic kicks and develop the leg power from stance work can seem boring to novices. That’s when I have to explain to them that every hour they put their whole effort into perfecting the kicks and stances will make it easier to learn the more difficult techniques later on.”

“When students can postpone that urge for immediate gratification and focus on the task at hand, they’ll be successful in anything they do because they’ve learned what real persistence and diligence are about,” Lee continues. “These are people who push themselves to greatness—the self-starters that every company wants to hire.”

Taejoon Lee (left) readies himself for the opponent’s attack (1). The opponent charges and attempts to tackle the hwarang do stylist (2), but he intercepts the motion by wrapping his left arm around the opponent’s right arm and pushing his own right arm down as if to effect a guillotine choke (3). Lee then switches course and locks a figure-4 hold on the other man’s right arm (4). By placing pressure on the opponent’s triceps, Lee forces him down as he tightens the shoulder lock (5). Next, Lee drops to his right knee while maintaining pressure on the shoulder (6). He completes the defense by moving to the opponent’s back and immobilizing him (7).

Evolution
Hwa Rang Do’s techniques are not limited to just kicks, however. The system to which Lee’s family is heir is perhaps Korea’s most comprehensive martial art. Throws, locks, strikes and more than 108 weapons comprise the arsenal of modern hwa rang do warriors. Ancient techniques that have been handed down for thousands of years give students a distinct advantage on the street, but don’t think for a moment that the art hasn’t evolved over time.

“When the kingdoms of Baekche (18 B.C.-A.D. 668) and Silla (57 B.C.-A.D. B.C.-A.D. 668) were at war, firearms weren’t a major part of the equation like they are now,” Lee says. “But Hwa Rang Do has grown to meet the needs of every era. We now have gun disarms, weapon retention techniques and strategic shooting principles for the military and police courses we teach. “The base concepts on which the system was founded allow you to interpolate the proper attack or defense in any situation, regardless of which era you’re in,” he continues. “Koreans have been invaded more than any other country in Asia, but our culture and our ways have survived. We didn’t get that way by not being able to adapt.”

In the same way his art has evolved, so has Lee. When he arrived in America at age 9, he took the English name of Henry. While still young Henry Lee was known in martial arts circles as a child prodigy. He attended the University of Southern California and pioneered the Intercollegiate Hwa Rang Do Society (ICHRDS) during his undergraduate career. During those years, he ran as President of ICHRDS (which governed seven HRD university clubs: USC, UCLA, UCI, UCR, UCSD, CSLB, ASU) for over ten years, he managed to divide time between teaching at several campuses, running his own school, managing the international headquarters dojang and full-time academics—thus maintaining a delicate balance between the demands of Korean tradition and American college life. After he graduated, he made the difficult decision to abandon his pursuit of law and follow in the footsteps of his father, inheriting the family business with all the trials and tribulations inherent in a martial arts dynasty.

“Because he’s so completely focused on the development and maintenance of his art, my father let a lot of things go in his early years here in the United States,” Lee says. “His students would ask him questions about the history or lineage of Hwa Rang Do, and then they’d write articles on what they heard from him. Unfortunately, there were some inaccuracies that piled over time due to the language barrier, and my father didn’t really make an effort to put the situation in check.”

“When I made the decision to devote my life to Hwa Rang Do full-time, I questioned him about everything I wasn’t 100-percent sure about. But my father’s answers as well as through my personal research made complete sense to me, and now with the help of a bilingual individuals such as myself, we’re setting the historical straight for the public, and we’ll let the scholars verify it all.”

 

Future
Now Lee’s life is geared toward propagating his father’s art and continually bettering himself in preparation for the mantle he will wear one day as the Supreme Grandmaster of Hwa Rang Do. “All the happenings of the past few years have given me time to really digest what my place in this world is,” he says. “I am my father’s eldest child, the one who will support him and his art to my last breath because I see the greatness that he is and because I understand the truth that he speaks.”
“I made a conscious choice to accept the responsibility that comes with being my father’s successor in Hwa Rang Do,” he continues. “As warriors our strength is measured by the responsibilities we carry and our accountability to a higher cause. That signifies our worth to this world. My responsibility is to my father’s art and in setting an example for later generations of practitioners to follow.”

Part of that responsibility involves understanding Hwa Rang Do’s origins. Lee is publicly clarifying his father’s role in the development of the modern Korean martial arts. He has also grown comfortable with his Korean heritage, exhibiting a fierce pride in the accomplishments of his people. “Koreans have never been conquered; that’s why we’re called the indomitable people,” he says. “Our culture, our ways, our language all live on despite the horrifying cultural oppression of the the Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945. To come from that kind of heritage is an honor. In recognition of that history, he has dropped his American name and now sticks to his Korean name: Taejoon Lee.

The junior Lee was practically raised in the dojang, he says.The chief master continues with a little-known vignette: “Years ago there was a Korean martial arts gathering in San Francisco. Hapkido masters, were there, taekwondo masters were there and kuk sool masters were there. When it came time for the masters to be seated at the head table, Ji Han jae, the man who is revered as the senior-most hapkido practitioner in world, was in the seat of honor. The older masters know their place with each other. When they get face-to-face, they know who trained with whom, what each other’s secrets are. There’s no hiding behind the media or a Web site. The man who sits first is the most-senior, most-revered person in that gathering. My father, my uncle [Lee Joo-sang] and I arrived late. When we walked in, Ji Han-jae got up, as did everyone else, and re-seated. My father sat at the seat of honor, followed by Ji Han-jae and my uncle. After them, everyone else sat. When I saw my father sit first, that told me everything I needed to know. Now it’s my turn to make sure the world understands the real deal with Hwa Rang Do and my father’s legacy.”

 

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Just as the Hwarang knights of ancient Silla had models like the legendary Gen. Kim Yu-shin, the modern followers of the Hwarang tradition will have a shining knight to follow in the 21st century. Taejoon Lee is coming out, ready to fight, ready to stand behind his art, ready to show the world what the strength of tradition can accomplish and ready to make waves. His life in Hwa Rang Do has given him the means to make the perfect synthesis of East and West, the traditional and the modern—finally attaining balance within himself and living harmoniously with the universe.

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Lee Joo-bang, the patriarch of Hwa Rang Do, sits with son Taejoon.

The Invincible Sulsa Warriors (Black Belt Magazine – June 1986)

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By Taejoon Lee

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In the early 1970’s, Americans began to receive a wider variety of martial arts from which to practice. Among this vast array of choices was an innovative and dynamic style that would forever transform the perception of the martial arts: Hwa Rang Do® (way of the flowering manhood). Korea holds the roots of Hwa Rang Do, an 1800 year old martial skill-set originally known as UmYangKwon (combat skills of Silla Hwarang warriors), which at present is led by Dr. Joo Bang Lee. Within this esoteric art, which combines many facets of physical and mental development, resides perhaps the beginning of today’s warfare tactics and hand-to-hand combat techniques.

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Hwa Rang Do is a highly balanced martial style incorporating physical techniques with philosophy, academics and healing arts. It is divided into four categories: 1) wae-gong (external power), 2) nae-gong (internal power), 3) shin-gong (mental power), and 4) mugi-gong (weapon power). 
To demonstrate this idea of balance, Hwa Rang Do has two different, yet necessary, divisions of physical applications: Jung-do and Am-ja.

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Jung-do is the “way of the true sword and light.” It means fighting in battle with honor and dignity, dueling to the death, never retreating in the face of the enemy, and dying if one must in the process. In ancient times, the code of chivalry was up held at all cost, and the gentleman’s code was practiced sincerely. Jung do techniques require the ability to face the enemy in a fair match to demonstrate superiority of power. It involves the study of the way of the true sword, where one must call out the inner spirit. This is attained by eliminating all thoughts and emotions. One is like the wind, which moves from here to there, and in the movement there lies strength, with no inhibiting element to stop the current of air.


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BB-SulsaTech5Am-ja is the “way of darkness.” In this division, trickery, deception and cunning are the key elements of success. One must use whatever method, tool, or strategy is necessary to gain an advantage and defeat the enemy. In am-ja, the only honor lies in the ultimate outcome. Like the Machiavellian principles, the end justifies the means. In this school, one learns techniques in manipulating the enemy psychologically, physically and emotionally to confuse him, then move in for the final blow. In ancient Korea, the way of darkness was necessary for maintaining national security.

With the neighboring Korean kingdoms constantly at war with one another, espionage and counter-espionage were inevitable. Consequently, there emerged a group of warrior elite known as the sulsa (knights of the night). They practice the am-ja methods of warfare and infiltrated enemy kingdoms to gather information. 
The sulsa were selected from the best Hwarang warriors. They were Hwa Rang Do’s special forces, majoring in infiltration, exfiltration, intelligence gathering, assassination, and survival tactics. They used whatever means necessary to carry out their plan.

Unlike the ancient Japanese ninja, however, the most important asset of the sulsa was there ideal of hwal-bop, which encouraged the warrior to save lives, rather than take them. If one is able to kill, then one should be able to heal as well. The sulsa played a significant role in the unification of the Korean peninsula. Legend has it that the king of Silla province had a dream of producing the greatest fighting machine in history. Consequently, hwarang warriors were trained in all aspects of warfare, strategy, and combat. The very best warriors were subsequently selected and trained as sulsa. The chosen few possessed the characteristics of patience, loyalty, trust, courage, intelligence and cleverness.

Thanks to the sulsa’s selfless devotion to the kingdom, Silla’s neighboring provinces of Koguryo and Paekche were ultimately conquered, unifying Korea into one nation. Unfortunately, the unification also marked the decline of the sulsa. With Silla’s enemys in check, there was little use for the “knights of the night.” During their heydays, the sulsa were experts in un-shin-bop, a subdivision of Hwa Rang Do, which involves the art of concealing oneself in front of others. It employs a combination of distraction, suggestion, stealth, and camouflage. To be invisible, one must utilize what is visible. By controlling the elements that can be seen, one can appear invisible. We assume things are real by making associations with past experiences. We set expectations and anticipate the results before analyzing all the facts. When one can determine the boundary between reality and illusion, he no longer exists in the real world, but only in his illusions.

Yet another aspect of Hwa Rang Do is its subdivision of am-ja into three catagories: jham-bok-sul, jham-ip-sul, and bo-bop.

Jham-bok-sul is the study of camouflage for hiding for long periods of time. It focuses on techniques of hiding by adapting and immersing the body and spirit into the environment. To hide as a rock, one learns to be a rock, study its characteristics, take on its spirit, and become totally engulfed in the reality of being a rock. One must not only be able to hide on land, but also in water, under ground, in trees, and in all different types of terrain. By knowing every situation and every environment, one achieves that balanced state where differences no longer exist and all things merge into one.

Jham-ip-sul is the study of infiltration and exfiltration techniques. In this subdivision, one has to analyze the enemy’s personality, so he can live among the enemy. Techniques in traveling swiftly, climbing, acrobatics and stealth are also taught. Intelligence – emphasis is placed on sneaking behind enemy lines to collect information and relay it back to the generals. Camouflage is also an important part of jham-ip-sul. Many aspects of shin-gong (mental power) are taught: bok-shin-sul (the power to read minds); in-sul (the development of patience); choe-myun-sul (the technique of putting a person to sleep); and sa-sang-bop (study of human types).

BB-Sulsa4BB-Sulsa7Bo-bop is the study of stalking, stealth and fast movement. There are many ways to walk, depending on the type of surface. The art of stealth is taught for sentry stalking and removal. Utilization of dan jun ho heup bop (the study of breathing techniques with active ki power) assists in body relaxation. There are incredible stories of sulsa warriors flying through the air like sparrows, from tree to tree,and rooftop to rooftop (much like todays free-run

ning). These training tactics and the application of over 4000 hand-to-hand combat techniques made the sulsa an awesome fighting machine. Another aspect of the sulsa’s prowess was its weapons expertise. There are 108 different weapons in the study of Hwa Rang Do, which helped make the sulsa an enemy feared by all. The spirit of the Hwarang warrior links sulsa of every generation.

One of the most famous hwarang warriors of the 20th century was Michael D. Echanis, who through his master Dr. Joo Bang Lee, brought the ancient ideals of the Hwarang combat skills into the American military system. Echanis, who was killed in Nicaragua in 1978, left his mark in the training programs he instituted for the elite forces of the American military. One of the first Americans trained in Hwa Rang Do and the first American given the title of Sulsa by our Founder, Dr. Joo Bang Lee, Echanis took the techniques practiced by the art’s early warriors and applied them to modern-day unconventional warfare by creating the first unconventional warfare tactics school in Fort Bragg, NC.

The advancement of battlefield technology has decreased the need for hand-to-hand and special weapons experts, but there still situations where the strategies and techniques of the sulsa would be most effective. As long as there are nations with opposing views, there will be battles and wars waged where the foot soldier is utilized. The method of warfare may have changed over the past 1,800 years, but man’s desire to live remains the same. Putting aside all the strategy, weapons, and military jargon, we are all human, even the invincible sulsa. The Hwarang spirit has not endured 18 centuries because its techniques are superior, but because people who cherish the art understand the value of harmony between man, nature and the universe.

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