Han Moo Kwan TKD Club - Chief Instructor's Corner: Modern-day Tang Soo Do Compared to HMK (Part I of II)

Note: This is Part I of a two-part series to discuss the similarities and differences of Modern-day (post kwans unification) Tang Soo Do (specifically World Tang Soo Do Association) to Han Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do. In this first part the comparison will be on the history, focus, and techniques. All the information contained here is based on the author’s own research of the history of Modern-day Tang Soo Do using sources believed to be reliable; however, absolute accuracy cannot be guaranteed. This author has done her best to state facts and where there are opinions or educated guesses, the author has noted as such. If the author misinterpreted information from the sources, it was not done intentionally.

In this two-part blog, I will explore the similarities and differences of Modern-day Tang Soo Do to Han Moo Kwan. Since Modern-day Tang Soo Do retained much of its original style from Moo Duk Kwan it has a lot of similarities to Han Moo Kwan. In addition, Modern-day Tang Soo Do is fairly well known as a martial art primarily due to one of most famous practitioners, Chuck Norris. So, in my opinion, it is worth understanding more about this art form, especially for advanced students, since one can gleam and extract context and some understanding of our Han Moo Kwan techniques and forms from Modern-day Tang Soo Do.

In the first part of this blog, I will provide a brief overview of how Modern-day Tang Soo Do came to be and discuss some similarities and differences in the first two of the following five areas.

1. Focus
2. Techniques
3. Sparring
4. Forms (Hyung)
5. Ranking

Brief History of Modern-day Tang Soo Do

For nearly twenty years following World War II, the common Korean terms for karate were tangsoodo and kongsoodo. Tangsoodo was the Korean pronunciation of the Japanese karate-do, represented by kanji characters meaning “China/Tang hand way”, and alluding to the art’s Chinese roots [Ref. 3, 4, 6, and 7].

Modern-day Tang Soo Do is an offshoot of one of the original five kwans, Moo Duk Kwan. Moo Duk Kwan (military virtue training hall) was founded on November 9, 1945, by Grandmaster Hwang Kee where he taught Hwasoodo [Ref. 3, 5, 6, and 7]. In 1947, Hwang Kee reformed his art form and began teaching Tang Soo Do. Other kwans, Chung Do Kwan (one of the first five kwans and originally called Chungdohwe), and Oh Do Kwan (which was started by students and Instructors from Chung Do Kwan) also identified their martial art as Tang Soo Do. In the mid-1950s Oh Do Kwan, then led under General Choi, referred to their style as Taekwondo. The successful kwans unification occurred in 1965, after many years of attempts, under the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) which was founded in 1961 (originally called the Korea Tae Soo Do Association until 1965). This unification standardized the art form (inclusive of techniques, hyung and promotions). Hwang Kee did not want to join the KTA since he did not agree with where it was heading and wanted to retain the traditional aspect of the art form. So he retained the Moo Duk Kwan style (sometimes referred to today as Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan or Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan) and led the kwan until his death under the Korean Soo Bahk Do Association. Moo Duk Kwan incorporates more fluid "soft" movements reminiscent of certain traditional Chinese martial arts [Ref. 3 and 5].

Jae-chul Shin started studying Tang Soo Do under Grandmaster Hwang in 1948 and studied Tang Soo Do while attending university. In 1958, Shin was drafted into the Korean War and taught martial arts to soldiers including American soldiers stationed in Korea. It was during this time that he trained Chuck Norris who later established his own organizations to teach a style of Tang Soo Do. In 1968, Shin moved to the United States to continue his education and extend the instruction of Tang Soo Do to Americans where he established the U.S. Tang Soo Do Federation which was sanctioned by Hwang’s Korean Soo Bahk Do Association. In 1982, Chin was not satisfied with the direction of the U.S. Tang Soo Do Federation which seemed to be heading towards more sports style and competition, resigned from its board and established the World Tang Soo Do Association (WTSDA) where he remained the leader until his death in 2012 [Ref. 8 and 9].

While there are many Modern-day Tang Soo Do organizations out there (usually based on offshoots as students branched off and created their own experience / interpretations of Tang Soo Do (like Chuck Norris did)), for the sake of this blog, I will compare Han Moo Kwan against World Tang Soo Do Association (WTSDA), which is one of the largest in the United States and has a clear direct lineage to Grandmaster Hwang Kee.

Therefore World Tang Soo Do Association (WTSDA) has a similar history to the Han Moo Kwan style that we practice since Mr. Kim decided not to join WT. It is mainly based in the United States and sticks to the traditional art form that was influenced by Okinawan and Shotokan Karate.

1. Focus

Since WTSDA retained much of its original style to retain the traditional aspect of the art form, in general, WTSDA schools have a similar focus to Han Moo Kwan.

From the World Tang Soo Do Association Website [Ref. 1], the purpose of Tang Soo Do Training is not only to learn self-defense skills, but also “… the betterment of your mind, body and spirit and the development of individual character and respect for others”.

While the focus is very similar (for self-defense and to better oneself), a key difference is many WTSDA schools participate in tournaments and competitions. How much a school focuses on tournaments or competitions is dependent on the school. Tournaments and competitions could include forms (hyung), team forms, board breaking, weapons, and/ or sparring (see Ref. 2 for WTSDA competition rules).

So, the major areas of focus that are different are:

Team forms where the focus is on not just technique, accuracy, and focus (intensity), but also presentation, synchronicity, and artistic quality. While we do practice class pace to improve awareness of surroundings, the concept here for synchronicity is different than performing exactly the same way precisely in unison.
Practicing with weapons (knives, swords, bos, staffs, etc.) since Han Moo Kwan is strictly an empty hand combat style. While this does not mean we do not practice against weapons, we do not practice fighting with a weapon.
Some differences in sparring due to the rules, which I will go over in the Sparring section in Part II of this blog.

In addition based on the review of the various Tang Soo Do and San Bahk Do websites and videos of World Tang Soo Do Association (WTSDA); I could not find any explicit discussions of grounding. There was some that noted Weh Gung (external power) which was defined as proper use of hips to maximize power, but they did not use the term grounding. I did find mention of Energy (Ki) on some of them which they referred to as Neh Gung (internal power). In addition, review of some videos of hyung from one school showed that some students/ practitioners performed hyung and one step sparring drills, and self-defense from a grounded state [see Ref. 10 and 11]. This does not mean it is taught or expected from every school that practices Tang Soo Do. So, my educated guess is it depends from school to school whether it is taught (and if taught explicitly or not) and / or expected.

2. Techniques

WTSDA and Han Moo Kwan practice similar techniques and stances, but there are differences. WTSDA does seem to focus on both hand strikes and kicks versus almost strictly kicks which is typical of World Taek Kwon Do (WT) (formally known as World Taek Kwon Do Federation (WTF)). Some of these differences may lie in interpretation or in the fact the Grandmaster Hwang Kee was influenced by and / or studied either directly or self-study through books and videos (depending on the reference) Korean martial arts of Subak and Taekkyon, Chung Oh Kwan, early Shotokan and/ or Okinawan Karate, Kung Fu, Yang-style Taijiquan and in 1957 a 300 year-old Korean manuscript called the “Moo Yei Do Bo Tong Ji” that documented Korean martial techniques known as Soo Bahk [primarily Ref. 4, 6 and 8]. If was after reviewing this manuscript, Hwang started referring to this artform as both tang soo do and subakdo [Ref. 5].

Majority of the statements below under stances, hand techniques, and kicks are based on reviewing websites and articles and studying WTSDA Hyung DVD [Ref. 10] and WTSDA One Step DVD [Ref. 11].

Stances

WTSDA schools also have a back stance which looks like our Fighting Cat Stance but there is weight on the front foot and it is longer. Some of the details of front stance (which is longer and tends to lean into the attack) versus our Attack Stance are different.

Hand Techniques

Hand techniques practiced appear similar to Han Moo Kwan based on the research I conducted. With that said, the prep for techniques tend to be different (for example higher and gaps between arms), techniques are higher such as medium block fist is higher than shoulder height, reciprocals are above the belt, and techniques are not necessarily linear or short.

Kicks

Roundhouse is more a staple kick as well as a hook kick. WTSDA practices jump and flying kicks which focus on height and actually have two feet flying through the air at once whereas Han Moo Kwan does not practice or believe flying kicks should be practiced for self-defense since based on our philosophy they are too easy to see coming, too easy to get out of the way, and if performing a kick you can be very vulnerable in the air. An interesting note: flying kicks are part of the official WTSDA emblem which illustrates the importance WTSDA places on flying kicks.

Spin kicks are also something that is more of a staple in WTSDA versus Mr. Kim’s philosophy of “Practice but never use” since spin kicks are only effective in very select situations even though they can support improvement in balance and controlling one’s center of gravity.

In Part II to be posted next month, I will compare sparring, hyung, and ranking.

Regards,

Kelly

"Always remember that your success begins inside you: If you can't see it first, no one else ever will." ~ Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (1940 –2026,) an American martial artist with Black Belts in multiple styles, founder of the Chuck Norris System (previously called Chun Kuk Do) which is based on his Tang Soo Do training, actor, screenwriter, and author.

References:

1. https://worldtangsoodo.com/about/, Retrieved 5/3/2026

2. 2022WTSDARulebook.pdf, Retrieved 5/4/2026

3. Tang Soo Do - Wikipedia, Retrieved 5/3/2026

4. Storming the Fortress: A History of Taekwondo - Part One - Christopher Caile's Fighting Arts, Retrieved 5/4/2026

5. Storming the Fortress: A History of Taekwondo - Part Four - Christopher Caile's Fighting Arts, Retrieved 5/4/2026

6. A Modern History of Taekwondo.doc, retrieved, Retrieved 5/4/2026

7. History of Tae Kwon Do from Han Moo Kwan website, Retrieved 5/4/2026

8. Buttitta, Bob (March 1984). The World Tang Soo Do Association: The Last Bastion For Traditional Korean Martial Arts?. Black Belt Magazine, Pages 28–32, Retrieved 5/4/2026.

9. Vandehey, Tim (October 1989). A House Divided: The Broken Family of Tang Soo Do. Black Belt Magazine, Pages 24–28, Retrieved 5/4/2026.

10. WTSDA Hyung DVD, Retrieved 5/4/2026

11. WTSDA One Step DVD, Retrieved 5/4/2026