Moo Duk Kwan Taekwondo is a modern Korean martial art formed in April 1965 by Kim Young Taek, Hong Chong Soo, and Lee Kang Ik. For disambiguation see Moo Duk Kwan (disambiguation).

Meaning

The name Moo Duk Kwan means "School of Martial Virtue"

• Moo – military, chivalry, martial; within the ideograph the inner part of the symbol is the word for "stop" and the outer part means "weapon"
• Duk – benevolence, virtue, goodness, commanding respect; within the ideograph on the left it means "little steps" or "to happen", and on the right the character means "moral"; thus moral steps or perhaps virtuous conduct
• Kwan – large building, palace, library; again within the ideograph the left part looks like a roofed building and technically means "to eat" (under a roof).

Trademark

In the United States, "Moo Duk Kwan and the fist logo are federally registered trademarks of the U.S. Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation and "Soo Bahk Do and the "Soo Bahk Do logo are service marks.

History

Moo Duk Kwan was originally a martial arts school established in Korea by Hwang Kee. The art taught at this school was called Hwa Soo Do. Hwang Kee later called it Tang Soo Do and eventually settled on the name Soo Bahk Do. In 1961 the Korean government initiated a movement to unify all of its country's martial arts schools under one governing body. This body would originally be called the Korean Tae Soo Do Association and later renamed the Korean Tae Kwon Do Association. The stated purpose was to unify the Kwans and allow for growth of this newly named Korean martial art.

According to the current General Secretary of Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan, YU of Seoul, Korea and those same minutes reprinted in "A Modern History of Taekwondo", official records and minutes of the meetings of the Kwan Unity committee show that Hwang Kee was upset that he would not lead the unified group, and after agreeing to the merger, backed out.

In March 1965 a division within the Moo Duk Kwan occurred. Three of Hwang Kee's senior students, Kim Young Taek, Hong Chong Soo, and Lee Kang Ik, led a significant number of Moo Duk Kwan members to join the Kwan Unity Movement. In April 1965 these members officially became the Moo Duk Kwan school of Taekwondo with Lee Kang Ik as president.

The Moo Duk Hae is a social friendship club that endorses the Kukkiwon curriculum. Every year the Moo Duk Hae has an anniversary celebration in Korea, where members from all over the world attend. Attendees include some from the Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan.

The Present Day

Senior members of both the Soo Bahk Do and Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan consider each other brothers and often attend each other's special events and tournaments. They recognize Hwang Kee as their progenitor and have a great admiration for him and his achievements in the martial arts.

References

• History of Moo Duk Kwan By Hwang Kee ISBN 0-9631358-7-2
• A Modern History of Taekwondo 1999 (Korean) Kyong Myung Lee and Kang Won Sik ISBN 89-358-0124-0
• Excerpts from "A Modern History of Taekwondo"
• Global Taekwondo 2003 (English) Kyo Yoon Lee ISBN 89-952721-4-7
• A Guide to Taekwondo 1996 (English) Kyo Yoon Lee ISBN 8975000648
• Kukkiwon 25th Anniversary Text 1997 (Korean) Un Yong Kim
• Kukkiwon Textbook 2006 (English/Korean) Um Woon Kyu