Hwa Rang Do is a traditional Korean martial art that was created over 1800 years ago for warriors of the Silla kingdom (during the Three-Kingdoms period) in what is now Korea. The modern form was created by Dr. Joo Bang Lee and his brother, Joo Sang Lee. This martial art teaches and encourages fighting and defense techniques, religious training, intellectual enhancement, and artistic pursuits. It has an extensive history, and a very involved technique structure.
Hwa Rang Do is one of the few martial arts which is still considered traditional and free of the Americanization which is prevalent in other martial arts, especially Karate and Tae Kwon Do. This is due entirely to the pursuits of Hwa Rang Do Supreme Grand Master and founder, Joo Bang Lee.
History
The name Hwa Rang Do is Korean for "The way of the Flowering Manhood". It was named after the Hwa Rang warriors of Silla, in what is now Korea. These warriors were considered the fiercest and best trained warriors of the time, and were often the front line warriors whenever the Kingdoms made war. The Hwa Rang warriors were well educated, better trained, and taught to have absolute loyalty and spirit. One of the rules they followed was "Never retreat in the face of an enemy", and they followed it to a word, throwing themselves into impossible battles at the command of the King, sometimes dying to the last man. Many stories were told about these warriors, usually to emphasize the focus and determination that let them beat impossible odds, or to emphasize the purity of spirit and goodness that they embodied. The code of chivalry that these warriors followed was given to them by Won Kwang Bopsa, a Buddhist monk. He gave them five rules (the Hwa Rang O Kae) to follow, and nine virtues to live by (the Hwa Rang Kyo Hoon).
These warriors were taught by Buddhist monks, who carried the martial art from generation to generation within their temples. When Silla fell and Buddhism was being cast out, the teachings were preserved by generations of monks, passed from master to student. During this time the techniques were known as Um Yang Kwon, or "Hard and soft techniques". The current master is Joo Bang Lee, and he is the 58th generation of title-holder.
Modern History
In 1942, a monk named Suahm Dosa took in two boys, Joo Bang Lee and his brother, Joo Sang Lee, to be trained. Note that Dosa is actually his title, and it is roughly equivalent to "expert". They lived with him at the Suk Wang Sa Temple in the Ham Nam province of North Korea, before later escaping with him to Ohdae Mountain in South Korea. He had no formal syllabus to teach them, but rather taught whatever caught his fancy that morning.
After their training by Suahm Dosa, the two brothers spent some time learning other martial arts < before they set out to create their own martial art. They generated the syllabus from scratch, based on the techniques from Suahm Dosa that they could remember, and then started to teach it to the public. At this time, Joo Sang Lee moved to the United States to spread the martial art there.
In January of 1969, Suahm Dosa died. But before he did, he gave the Hwarang title of Do Joo Nim (owner of the way) to Joo Bang Lee. He gave it to the younger brother because he was the one still in Korea, and in Suahm Dosa's eyes, the one who cared more about the art. This did not sit well with Joo Sang Lee, and led to a falling out in later years.
In 1972, Joo Bang Lee moved (taking the World Headquarters of Hwa Rang Do with him) to California.
Technique Structure
In Hwa Rang Do, there are over 4,000 combat techniques, as well as 108 weapons. These are taught in a progression as a student gains sashes (items to signify skill level attained), with many of the more difficult ones only taught after a black sash is achieved.
The Sashes
In Hwa Rang Do, practitioners are given sashes to signify their progression through the martial art. Before first dan (first black sash), the belt order goes from white to half-black:
- White Sash: Coo Kub (ninth grade)
- Orange Sash: Pal Kub (eighth grade)
- Yellow Sash: Chil Kub (seventh grade)
- Green Sash: Yuk Kub (sixth grade)
- Purple Sash: Oh Kub (fifth grade)
- Blue Sash: Sa Kub (fourth grade)
- Brown Sash: Sum Kub (third grade)
- Red Sash: E Kub (second grade)
- Half-black sash: Il Kub (first grade)
After receiving a black sash, a practitioner earns the title Jo Kyo Nim (or alternatively, Yu Dan Ja), and can now be an instructor. In addition, every degree of black sash has its own title, and shows a respective knowledge level. Note that there can only ever be one ninth degree and one tenth degree at any one time.
- Cho Dan: first degree black sash. Title: Jo Kyo Nim (Assistant instructor)
- E Dan: second degree black sash. Title: Kyo Sa Nim (Instructor)
- Sam Dan: third degree black sash. Title: Sa Bum Nim (Head Instructor)
- Sa Dan: fourth degree black sash. Title: Susuk Sa Bum Nim (Chief Instructor)
- Oh Dan: fifth degree black sash. Title: Kwan Jang Nim (Master)
- Yuk Dan: sixth degree black sash. Title: Kwan Jang Nim, or Dosa (Master)
- Chil Dan: seventh degree black sash. Title: Su Suk Kwan Jang Nim (Chief Master)
- Pal Dan: eighth degree black sash. Title: Kuk Sa Nim or Chong Kwan Jang Nim (Grandmaster)
- Gu Dan: ninth degree black sash. Title: Kuk Sun (Head Grandmaster)
- Ship Dan: tenth degree black sash. Title: Do Joo Nim (Supreme Grandmaster, Owner of the Way)
The Physical Techniques
During the course of study up until black sash, a practitioner will learn a long form, eight basic techniques, around 30 "one step sparring" techniques and about the same number of self-defense techniques, and some short forms, every sash level. In addition, three main weapons will be taught: The Ssang Jyel Bong (nunchaku), Jang Bong (long staff), and the Gum Mu (sword). Defense against other weapons, such as the knife, are also taught, but training with those weapons does not occur until black sash.
Tae Soo Do
Tae Soo Do is an abridged version of the Hwa Rang Do syllabus, also created by Dr. Joo Bang Lee, and is often used as an introductory course for students that have not practiced martial arts before. After achieving a black belt in Tae Soo Do (it uses belts instead of the sashes from Hwa Rang Do), a student is given a yellow sash and is shifted into the Hwa Rang Do syllabus. Many new students skip over this, and go straight into Hwa Rang Do, but as it is considerably easier, it also has quite a student base. In many schools both Tae Soo Do and Hwa Rang Do are taught.
Traditions
Philosophy
External Links
- Official Hwa Rang Do® webpage
- History of Hwa Rang Do (Complete Martial Arts)
- History of Hwa Rang Do (University of Wisconsin)
- Hwa Rang Do Timeline (West Coast Hwa Rang Do)
- [1] (THE SOCIETY OF THE HWA RANG)