bushido_man96

I found another text on TSD: Tang Soo Do: The Ultimate Guide to the Korean Martial Art, written by Kang Uk Lee. He's of a different organization, and I look forward to reading it and comparing it to the other book that I have.

Have you done a Google search for the area? I'm sure something would pop up in Houston.

I don't think any kind of list ever got finalized. But I agree with the approach you took with your 6 year old. Learning how to apply one throw from various grips/approaches/stances is a solid way to gain good fundamentals.

11/14/2022 Strength Training Warmup: 2 minutes on the rowing machine. Safety Squats: 60x5x2, 100x5, 140x3, 180x1, 200x5, 200x5, 200x5. Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 165x3, 215x2, 240x5, 240x5. I find I'm spending time squatting really trying to figure out where it doesn't pull on my adductor. For the most part, I'm getting it right. Snatch deads felt really good today; they stayed locked in and tight to the shins. I think the first thing to give out will be grip strength. I'll have to look at working with straps as I approach the 300 lb mark for the lift.

A properly made makiwara; I wish we had one of those.

11/11/2022 Finally, back to the gym. Strength Training Warmup: a couple of minutes on the rowing machine. Safety Squat: 60x5x2, 130x5, 150x3, 170x1, 195x5, 195x5, 195x5. Deadlifts: 225x3, 275x2, 325x5. Stretch: quads, hams, glutes, lower back. Deadlift felt pretty good today. It seemed to stay locked tight to the body. Looking forward to a full week of training next week.

I think you will find more similarities than differences in TSD and Karate (depending on the style, of course). What I'm not as aware of is the kind of partner work/drilling they do in TSD. I think what you will see is a TKDesque flair for kicking, too.

Yes, I hope so. It should be that way for the deadlift, anyway. I find that if I miss too many days of squatting, coming back really sucks.

Great questions, DP. Yes, the ties of TKD to Shotokan Karate are accurate. Most of these pioneers of early TKD got their first taste of Martial Arts training in Japanese styles, due it Japan's occupation of Korea at the time. If you ever get a chance to look at the forms depicted in CS Kim's book Authentic Tang Soo Do, you can see the obvious comparisons to Shotokan Karate. I have Nakayama's book series of the Shotokan katas, and have done a side-by-side comparison, and the similarities are too striking to ignore. If not Shotokan, then some form of Okinawan Karate. As I did into the other Kwans and post the information here, you'll notice a similar pattern. Especially when it comes to General Choi's Oh Do Kwan; it was stated that he studied Shotokan under Funakoshi, and received a 2nd dan. I'm not sure how many organizations or associations of TSD there are out there, but I'd be willing to bet that that they can all trace their way back to the Moo Duk Kwan eventually. I'll have to do a search when I have time of various TSD groups.

That sounds like good news, Bob! Hooray!

I see what you are saying, but they are still world champions. Until the Japanese leagues, or the Korean leagues, or the Latin American leagues reach out to challenge the World Series winners, I won't concede. I think there is good talent that comes from those leagues, but that talent is always looking to come to MLB. When it comes to soccer, I can see your point. It is much more established as a world game, with lots of talent throughout, and they have a process set up to allow all of those leagues to compete with each other. And there are just so many different leagues, too. So it's different. I'd feel the same about football, or I guess I could refer to it as American football. If some other organization wants to challenge the World Champs from the NFL to a game to decide the winner, then that would be great. But the best football talent in the world is in the NFL already. I would contend that the best college team wouldn't stand a change against the worst NFL team. So again, I would hold my stance on the Astros being World Champs. To each their own.

I notice you had no leg exercises on this day. Have you thought of basically supesetting your squat and press? Especially with only getting two days per week to strength train, getting more bang for your buck would be the way to go. I'd dead/bench on one day, and squat/press on the other. Start your leg exercise, and once you hit your first work set, warm up to the first work set of the other exercise, then alternate after you rest. It's an efficient way to work, especially with your weights being much lighter like they are, and you'll get a full body workout along with the full body stress to driver progress. Just a thought though. Keep up the good work!

I think if they could come away with WS titles in a 5 or 6 year span, that would tip the scales into a dynasty. Got to have those world titles to really get that dynasty tag.

Out of curiosity is the range time work related or recreation related? Work related. One of the perks! 11/8/2022 Strength Training Safety Squats: 60x5x2, 130x5, 150x3, 170x1, 200x5. My darn workout got cut short because I got called into work. The schedule got changed, and I didn't realize my shifts got moved around. Bummer. Probably won't be back into the gym this week until Friday afternoon now.

I found a little more info on Richard Chun in an article in issue 165 of Totally Tae Kwon Do. It was a reprint of an interview he had done previously, and one of the questions asked about his start in the Martial Arts. He answered that he started at age 11 in the Moo Duk Kwan, but he stated that at the time it was called Tang Soo Do. Later on, he mentions that Tang Soo Do evolved into TKD, but in the same reply mentions that "TSD still exists today..." but then talks more about what TKD had become. It appears that he experienced the breakaway during his training.

11/7/2022 Range: Night shoot tonight. Did a 50 round qualification course with the pistol, including a transition to the back-up weapon, then two 15-round runs with the rifle, then two 5-round runs with the shotgun. For the long guns, we were shooting one target on our way to cover, then had to roll out and shoot at targets that were on either side of the cover. Always good to practice at night.

Dynasty?? The Astros?? Far more than a few titles are needed for that label. Well, I don't think they need 26 to labeled a dynasty. But a run of like 3 titles in 5 years, and several LCS appearances along the way, then that's more like it.

I think "dynasty" is few more titles away.

I agree here, that's awesome! Keep up the good work! Karate:

Yes, and I have found that it allows for more momentum. I have long limbs, and allowing these extremities to work for me, instead of making them do it, has been really great. I have found that I no longer look "stiff," I am getting more power from my techniques, and I am less worn out after doing a number of kata in a row. That's really great. Right now, I'm fighting with an injured left shoulder, and it really prevents me from putting a lot of power into much of anything, especially any blocks that go overhead. So, I still stay loose, but have to throw my techniques much slower than usual. But I try to really lock out at the moment of completion, really get that kime, I guess. I could try to do the left handed techniques more slowly and throw the right hand with full power, but that feels really wonky, as one side of my body doesn't want to move faster than the other all that much. I don't know if that would be worth trying or not. 11/5 and 11/6/2022 It's not much, but the wife and I had a nice walk with the dogs these two days. On the 5th, we walked a little over a mile and a half, and on the 6th, we walked just under a mile.

A big congrats to Dusty Baker, who has been at this for a long time. He really deserves to finally win one, locking him into Cooperstown for sure.

Song Moo Kwan: "Pine Tree School" One of the original Kwans founded after WWII and before the Korean War. The Song Moo Kwan (originally called the Song Do Kwan from what I’ve read) was initially founded in 1944 by Byung Jik Ro in Kaesung, at the Kwan Duck Jung archery school. Song Moo Kwan was the first of the original Kwans to open. He was forced to close the school three to four months later, as the Japanese were still occupying Korea at the time. Byung reopened the school in Dong Hung Dong in 1946. It closed again during the Korean War and reopened in 1953. Byung referred to his art as Kong Soo Do, as well. Martial Heritage According to Taekwondo Wiki, Byung became interested in the Martial Arts at the age of 12, when he observed techniques being practiced in local temples. Byung traveled to Japan and attended Chuo University as a young man, as many Koreans did during the occupation. The website states that Byung sought out Funakoshi, and studied Shotokan Karate under Funakoshi, along with Chung Do Kwan founder Won Kyuk Lee, earning his black belt. It goes on to state that Byung returned home to Kaesung in February 1944, “where he continued to create additional hand and foot techniques of his own.” If he was studying Shotokan that entire time period, then that’s around 8 years of Karate training prior to opening his own Kwan back in Korea. He then opened his school, which closed, and reopened again in 1946. Taekwondo Wiki mentioned on it’s timeline that Byung also studied Kung Fu of some form, but I have not seen any other information on this. Several accounts I’ve read stated that Byung’s classes started early, with an hour of warm-ups consisting of weightlifting and makiwara striking. One of Byung’s original students, Young Sup Lee (or Lee Young Sup), gives an account of what his early gradings were like: "Every six months, there was testing for promotion. Mainly one step sparring, three step sparring, free sparring and forms were used to decide promotions. But free sparring was for 4th Guep and higher, and 1st Dan required breaking a board. If these rules were broken, the Kwan Jang was very upset." (quoted from Taekwondo Wiki). In July 1946, Byung Jik Ro, met with Won Kuk Lee of the Chung Do Kwan, Sang Sup Chun of the Yun Moo Kwan, and Byung In Yoon of the Chang Moo Kwan to discuss possible unification of these Kwans, but nothing came of the meeting. Hwang Kee of the Moo Duk Kwan was not at the meeting. Unknown if he wasn’t invited, or if he was invited but did not show up. According to songmookwan.com, on May 25, 1953, Byung met with one delegate from each of the founding Kwans and seven representatives, held a conference, and established the Korean Kong Soo Do Association. Byung was elected is executive director, and interestingly, a Yudo (Judo) instructor, Young-Chu Cho, was elected as vice president. No president was elected. Songmookwan.com states that dissention set in, and the association dissolved. I found this rather interesting: in the 1960’s, Byung’s son and future successor, Hee Sang Ro, began studying various Martial Arts. In 1963, Hee studied Hapkdio, and in 1967 he began studying Northern Shaolin Kung Fu. Taekwondo Wiki also mentions that he studied Karate and Kumdo. Hee moved to the US in 1976, and eventually became the second grandmaster of the Song Moo Kwan, which had been in the States since 1965. Hee included the study of all of the above arts in Song Moo Kwan, along with "Hosinsul," which I believe is just "self-defense" (at least, that is what we refer to it as in our school). It appears that Byung was active throughout the history of the Kwans in unification efforts, first with the Korean Kong Soo Do Association, and later with the Korean Tae Soo Do Association on September 19, 1961. Byung eventually became the 4th president of the Korea Taekwondo Association. According to “A Modern History of Taekwondo,” written by Kang Won Sik (Song Moo Kwan) and Lee Kyong Myong, it states that Byung "…tried hard to promote Taekwondo such as creating the President’s Championships. He ran the Seoul Song Moo Kwan Central Dojang and taught Taekwondo to police officers. However, Ro Byung Jik still had a strong love of his own Kwan and he felt that Dan certification must not be issued by the KTA, but instead by the Kwans. The irony was that Ro Byung Jik was President of the KTA, but he loved his Song Moo Kwan more than the KTA." I’m guessing that Byung probably stayed with his own thoughts on teaching and promotion, and perhaps didn’t cobble onto the idea of standardization that the Kukkiwon and WTF would push. The same source states that Byung resigned his position as president a year later. From that same source, it appears that on August 7, 1978, 10 Kwans finally compromised and closed the Kwan system, and Proclamation was signed that finalized "Kwan unification." For the Song Moo Kwan, this was signed by Chun Jung Woong. But by this time, Byung’s original Song Moo Kwan was living on in the US, amongst other areas. I haven’t been able to really find information in regards to a "split" like that which occurred with the Moo Duk Kwan. It appears that the Song Moo Kwan has evolved quite a bit from Byung’s beginnings in Korea. It seemed like he didn’t shy away from his Karate origins, and his son really upped the ante by studying the other styles he did, and I’d be really interested in seeing what classes are like at the current Song Moo Kwan. I don’t know that I’d refer to it as “Korean Karate” like I do with Moo Duk Kwan/TSD, but it definitely appears to have gone beyond TKD. It seemed difficult to find as much information on the Song Moo Kwan, so I appreciate anything others can offer on this subject matter. I don’t know of any books authored by any Song Moo Kwan stylists, but if anyone else knows of some, I’ll add them to my collection.

I'm glad you liked it, Bob. Article number two is coming right up!

Generally the test board will discuss and tally scores, and after a few minutes will announce the pass/fail list. I like that, and I think that is how it should be. For some reason, in any TKD school I've been a part of, the testing results have to be sent to the headquarters school, and then rank certificates are printed and sent out from there.

Yep, that's a wrap! Congrats to the Astros and their fans on another World Championship!