Can anyone tell me....

[aefibird]

...what the difference is between Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do and Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do?

 

I was doing an idle search on google the other day for martial arts clubs in my area (looking for something to fill in the gap now my instructor has stopped teaching Aikido!) and I came across 2 clubs in my area - one offering MDK TKD and the other offering MDK TSD.

 

Are there major differences between the two, or is it mostly similar stuff but different name?

 

Thanks.

[Luckykboxer]

the difference is an e,n,g, kwon, and soo.

 

/ducks

 

I know that was no help but damn i couldnt pass that up

[karatekid1975]

Silly

 

If you find an old style TKD MDK school, they are basically like TSD (same forms, ect). Most TKD MDK schools these days do TKD forms for color belts, then the MDK forms for dan ranks. But everything else is pretty much the same, to a certain extent.

[tommarker]

I think you will find them to be more or less the same. It will look a lot like Shotokan in some ways, but the manner of hip rotation, and a greater emphasis on kicking might put you off to some degree.

 

The difference between the two is largely in the name. Schools with "Moo Duk Kwan" in the name are referring to their lineage to Hwang Kee (founder of Tang Soo Do/Soo Bahk Do) whose school was named Moo Duk Kwan (Insitute of Martial Virtue.)

 

To understand why someone would be MDKTKD or MDKTSD requires drudging up the history from the early 60's when the Korean government was trying to assimilate all the styles of Korean Karate and combine them into Tae Kwon Do. While Hwang Kee resisted this effort (through a very long legal battle) many people within the MDK decided that they would go ahead and call themselves TKD.

 

The instructor of a MDKTSD school (or the instructor's lineage) probably traces back to Hwang Kee, but they left his group at some point in time to remain on their own. When they left the federation will largely dicatate how some things are taught, especially in terms of hyung.

 

I think there are also several TSD associations with the name Moo Duk Kwan in them as well. These are usually formed by senior members of the MDK who broke away to form their own groups.

 

To say that TSD has a very fragmented history would be an understatement. How much of this will affect you, I dunno. I have seen some excellent traditional schools that produce strong black belts, and I've seen the exact opposite.

 

I would definetely expect a greater emphasis on kicking in your hyungs, and especially in drill/sparring.

[tommarker]

Oh yeah, what Laurie said is also true.. MDKTKD schools often perform the Palgue hyung, whereas a MDKTSD school will do the PyungAhn/Heian series. Some schools do both, or a couple of both.

[aefibird]

Thanks!