The History of Chung Do Kwan and Tae Kwon Do

Chung Do Kwan was the first martial arts school opened in Korea after the Japanese occupation ended. The school was opened by Won Kuk Lee. Seven other Korean masters eventually opened Kwans (schools), too. The government, in an attempt to unify the country and create a national sport asked that all the Kwans join together under the name Tae Kwon Do. Many masters agreed and altered their traditional ways in favor of the standardized sport. Grand Master Lee, however, refused to change his family’s traditional art form; therefore, the Chung Do Kwan-Tae Kwon Do that we practice is the same as the Chung Do Kwan that was practiced in Grand Master Lee’s family for generations.

Tae Kwan Do is concerned with the art of balance and harmony expressed in the relationship between the mind and the body. As mentioned above, we retain the name Chung Do Kwan which literally translates as, “The Blue Way School.” In Asian philosophy blue represents the purity which is encompassed in the sea and the sky. The purpose of practicing the Chung Do Kwan form of Tae Kwan Do is to achieve the same spiritual and physical purity that the sky and the sea possess.

The symbol of our school beautifully expresses our philosophy. The yin-Yang symbolizes the balance that we all must strive to experience in our lives. At the center of the Yin-Yang is a different illustration of balance, namely the balance between body and mind. The fist embodies the physical aspects of the martial art: the graceful kicks as well as the thousand-year-old prearranged movement patterns called forms. At the center of the fist is a scroll, symbolic of the mind. Necessary in successfully performing any physical activity are the mind’s discipline, perseverance to achieve, and expression of creativity. Written on the scroll in Korean are the words “Chung Do Kwan.” Just as the scroll in the center of the fist symbolizes that one’s mind is at the heart of one’s physical abilities, the writing on the scroll reveals that Chung Do Kwan is a pathway to help the mind focus and attain balance and inner peace. Through exercising our mind and body we can achieve purity.