15 Facts About Hwang Kee

Hwang Kee was one of the most important and influential figures in the Korean martial arts.

Hwang Kee was the founder of the school of Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan style.

Hwang Kee was one of the five original Founders to open solely Korean Martial Arts Kwans, after the Japanese Occupation.

Hwang Kee was taught the style of Wing Chun and Kung Fu.

Hwang Kee was born on November 9,1914, in Jang Dan, Kyong Ki province of Korea, while it was under Japanese occupation.

Hwang Kee's father was a scholar and teacher, thus Hwang was one of the few young men in the province to complete high school in 1935.

Hwang Kee first studied martial arts, Tae Kyun while in school.

Master Won Kyuk Lee of the Chung Do Kwan, claimed that Hwang was a student at his kwan, gaining the equivalent of a green belt.

Hwang Kee disputed Lee's claim, and acknowledged only Yang Kuk Jin as his teacher.

Hwang Kee returned to Korea from China in 1937, he wanted to continue his martial education, but the Japanese occupation limited his options.

In 1936, Hwang Kee attracted the attention of the Japanese secret police, forcing him to pack his bags and set out on foot for Manchuria, where he experienced scenes of lawlessness and destruction whilst working as a railroad worker.

Hwang Kee entered China at night from the southern end of the Great Wall of China, which he scaled and descended into China on the other side.

In 1957, Hwang Kee claimed to have made several major discoveries in his reading the four hundred-page woodblock print Muye Dobo Tongji.

Hwang Kee incorporated these teachings into his Tang Soo Do discipline and renamed the art he created Soo Bahk Do.

One philosophy that Hwang Kee included throughout his art was that no one could ever reach perfection.