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During what Korean history knows as the ³middle period´ during the Koryo nad the Yi
dynasty, Buddhism flourished. During this period a ³Subdue Demon corps´ (English
translation) was formed by the monks, and ³tae kyon, or ³soo bak´ flourashed among the
monks as well. By this period there had already been much Chinese influence on the Korean
Martial arts.

In 1910 Japan was trying to turn Korea into a Japanese colony, and forbade the study of
Korean martial arts. ³Tae kyon´ or ³soo bak´ survided, but after the Japanese defeat
(WWII)Korean arts reemerged under different names like Soo Bak Do, Tang Soo Do, Kwon
Bop, Hwarand Do, etc. T

hey were all a little different, depending largely on how much the Chinese, Japanese, or both
had influenced the individual masters. The first school to reopen was in Seol, and it was a
Chung Do Kwan school.

In 1955 there was a meeting of Korean masters to decide on a single name for Korean martial
arts (similar to Kung Fu which really is only one name for many different Chinese arts).
Though no decision was made, two years later they adopted the name TaeKwando to
represent Korean martial arts.

Though most schools followed, birthing the Korean Taekwondo Association (established in
1961), everyone didn¶t join. For instance, though some Tang Soo Do schools now unite under
Teakwondo, others don¶t because the founding master (Hwang Ki Kim) didn¶t follow suit. So
Tang Soo Do, nor any other Korean style is neccesarily a take off of Taekwondo, but it is just
one of many styles that make up Taekwondo.

So niether is ³Tae Kyon´, or ³Soo Bak´ the oringinal ³Taekwondo´ it is just an earlier form
of Korean martial arts that was popular during the middle period. There was no Taekwondo
yet.

Retard both where originally called Chung Do Kwan, it was created in 1944, by Great
Grandmaster Won Kuk Lee, his original name for what he taught was ³Tang Soo Do´, which
is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese characters pronouced Karate Do in the Japanese
language. Although the name ³Tae Kwon Do´ was proposed in 1955 by Chung Do Kwan
students, it was slow to catch on among other Kwan Heads (Kwan Jang). Two of the other
Kwan Jang preferred the name ³Kong Soo Do´-Way of the Empty Hand. It was felt by some
that ³Kong Soo Do´ would be more understood by potential students. In the same way that
many people are familiar with the term ³Karate´ This idea was quickly voted down in
meetings with various Kwan Heads. As a result, a compromise name-Tae Soo Do-began to be
used. A few years later, the name ³Tae Kwon Do´ was adopted by all Kwans for its similarity
to Taekkyon (practiced by the Koguryo, Silla, Baekjae, and Koryo Dynasties).

Previously, Tae Kyon had developed a bad reputation because it was used for gambling and
trading of women. The name ³Tae Kwon Do´ was chosen for several reasons. It was felt that
a new, Korean-based name was needed that honored the legacy of Tae Kyon without being
sullied by its association with gangsters and troublemakers. Previous names included: Tang
Soo Do (Way of the Tang Hand), Kong Soo Do (Way of the Empty Hand), and Hwa Soo Do
(Way of the Flowering Hand).

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When Lee Won Kuk was the kwan jang for the Chung
Do Kwan, he called his style Tang Soo Do (Way of China Hand), which is the Korean
pronunciation of karate-do, the style Lee studied under Gichin and Gigo Funakoshi. Ro
Byung Jik, who also studied with the Funakoshi¶s at the same institution (Chuo University in
Tokyo), but who studied at a later date than Lee, used the Korean pronunciation of the newer
karate-do meaning (as defined by the Dai Nippon Butokukai in the mid-1930s) when he
called the style he taught at the Song Moo Kwan ³Kong Soo Do´. All Korean schools of
karate called their styles either Tang Soo Do or Kong Soo Do until late 1954 and early 1955.
In fact, it took a long time for most Korean masters to finally accept the term Tae Kwon Do.
Some never did (like Hwang Kee), as you know.

Whang Ki Kim (Kim, Whang Ki) was NEVER a student of Hwang Kee, although he WAS a
senior member of Hwang¶s organization, the Moo Duk Kwan. When he returned to Korea
with a 3rd dan in Shudokan karate from Kanken Toyama and he chose not to open his own
dojang. He later chose to join Hwang Kee¶s organization (the Moo Duk Kwan) because he
agreed with Hwang¶s desire to remain independent of the Korean Tae Kwan Do Association.
However, he was an instructor and always had his own dojang(s) while he was in the Moo
Duk Kwan. Again, He was NEVER a student of Hwang Kee. In fact, he was actually more
qualified to be a kwan jang than Hwang Kee was, but some people didn¶t like all the politics
and self-promotion it took to be a kwan jang in Korea, and I don¶t blame them. Hwang was
not that good when he got started. His first attempts at teaching his style (Hwa Soo Do) in
1945 and 1946 were unsuccessful. He decided to get with the program in 1947, when Lee was
put under house arrest, and start a Tang Soo Do school. That was really when the Moo Duk
Kwan was founded, regardless of what he and others in the Moo Duk Kwan might way.

By the way, the Chung Do Kwan in the 1940s and early 1950s (up until 1953) was actually
named the Chung Do Hwe. When Lee Won Kuk had to leave Korea (and go back to Japan),
Choi Hong Hi was put in charge of the administration of the new Chung Do Kwan for a short
amount of time. Therefore, in 1955, many of the Chung Do Kwan dojangs began to call their
style Tae Kwon Do, under that temporary, honorary kwan jang. Later, when Duk Sang Song
(the chosen leader for the Chung Do Kwan by the former kwan jang, Lee Won Kuk) became
the kwang jang, he finally agreed to call the style Tae Kwon Do.
Yes, Hwang Kee was a student at the Chung Do Hwe under Lee, Won Kuk. That is true.
However, he did not train regularly, as a regular student. Lee Won Kuk had said that Hwang
never really achieved a rank at the Chung Do Hwe, and I guess that all we can do is take his
word for it. However, Hwang was friends with a number of the top students at the Chung Do
Hwe and he exchanged information and checked his forms with them. However, it is there
that Hwang learned the dojang protocol and traditions that he continued at the Moo Duk
Kwan, when he decided to teach Tang Soo Do in 1947.

I have studied TSD to 1st gup and TKD to 2nd degree. There is no significant difference
between the two, other than
a) tournament fighting emphasis for WTF to kicks. ITF and TSD sparring are identical
b) Forms and technique names. TSD uses Shotokan forms, ITF has the Chon Gi forms made
by Choi based on the Shotokan forms.

They are practically the same. In fact, TSD = TKD = Karate. Deal with it.