The Art of Tang Soo Do

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My growing up years are filled with action and, to say it bluntly, adventure. I want to fill my young years with the things that allow me to express myself through the sports that I really like to indulge with. One of these sports that I have devoted much of my time is martial arts, more specifically tang soo do. The term might be new to many of us because what is popular is tae kwon do.

What is tang soo do and how is it executed? Tang soo do is an Asian martial art. In Korean tradition, it is called tae kwon do – done with a combination of the foot or leg and the fist. Doing it is a way of discipline. Tang soo do or Tae kwon do is dynamic in both its evolution and performance, and this dynamic nature is often reflected in the lives and minds of its practitioners like the Korean people. Yes, tang soo do or tae kwon do originated from Korea and became so popular that the Koreans have lived with it all their lives.

Tae kwon do was elected as official sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games (Pawlett & Pawlett 17).

Tae kwon do is associated with other Asian martial arts such as kung fu, but the style of martial art that most closely resembles tae kwon do is karate. It makes similar use of strikes, kicks, blocks, and punches. Many Korean martial art schools known as “kwans” teach tae kwon do.

This is a discipline, a way of life and a philosophy of a people. This and the many other facts and techniques of tae kwon do have allowed me to admire and practice the discipline. I have been doing this since I was very young, and now I think this will be a part of my life for the many years ahead, perhaps until I admire and practice sports.

Not too long ago I was invited in my school to participate in a sports invitational. There were kids from the different schools, but some were Asians, particularly Korean Americans. I know some of them personally from way back in a school of tang soo do or tae kwon do where I attended and came to know the basics.

Other kids were surprised to know why I knew the Koreans, and the more they were surprised when they saw me fight the way of tang soo do just like how the Koreans did it. Because I “played” tang soo do with Asians, my school mates now regard me as someone. Sometimes I feel they regard me as an Asian, or, as one of my classmates has said, “You are one of the tang soo do kids.” I don’t feel offended, in fact, I feel proud. The Asians are a proud and distinct race; their ancestry can be traced way, way back, to thousands of years. And I feel proud to be regarded as one of the Asians who have known, felt, and lived with this ancient art and philosophy.

But let me elaborate how this art is executed.

When you fight or execute tang soo do with your feet and fists, the discipline is felt as an art, like the way of dancing; but it’s not dancing actually – it is self defense, a way of life introduced to a people centuries ago.

I have competed for the sport and visited many cities such as Boston, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Endicott, Binghamton, and many other cities of the United States, all because of my love for the sport. I am usually invited in competitions, and I now know a lot of the Asian kids. To reciprocate their good intentions, I also invite some of them to my home during occasions and whenever there’s a chance for me to do so.

The way I enjoy tae kwon do is somewhat similar to the way I enjoy life as a kid. That’s why this can never be taken away from me.

To me tang soo do is a kind of living my life as I grow up and be a part of a family with a purpose and objective in life. This is living the way God wants me to be and the way we should regard our life. We are composed of body and soul – that’s a way of life that our society and religion have nurtured us to be.

This is the way of the tang soo do. As I’ve mentioned, tang soo do is what we call taekwondo now. It’s been a long way how this came into existence but it dates back to historical times of the country Korea.

The Korean martial art of tae kwon do shares similarities with many other Asian martial arts. Countries surrounding Korea, such as Japan and China, have influenced the evolution of tae kwon do. Despite this evolutionary history, tae kwon do is very distinct from other Asian martial arts.

The techniques take the form of punches, strikes, kicks, and blocks. In any aggressive situation, the mind should remain peaceful, and the martial artist should recognize that the true enemy might be his or her own aggression.

The name had been constantly changed, I believe. At first, the majority of the kwan (or school) masters agreed upon the name of tae soo do. Later the name was changed to tae kwon do, from its original name kaek kyon. Following the foundation of the Korea Tae Kwon Do Association in 1961, many instructors were sent to demonstrate tae kwon do throughout the world. The World Tae Kwon Do Federation (WTF) now coordinates tae kwon do internationally. (Pawlett & Pawlett 17)

As the martial arts continued to flourish, practitioners became increasingly capable of inflicting pain and substantial bodily injury, so some form of control had become necessary. They organized themselves and made some moves to regulate the members.

Tae kwon do is related to other Asian martial arts. Their style and the way they are executed have some similarities, and I do believe that if you have knowledge of one of them, it wouldn’t be too difficult to know the other. Kung fu, karate, and wushu – they are related but distinct, as you come to know each one of them.

One of the main reasons why I love this kind of sport is because it is practiced by people I truly admire and adore. These three are practitioners of tae kwon do or other disciplines associated with it, namely kung fu, karate and wushu. My three favorite stars of Chinese fighting are Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li. They are idols of the masses, mostly Asian practitioners of martial arts. I have watched how my favorite stars fight and execute their art; I am really thrilled with the way they fight because their execution in every film they make is filled with new tricks and practiced with care and extra discipline.

I want to emulate these people whose lives are so dedicated to this Asian discipline. They are stars in their own right, although Bruce Lee was taken ahead of us for still unknown reason. Bruce Lee remains in my heart as an idol and practitioner of kung fu.

In my research for the life of Bruce Lee, I couldn’t believe what I found out – that this man was a lover of letter writing, and that his letters were full of ideas and insights for philosophy and love for the arts. He wrote many letters to his friends and loved ones, describing his activities and telling them his feelings and stories of his recent adventures in the arts, as well as business. He would wax philosophical in his letters which were compiled for the millions of his fans to read and ponder on.

Though my idol’s life was short, he left an imprint on us. His martial art was his philosophy, and his philosophy was to live the art. He was not only keen to practicing the physical part of him, but also the inner self, particularly his mental abilities, the will to be a real artist.

Bruce Lee’s real feelings and inner self were exposed through his practice of kung fu. To me he is an artist and a sports man at the same time. His life was dedicated to the art and discipline of kung fu that even many years after his death, he is still adored and loved by many. He wrote about meditation, what he called self-cultivation. One can look at himself, contemplate on his own being and then search just inside for what can bring peace. When peace is attained, one can have good results for the inner self. What follow are motivations and the things we’ve desired.

Bruce wrote his life’s philosophy, that the mind is the inner self and that we can have peace from the outside world if we have peace inside. This is quite understandable because if all of us have peace inside, there will be no war – we will understand each other.

One should not allow outside things to entangle the mind; in other words, outward changes and forces should not be allowed to negatively influence the mind. The mind has the power to suppress the senses and the things that cultivate them to do the undesirable and the negative connotations that are brought with it. The mind should be trained to suppress the negative motivators. A kung fu man rests therein, and because he rests, he is at peace. Bruce expresses the similarity in the stillness of the water: the nature of water is that if nothing is mixed with it, it remains clear; if nothing ruffles it, it remains smooth.

Bruce’s life as a little boy was one like any other ordinary kid’s next door. It was Bruce’s sister, Agnes, who gave him the name that stuck with him for life: “Little Dragon.” His sister recalls that even from an early age Bruce knew he was “special” and was going to make something of his life. The rest of the family affectionately knew him as Mo Si Tung, or “Never Sits Still.” (Thomas 8)

Bruce was enamored with kung fu. Originally kung fu was the name or description of any style of martial art but a general term meaning “the accomplishment of a difficult task” or simply, “hard work and time spent.”

Another favorite of mine is the legendary Jackie Chan, who is still very active today as an actor and practitioner of kung fu. Jackie Chan’s style of fighting is very innovative; it is filled with slapstick interjections which display an entire rethinking of martial artistry, and has caught audiences of action movies off guard. Although the fights are still at lightning speed and intensity, they make audiences laugh rather than groan and shudder. (Poolos 6)

Jackie Chan is very successful as an actor and is said to have revitalized the entire Asian film business. He is not only a good kung fu artist, he is also a comedian.

Producers and other actors tried to imitate Jackie’s style of kung fu and comedy, but they couldn’t do it the way the star has done it. Like Bruce Lee, Jackie’s style is original and cannot be copied.

Let me describe how Jackie Chan works out or plays the characters in his films, the reason why he is so loved by millions of his fans.

One of his blockbuster films is Rumble in the Bronx. Here he displays his signature slapstick comedy plus his mastery of kung fu and some acts of karate.

In the movie, he is in a predicament – Jackie is worried, he must decide right away, to turn and fight or jump and escape. But no, that is no style of Jackie; he has to run yes but only to dissuade his opponents. That is the style of kung fu and tang soo do – to allow you to think or use your mind in fighting. The purpose really here is not to hurt or inflict injury on your opponent, but self-defense; in self-defense your aim is not to get hurt. In other words, the aim in fighting is not harming somebody. In fact, they don’t call it fighting, literally. That’s oriental martial arts. In most of Jackie’s films, I’ve never seen him hurt his opponents so cruelly as to attain satisfaction.

Now, let’s get back to Rumble in the Bronx. Jackie is worried. He bursts, run and leaps so high, then to the parking structure nearby. His soaring high allows him to land in the balcony of a nearby building. Jackie moans and acts his usual comedic style – he is hurt but actually the audience knows it is a part of his comedy. His ankle is hurt, and so he moans with pain. His acting makes the film look real. But his execution of his brand of kung fu is superb.

Jackie sweats and grunts and cowers in fear. This is his style that endears him to the audience. This is because his stunts are for real, one that sometimes endangers his own life. Although Jackie is a comedian, his kung fu is what makes him so different in his films. Like Bruce Lee, his love for kung fu is incomparable.

Jet Li whose original name is Lian Jie, is a great favorite of many kung fu practitioners. Jet Li is best known for his wushu techniques. When Jet Li was young, this kind of discipline was offered in summer schools to keep kids busy and out of trouble. The Chinese government formally adopted wushu as the official name applied to a standardized program of Chinese martial arts.

Wushu is practiced with bare-handed exercises, and this includes a long list of styles, such as shaolinquan, zhaquan, huaquan, paoquan, changquan, taikiquan, nanquan, xingyiquan, baguazhang, monkey style, tiger style, eagle style, bear style, and many others. Wushu also makes use of weapon exercises using spears, cudgels, swords, hooks, whips, staffs, darts, and others. Then, there are also the partner exercises with two or more persons performing, either bare-handed or using weapons, and the group exercises, done by three or more persons, sometimes with music.

One of the persons that made a big influence on Lian Jie was his coach, Wu Bin. At first, he didn’t understand why Wu Bin was so strict with him. Later, it was to his credit why his coach was so strict. Wu Bin saw that the boy had a special talent and pushed him harder than the other students. Wu Bin introduced the traditional way of teaching – a way for the teacher to test how serious and determined a student really is.

Coach Wu Bin took special interest on the boy. When he realized Lian Jie was lacking strength, he went to the family home and discovered that the family did not think it was healthy to eat meat. He convinced them that the growing boy Lian Jie needed protein, and so he helped the family by bringing them food.

When Lian Jie made his first movie, the producers wanted to arrange his name the English way for the credits, meaning putting the family name last. His name appeared as Lian Jie Li. It was then shortened to Jie Li. But then his career took off like a jet engine, which made them to change Jie Li to Jet Li. (Marx 13)

In conclusion, I would like to state that my three favorite martial artists are examples of people who persevered and made it to the top or to where they wanted their lives would be led to. Their stories are imbued with anecdotes and fun-filled memories of really forcing themselves to the limit just to make it big. They all started from scratch, training their physical and mental bodies like the rest of the other kids.

Bruce Lee’s life was full of challenges even during his childhood. He was full of vitality, action, and movement. His name was synonymous with not being still for a moment – he was always mobile.

Jackie Chan’s life can be said as the male version of Cinderella. His family really started from poverty; they migrated to Hong Kong to escape persecution until his parents found some bits of luck in an embassy, and that started it all. Chan was schooled with the poor boys of Hong Kong, and then luck captured him.

Jet Li on the other hand was wushu-trained whose entry into the movies made him as lucky as the other two. All three popularized (Jackie Chan and Jet Li still make it in the movies) hard-style boxing and tae kwon do, and also perpetuated the legendary connection of the Shaolin Temple to those styles.

I would like to state further that in allowing myself to idolize people who share the same likes and principles in life with me, I should be able to know what the good points are that I have to follow, and then apply these lessons in real life. The bad ones should be discarded.

My favorites are action stars. This is because I like action, as in tang soo do. Kung fu, karate, or tae kwon do are very similar that having mastered one of them has enabled me to admire almost every kind of Chinese or Asian martial art.

Works Cited

Bruce, Thomas. Bruce Lee Fighting Spirit. Berkeley, California: Frog Ltd., 1994.

Little, John. Letters of the Dragon: Correspondence (1958-1973). Massachusetts: Tuttle Publishing, 1998.

Marx, Christy. Jet Li. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2002.

Orlando , Bob. Martial Arts America: A Western Approach to Eastern Arts. Berkely, California: Frog Ltd., 1997. pp. xx, 10.

Pawlett, Mark and Pawlett, Ray. The Tae Kwon Do Handbook. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2004. p. 7.

Poolos, J. Jackie Chan. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2002. p. 6.

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The Art of Tang Soo Do

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