Hwa Rang Do (), also known as "The Way of the Flowering Knights", is a comprehensive Korean martial art that was developed in the 1960s by Joo Bang Lee and his brother Joo Sang Lee. World Hwa Rang Do Association claims lineage to ancient Hwarang from Silla, but no surviving records of Hwarang's martial art exists today. Originally as a traditional martial art, it has multiple areas of focus, including stand-up fighting with open-hand striking, weapons, throws, joint locks, various meditative practices, intellectual and character development, and artistic and cultural pursuits while focusing on self-defense. However, this art continues to develop in the 21st century, now even adopting aspects of modern combat sports, such as ground fighting sparring/competition and kickboxing.
History
Ancient Hwarang
The martial art of Hwa Rang Do was named after a buddhist elite youth order of the Silla kingdom during the Three-Kingdoms period in what is now South Korea. These young men known as Hwarang (화랑; 花郎) were cultivated from a young age to fill significant roles in politics, civil service, and military duties. These individuals were selected exclusively from the royal family and aristocracy and led members of the broader public who were described as Nangdo (Rang-do: 낭도; 郎徒). This group through various names lasted through the Koryŏ dynasty until they were officially disbanded at the beginning of the Joseon dynasty.Lee, Peter H. (1996). Sources of Korean Tradition, Vol. 1: From Early Times Through the 16th Century. Columbia University Press.
Ancient Hwarang and Hwa Rang Do have no relations. There are claims of lineage to Hwarang from Silla Dynasty, but the fighting methods of ancient Hwarang do not have any surviving records by 20th century.
Origins Joo Bang Lee was one of the recognized and well-respected Hapkido masters in Korea in the 20th century. Hwa Rang Do, in Korea, is still considered as a style of Hapkido. During that time, since it was after the Japanese occupation, many Hapkido schools considered changing their name since the names, Hapkido and Aikido, are identical if written in Chinese characters. 1960s was most likely the time when the name, Hwa Rang Do, was created. In Korea, Hwa Rang Do is considered as a style of Hapkido.
Founding of the modern art (according to World Hwa Rang Do Association) The modern martial art of Hwa Rang Do was founded by two Korean brothers, Joo Bang Lee and Joo Sang Lee, who started their martial art training with their father who taught them Judo and Kumdo at a young age. In 1942, their father worked out a deal with a monk who was locally known as Suahm Dosa to educate his sons in traditional Korean cultural training. Suahm Dosa claimed to practice within a tradition that had its roots with the ancient Hwarang, which he called Um-Yang Kwon (음양권; 陰陽拳). (Note that "Dosa" is actually his title, not his name. It is roughly equivalent to "hermit sage expert".) Both Joo Bang Lee and his brother Joo Sang Lee trained with Suahm Dosa at the Sogwangsa Temple in the Kangwon Province (North Korea), before the breakout of the Korean War and they had to flee south to avoid the communist military. The Lee family relocated to Seoul and Suahm Dosa, according to the Lee family, relocated to Odae Mountain.
The Lee brothers continued their training with Suahm Dosa when they could until around 1950 when their family moved further south to Daegu. Being too far away to continue their training, they began to be involved with the local martial art communities in the area. There, they met a martial artist named Choi Yong-sool, a practitioner of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu and who is recognized as the father of modern Hapkido. They continued their training with Choi through the 1950s and became registered Hapkido instructors in Seoul in the early 1960s. It was also around 1960 when the Lee brothers became involved with Suh In-Hyuk, who is the founder of Kuk Sool Won. Their involvement with Suh In-Hyuk ended in the mid-'60s and the Lee brothers continued to work within the Hapkido community until 1968.
In 1968, Suahm Dosa died and left the title of "Do Ju" to Joo Bang Lee, as well as designating him as the 58th successive holder of this title. The two brothers then took all their martial arts knowledge and generated the Hwa Rang Do syllabus. They established the name "Hwa Rang Do" as its own entity separate from their involvement with the Hapkido community (earlier versions of their school's name included Hwarang-Kwon and Hwarang-Hapkido) and they continued with their Hwarang teachings. In 1969, Joo Sang Lee moved to the United States to start a school and in 1972, Joo Bang Lee followed, taking the World Headquarters of Hwa Rang Do with him.Lee, Taejoon (2005). Hwa Rang Do: Defend, Take Down, Submit. Los Angeles: Black Belt Books. .
Early days in America
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Hwa Rang Do grew throughout California and the adjacent states as well as making its mark on the international martial art scene. Both Joo Bang Lee and Joo Sang Lee performed in expo style demonstrations in the south west United States, particularity in California and Arizona, as well as on TV shows including “That's Incredible!” and “Unknown Powers”. Notably, Hwa Rang Do students who trained under the Lee brothers like Vietnam veteran Michael Echanis (1950–1978), were fundamental with Hwa Rang Do's involvement with the US Army Rangers and Special Forces, thus bringing additional credibility to Hwa Rang Do's martial art training.Echanis, Michael (2010). Complete Michael D. Echanis Collection: Special Tactics for Knife and Stick Combat. Los Angeles: Black Belt Books. In addition, because of what was being offered within Hwa Rang Do, many martial artists during this time became interested in what the art had to offer. Notable names included Graciela Casillas, who trained in Hwa Rang Do for a short while and who later through her involvement with Kempo-Karate, became the first female World Champion of professional full-contact Karate.
In the 1980s into the early 1990s, Hwa Rang Do continued to grow in the United States as well as the South-East Pacific. Joo Bang Lee's sons, Henry Taejoon Lee and Eric Taehyun Lee moved into the spotlight by performing at martial art expos and demonstrations throughout the US and Europe. Henry Taejoon Lee was also involved with expanding Hwa Rang Do in college clubs throughout southern California by establishing the Intercollegiate Hwarang Society. This sub-group of the World Hwa Rang Do Association was in operation from the mid-1980s to the early to mid-1990s. Their main focus was to introduce college students to Hwa Rang Do and foster a sense of community and brotherhood within a college environment. Towards the early to mid 1990s, other universities in the US used the Intercollegiate Hwarang Society as a model to set up their own college clubs, especially where black sashes were either going to school or were employed as professors, with the same goals as the Intercollegiate Hwarang Society.
Time of change and development As Hwa Rang Do moved into the 1990s and the new millennium, the younger generation began to make its mark on the art.
In the 1990s, Hwa Rang Do schools, while continuing to grow in the United States and the South-East Pacific, began to expand throughout Europe. Because of the demonstrations presented by the Lee family in Europe through the 1980s as well as students who had been traveling to train with Joo Bang Lee, schools were opening up in countries like Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany. Because of the amount of travel, Henry Taejoon Lee was involved in much of these developments making trips to Europe to help with the growth and development there. Today, Italy is one of the largest centers of Hwa Rang Do in the world with over a dozen Academies and clubs.
It was also in 1990 that the World Hwa Rang Do Association introduced an introductory program to help new students learn and develop their skills in a more sport-like atmosphere. The program was named Tae Soo Do (Way of the Warrior Spirit: 태수도; 太手道). Students who learn Tae Soo Do learn the basic fundamentals of kicking and punching. They are also introduced to beginner level sweeps, throws, and locks. A black belt in Tae Soo Do has the same level of quality as a black belt in other martial arts including Tae Kwon Do and Karate. Once a student has a Black belt, they receive an honorary Yellow sash in the color ranks of Hwa Rang Do.
Modernization in the 21st century Up until 2000, Hwarangdo relied entirely on traditional techniques and training methods. However in the following years of 2000s, Henry Taejoon Lee headed operations to expand and grow the application programs within Hwa Rang Do to add aspects of modern combat sports (such as kickboxing and ground grappling sparring/competition) to keep their students competitive with the larger martial art community and to expand their understanding beyond the aspects of the traditional core material, which were historically more similar to other traditional martial arts like Hapkido.
Gotoogi: Solid Fighting Skill (고투기; 固鬪技): Gotoogi is a grappling program that was introduced to teach students fundamentals of ground fighting, opponent control, throws and takedowns, and lockouts in a competitive setting. Unlike the traditional techniques and training methods of Hwarangdo, Gotoogi avoids dangerous techniques like small joint manipulation and focuses on sparring and competition. Gumtoogi: Blade Fighting Skill (검투기; 劍鬪技): Gumtoogi is a sword sparring program similar to Korean Kumdo, but with leg strikes and spin attacks. Students who participate in Gumtoogi use similar equipment that they use in Kumdo, but with additional armor added to protect the legs. Both long sword (Juk-do) and twin swords (ssang kum) are used within competition. Bongtoogi: Stick Fighting Skill (봉투기; 棒鬪技): Bongtoogi is a stick sparring program that allows students to learn how to fight with both long staff (Jang Bong) and double mid-sticks (ssang bong) within a competitive setting. Students who train in Bongtoogi use the same uniforms and armor as students who train in Gumtoogi.
Depending on the strengths of the instructors at the academies, certain programs will have a larger emphasis than others. However, these programs are standard with all WHRDA licensed academies.
2010 to present Depending on the school, Hwa Rang Do academies and clubs will either stay truer to the traditional aspects of the art, focusing more on the core material and traditional self-defense or they will embrace the expanded application programs and work to grow their skills within a competitive sport environment. Many clubs and academies, however, look to find a balance between the two. WHRDA has continued its development of the sports applications by improving the quality of the Gotoogi, Gumtoogi, and Bongtoogi programs as well as introducing an advanced sparring program called Yongtoogi (Courageous Fighting Skill: 용투기; 勇鬪技).Ceballos, Fernando: "Decathlon of Hwa Rang Do: New Form of Stand-Up Competition is the Final Element Needed to Elevate All-Around Martial Arts Skill!" Black Belt Magazine, Aug/Sept. 2014 Yongtoogi was initially introduced in 2012 and has become the standard for all Hwa Rang Do color sash and black sash sparring. Yongtoogi consist of full round, semi-contact sparring, with kickboxing, throws, and ground submissions. Also in 2011, the World Hwa Rang Do Association applied for 501c3 not-for-profit tax status. “Our desire to expand our humanitarian work around the globe led to the change,” said Grandmaster Taejoon Lee, President of the World Hwa Rang Do Association. Many of the members of WHRDA participate in public self-defense clinics, humanitarian organizations like the Peace Corp, as well as other independent humanitarian missions both locally and internationally to help with this cause.
Philosophy
Hwa Rang Do Maeng Se