Tang Soo Do or Dangsudo (In Hangeul, 당수도; In Hanja, 唐手道) is one of 4 popular Korean martial arts that were incorporated into Tae Kwon Do.
The three Sino-Korean words translate as follows:
Tang: the Tang Dynasty of China; Tang generally refers to China in old Japanese
Soo: fist
Do: way of life
Essentially meaning: martial way of life from China.
As the name suggests (its Japanese pronunciation is Karatedo), Tang Soo Do based on Japanese Karate.
This art was created by Grandmaster Hwang Kee (黄琦/황기) (1914 - 2002), who originally called it Hwasoodo (花手道/화수도), but later changed the name to the already popular name Tangsoodo. The full name of this art at that time was Moodukkwan Tangsoodo (武德館唐手道/무덕관당수도). Hwang Kee was said to have had learned Chinese martial arts while in Manchuria, as well as having been influenced by Japanese karate and Korean Taekkyon (택견). Hwang Kee was also highly influenced by an old book about Korean martial arts called the Mooyedobotongji (武藝圖譜通志/무예도보통지).
In Korea, Hwang Kee's art is no longer called Tangsoodo, but is now called Soobakdo (手博道/수박도).
Grand Master Jae Chul SHIN was a student of this art. And brought it over to the United States before Tae Kwon Do really caught on.
J.C Shin began his first school of Tang Soo Do in Burlington, New Jersey. Now, Tang Soo Do has become a world organization, paralleling the popularity of Tae Kwon Do. It is based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
World Tang Soo Do Association Headquarters
709 Oregon Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19148 US
TEL: +1-215-468-2121
FAX: +1-215-336-2121
http://www.worldtangsoodo.com/
WTSDA@aol.com
