Lee Kyo Yoon
Han Moo Kwan was founded in August 1954 by Kyo Yoon Lee and is one of the nine original Kwans that later formed Kukkiwon Taekwondo.
Lee was a student at the Chosun Yun Moo Kwan Kwon Bop Bu (Yun Moo Kwan), learning from its founder, Sang Sup Chun. Later, after the Korean War Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953, Lee started teaching the returning Yun Moo Kwan Kwon Bop Bu members at the Hankuk Chaeyuk Kwan Dojang. He had conflicts with Chong Woo Lee and left to start his own annex Kwan by setting up a tent at a High School. Later, Chong Woo Lee changed the Yun Moo Kwan Kwon Bop Bu's name to Jidokwan. Kyo Yoon Lee states that Han Moo Kwan is from Choson Yun Moo Kwan Kwon Bop Bu, not Jidokwan.
From an interview with Lee:
- In November 1950, I came back to Seoul and taught Tang Soo Do (Taekwondo). But the Choson Yun Moo Kwan's LEE Jae Hwang said the building I was using was a Yudo place, so he insisted that I leave. After thinking for a long time, I went to visit Vice President LEE Sang Mook of the Korean Amateur Sports Gymnasium (Han Kuk Che Yuk Kwan, Han Che for short) and he allowed me to start a Taekwondo club and teach.
Back then, the Han Kuk Che Yuk Kwan taught boxing, Judo, wrestling, weight lifting and fencing as a universal gym. With the permission of Lee Sang Mook, Lee Kyo Yoon taught Taekwondo (Tang Soo Do) temporarily and secured 200 members. However, conflicts with Lee Chong Woo became amplified and with Lee Sang Mook's suggestion, he temporarily stopped teaching Taekwondo. Then he went to Chang Sin Dong of Jong Ro Gu, Seoul at the backyard of Kang Moon High School to open his own school. This led to the founding of the Han Moo Kwan. The period of the Chang Sin Dong was a hardship. He called his tent with a straw mat for a floor, a dojang. Despite this hard life, his school reputation grew and finally in 1969, he could open his central dojang in Wang Sip Ni, Seoul.
Kyo Yoon Lee continues to be active in the Kukkiwon and serves on the High Dan/Poom Black Belt promotion committee of the Kukkiwon.
Taekwondo Han Moo Kwan still exists today, but only as a fraternal social friendship club. The official training curriculum endorsed by Taekwondo Han Moo Kwan is the Kukkiwon curriculum. The current President of Taekwondo Han Moo Kwan remains its founder, Kyo Yoon Lee. Han Moo Kwan supports the World Taekwondo Federation and Kukkiwon.
References[]
- Han Moo Kwan on Wikipedia
- Stanford's Taekwondo History
- http://tigermartialarts.ca/han-moo-kwan/