Hwa Rang Do, The Rich History of This Korean Martial Art

Hwa Rang Do is a Korean Martial Art. Korean combat skills originated over 5, 000 years ago with the formation of the Kochosun Kingdom. Later over 2,000 years ago (57 BC) the Kingdom of Silla formed and they created their own warrior system. In the fourteenth century Silla was conquered by a new Korean Kingdom and the practitioners took refuge in remote mountain temples. Hwa Rang Do- or Um-Yang Kwon (secret combat skills) was preserved from generation to generation (58) of chose Buddhist monks. It is known as "The Way of the Flowering Knight".

In 1940 two brothers, Joo Bang Lee and Joo Sang Lee became the only students of the Buddhist monk Suahn Dosa while in the Ham Nam province of North Korea. In 1948, during the communist takeover, they escaped to Ohdae Mountain in South Korea. In 1960 the Lee brothers, with permission from Sauhm Dosa and the Korean government, opened their first school, teaching these skills in public for the first time in 600 years. They created the syllabus from scratch based on their memory.

Joo Sang Lee took the art to the United States. Before Suahm Dosa died in 1968 he passed on the 58th generation grandmaster title to Joo Bang Lee, the younger brother because he was still in Korea.

Dr. Joo Bang Lee registered the Hwa Rang Do name with the government of Korea and founded the Korean Hwa Rang Do Association. He then moved to the U.S. and opened the World Hwa Rang Do Association and the Hwa Rang Do Headquarters in Downey, CA.

In 1990 Dr. Joo Bang Lee created Tae Soo Do because Hwa Rang Do is very complicated and difficult for most present day students. Tae Soo Do was created as an undergraduate program. It takes an average two to three years to earn a black belt in Tae Soo Do. The Tae Soo Do black belt can graduate into an advanced program of Hwa Rang Do where to takes an average of three more years to achieve the black sash. To read more on Hwa Rang Do visit: Hwa Rang Do