68th Annivesary of the Moo Duk Kwan and Remembering Our Founder Hwang Kee

Dear Region 2 Members,

The day is almost gone and I sit and reflect about our Art and our Founder Hwang Kee.  I think of all the things our Founder must have gone through during World War II and then the Korean War and of all the suffering sustained on the Korean people.  I then also reflect on how far the South Korean people have come since the end of the Korean War in 1953.  Having actually been in Downtown Seoul, its just amazing what a united people can accomplish.

Today  is the anniversary of the birth of the Moo Duk Kwan, and it is the birthday of our Founder, Hwang Kee.  It may seem coincidental, that the Founder decided to make November 9th also the founding date of the Moo Duk Kwan, but that's not important.  What is important is that we, as a United Federation, as Moo Do In, and as loyal practitioners recognize both our Founder's birthday and the founding of an organization that has been providing “Moo Do Excellence” for close to 70 years.

Our Founder established a small association in the mid-sixties as the Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Association, and eventually had to go to court over keeping the Association active under the suppression of the back then Korean Military Junta that was running the government.  The Founder, after a prolonged struggle, finally received a Supreme Court decision (Korean Supreme Court) that kept his Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Association alive.  This association over the years grew in Korea and eventually was exported from Korea to the United States.  Those early years provided GIs who were stationed in Korea, the opportunity to learn Tang Soo Do (Soo Bahk Do) Moo Duk Kwan, many of them returning to the United States and opening dojangs.  Many successfully maintained dojangs that produced many Dan members and Masters within the Moo Duk Kwan.

It took the Founder several trips to the United States in order to help standardize the art, and that is what you see today, the product of his work, his son's work H.C. Hwang, Kwan Jang Nim, and to the never ending efforts of the many U.S. Federation Charter Members who intitially met during the mid-seventies that eventually created the U.S. Federation in 1975.  We directly benefit from their efforts today, and it should be a constant reminder to us that we have to move our art further into the 21st Century, as our Founder, and our Kwan Jang Nim intend it to be… Our Art of Moo Do Excellence.

So Today, many Studio Owners may have had special events to celebrate the 68th Anniversary of the Moo Duk Kwan and/or to celebrate and remember our Founder, Hwang Kee.  Or you may have just put on your dobok and did Kee Cho Hyung Il Bu in your backyard, or linked up on the Soo Bahk Do Institute to view and review your favorite hyung or technique.  Whatever you did, remember that you have a direct link to the Founder through your gup or dan bon… a direct link.  We are all connected.

Today, you may even search the internet for the History of the Moo Duk Kwan, and I'm sorry to say, that there may be several versions out there, some changing the dates, or misquoting the Founder's intent or some even trying to re-wrtie the history of the Moo Duk Kwan, some have even done it without going to the one living direct source of Moo Duk Kwan history, our very own, Kwan Jang Nim H.C. Hwang.    Along with several Senior Hu Kyun In and other Master Instructors who have been around since the Federation's birth.  As a practitioner, know this, the best source of history for you is our very own Kwan Jang Nim and your instructor.  Why, because we are connected, it is our lineage, it is our history.

So take the time today, to remember our Founder Hwang Kee, and that every time you do a kick, punch or technique, it is directly related to him and his efforts to better his art and his organization.  Enjoy the fruits of his labor, and the labor of your instructor.  I want to take a minute to also honor our Kwan Jang Nim H.C. Hwang for his unending dedication to our art and our Federation.  When you consider the amount of traveling he does to visit other countries and to support their Federations, it is obvious he is carrying on his father's mission and his vision of where our art must be in the 21st Century.  Take a minute to visit the World Moo Duk Kwan site and see where our Kwan Jang Nim has recently visited, and then visit our History of the Moo Duk Kwan Site and register, where you will get access to our Founder's and our Kwan Jang Nim's personal photo collection that dates back to the early years of the Moo Duk Kwan.  No better way to honor our Founder and celebrate the 68th Anniversary of the Moo Duk Kwan.

Respectfully Submitted,

Roberto Bonefont, Sr., Dan Bon 13927

A Proud Region 2 Member

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