OK, a bit melodramatic, but with all these threads running, I figured I needed to do something dramatic to get your attention...
Nonetheless, it is a pretty dramatic story. In brief, Byung Jik Ro, founder of one of the five original kwans, the Song Moo Kwan, and arguably the first one to open (in 1944, earlier than the Chung Do Kwan) was something of an organization man; although he was a devoted and loyal student of Gichin Funakoshi—under whose direct instruction he earned dan rank (the name Song Moo Kwan is a direct translation into Korean of Shotokan 'Waving Pines Martial Training House")—he was willing to abandon his Shotokan-based curriculum in favor of General Choi's Ch'ang Hon hyungs and the syllabus built around them in the interest of TKD unity. But things didn't stay that way, and a completely new series of seven hyungs appears to have been created to counter the turn to the General's version of TKD. Very few practitioners are familiar with these forms, apparently, and they have something of a 'cult' status within SMK. As Robert Frankovich reports,
These developments show how fragmented the SMK lineages have become. In my lineage, going back through Gm. Joon Pye-Choi, the Shotokan syllabus was completely restored, with some ancient Okinawan katas (such as Rohai) included in Koreanized form (Okinawan purists don't much like what JPC did in adapting the Okinawan material, but there is is); in other SMK lineages, the Ch'ang Hon hyungs are still taught; and in still others, Master Hyon's Chung Bong forms are the basis of the curriculum. I was able to find videos of these almost completely unknown hyungs on the Web here.
I'd be very interested in the thoughts of my fellow TKDists on these forms, which are part of the tradition of my Kwan, though not my lineage... I haven't tried to do any bunkai or applications study of them yet at all; it's hard working from a video, and I suspect very few TKDists, even with SMK connections, have ever seen these performed live. Strange, the things that turn up in the KMAs, eh?
Nonetheless, it is a pretty dramatic story. In brief, Byung Jik Ro, founder of one of the five original kwans, the Song Moo Kwan, and arguably the first one to open (in 1944, earlier than the Chung Do Kwan) was something of an organization man; although he was a devoted and loyal student of Gichin Funakoshi—under whose direct instruction he earned dan rank (the name Song Moo Kwan is a direct translation into Korean of Shotokan 'Waving Pines Martial Training House")—he was willing to abandon his Shotokan-based curriculum in favor of General Choi's Ch'ang Hon hyungs and the syllabus built around them in the interest of TKD unity. But things didn't stay that way, and a completely new series of seven hyungs appears to have been created to counter the turn to the General's version of TKD. Very few practitioners are familiar with these forms, apparently, and they have something of a 'cult' status within SMK. As Robert Frankovich reports,
Tae Kwon Do Song Moo Kwan was one of the original eight kwans recognized by the Korean government in 1945. Song Moo Kwan, the Pine Tree School, was founded by Byung Jik Ro in Seoul shortly after World War II and was one of the kwans that followed in General Choi's attempt to unify the Korean martial arts under the name Tae Kwon Do. Grandmaster Ro had trained with the Shotokan Karate founder, Gichin Funakoshi. When Song Moo Kwan was first taught, Grandmaster Ro used the forms that were taught to him by Funakoshi. When the kwans began to appear, each had its own philosophy and teachings. One concept that made Song Moo Kwan different from the others is that they felt that many of the techniques were being taught incorrectly because the hips were not involved enough while doing the techniques. After the unification of the kwans, Grandmaster Ro started to teach the poomse that had been developed by General Choi. These were used, and still are by some Song Moo Kwan instructors, until 1974 when a student of Grandmaster Ro designed the Chung Bong poomse. Master Jay Hyon had come to Minneapolis, MN in the early 1960's and set up the Karate Center. Master Hyon developed the Chung Bong poomse, which he introduced to his students, and replaced the poomse of General Choi. It is still unclear if these poomse have become the "official" poomse of Song Moo Kwan, but even today the Grandmaster's son Hee Sang Ro teaches them at the dojang (training hall) after Master Hyon retired from teaching. These poomse have become a very valuable training method for many students, unfortunately Master Hyon only developed seven poomse before his retirement.
These developments show how fragmented the SMK lineages have become. In my lineage, going back through Gm. Joon Pye-Choi, the Shotokan syllabus was completely restored, with some ancient Okinawan katas (such as Rohai) included in Koreanized form (Okinawan purists don't much like what JPC did in adapting the Okinawan material, but there is is); in other SMK lineages, the Ch'ang Hon hyungs are still taught; and in still others, Master Hyon's Chung Bong forms are the basis of the curriculum. I was able to find videos of these almost completely unknown hyungs on the Web here.
I'd be very interested in the thoughts of my fellow TKDists on these forms, which are part of the tradition of my Kwan, though not my lineage... I haven't tried to do any bunkai or applications study of them yet at all; it's hard working from a video, and I suspect very few TKDists, even with SMK connections, have ever seen these performed live. Strange, the things that turn up in the KMAs, eh?