Hwa Rang Do

[arnisador]

I remember when Hwa Rang Do was the hot thing--the series of books by Joo Bang Lee and of course the Michael Echanis phenomenon (I do have the books). It's interesting to see what has become of it; Joo Sang Lee evidently retired from the martial arts leaving Joo Bang Lee with all of Hwa Rang Do. They have added an "undergraduate" art, Tae Soo Do, pre-black belt. Meanwhile a former student has a site with a warning to members of the official Hwa Rang Do organization and many tales told out of school.

Does anyone here practice this art?

 

[Pyrael]

i've been looking at the site for some time; research what not and i notice the perciseness of their history and their constitution...a very proud art if you will and on the interview with the head of the Hwarangdo fed you can see this. havent seen its techniques in real life though, but i have met a student of hwarangdo and he knowledge of korean arts is vast...im actually looking foward into joining it

 

[arnisador]

It certainly seems to have a wide variety of techniques, including weapons. Will you start in ther Tae Soo Do art then?

 

[Pyrael]

tae soo do? tang soo do isnt it? i think it would be best for me to bite my tonge cuz i dont wanna make false statements...like they said " do your homework" cuz they completely diss people who degrade their art in any form. but since their site is down i cant say ****

 

[Pyrael]

from what i just gathered tae soo do is a branch of hwarangdo...

 

[arnisador]

Originally posted by Pyrael

from what i just gathered tae soo do is a branch of hwarangdo

Evidently, after achieving black belt rank in Tae Soo Do one starts in Hwa Rang Do.

From here:

Grandmaster Dr. Joo Bang Lee created Tae Soo Do® as a simplified subset of Hwa Rang Do® (the undergraduate Hwa Rang Do® Program) that is more accessible to all martial art enthusiasts no matter their experience level. Like Tae Kwon Do and Karate, Tae Soo Do® is much more sport oriented.

From here:

Upon receiving TSD 1st Dan Black Belt, Student receives Yellow Belt (Chil Kub) in Hwa Rang Do®. Student is also responsible for Moo Kub (White Belt) and Phal Kub (Orange Belt) material in Hwa Rang Do®.

Upon receiving 1st Dan Black Belt in Hwa Rang Do®, 2nd Dan Black Belt in Tae Soo Do® is obtained.

 

[WaterCircleHarmony]

Que? En ingles por favor!

So is Hwarangdo deserving of a good picking at then?

Is hwarangdo a modern formulation offering techniques that are found in most other korean arts?? No, i'm not trying to be disrespectful. Genuinely curious. i was under the inmpression that hwarangdo was an age old art.

 

[arnisador]

While Dr. Lee suggests that it's 2000 years old most people believe it to be largely his take on Hapkido, I think.

 

[WaterCircleHarmony]

It's a shame that there are so many arts claiming this and that about their age.
It really does say something about integrity doesn't it?
The Hwarang must have been really busy people learning all these MA's!

There's a book out about TKD fitness i think and it introduces the Hwarang as blown out of proportion and nothing more than minstrels of the court. I'll get to work on that lead.

 

[WaterCircleHarmony]

The above post was not meant in mockery or to cause offence to anyone. Please do not take the ramblings of this philistine to be of any significance. thank you. :asian:

 

[Andi]

I never do. You Philistine.

 

[WaterCircleHarmony]

cheers ta. thanks for comin!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

[jkn75]

HwaRangDo is worthy of picking, if you can find an instructor to teach it. The problem has been the Michael DeAlba split. So you need to know who is teaching you, like any other martial art. (do a search on hwa rang do or michael dealba and you can get the dirt on this split.)

From what I have heard about this art there are a lot of techniques and weapons. The only similarity with hapkido I have heard is with the techniques. It seems to be a combination of Tae kwon do's kicks (especially the advanced jumping and spinning kicks) and hapkido techniques (just more applications). There is a lot of everything. all different fighting ranges etc. So if that is your thing, go for it. With this wide background some of the techniques taught in other korean arts probably overlap.

:yinyang:

All martial arts can be traced back 2000 years or more though. The first thing (man women or monkey) that picked up a stick, rock,etc and used it to defend themself or others and then practiced with the stick, rock etc to get better practiced martial arts. This goes back to the very root of martial arts which there is always some debate.

 

[Angus]

My only problem with Hwarang do (I wanted to study it) was that once you begin to train in it, you must adhere specifically to their principles and techniques. No outside martial arts are allowed inside a Hwarang do dojang and, hypothetically, in the student. You are supposed to give up and forsake all prior martial art knowledge to study Hwarang do, and if you become an instructor you are not allowed to teach any other martial art or allow it to be taught in your dojang (not to mention you can't study anything else). Any breakage of these rules results in an expulsion from their national hwarang do association and revokation of the black belt, if I remember correctly. Yikes. I'm into both traditional arts and cross training, but I'm not going to drop everything I've done up until now just because they assume their style encapsulates all possible situations and techniques. To each his own, though.

However, it does look like a very, very good art and I honestly wish I could practice it. Fairly well rounded, but I don't think it's the be all and end all of MA like it claims it is on the official site.

 

[arnisador]

I always thought it looked interesting too, but I too was concerned about the somewhat cultish behaviour.

You do get two black belts for the price of one ther with their Tae Soo Do program.

 

[theneuhauser]

geez, hwarangdo is just another martial soap opera! when will it stop? thanks for the links at the start, arnisador, i think.:shrug:

 

[MartialArtist]

hwarangdo is very old, it was the "martial art" of noble young men. Not really a martial art really, but a training method really.

Ummmm... Schools or the "official site" (there is none, there is no such thing as an official site for a martial art because anyone could make one) don't really know the philosophy behind hwarangdo. So before you bash it, at least know what it's philosophy is.

I've heard of the "one and only" statement and it is just not true. What it REALLY SAYS is that it SUGGEST YOU EMPTY YOUR CUP so to say. Like in wing chun, to learn it faster, you should empty your knowledge. It doesn't mean forget, just forget it temporarily and once you get a hang of it, incorporate it with techniques of your own style and start developing your own.

 

[Chris from CT]

Originally posted by MartialArtist
hwarangdo is very old, it was the "martial art" of noble young men. Not really a martial art really, but a training method really.

Ummmm... Schools or the "official site" (there is none, there is no such thing as an official site for a martial art because anyone could make one) don't really know the philosophy behind hwarangdo. So before you bash it, at least know what it's philosophy is.

Joo Bang Lee has the "Hwa Rang Do" name registered for trademark, so I would think if he wanted to have an official site that would be his choosing. Whether or not someone believes in the ties to the ancient Korean Hwa Rang is another story.

I agree you should know both sides of the story before making a gudgement call. The direct links to the other side of the coin is at...

http://www.hwarang.org/Warning.html

http://www.hwarang.org/Contract.html

http://www.hwarang.org/Reply.html

Originally posted by theneuhauser
geez, hwarangdo is just another martial soap opera! when will it stop?

After reading the above links, and taking out the word "just" in theneuhauser's statement, I believe, that it would not be considered bashing, but merely a descriptive observation. There are many effective martial arts out there that could be considered soap operas. You just have to research deep enough.

Take care.

 

[MartialArtist]

Registering the name is hardly the official site. Legally? Yes. But an official representative? Not at all.

Trying to officiate the martial arts is like putting a copyright on the Bible.

 

[Chris from CT]

Originally posted by MartialArtist
Registering the name is hardly the official site. Legally? Yes. But an official representative? Not at all.

He says he is the founder of this martial art. Ok, I can give him that, but what comes into question is...

Originally posted by Chris from CT
Whether or not someone believes in the ties to the ancient Korean Hwa Rang...

Originally posted by MartialArtist
Trying to officiate the martial arts is like putting a copyright on the Bible.

I like that one.

Take care