Founding
The Chung Do Kwan (靑濤館; "Blue Wave School") name was first used by Won Kuk Lee. Lee had studied Taekkyon in An Gup Dong (a neighborhood in Seoul), karate with Sensei Gichin Funakoshi in Okinawa, and kung fu at centers in Henan and Shanghai in China. Lee earned dan ranking in Shotokan karate. According to GM Yong Taek Chong (a student of Lee) "it is probable that he did practice in secret as a teenager because he told this author that when he first started training he and his first teachers would not exchange names due to possible consequences if someone got caught." Chung Do Kwan was the oldest of the martial arts schools, or "kwans", that were established following the Japanese Occupation of Korea.
Lee trained under Gichin Funakoshi Sensei at Chuo University in Japan. Lee also traveled to China and Okinawa, studying martial arts technique, history, and philosophy. According to Won Kuk Lee interview, the main differences among Korean style Tang Soo Do, Karate, and Kung Fu were in how pressure points were used and attacked.
The belt system of the Chung Do Kwan under Lee was as follows: White (8th-5th Guep), Red (4th-1st Guep)and Black (1st to 7th Dan). Testing occurred every six months and students would jump two guep levels per test (8th to 6th guep for example). The reason for this was that many Koreans at that time were poor and could not afford frequent testings.
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