Yoon Byung-In - Life

Life

In his childhood, the parents of Yoon Byung-In suffered under the Japanese occupation of Korea and fled to Manchuria. After diligent efforts to impress a Mongolian Chuan-fa master, the child Byung-In was permitted to study Chuan Fa or Gung Fu.

Yoon studied Chinese Chuan Fa under the guidance of a Mongolian instructor in Manchuria. Later, Yoon trained Karate at university karate club in Japan with Kanken Tōyama. When he trained Karate in Japan, Japanese karate students pursued the Korean students and beat them up. Angered by the Japanese karate students, Yoon Byung-in sprung into action using Chuan Fa. He skillfully deflected and evaded the karate students’ strikes and kicks to the point that they gave up and ran back to tell their teacher about what happened. Teacher Kanken Tōyama invited Yoon Byung-in to tell him about the skillful non-karate martial art he used against his students. Yoon Byung-in explained to Toyama about his Chuan-fa education in Manchuria. Toyama appreciated the Chuan-fa background since he (Toyama) had studied Chuan-fa in Taiwan for 7 years, previously. They decided to exchange knowledge; Yoon Byung-in would teach Toyama Kanken Chuan Fa and Toyama Kanken would teach Yoon Byung-in his Shudokan Ryu Karate. Yoon later created his art and called it Kwon Bop Kong Soo Do. Unlike other taekwondo kwans (schools), early Chang Moo Kwan was mainly based on Chinese Kung Fu (Chuan Fa). The early Chang Moo Kwan taught Palgi kwon (which influenced by Bājíquán).

From 1951 to 1966, the whereabouts and activities of Yoon Byung-In are unknown, as he was reportedly lured to North Korea in August 1950 by his older brother who had aligned with the Communists. In July 1951, reportedly his elective repatriation was prevented by a mob action by North Korean Prisoners of War.

In 1966-mid-1967, he taught Gyuck Sul ("special combat strategy", believed to perhaps be comparable to the Soviet military Systema) to special forces of the Moran Bong. In late 1967, Master Yoon was reportedly told that he could not teach Gyuck Sul as if it were an international sport, presumably as a reference to international competition for Olympic Games.

Yoon Byung-In was sent to work in a concrete factory in Cheong-Jin City, where he worked until his death from lung cancer in April, 1983.

Yoon, Byung-In (kneeling, center) with students during special weekend training session (ca. 1947).