The MOO DUK KWAN 무덕관 and Tang Soo Do 당수도 - Part V
The Organizational Landscape: Tang Soo Do After the Moo Duk Kwan
The Organizational Landscape: Tang Soo Do After the Moo Duk Kwan
The Principal Independent Organizations
The departure of practitioners from the official Moo Duk Kwan over several decades — combined with the natural tendency of martial arts organizations to fragment along personality, technical, and philosophical lines — produced a landscape of dozens of Tang Soo Do federations and associations worldwide, each with distinct lineage claims, curricular variations, and governance structures. The most significant are documented here.
Organization | Founded | Key Notes |
World Tang Soo Do Association (WTSDA) | Founded 1982 (orig. 1968) | Largest Tang Soo Do org worldwide; founded by Jae Chul Shin (Dan Bon #698), direct student of Hwang Kee; over 160,000 members; HQ Burlington, NC; uses Sae Kye Hyung as beginning forms instead of Kicho. |
U.S. Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation | Chartered 1976 | The official continuation of Hwang Kee's Moo Duk Kwan in the U.S.; teaches Soo Bahk Do, not Tang Soo Do; now led by H.C. Hwang (Dan Bon #509); holds the registered trademark on "Moo Duk Kwan." |
World Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do Federation | Founded by Jae Joon Kim (Dan Bon #38) | Established first Tang Soo Do Federation in the U.S.; operated independently of the official MDK; eventually relocated HQ to Brandon, FL. |
American Tang Soo Do (Norris lineage) | Founded 1966 | Developed by Chuck Norris combining MDK Tang Soo Do with Judo and other systems; governed first by NTC (1973), then UFAF (1979). Norris later transitioned to Chun Kuk Do; many former students continue American TSD independently. |
International Tang Soo Do Federation (ITSDF) | Founded 1984 | Founded by C.S. Kim (Dan Bon #915) in Monroeville, PA; trademark registered 1996; one of several independent federations operating in parallel. |
Tang Soo Do Mi Guk Kwan | Founded by Charles Ferraro | "American Brotherhood of the Empty Hand Defense"; 35+ schools; classic martial arts focus on scientific and aesthetic principles; independent Moo Duk Kwan lineage. |
National Tang Soo Do Alliance (NTSD) | Founded 1986 | Founded by Dan Nolan, Dr. Cliff Johnson, and others; one of many regional/national organizations maintaining independent Tang Soo Do traditions. |
Pan American Tang Soo Do Federation | Founded 1986 | Founded by Chong Su Kim; focuses on Pan American Tang Soo Do community; endorses Kukkiwon curriculum alongside Tang Soo Do traditions. |
In Part VI, Technical Distinctions: Tang Soo Do vs. Soo Bahk Do Today
Scholarly Note
The proliferation of Tang Soo Do organizations: The extent of organizational fragmentation in the Tang Soo Do world is documented in the Chronological History of Tang Soo Do in the U.S.A. — a practitioner-maintained record that lists dozens of federations, associations, and independent schools founded between the 1960s and 1990s. This fragmentation is both a challenge (no single governing authority, significant curriculum variation) and an expression of the art's vitality (each organization reflects genuine lineage and regional adaptation). A 1989 Black Belt Magazine article — "A House Divided: The Broken Family of Tang Soo Do" — documented the political divisions even in that era.