Chayon-Ryu: A Treasure in Today’s Martial Arts World
By
Grandmaster Kim Soo and Sabom Alberto Borjas
January 16th, 1968, Kim Pyung-Soo, a
young third-generation Korean martial arts master, arrived in the U.S.A. He had
a dream: to pass on the knowledge of his predecessors and help people all over
the world to get the benefit of martial arts training. In 2017 Grandmaster Kim
Soo, as he came to be known, celebrates the 49th anniversary of his creation in
America: Chayon- Ryu, “The Natural Way“ martial arts system.
 |
| Grandmaster Kim Soo with friends and students before his departure |
Before Grandmaster Kim Soo decided to
come to America, he was making a living in Korea as a full-time martial arts
instructor and Black Belt Magazine correspondent. So why did he decide
to leave his wife and young son behind and come to America? To understand his
decision, it is necessary to know some of the history of the Korean martial
arts. We are not attempting to make an in-depth exploration of this topic.
However, because of its significance for this story, we will try to summarize
chronologically the most important events in the history of the Korean martial
arts after World War II.
The First
Generation of Korean Masters
After World War II several Korean
masters who had emigrated to China or Japan during the Japanese rule returned
to Korea and started teaching their arts to the civilian population, mostly
adult males. This first generation of Korean masters were highly educated
individuals who studied abroad and reached different levels in Chuan Fa (Kung
Fu) and Karate (mainly Shotokan, Shito- Ryu and Shudokan styles).
 |
| Grandmaster Yoon |
One of these
masters was Yoon Byung-In, who learned Chuan Fa in Manchuria, where he was born
and raised. He later attended Nihon University in Tokyo, Japan, and he was
recognized as a 4th dan in Shudokan Karate under the founder of this style
Toyama Kanken. Grandmaster Yoon Byung- In founded the Kwon-Beop Bu in the
Central YMCA in Seoul in 1946, teaching a combination of Chuan Fa and Karate
(the only school in Korea with a background in Chinese martial arts).
This
school was known initially as “the YMCA Kwon-Beop Bu,” but later at the end of
1948 GM Yoon Byung-In named it the “Chang-Moo Kwan” (House of Bright Martial
Arts). During this time there was a branch Chang-Moo Kwan dojang run by Lee
Nam-Sok at the Communications Department in Seoul, where he was an employee.
This dojang was known as the “Chae-Shin Bu Kong Soo Do Dojang” (Communications
Department Dojang).
The most relevant schools (kwans)
established in Seoul during this period were:
NAME
|
FOUNDER
|
Chung-Do Kwan–Tang Soo Do
|
Lee Won-Kuk
|
Song-Moo Kwan-Kong Soo Do
|
Roh Byung-Jik
|
Moo-Duk Kwan–Tang Soo
Do
|
Hwang Kee
|
Yun-Moo
Kwan–Kwon-Beop Bu
|
Chun Sang-Sub and Yoon Byung–In
|
1. YMCA
Kwon-Beop Bu (Chang- Moo Kwan)
|
Yoon Byung-In
|
This first generation of masters had
only about four years to pass on their knowledge because the Korean War started
on June 25,1950, and all schools stopped their activities.
The Second
Generation of Masters
After the temporary stoppage during the
Korean War, classes started again in the latter part of 1952. Several black
belts who had received instruction from the first generation of masters
reopened their schools, becoming later the second generation of Korean masters.
Some of the original masters disappeared
during the war, including Grandmaster Yoon Byung-In, the founder of the
Kwon-Beop Bu (YMCA)(later Chang-Moo Kwan). The Central YMCA building was
completely destroyed by bombing during the war. In 1952 Lee Nam-Sok reopened
the Chae- Shin Bu Dojang at a vacated building damaged by the war that belonged
to the Communications Department, where he was an employee.
With GM Yoon Byung-In
missing and the YMCA building destroyed, many of the YMCA students, including
Park Chull-Hee and Hong Jong-Pyo, started training at the Chae-Shin Bu.
Initially the school was known as the “Chae-Shin Bu” (Communications Department
Dojang) and later adopted the name “Chang-Moo Kwan” (House of Bright Martial
Arts). In 1956, Park Chull-Hee and Hong Jong-Pyo, feeling that Lee Nam-Sok was
never appointed to use the Chang- Moo Kwan name and that it didn’t represent
Grandmaster Yoon Byung-In anymore, decided to leave the school, and created the
Kang-Duk Won (Institute of Teaching Morality).
Many members of the Chang-Moo
Kwan supported the new school and transferred to the Kang-Duk Won.
During the early sixties there were
several schools in Korea, the most prominent being:
Name
|
Leader
|
Chung-Do Kwan Tang Soo Do
|
Son Duk–Sung and Uhm
Woon-Kyu
|
Song-Moo Kwan Kong Soo Do
|
Roh Byung-Jik
|
Moo-Duk Kwan Tang Soo
Do
|
Hwang Kee
|
Ji-Do Kwan Kong Soo
Do
|
Yoon Kwe-Byung and Lee Chong-Woo
|
Chang-Moo Kwan Kong Soo Do
|
Lee Nam-Seok
|
Han-Moo Kwan Kong Soo
Do
|
Lee Gyo-Yoon
|
Oh-Do Kwan Taekwondo
|
Choi Hong-Hi and Nam Tae-Hee
|
Kang-Duk Won/Kwon-Beop Mudo
|
Park Chul-Hee
and Hong Jong–Pyo. Kim Pyung-Soo opened a dojang in Seoul in 1964 under this
organization (Kang-Duk Won), named Korean Taekwon-Karate Academy.
|
Jung-Do Kwan Tang Soo Do
|
Lee Yong-Woo
|
The Third
Generation of Korean Masters.
The third generation of masters became
the foundation of Tae Kwon Do. One of these masters is Grandmaster Kim Soo.
Grandmaster Kim Soo began his martial
arts training in 1951. In late 1952 he started training under Lee Nam-Sok in
the Chae-Shin Bu (later Chang-Moo Kwan,) earning his black belt two years
later. In 1957 he transferred to the Kang- Duk Won, receiving instruction from
Park Chull-Hee and Hong Jong-Pyo. In late 1957 he became an assistant
instructor to Park Chull- Hee. In 1962 Grandmaster Kim Soo received a 5th dan
in the first promotion test carried by the Korea Taesoo-do Association. In
November 1964 Grandmaster Kim Soo became a full-time martial arts instructor,
founding his Korean Taekwon Karate Academy in Seoul. He was also teaching at
the US Army compound (I-Corps Headquarters) and at the 8th US Army base. In
December 1967 he received his 6th dan from the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA).
Grandmaster Kim Soo is black belt #44 in
the KTA and # 24 in the Chang-Moo Kwan in all Korea.
Grandmaster Kim Soo also served as a Black
Belt Magazine correspondent in the 1960s, helping introduce Korean martial
arts to the world.
During this period, the Korean
government was pressing for the unification of all schools (kwans) under the
Tae Kwon Do umbrella with the objective to promote Tae Kwon Do as an Olympic
sport. The KTA asked the kwans to drop their forms and concentrate only in
sparring. (The KTA later developed the Yudanja series of forms).
 |
| GM Kim Soo teaches GM Yoons Bong Hyung |
Grandmaster
Kim Soo’s dream was to preserve the legacy of Grandmaster Yoon Byung-In; he
refused to abandon the teachings of his predecessors by joining the Tae Kwon Do
movement and decided to come to America in January 1968 to follow his dream.
His decision led him to the creation of his martial arts system: Chayon-Ryu
(The Natural Way), synthesizing all the teachings of his masters and preserving
the legacy of Grandmaster Yoon Byung-In.
Chayon-Ryu, “the Natural Way,” is a
unique style of martial art. It combines the influences of all major Asian
martial arts from China, Korea, Okinawa and Japan in a contemporary system that
emphasizes natural body motions ( hence its name ) and basic principles
discovered by Grandmaster Kim Soo through many years of training and teaching.
The foundation of the system is the traditional Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and at the
advanced level the students learn Chuan Fa forms and self-defense strategies
that combine Hapkido and Judo / Jiu-Jitsu and Kendo principles. Many of the
forms practiced by the original Korean grandmasters, nowadays almost lost, are
preserved in the system, especially those of Chuan Fa origin (including partner
forms).
It also incorporates the original Tae Kwon Do (KTA/WTF) forms (Palgue
series and original Koryo, Taebaek and Ji tae) and Bong Sul (long staff forms).
The system also includes bayonet forms created by Grandmaster Kim Soo for the
Korean Army (ROK). Chayon- Ryu offers a very rich and diverse curriculum to its
students.
The list of forms for rank advancement in Chayon-Ryu includes a large
group from the Yoon Byung-In legacy (Chang- Moo Kwan /Kang Duk Won curriculum):
ShudoKan Karate and Chuan Fa forms.
Chayon-Ryu test requirements include:
1. Forms
2. Techniques
3. Self-defense
4. One-step
(formal and practical) and three steps (formal) exercises
5. Tightening
ways
6. Hapki-Yusul
7. Breaking
8. Sparring
9. Written
test
All candidates for black belt must
submit a written thesis to receive their dan.
Even though Grandmaster Kim Soo didn’t
join the sport Tae Kwon Do movement he contributed to its early development by
writing several books in English (published by O’Hara in 1973) and in Russian
(Published by The of Moscow State University in 2000) about of the original
forms of KTA/WTF (Palgue series). Grandmaster Kim Soo also was the first
instructor who taught the recently created Tae Kwon Do black belt forms outside
of Korea (Houston, TX. 1968).
 |
| GM Kim Soo teaching at the Kukiwon 2016 |
Grandmaster Kim Soo was promoted to 10th
dan black belt by his senior Grandmaster Hong Jong- Pyo in 1994. At that time
GM Hong was the Chief instructor at the Central YMCA in Seoul.
Recently, Grandmaster Kim Soo was
invited to the Taekwondo Hall of Fame ceremony in Korea and was asked to teach
the Kukkiwon demonstration team. He taught them some forms and techniques from
his GM Yoon Byung-In background. Grandmaster Kim Soo has been teaching the
legacy of Grandmaster
Yoon Byung-In continuously for over 60 years! Thanks to his teachings,
Grandmaster Yoon Byung-In’s legacy is alive.
Grandmaster Kim Soo could have become a
high-ranking Tae Kwon Do official and traveled the world; he was even asked by
General Choi Hong-Hi to join the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) and
work for him, on several occasions in Korea and later in Houston, TX, but he
chose to share his knowledge and preserve his system (Chang-Moo Kwan/Kang-Duk
Won) for future generations. That decision led him to the creation of his own
system: Chayon-Ryu.
Chayon-Ryu is not a competitive style. t
is a lifestyle martial arts system. Grandmaster Kim Soo states that “the real
competition in life takes place from within.” Chayon-Ryu is a martial arts
system like no other in the contemporary world of martial arts, a real treasure
for modern-day martial art students.
About
the author
Sabom Alberto
Borjas has more than 40 years of training and teaching martial arts. He is a
Tae Kwon Do master instructor (Kukkiwon) and also holds black belts in Karate
and Chayon-Ryu, which he has been training since 2013 under its founder,
Grandmaster Kim Soo.
Originally from Cuba, he was one of the first Tae Kwon Do
black belts and WTF international referees from that country.
He was a martial
arts instructor for the Chuck Norris Kickstart Kids Foundation for over ten
years in Houston, TX, where he currently resides.
Interview:Master Joseph Sullins by Saboemnim Alberto Borjas
