This question was posed to Kwan Jang Nim Andy
Ah Po because of his long, close personal association with
the late Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee and his first hand
knowledge of Tang Soo Do's evolution in the U.S. Here is his
response.
Historically, Kwan Jang Nim Hwang
Kee treated the Sa Dan and Sa Bom tests as two separate and
distinct tests. Sa Dan for the 4th Dan ranking and Sa Bom
which is the official certification for a "Master
Instructor". He felt strongly that if an individual at the
Sa Dan level and above was not the head instructor of a
dojang or region within the organization, and did not have
any major teaching or leadership responsibilities in their
instructor's dojang or the Tang Soo Do organization that
they were a member of, then there was really no
justification to certify them as a "Sa Bom".
He also felt that the Kyo
Sa (instructor) certification should not be awarded to any
Dan who either did not own their own dojang or did not do a
significant amount of teaching at their instructor's dojang.
If they were merely assisting, then the Kyo Sa certification
could also not be justified.
When Grandmaster
Hwang Kee was alive, he was the only person in the Moo Duk Kwan that was rightfully regarded as the
Grandmaster.
This actually began
however in the late 1970's, when he started to address
some of his most senior students (existing Sa Bom at the
time ) with the title of "Master". Prior to that, he was
identified by all of us as simply "Master Hwang Kee."
But, when he began addressing us as "Masters" we then
began to address him as the "Grandmaster", since there
was no way that any of us could consider ourselves to be
his equal.
So, the title of
"Grandmaster" in Tang Soo Do actually evolved as a
result of Grandmaster Hwang Kee bestowing the title of
"Master" on those of us who were certified as Sa Bom at
the time. There are also a number of individuals today
who have awarded and address themselves with the title
of "Grandmaster" which is historically not really
appropriate. However, if their students and members of
their organizations choose to address them in that way
out of respect, as we did with the late Grandmaster
Hwang Kee, then that would be considered acceptable.
Editor's
note: Another misconception today is that the term
"Grandmaster" is the equivalent of "Kwan Jang Nim". On
that, Kwan Jang Nim Ah Po had this to say:
The titles
"Grandmaster" and "Kwan Jang Nim" are not
synonymous. In Korean martial arts, the title "Kwan
Jang Nim" is usually only bestowed on the "founder"
of an organization or particular style of martial
art. Again, when Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee was alive
he was the only one that was recognized as the
founder of the Korean Soo Bahk Do (Tang Soo Do) Moo
Duk Kwan Association, the U.S. Soo Bahk Do (Tang Soo
Do) Federation and the Tang Soo Do
system.
Technically, it
would not be correct for any
organization's successor to be addressed as
"Kwan Jang Nim" because they
were not the
original founder. However, if the members of the
organization wish to identify and address them
in that way, it is certainly their right and
privilege to do so.
As you are aware,
there are several Tang Soo Do organizations
currently that have been formed by some of Kwan Jang
Nim Hwang Kee's most senior Sa Bom. In their case,
because they have now formed their own Tang Soo Do
organizations, the title of Kwan (organization) Jang
(of several schools) Nim (most senior or head
person) is appropriate for them to use but they
still are not the founders of the Tang Soo Do
system.
