Martial Artist Returns to Home of "Teukgong musul"

The following article is reprinted by permission of the author, Ben Jhoty, and his editor from the July 27, 2001, edition of the Korea Herald.

There is no bowing. No demonstrations of cracking tiles or blindfolded displays of progress. The fighters wear shoes rather than battle barefoot, and their moves are determined by the opponent's proximity as they seamlessly combine traditional taekwondo kicks with jujitsu chokes, while at the same time wielding a knife. Oh, and they are trained to kill their opponent as well.

"Anytime, anywhere, any weapon, anything you've got," is how expert Kim In-ki describes the philosophy behind teukgong musul, (tukong moosul) a form of martial arts designed to meet the demands of combat.

Kim who was born in Korea and moved to the United States in 1982, was back here recently to confirm the origins of teukgong musul, discuss the establishment of ties with the Korean Teukgong Musul Association, and teach taekwondo and computer education in English to preschool children. He is also researching plans for a training complex he hopes to establish in Virginia, where he now resides as head of the 'Tukong Moosul' Association and master of the Tukong Martial Arts Academy.

Back in the late 1970s, President Park Chung Hee ordered the creation of a superior style of martial arts to counter the North Korean elite forces' "geuksul" style. Grandmaster Chang Soo-ok, 27th antiterrorism unit martial arts instructor and current Chong Wa Dae presidential bodyguard head instructor, and Lim Ung-hwan, captain of the 27th unit and current president of the Korean Teukgong Musul association, were responsible for developing this new style of fighting, adapting many different forms of martial arts to meet the demands of the special forces. They performed a demonstration in June 1979 for President Park, who was delighted, christening the style teukgong musul and ordering that it be taught to Chong Wa Dae presidential bodyguards and units of the Korean Special Warfare Command Corps.

Kim, who at the time was the heavyweight taekwondo champion of the army, served in the elite units and was trained in teukgong before moving to the United States and starting the Tukong Martial Arts Academy. He further developed and adapted the style he had been taught in the special forces to the realities of American society, changing the emphasis to survival rather than self-defense.

"Teukgong Musul is about life and death," Kim said. "I'm trying to help people save their lives. I can control myself, but if I have no choice but to kill, I can. In the army we use a rifle, then when we run out of bullets we have to use something else - a helmet, a buckle, a shoe, your fists, whatever you have to do to survive. That's the nature of combat and the nature of the street."

The gravity of this kind of philosophy is illustrated in an anecdote Kim recalls regarding an encounter with a jujitsu opponent. "I was curious about jujitsu, so I let a jujitsu guy put me on the ground and start choking me," Kim said. Then I bit him as hard as I could in the chest, and he jumped off and looked at me in horror. I said, 'Is anything wrong?'"

Naturally, such a lethal style of combat has opponents who liken it to giving someone a loaded gun. Kim defends this accusation, saying the philosophy of his academy is "Never fight, never lose." "Once you learn it, it's always there, but hopefully you never have to use it," he said.

One of the most recognizable aspects of Kim's teachings is that fighters wear shoes in order to impose a degree of realism on the training. In clinics and training sessions he conducts with law enforcement agencies in Virginia, Kim has the officers train in police uniform and also takes them outside of the gym to train in the elements. All of these measures are in preparation for a real-life situation.

"There are good reasons why people take their shoes off in martial arts, but these days people wear shoes most of the time, so if you're in a fight, you can't say to the attacker, 'Wait, I have to take my shoes off,'" Kim said. "And you don't let your opponent get up again, you follow up right away. Its survival."

Obviously, this mentality makes teukgong an unlikely candidate for competition, although it has been attempted. "Teukgong tournaments were tried, but there really is no safe way to compete," Kim said. "When you can sweep or eye gouge, elbow or headbutt, or throw and attack below the belt and to the back of the body and the head, there is too much chance of severe injury to try to convert it into a sport. Teukgong will never be a sport if taught properly."

There is some dispute as to the exact origins of teukgong musul, with grandmaster Yi Won-ik, who also runs an academy in the United States, claiming that he is solely responsible for the martial art's founding. President of the Korean Teukgong Musul Association Lim Ung-hwan said this claim was false, while Jimmy Higgins, co-founder of the Tukong Martial Arts Academy, said, "Pretty much all of the schools in Korea and America except Yi Won-ik's in Texas recognize President Park as the actual beginning and origin of teukgong."

In any case, Kim says that what he teaches at his academy is very different from what is taught in the Korean military or civilian teukgong musul schools in Korea, which, he said, put less emphasis on survival tactics and have more in common with guksulwon. "I had to modify many aspects of what the teukgong unit had and what I taught there to make it a workable program for most Americans," Kim said.

The Tukong Martial Arts Academy is highly selective in who it will teach, due to the violent nature of the training. Some 60 percent of applicants are turned away, as students must be deemed committed and responsible. Along with law enforcement agencies in Virginia, Kim has trained officers for the FBI, Secret Service, S.W.A.T. teams, prison guards, state and military police, Navy Seals, U.S. Marines, Green Berets and Army Rangers.

When asked about the teukgong musul scene in Korea, Kim believes it is strong, although he said taekwondo is practically a national art here. He also doubts the style will ever rival taekwondo's popularity in the United States, as he believes it is a much harder program that requires more dedication to attain a black belt.

For more information on teukgong musul taught at the Tukong Martial Arts Academy, go to www.tukong.com. If you are interested in visiting a teukgong musul school in Korea, go to www.tgmsa.com.