Yun Kwae-byung

Yun Kwae-byung (Hanja: 尹快炳, also spelled "Yoon Kwe-byung" and "Yoon Kwei-Byung", 1922–2000) was a Korean Martial Artist and an notable figure in history of modern Japanese and Korean martial arts. He was the head of the influential Kanbukan Dojo, that would pioneer Bogutsuki Karate and Full Contact Karate, as well as being the first headmaster of Jidokwan school, one of the original kwans that would eventually unite and found Taekwondo.

Not to be confused with Yoon Byung-in.
Yun Kwae-byung
Born1922
Died2000
Other namesYoon Kwe-byung, Yoon Kwei-Byung, In Giei, In Gekka, Yun Gekka
StyleShudokan Karate, Shito-Ryu Karate, Bogutsuki Karate, Kong Soo Do (Yun Mu Kwan)
Teacher(s)Kenwa Mabuni, Kanken Toyama, Chun Sang Sup

In Japan, his name is often transliterated as “In Giei”, “In Gekka”, “Yun Gekka” or other close variations.

History

Early life

Yun was born in Korea in 1922 into what is believed to been an affluent family, since he was sent abroad for his education during the Japanese occupation of Korea.

Yun started Karate under Kenwa Mabuni while attending secondary school in Osaka. Yun then attended Nihon University where he studied Shudokan karate under Kanken Toyama. He eventually received undergraduate and graduate degrees in veterinary medicine and animal husbandry.[1]

After the end of the World War II, various disciples of Shudokan tried to form a Karate school amidst the post-war martial arts ban enacted by GHQ. To get around restrictions, the students named the school Kanbukan (韓武舘, eng. "Hall of Korean Martial Arts"), and named Yun Kwae-byung, who had special status as a third-country person in postwar Japan, as the head of the dojo. This allowed the members of dojo to practice Karate freely, as well as editorialize Karate booklets without unwanted attention from GHQ.

In 1949, Dr. Yun Kwae-Byung left Kanbukan and returned to Korea, influenced by the impending Korean War.

Return to Korea

Upon his return to Korea, Dr. Yun Kwae-Byung served as a professor at Seoul National University, while also starting teaching Karate at Chosun Yun Moo Kwan (朝鮮研武館), a former Judo school now headed by Master Sang Sap Chun. Subsequently, the Korean War started and Sang Sap Chun disappeared during the conflict. After the war and disappearance of Master Chun, many of his former students eventually began training again at a different location. The former disciples of Master Chun formed the Jidokwan, with Yun Kwae-byung voted as the kwan's first president.

In mid-1950s, Yun Kwae-byung, the Jidokwan and the other kwans began discussions about uniting and promoting a singular art. Later during 1950s, Choi Hong Hi got involved and started spearheading the unification process that would eventually form the Korea Taekwondo Association. In early 1960s, Yun Kwae-byung started to become critical about the direction the younger generation of martial artist and teachers were going with Taekwondo and tried to sway Jidokwan out of the KTA. Eventually in 1967, younger members of Jidokwan lead by senior instructor Lee Chong-woo voted Yun out, with Lee Chong Woo chosen as the new president and officially joining KTA and turning Jidokwan into Taekwondo school.[2]

Yun Kwae-byung was effectively ostracized from Korean martial arts scene thereafter. Being an outcast to Taekwondo movement, he began focusing on business. Yun Kwae-byung died in year 2000.

Legacy

Yun Kwae-byung is considered an innovator in jiyu kumite (Japanese: “free sparring”; Korean: jayu daeryon) and is also credited for "hogu daeryon" (“sparring with protective armor”) practice in Taekwondo.[3]

See also

Notes
1.^ Mabuni was an Okinawan living in Japan teaching his brand of Karate which he called Shito Ryu. It should also be noted that Yun's study of Shito-ryu deviates from the way other founders of the nine kwans did, as they mainly studied Shotokan Karate under Gichin Funakoshi.

References
  1. "FightingArts.com - Storming the Fortress: A History of Taekwondo - Part 3". fightingarts.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  2. Kang Won-sik and Lee Kyong-myong. (1999). T’aekwondo Hyondaesa (Modern History of Taekwondo). Seoul, ROK: Pogyong Munhwasa.
  3. http://fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=665 Eric Madis
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