Yun Kwae-byung (; 1922–2000), alternatively Yoon Kwe-byung or Yoon Kwei-Byung, was a Korean martial artist and a notable figure in history of modern

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

Korean martial arts Korean martial arts ( or ) are fighting practices and methods which have their place in the history of Korea but have been adapted for use by both military and non-military personnel as a method of personal growth or recreation. The history of ...

. He was the head of the influential Kanbukan Dojo, that would pioneer bogutsuki karate and

full contact karate Full contact karate is any format of karate where competitors spar (also called Kumite) full-contact and allow a knockout as winning criterion. History Full contact karate competition comes in several different formats developed for the art o ...

, as well as being the first headmaster of

Jidokwan Jidokwan is one of the original nine schools of the modern Korean martial arts that became Taekwondo and was founded in what is now South Korea at the end of World War II. Its name translates as "School of Wisdom". The Jidokwan in Korea still ...

school, one of the original

kwans Kwan (hanja: ; hangul: ) in Korean literally means building or hall, but in the context of martial arts can also refer to a school or clan of martial artists who follow the same style or leader. Five kwans and nine kwans in taekwondo * Song ...

that would eventually unite and found

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

. 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 have been an affluent family, since he was sent abroad for his education during the

Japanese occupation of Korea From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

. Yun started Karate under

Kenwa Mabuni was one of the first karateka to teach karate in mainland Japan and is credited as developing the style known as Shitō-ryū. Originally, he chose the name Hanko-ryu, literally "half-hard style", to imply that the style used both hard and sof ...

while attending secondary school in Osaka. Yun then attended

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Ja ...

where he studied Shudokan karate under Kanken Toyama. He eventually received undergraduate and graduate degrees in

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, medical diagnosis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all a ...

and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 Kanbukan (韓武舘, roughly translated as ''"Hall of Korean Martial Arts"'' or ''"Korean Martial Hall"'') was one of the earliest Karate organizations made in Post-War Japan and is considered the birthplace of the Bōgutsuki Karate. 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 The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Return to Korea

Upon his return to Korea, Dr. Yun Kwae-Byung served as a professor at

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

, while also starting teaching Karate at Chosun

Yun Moo Kwan Yun Mu Kwan (Hangul: 연무관, Hanja: 研武館, eng.''Hall or Institute for Martial Study'') was one of the original five "kwans" that arose in Korea following World War II. It was the name of the place where a generic form of Japanese karate ...

(朝鮮研武館), a former Judo school now headed by Master Sang Sap Chun. Subsequently, the

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

, with Yun Kwae-byung voted as the kwan's first president. In mid-1950s, Yun Kwae-byung, the Jidokwan and the other

began discussions about uniting and promoting a singular art. Later during 1950s,

Choi Hong Hi Choi Hong-hi (; 9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002) was a South Korean Army general, and martial artist who was an important figure in the history of the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, albeit controversial due to his introduction of tae ...

got involved and started spearheading the unification process that would eventually form the

Korea Taekwondo Association Korea Taekwondo Association (; KTA), originally the Korea Tang Soo Do Association (1961),Park, S. H. (1993): About the author. In H. H. Choi: ''Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence'', 3rd ed. (Vol. 1, pp. 241–274). Mississauga: Internatio ...

. 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 led 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. 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: ) and is also credited for "" (“sparring with protective armor”) practice in

.http://fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=665 Eric Madis

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 is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thro ...

Karate under

Gichin Funakoshi was the founder of Shotokan karate. He is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, Gichin (1981). ''Karate-Do: My Way of Life'', Kodansha International Ltd. . he was one of the Okin ...

References