The foundations of what was to eventually become Jidokwan were laid down by GM CHUN Sang Sup, who was one of the earliest Koreans to bring Japanese
karate back to his homeland. When he was seventeen years old, GM Chun relocated to Japan to attend College at
Takushoku University in Japan, where he took up
Shotokan karate under
Gichin Funakoshi Sensei, the founder of that system and one of the first to bring karate (originally an
Okinawan martial art) to Japan. Upon GM Chun's return to his native Korea, he began teaching this fighting art at the Chosun Yun Moo Kwan school of
Judo (朝鮮硏武館 拳法部), one of the few martial arts schools the Japanese occupying forces allowed to remain open during the period of their
military occupation of that country. At this time, GM Chun became very close with another Korean practitioner of the Okinawan/Japanese fighting arts, GM
Yoon Byung-In, who was said to have also studied Ch'uan-fa (another word for
Kung-fu) in Manchuria. GM Yoon eventually became a
Shudokan karate "Shihan" (Sabum or teacher) under
Kanken Tōyama Sensei while studying in Japan. Toyama Sensei was a colleague and fellow martial artist of Funakoshi Sensei, although he did not consider the karate he was teaching to be a distinct style that differed in form or substance from the generic brand of Shuri-based karate (derived from the
Shuri district in
Okinawa where it initially evolved) that Funakoshi Sensei had introduced to Japan and which was eventually named
Shotokan by Funakoshi Sensei's successors. GM Chun and GM Yoon traveled extensively together to train with other martial artists in
Manchuria (northern China). They trained with each other so much that they came to be thought of as brothers. GM Yoon taught at GM Chun's Choson
Yun Moo Kwan Kwon Bup Bu (권법무) for about six months before opening his own club, which he called the
YMCA Kwon Bop Bu. GM Yoon's YMCA club later became the
Chang Moo Kwan, which was founded by his most senior students, including GM Lee Nam Suk. During the
Korean War, all schools of martial arts were closed in Korea, including the Chosun Yun Moo Kwan. Both GM Chun Sang-Sup and GM
Yoon Byung-In both vanished during the conflict. After the war, the Chosun Yun Moo Kwan Kwo Bup Bu program (sometimes "
Yun Mu Kwan") school was restarted with new teachers and a new name,
Ji Do Kwan (or "
Jidokwan"). Chun's former disciples voted
Dr. Yun Kwae-byung, who had background as the director of the
Kanbukan, as the first headmaster of Jidokwan.
Jidokwan was subsequently absorbed into the newly unified Korean system of
Tae Kwon Do (
Taekwondo), which translates as the Way of Foot and Fist, so that it ceased to exist as a distinct style of Korean "karate." However,
Jidokwan still exists in Korea today as a fraternal order which endorses the
Kukkiwon martial arts system and supports
World Taekwondo. There are still branches of the old
Yun Moo Kwan style practicing today although in some cases they may only be using the old "Yun Moo Kwan" name. Some have gone their own way, with many adopting taekwondo-like formats and methods while others have ranged farther afield (e.g.,
Nabi Su, a modern hybrid style that traces its roots back to the old '
Yun Moo Kwan' style although it's hardly recognizable as a form of traditional Korean karate today). == Philosophy ==