What is Chung Do Kwan?

Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do is a traditional martial art, and one of the first kwans (or schools) started in South Korea in the 1940s. Chung Do Kwan is largely based on traditional Japanese Shotokan Karate as developed by Gishin Funakoshi. Grandmaster Duk Sung Son began teaching Chung Do Kwan in the United States following his immigration from South Korea in the 1960s. Tae Kwon Do is a general Korean term meaning ‘the way of the foot and fist’ which contemplates weaponless fighting. Chung Do Kwan, a type of Tae Kwon Do, can be translated to the “Blue Wave School” and signifies the power that generates through proper technique like a wave breaking and crashing as it releases and focuses its potential energy.

Our school was started in Flagstaff by Sensei Don Richardson, a direct student of Grandmaster Son, approximately 40 years ago.

Chung Do Kwan emphasizes proper balance, focus, speed, and accuracy to generate the necessary power to adequately defend oneself when applying its blocks, strikes, and kicks. Kata practice, an essential element of Chung Do Kwan, similarly helps develop this power in prescribed moves against imagined opponents. As originally contemplated by Grandmaster Son, full power is utilized in free sparring, but this style forbids physical offensive contact while sparring.