Kwan Gi (Style Flag)

The words "San Kil" are Korean for "Mountain Path".  What does a mountain represent to you?  What type of terrain do you think you encounter on the way to the top of a mountain?  The mountain path represents challenges that we all face in life and must persevere to overcome.  This philosophy is represented in the style's logo or "Kwan Gi" (shown to the right). 

San Kil Tang Soo Do was founded on May 30, 1996 by Kwan Jang Nim David Sgro.  The style of San Kil (Mountain Path) is based on the classical marital art Tang Soo Do (China Hand Way).  The mountain path represents challenges that we all face in life and must persevere to overcome.  The term "San Kil” is an old Korean cliché that means “when there is a mountain in front of you, find the path and overcome it.”

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gold ring

The gold ring circling the mountains represents the student of San Kil Tang Soo Do.  Much like the precious metal is purified with fire, the student is purified by the fire of training and discipline.  In Korean culture and also traditional martial arts, the color gold represents wisdom, maturity and elder statesmanship rather than simply a monetary value that we in the Western Culture tend to associate with this precious metal.

In Asian cultures influenced by Zen Buddhism, the circle (Enso in Japanese) symbolizes enlightenment, strength, elegance, the Universe, and the void; a moment when the mind is free to simply let the body/spirit create.  It also is commonly used to describe a cycle or repeating event or process.  As it relates to a student of Tang Soo Do, gaining strength of body, mind and spirit requires continuous or even daily practice.

mountain peaks

The art of Tang Soo Do involves the development of the mind, body and spirit.  The three peaks in the San Kil Kwan Gi represent the three areas of development that we focus on in our training: Neh Gong (Internal Energy), Weh Gong (External Energy) and Shim Gong (Mental/Spiritual Energy).  By facing physical, mental and spiritual challanges students will improve their well being and self awereness.

The lowest peak represents Weh Gong and is our body's action (use of hip).  Weh Gong refers to body conditioning exercises involving mainly the external parts of the body (i.e. muscles & skin) performed in order to promote a healthy human metabolism.  Its purpose is to promote health of the external body by increasing the circulation of energy and promoting a healthier metabolism.

The second highest peak represents Neh Gung and can be considered our breath or ki-hap during our technique.  Neh Gong refers to internal body conditioning exercises most notibly the correct use of breathing to control heart rate, blood pressure, adrenaline, and carbohydrate digestion.  It involves changing the internal body energies by special concentration practices. It's purpose is to promote a healthier body by controlling metabolism through the concentration of energies to various parts of the internal body organs.

Shim Gung is the highest peak and is our character; our attitude; our discipline (Moo Do). Shim Gong refers to spiritual conditioning exercises and challanges involving courage, concentration, endurance, honesety and humility.  It involves control of your emotional being through a trust of self-confidence and positive thinking while striving for a high level of ettiquette and respect  (Yei) for others.  It's purpose is to promote mind, body and spirit harmony through positive thinking and trust.

When practicing in Tang Soo Do you are practicing a tried and true systematic and scientific method of training that enables you to realize your full potential.  Through this system, each area builds on the next and is progressively more involved.  Sa Bom Nim has said that when the body has been tested and is tired (Weh Gong) the mind must take over.  When the mind can no longer concentrate (Neh Gong) it is our spirit (Shim Gong) that is then put to the test.  Tang Soo Do training promotes inner strength by constantly testing our mind, our body and our spirit. Our inner strength is something that can be cultivated just as we can improve stamina and physical prowess through regular exercise. A combination of of all three aspects of training is important for the keen martial artist who wishes to progress beyond pure fitness.

chil sung

The shape of the silver star in the Kwan Gi represents the eight directions of the compass.  The words Chil Sung translate to "Seven Star" and refer to the North Star, seventh star of Ursa Minor (the little dipper).  The star is used as a symbolic beacon for navigation in your training and in life.  The Chil Sung Hyung is a series of seven forms, created by Hwang Kee and introduced in 1952, designed to be an individuals path toward balancing Weh Gung (external energy) and Neh Gung (internal energy).  Used in our logo it also represents Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee's influence upon Tang Soo Do.

It is said that the name Chil Sung refers in some ways to Hwang Kee himself.  According to the story His father, Hwang, Yong Hwan, had a dream in which he saw the bright star (Sam Tae Song) before his son's birth. He named his son "Tae Nam", which means "star boy". His father was a scholar who had achieved a high level of academic recognition and perhaps saw the same path for his son.

Other sources can be sighted that claim that Chil Sung is a term already richly engrained in Korean culture.  Chil Sung is claimed to be a composite of Tae Guk (Um/Yang) plus O Haeng (5 Elements) .  The Um/Yang is the red and blue symbol found on the Korean flag.  The 5 elements in Chinese philosophy are Earth, Water, Fire, Wood & Metal. At one time the combination of these seven components would've represented all things in nature and thus been the basis for understanding the world.

um / yang

Um/Yang (Yin/Yang) represents the duality of nature and the law of opposites.  It is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together, intertwined, and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn.  The curved line indicates that in nature there are no absolutes.  Lines separating opposing concepts or points of view are rarely sharply defined but are represented more correctly as gradual changes.  The effect is a balance of give and take that promotes harmony.

The relationship between yin and yang is often described in terms of sunlight playing over a mountain and in the valley.  Yin (literally the 'shady place' or 'north slope') is the dark area occluded by the mountain's bulk, while yang (literally the 'sunny place' or 'south slope') is the brightly lit portion.  As the sun moves across the sky, yin and yang gradually trade places with each other, revealing what was obscured and obscuring what was revealed.  Yin is usually characterized as slow, soft, insubstantial, diffuse, cold, wet, and tranquil.  It is generally associated with the feminine, birth and generation, and with the night.  Yang, by contrast, is characterized as hard, fast, solid, dry, focused, hot, and aggressive. It is associated with masculinity and daytime.

Red (Yang) represents FIRE.  In San Kil Tang Soo Do the “fire of discipline” refines our character.

Blue (Um) represents Water.  In San Kil Tang Soo Do “nurturing water” improves our fellowship with others.

MOO DO (Martial way)

The way of preventing conflict.  Moo = military, chivalry, martial; within the ideograph the inner part of the symbol is the word for "stop" and the long brush stroke on the outer part that looks like a sword means "weapon".  Moo 武 graphically combines the ka 戈 radical and zhi 止 radical. The character 戈 means spear. While the character 止 means “to stop”. It originally meant “foot” in ancient script. The character 武 may therefore have originally referred to “a man on foot with a spear” and thus conveyed military. Due to the modern meaning of 止, Moo is more commonly used denote “to stop a weapon” or “to stop violence”.

Dō = "way"; while the character itself translates as "way," "path," or "route," or sometimes more loosely as "doctrine" or "principle," it is used philosophically to signify the fundamental or true nature of the world. Dō 道 graphically combines the chuo 辶 (or 辵) "go; advance" radical and shou 首 "head" phonetic. This combination signified a "head going" or "to lead the way". The Confusion citation of Dō verbally meaning "to guide; to lead" is: "In guiding a state of a thousand chariots, approach your duties with reverence and be trustworthy in what you say." Confucius taught that Dō (or Tao in Chinese) was a "way", the 'way' of moral integrity. Lao-Tzu interpreted Do as the law, or truth of the universe. Over the course of history Dō has evolved into the present nearly universally accepted meaning of acting with virtue according to nature.

Combined these characters represent "the way of preventing conflict".  Conflict resolution on an external and more importantly internal basis is one of the major goals of Tang Soo Do practice.  Here the color gold  and placement within the mountain conveys the riches one finds when digging deeper within one-self thru training.

korean text (hangul)

The Korean text (산길 ​당수도) reads "San Kil Tang Soo Do".  The use of hangul is to remind us of the Korean and Chinese heritage of the art and the historical influences that those cultures have played in the development of the art.  The color red represents the fruitful result of those influences and the active (Yang) commitment of the masters and grandmasters of Tang Soo Do to carry on the philosophy and principles of Tang Soo Do as were originally developed and taught by the late Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee and their determination to further the traditions, refinement and growth of this martial art.