Dragon Star Martial Arts Center’s karate program is designed to provide each student with several essential benefits:

• Self-defense to prepare you to handle any threatening physical encounter.

• The Self-discipline that comes through developing control over your body.

• Coordination, strength and flexibility — important for maintaining health throughout your lifetime.

• The ability to Focus on the task at hand as you train for belt levels, which also develops the ability to foresee and triumph over learning hurdles.

• Increased Self-confidence through accomplishing tangible results.

• A sense of fair play in a controlled competitive situation. Point sparring is a free-style competition in which no one sits on the bench... everyone gets into the action.

• A great chance to reduce stress and burn off extra energy.

Most historians agree that the martial arts originated in Southern China. The first practitioners were Buddhist monks. As it spread throughout Asia, different variations evolved, mostly to suit the instructors or the inhabitants of that particular land.

The Korean art of Tang Soo Do is a product of techniques practiced through the centuries. The original Korean style, "Tae Kyun," was practiced from about the 1st century AD. It was during this period that China had a shared cultural influence with Korea. The Silla dynasty took control of the peninsula from 676 to 918 AD during which Tae Kyun was practiced by a group of aggressive warlords who renamed the art "Soo Bahk Do."

The Koreans practiced Soo Bahk Do until 1905 when Japan began to occupy the peninsula. For the next 40 years all Korean martial arts were strictly prohibited by the government. During their occupation, Japan had a tremendous influence on Korean martial arts, although most Korean historians refuse to recognize this impact. The beginner and intermediate forms that we practice today were originally practiced in Okinawa and Japan. The black belt and Chilson Forms are from Korean and Chinese origins.

At the age of 22, Hwang Kee mastered Tae Kyun and Soo Bahk Do. At that time (1936), he traveled to Northern China where he studied the Tang method. Between 1936 and 1945, he combined Soo Bahk Do and the Tang method and developed Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do. On November 9, 1945 it was registered as the Korea Soo Bahk Do Association.

Literally translated, the word "Tang" is taken from the T'ang Dynasty of China; "Soo" means hand, but it implies fist, punch, strike or defense; and "Do" is an Asian word for way and means "way of life" or "art." So Tang Soo Do means "the art of the knife hand" or "the way of the Chinese hand."

Tang Soo Do is a classical martial art with the purpose to develop every aspect of the self, in order to create a mature personality who integrates his intellect, body, emotions. This total integration helps to create a person who is free from inner conflict and who can deal with the outside world in a mature, intelligent, forthright and virtuous manner.

Tang Soo Do is not a sport and its primary goal is not a competitive one. However, it does lend itself well to combative situations. Being a well-balanced style, Tang Soo Do offers a wide array of kicks, hand strikes, and stances representative of hard styles as well as softer stances and more fluid motions that are indicative of the softer styles. It derives its hardness from Soo Bahk Do and its soft flowing movements from the Northern Chinese systems, both of which can easily be recognized in the forms that are practiced within the style. Its kicking techniques , for which Tang Soo Do is unsurpassed, are based on Soo Bahk Do.

Free sparring is an extremely important part of Tang Soo Do training. The techniques used in this type of sparring could be potentially dangerous and could result in a knockout or serious injury if not properly controlled. Full contact sparring (kick boxing) is not included in the Tang Soo Do venue.

In today's hectic society, there is no doubt that we need self-defense skills. Equally important are physical fitness and methods for the release of daily stress. Whether you are seeking self-defense, better health, physical fitness or discipline, our Tang Soo Do can meet your needs. Tang Soo Do has its own unique character which differentiates it from any other form of martial arts or martial sports. Tang Soo Do not only teaches physical techniques but also trains us to practice "DO"—way of life—through practice of the five virtues: "IN" humanity, "UI" righteousness, "YIE" etiquette, "JI" wisdom, and "SHIN" trust. When we reach the ultimate level of "DO", we can live in perfect harmony with the laws of nature.