Hwarang-Do Karate
Created almost 2,000 years ago, this is one of the most complex of all the martial arts, stressing a balance of Nae Gong "Internal Power," Wae Gong "External Power" and Shing Gong "Mental Power." Hwarang-Do is really the Korean "Way of the Flower of Manhood," and is meant to be a combination of hard and soft, circular and linear techniques. Weapon practice is designed to be more practical than ornamental. A master will take the time to evaluate an opponent before charging into battle. The preferred method of combat is to wait for the enemy's attack and then to counter, with movements as different as possible. If the attack is linear (punches and straight kicks) then the response should be circular (parries and body flip/throws). If the attack is circular then the response should be linear. Once combat is joined then the idea is to continually keep on the move. Spinning and jumping kicks are preferred, with body flip/throws, hand strikes and chokes reserved for finishing off the victim. Weapon practice is not just ornamental, each W.P. is designed to be used with the bonuses and maneuvers of the form. Hwarang-Do is taught only in Korea. In South Korea there are several Buddhist monasteries that specialize in the art. In North (Communist) Korea two monasteries have been converted to full-time martial art schools and often train agents from Russia and Communist Vietnam along with other Eastern European communist agents. Costume: Standard Karate outfit but with a colored silk sash in place of the belt. Optional cloth wrappings around the wrist-forearm and calve-ankle. Stance: A wide sideways stance with legs almost twice shoulder-width apart. The hands are held high, shoulder level, with one open in a knife-blade position and the other hand closed into a fist.
May not make an action for the first round of any combat.
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