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History of Kwan Um Do Kwang

The Founding of Kwan Um Do Kwang

Founded in 1999 by Master Marc Fortin, Kwan Um Do Kwang is a young offshoot of both the Shim Gum Do martial arts and Kwan Um Zen Schools. Master Fortin was a student of Shim Gum Do Master Kim for 20 years, living with the sword grandmaster for much of that time at the temple, where he attained the rank of a Shim Gum Do master. Master Fortin has also been a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn for almost 30 years, and continues to teach martial arts and Zen practice under Seung Sahn's official sanction.

Kwan Um Do Kwang was given its name by Zen Master Seung Sahn. The name is comprised of two parts; the main part is Kwan Um Do. This literally translates as "The Way of Perceiving Sound" but it actually refers to those who walk the bodhisattvah path.

In Buddhism, there are two types of enlightened beings. Those who break the cycle of life and death are known as buddhas, while those who teach the path of enlightenment in order to save beings from suffering are known as bodhisattvas. In the Buddhist pantheon, Avalokitesvara is the most important bodhisattvah: the Bodhisattvah of Compassion or "The One Who Perceives Suffering through the Sounds of the World." In Korean, Avalokitesvara is called Kwan Sae Um Bosal or simply Kwan Um (Chinese: Kwan Yin; Japanese: Kannon).

Kwan Um Do refers to both a belief in the path of compassion, and KUDK's heritage in the Kwan Um Zen School, the worldwide Zen Buddhist organization founded by Seung Sahn.

To "Kwan Um Do" Master Seung Sahn added the word Kwang or Light, to designate a unique branch of Kwan Um Do. There are many nuances to this choice of symbolism, but it is worth noting that Kwang is also a respectful reference to Master Fortin's training under Sword Master Chang Sik Kim. Won Kwang, or Universal Light, is Master Kim's Buddhist name, and the Shim Kwang Sa, or Mind Light Temple, is named for Master Kim, its founder.

Therefore Kwan Um Do Kwang, Master Fortin's synthesis of the Kwan Um Zen and Shim Gum Do martial arts schools, is named for a branch of the bodhisattvah path that uses martial arts to teach Zen practice and compassion.

While Shim Gum Do maintains its Zen Buddhist religious identity, Kwan Um Do Kwang represents a break from the temple and a move to a more mainstream, lay practice. For centuries, martial arts schools have developed, branched, and changed with generations of successive masters. The process is oftentimes painful and tumultuous, and the birth of Kwan Um Do Kwang from Shim Gum Do was no exception.

Kwan Um Do Kwang is centered around sword practice, but includes traditional long stick, ho shin sul, and shin boep arts as well. From decades of sword study and meditation, Master Fortin also developed his own style of two-sword arts, known collectively as Sun and Moon forms. These martial arts, combined with breath control and energy movement, form the foundation for the new school of Kwan Um Do Kwang.

Master Fortin, through years of training at Zen temples and deepened by his studies with author and sorcerer Carlos Castaneda, came to the understanding that practitioners of the Shim Gum Do arts are able to summon energy in ways similar to other deeply metaphysical disciplines such as Castaneda's shamanistic Tensegrity system, Chi Kung, Tai Chi, and White Crane Kung Fu.

Moreover, Master Fortin perceived that the hundreds of patterns and forms of the myriad Shim Gum Do arts (sword, shin boep, ho shin sul, two-sword, long stick) held the energy archetypes for all martial arts. In his own words, "Shim Gum Do is a blue sky: boundless yet unattainable in a single lifetime. Kwan Um Do Kwang is an ocean below that sky: a reflection of the infinite, deep enough for a lifetime of exploration, yet intimate enough to feel its tides and currents."

For Master Fortin, the direct perception of energy currents is not simply a metaphor, but a very real part of his martial arts teaching. Like all true martial arts masters, he can read the energy or chi of his students and helps them understand and develop their own "energy bodies." Kwan Um Do Kwang energy work is the mystical element that sets KUDK apart from other martial arts.

The path to energy cultivation lies in the core of KUDK instruction: the rigors of basic sword forms, fighting drills, and precise and effective forms (kata) training. For fun and exuberance, KUDK includes both tournament competition and one-on-one free-fighting with traditional bamboo sparring swords (shinai) and kendo armor, or padded sport combat weapons and protective gear.

Martial arts masters often adopt larger-than-life images, and while Master Fortin practices and teaches humility, his personal style is by no means low key. An avowed mystic and a consummate martial arts master, he mixes liberal doses of magical intensity with playful humor, while offering his students a tantalizing glimpse of the infinite.

Master Fortin seeks to incorporate both ancient and modern shamanistic energy practice into the very here-and-now world of martial arts. While his goal is to bring the Korean Buddhist martial arts out of the temple and into a lay practice suitable for his Western audience, he is careful not to lose the traditional forms and spiritual energy.

Today the Kwan Um Do Kwang school faces the challenge of forming its own unique identity and establishing its own culture and traditions in America in a way that is nonsectarian while still retaining some of the flavor of its magical Korean Buddhist temple heritage.

Kwan Um Do Kwang today includes university clubs, dojangs (dojos), and sponsors and participates in sword fighting tournaments (a concept essentially unheard of in the temple setting). It currently has schools in California and Nevada.

Rich Julius, Sabom Nim
August, 2003