Lineage
The founder of our style of karate was Hwang Kee. In 1945 he established the Moo Duk Kwan-Tang Soo Do in Korea.
In 1963 my former instructor, Mr. James K. Roberts, Sr., was serving in the Army in Korea. While there, he studied Tang Soo Do directly under Master Hwang Kee and obtained his black belt in Korea. His black belt number is 6421. By today's standards, this is a low number and is considered very prestigious. Today's numbers are above 40,000.
During the 40+ years Mr. Roberts taught martial arts, he awarded nearly 600 black belts. In September of 1972 I received the 44th black belt he awarded. In 2004 Mr. Roberts, by then a 9th degree black belt, awarded me an 8th degree. Through this promotion, I reached the highest rank ever awarded by Master Roberts to any of his students, and was the only Roberts student ever to achieve this rank.
My black belt bears this number 6421-44. This number shows the black belt number assigned by Hwang Kee to my instructor and the number my instructor assigned to me. This is unique in that it shows our direct connection to the founder of Tang Soo Do as well as providing a visible preservation of the genealogy, which is especially important in Tang Soo Do if your lineage directly connects to Hwang Kee, as ours does.
