The History and Science of Choi Kwang Do

Choi Kwang Do (CKD) was developed by Grandmaster Kwang Jo Choi. Grandmaster Choi was a Tae Kwon Do practitioner taught by the late General Hong Hi Choi, the father of Taekwondo. At the age of 25 he was appointed to the position of technical director of the ITF, International Taekwondo Federation. GM Choi performed the Taekwondo moves perfectly.

GM Choi stated to problems that he attributes to his Taekwondo training and in his late 20’s could hardly walk. He moved to the United States and started rehabilitating himself. He studied with several chiropractors, orthopedic surgeons, and other professionals to learn how to rehabilitate himself without surgery. GM Choi applied the knowledge that he learned and created Choi Kwang Do (CKD.)

Kajun Martial Art’s Choi Kwang Do training methods and concepts are unique in the fitness industry. Recent research helps explain how CKD movement directly benefits the nervous system. In fact, we could say that coordinated movement is learning. Muscular activities, particularly coordinated movements such as those found in CKD, appear to stimulate the production of neurotrophins, natural substances that stimulate the growth of nerve cells and increase the number of neural connections in the brain. Unlike traditional martial arts that employ homo lateral movements which are harmful to the human body and stressful to the brain, CKD movements are cross lateral like a baby's crawl.

The CKD techniques work both sides of the body evenly: hands and feet, left and right side, all this in coordination with the eyes. As a result, the corpus collosum (the "nerve" that connects the left and right side of the brain) becomes more fully developed. The coordinated movements activate both hemispheres of the brain, which heightens cognitive function and increases the ease of learning.

Though modern science is helping us appreciate the role of the body and the need for movement in learning, modern life may be making it harder than ever to benefit from this discovery. Today, children tend to spend large amounts of time with televisions, computers, and video games, developing lifestyles that preempt regular exercise. When we do move in our modern society, it tends to be competitive or compulsive, increasing the risk of early injuries. In Choi Kwang Do, personal development rather than sports competition is paramount. Living in today's world is highly stressful; society is plagued by a fear of personal violence, amplified in the media. Too often, the available alternatives to stress and peer pressure are negative coping mechanisms such as drug use. Combined, these factors decrease the ability to learn, to be creative and to reach a full potential as a human being. Enrolling in a program such as Choi Kwang Do counters these harmful trends of stress and violence. Participants immediately discover that Choi Kwang Do movement profoundly improves learning, health, and creative stress management.

Stress is the root cause of many of the learning problems found in people labeled hyperactive, ADD, ADHD, and emotionally handicapped. In America today, all age groups experience stress. Research at the university of Akron in Ohio has shown that martial arts may be an effective treatment to combat ADD, rather than Ritalin. Over a 10-week period, researchers studying a small group of clinically hyperactive children found that those who took martial arts lessons, for unexplained reasons, learned to control their impulsive behavior better than children of the same age who did not receive training.

Kajun Martial Arts instructors teach students to reduce the effects of stress. Strategies found only at Kajun Martial Arts include learning to use more exercise, particularly integrated movement requiring balance and coordination that assists nervous system development and function. Physical movement from earliest infancy through adulthood plays a vital role in the creation of nerve cell networks that are the essence of learning.

Choi Kwang Do is a highly refined and scientific martial arts form, distinctively different from all classical martial arts in concept and movement. It should not be put into the same category with many of hundreds of sub-styles of existing martial arts systems.