Chung-Mu

Chung-Mu was the given name to the great Admiral Yi Sun-Sin of the Joseon Dynasty. He was reputed to have invented the first armoured battleship (Turtle Ship), which was the precursor of the present day submarine, in 1592.

CHUNG-MUChung-Mu was the name given to the great Admiral Yi Sun-Sin of the Yi Dynasty who invented the first armored battleship – the forerunner of the modern submarine. It ends in aleft-handed movement to symbolize his death before he was able to demonstrate completely his loyalty to the King.Born in 1545, Yi Sun-Sin was renowned for his mastery of naval warfare. He was credited for creating the Kobukson (turtle boat), an iron plated galley ship. The ship wasimpervious to all current weaponry, built for speed, capable of outrunning or capturing anything afloat, armed with 40 cannons, the most of its time & led with a large iron ram inthe shape of an open mouth turtle’s head used for ramming & firing arrows & darts. It was the most highly developed warship of its time. He was also noted for creating fishnetor inverted V group, an advanced attack formation, the 2 salvo fire technique, a continuous barrage of fire to make the enemy was being attacked by a large force., smokegenerator, in which sulphur & saltpeter were burned to emit clouds of smoke & the flamethrower, a cannon that fired an arrow filled with an incendiary charge. Admiral Yi roseto fame when the Shogun of Japan planned to conquer China via Korea. Outnumbered and with primitive weapons, the Korean army could not match the more numerous and wellarmed Japanese army. Despite the disadvantage on land, the Korean navy heavily outnumbered 1,000 to 1 was able to have control of the seas. On one occasion, a Japanese spypretending to be an informant to the Koreans gave false information about a surprise Japanese naval attack. Knowing the location to be a false one, Admiral Yi refused. The royalcourt arrested, tortured & demoted Yi to the rank of common foot soldier. During this time in Korean history, most men would not have accepted the demotion., they would havecommitted suicide or attempt to seek revenge. Yi accepted his rank & went about his new duty. The new admiral, Won Kyun set sailed with the entire Korean fleet of 80 boats tomeet the Japanese. Without the leadership of Admiral Yi, the Korean fleet was destroyed. Fearing for his country’s security, King Son-Jo reinstated Yi to his former position.Admiral Yi gathered what was left of his fleet, 12 boats & went out to attack the Japanese. Despite being heavily outnumbered by the Japanese, Admiral Yi decimated theJapanese fleet. In 1598, while in battle with the Japanese, a stray bullet struck Admiral Yi killing him. Due to the lack of success, the Japanese invasion ceased with the death ofthe Shogun, Hideyoshi. Admiral Yi’s greatest quality was his devotion & service to his king. In a time when most Koreans sided with 1 of 2 political parties, Admiral Yi choseneither & was only loyal to his king & country. After his death, he was given the title of Chung-Mu, meaning loyalty-chivalry. The award of Distinguished Military ServiceMedal was named after him. He was further honored with a statue (the tallest in the Orient), a shrine, named Chungnyol-Sa, meaning faithful to king & country & a museum in thecity of Chung-Mu, which has a replica Kobukson.

Taekwondo Form

There is also an ITF form of the same name. The reason this pattern ends in a left-hand attack is to symbolize his regrettable death having no chance to show his unrestrained potentiality, checked by the forced reservation of his loyalty to the king. This form (tul) has 30 movements.