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The History and Present Situation of Tong-Il Moo-Do
On Jan. 5, 1979 Dr. Moon gave instructions to Dr. Seuk to teach Tong-Il Moo-Do at the Belvedere Training Center and at the Unification Theological Seminary in America. Soon after that he also told him to teach Tong-Il Moo-Do to all the security guards at East Garden, including four "Kyokushin Karate" black-belt holders.

On Easter Sunday, April 15, 1979, Dr. Moon visited the gym at Belvedere in order to see the guards training in Tong Il Moo Do. After watching a brief exhibition he wrote a calligraphy with the words "Advancing bravely forward with discipline." This was the official beginning of Tong Il Moo Do.

In 1980, representatives from four martial art groups --Chongdosul, Kyokushin Karate, Joon Rhee Tae Kwon Do and Tong-Il Moo-Do- gave an exhibition.

On Jan. 2, 1983 Dr. Seuk became the leader of CARP-USA and began a tour of American university campuses giving Unification Thought lectures and Tong-Il Moo-Do exhibitions. The title of the tour was "The Martial Arts and Unificationism". It began in the winter at Boston University and continued on to the University of Texas in Houston, the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and the University of California in Berkeley. In those days these universities were famous strongholds of the leftist student movement.

During the first martial arts tour leftist students did their utmost to oppose the tour. However, the majority of students showed interest in the lectures. During the second tour the leftists' power was greatly weakened.

In 1986 Kensaku Takahashi, a top Tong-Il Moo-Do instructor, visited England and Germany and held a European Continental Martial Arts Seminar in Holland.

Michael Kellett established a Tong-Il Moo-Do school in San Francisco, and one Finnish trainee returned home and established the first Tong-Il Moo-Do branch in Europe. Soon after that he established a Tong-Il Moo-Do school in Estonia, which at that time was still part of the Soviet Union. Through Tong-Il Moo-Do's foundation in Estonia, Dr. Seuk and Mr. Takahashi were able to enter Russia even before True Father made his Moscow trip in April 1990.

After that Mr. Takahashi was sent to East and West Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Kenya, the Philippines and Thailand to hold Tong-Il Moo-Do special training programs, through which during this time many new members joined the church.

Gerry Servito started teaching Tong-Il Moo-Do in the Philippines. In the 1980s during its peak more than 100 black-belts were produced. Under the instruction of these black-belts, thousands of students studied Tong-Il Moo-Do. To teach all these students, a headquarters was established in Manila and 40 new branches were opened throughout the Philippines. Many of the Filipino instructors went on to various countries in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America to spread Tong Il Moo Do.

In Argentina, the national leader, Gustavo Giuliano, introduced Tong-Il Moo-Do to Brazil, Uruguay and some other countries. He once gave a Tong-Il Moo-Do exhibition in front of 5,000 people at Buenos Aires' Luna Park stadium.

During its peak in Kenya the instructor Henry Mungai, who graduated at the top of his class, and Francis Njiru opened 32 Tong-Il Moo-Do clubs with more than 1,000 students as members. They also opened clubs in the neighboring countries of Ethiopia and Rwanda. In Democratic Republic of Congo, Tong-Il Moo-Do was introduced in 1990 by a Pilipino brother named June Flores.

One Tong-Il Moo-Do instructor taught the bodyguards of the president of Estonia. In Germany Mr. Hiroshi Karita opened a Tong-Il Moo-Do club and also taught at a police academy and at some universities.

From 1983 to 1990 Mr. Takamitsu Hoshiko taught UTS students Tong-Il Moo-Do, producing many black-belts.

Especially Mr. Takahashi worked diligently to spread Tong-Il Moo-Do in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. In 1992, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, he gave exhibitions in Estonia, Ukraine, Moscow and St. Petersburg. After this tour Michael Kellett and Don Harbour established a Tong-Il Moo-Do headquarters in St. Petersburg.

At the beginning of the new millennium both Dr. Moon and Chairman Hyun Jin Moon have emphasized the need to practice martial arts for the cultivation of the spirit of the young generation. Chairman Hyun Jin Moon especially is aware of the superior nature of Tong-Il Moo-Do.

On March 25, 2001, in Los Angeles, Dr. Seuk received special blessing and encouragement from Dr. Moon to revive the Tong-Il Moo-Do project. On May 4, 2001 Dr. Moon bestowed many blessings, gladly writing a special calligraphy and choosing a special symbol (logo) for Tong-Il Moo-Do, which he signed it at East Garden.

At the direction of Chairman Hyun Jin Moon, during the graduation ceremony of his Second 21-Day Special Workshop at UTS on May 6, 2001, 25 Tong-Il Moo-Do experts and 20 young trainees gave a very successful demonstration in front of Chairman Hyun Jin Moon and the workshop participants. After this, all the Tong-Il Moo-Do leaders determined to make a new start.

The first international workshop, held in Manila, Philippines, brought together nearly 100 martial artists, most of them black belts, from the Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan. Trainers for the workshop included instructors from Korea, Japan, the United States, Russia, Argentina, Kenya and the Philippines.

In addition to their martial arts training sessions, participants also heard a series of slide presentations that have been developed over the past ten years by the International Educational Foundation, which systematizes Dr. Moon's Completed Testament Age thought. Tong-Il Moo-Do instructors are expected to be well-versed not only in giving practical instruction in techniques but also in giving spiritual guidance to their trainees based on Dr. Moon's teaching. Learning how to give these lectures is a beginning step.

The second international training workshop, held in Nairobi, Kenya, followed a similar pattern to that of the Philippines. About 70 martial artists of various levels of belt gathered from the Ivory Coast, Congo, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Kenya. After training for one week, those trainees who qualified were awarded promotions.

One special feature of this workshop was the appearance one evening of a colonel from the Kenyan army who came to watch a demonstration of Tong-Il Moo-Do self-defense techniques, the colonel showed a keen interest in the demonstration and, recognizing their effectiveness, afterwards expressed the desire that he and his company be trained in such techniques.

In October 2001 an international Tong-Il Moo-Do workshop was held in Moscow with 36 young participants. The next month another workshop was held in Mongolia with 70 young participants.

In February 2002, 42 international instructors participated in a Tong-Il Moo-Do workshop at the Sun Moon University Asan Campus in Korea. The participants were from Africa, Russia, Japan, China, South America, Korea, the United States and Southeast Asia. Although it was very cold outside at the location, all the participants were enthusiastic to learn new techniques and prepare for their demonstration at the WCSF 2002. Of special note were two instructors from the People's Republic of China who participated in the workshop. Dr. Seuk gave names to several new forms: Pyung Hwa eui Bon, Bog Gui eui Bon, Wang Gwon eui Bon, Seung Li Hae Ban eui Bon and Gong Eui eui Bon.

At the end of workshop, the president of the Tong-Il Moo-Do Federation, Mr. Myung, visited the Dojong and gave a speech. He emphasized the importance of repeating basic techniques over and over again. A successful demonstration was held in front of Mr. Myung and several Korean VIPs at the Sun Moon University Dojong.

On February 15, at the finale of Hanmadang Games, a Tong-Il Moo-Do demonstration was held together with the Sun Moon University martial arts team in front of Dr. and Mrs. Moon and Hyung Jin Moon. Wang Gwon eui Bon was performed by Master Takamitsu Hoshiko for the first time publicly. Master Diego Sosa demonstrated his quick reflexes by catching an arrow and Master Gustavo Giuliano inspired all present by breaking five ice bars at the end of the demonstration.

After this, Tong-Il Moo-Do instructors and students performed a demonstration at the World CARP Convention. Wang Gwon eui Bon, Gong Eui eui Bon, and Dan Lyun Yong Jin eui Bon were performed. Many in the young audience were very excited by the demonstration.

After this event in Korea, all the Tong-Il Moo-Do instructors again determined to make a new start. During 2002 until the present, many Tong-Il Moo-Do workshops have been held in various places throughout the world.