What is Tang Soo Do Life?
Tang Soo Do Life is dedicated to training in the art of Traditional Tang Soo Do Korean Karate as a way of life and personal development rather than for sport or fancy techniques.
It is a very traditional form of Tang Soo Do which closely resembles how it was when first brought from Japan to Korea in 1944 by Grandmaster Won Kuk Lee.
The name of our Tang Soo Do is ChungNam Yun Tang Soo Do as taught by the late Master Yun Tak Bong in South Korea. Master Yun was instrumental in Tang Soo Do spreading across the globe as he taught American servicemen and women at Camp Ames, South Korea, and those students would later share the art wherever they traveled.
Master Yun was the head of the Korean Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Association in ChungNam province under Moo Duk Kwan founder Hwang Kee. As Hwang Kee continued to evolve his art into what is now known as Soo Bahk Do, Master Yun adhered to Traditional Tang Soo Do and continued to teach it until his passing in 1991.
Kevin W. Putala
Kevin Putala fell in love with traditional martial arts at age 11 after seeing the pilot movie for the TV series “Kung Fu”. An avid reader, he would devour every book in the Buffalo library system, practicing what he read in his parent’s basement.
In the 1970’s and 80’s there were few martial arts schools around, no internet, no Google, and no YouTube to get information, but Kevin was able to build a pretty good base to begin his martial journey under Master Yun.
He earned his first black belt in Traditional Tang Soo Do art while stationed at Camp Ames, South Korea under the late Master Yun Tak Bong.
As his senior student during that time, Kevin would train 5-6 days per week, 3 hours per day, and twice on his days off from military duties.
Upon leaving South Korea, Kevin vowed to continue teaching Tang Soo Do and passing on the legacy, which he has done to this day.
Over the years, Kevin studied various other arts, with his second love being Aikido, having studied under Shihan Michael Hawley at the Kin Tora Dojo in Buffalo, NY. The style he studied was Suenaka Ha Tetsugaku Ho Aikido, founded by Aikido Sensei Roy Suenaka, a student of Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba and Koichi Tohei. Sensei Suenaka was also a Karate master studying under Master Hohan Soken and other legendary sensei.
Below are the arts Kevin studied in chronological order. (** – Black belt earned)
- Traditional Tang Soo Do**
- Tae Kwon Do
- Shotokan Karate
- Sin Moo Hapkido
- 8-Step Preying Mantis Kung Fu
- Tracy Kenpo
- Suenaka Aikido
- Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan
- Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do**
- Combat Hapkido
- Kaneshi Kwan Hapkido**
In 2010 Kevin began the first Red Shield Warrior Program in Florida in partnership with the Tampa Salvation Army and Tang Soo Do Master Karen Eden.
This program focused on teaching at-risk and underprivileged children and some adults. The program unfortunately ended in 2012.
Kevin is also a highly-rated instructor on the Udemy learning platform enabling more than 600 students in over 32 countries to begin and continue their Tang Soo Do journey in the privacy of their own homes and at their own pace.
Kevin continues to train and evolve his personal way of Tang Soo Do and Karate, adapting his technique following two total knee replacements in 2023. He continues his work through his online content and upcoming books.
GALLERY
