Brief Biography

At the tender age of 12, Chung San met a mystic hermit on a mountain while he was running an errand. The hermit said, “Will you follow me if I teach you how to break a stone using only your finger?” The boy was more curious than serious and he answered, “Yes.” Then the hermit Chung Woon picked up a stone and broke it to pieces with his pinky finger. This was how the boy Chung San met his teacher and eventually became the creator of the modern form of Sundo. Chung San practiced for the next 20 years in the mountains under the guidance of Chung Woon and his teacher, Moo Woon.

 

He came down from the mountains to the modern world in 1967 under the orders of his teachers, Chung Woon and Moo Woon. The mountain hermit teachers saw it was the time to spread the secret of Sun Do to the modern world and share the fruits of the practice with everyone. Chung San opened a Sun Do center in Seoul and taught for about 17 years until he returned to mountain life in 1984.

 

During his stay in the modern world, he sometimes had to demonstrate the real power of Sun Do practice to convince people of its benefits and authenticity. Some of his demonstrations included breaking enormous stones or wooden bricks with his hands, head, or feet, sometimes even breaking stones with just his fingers and pulling a train with his teeth. Some of the most astounding demonstrations were sitting cross-legged surrounded by a furiously burning fire. One of his demonstrations of sitting inside fire was aired on the Japanese Fuji Television in 1970 during Expo 70.

 

During his visit to the U.S. in the early 1970s he demonstrated his extraordinary ability to stay under water at the Hoover Dam. He remained submerged for over 20 minutes without any underwater breathing apparatus.

 

The purpose of his demonstrations was not to show off his ability, but to prove that Sun Do practice is effective and the human body and mind could be developed to the ultimate potential. He always emphasized that Sun Do practice is not about knowing or understanding the truth, but about the practitioners attaining the truth themselves.