For enthusiasts of both martial arts and Korean history, there's something irresistible about the art of hwa-rang-do.

Its history is loaded with mystery and intrigue. Transferred from teacher to student in Korea over more than 5,000 years, it has been perfected in isolation from other influences. At times when Korea was occupied by hostile countries, the knowledge was kept secret, like a national treasure in the minds and bodies of its elite group of practitioners, as purely and indestructibly Korean as kimchi.

What's better yet, hwa-rang-do has now arrived in the Twin Cities. Dylan Sirny, an instructor and second degree hwa-rang-do black belt, who is originally from the Twin Cities, has returned to the area and is now teaching a children's program and an adult program at the Edina Community Center under the name "Academy of Hwa-Rang-Do." In the months and years to come, Sirny hopes to enlarge the program to full time and have dedicated space for a school (or do-jang in Korean) much like one he recently helped run in Madison.

Sirny, who grew up in St. Paul and in Golden Valley, first became interested in hwa-rang-do when attending the University of Wisconsin (UW) at Eau Claire and heard about a free hwa-rang-do club that was just starting up. His fascination with hwa-rang-do and other aspects of Asian culture and philosophy increased. Ultimately, he transferred to UW's Madison campus, in order to study under hwa-rang-do master, David Kijek, an instructor with 23 years experience who has made Madison the Midwest hwa-rang-do headquarters. He also changed his major from music to East Asian Religious Studies, graduating in the spring of 1999.

Madison was a good opportunity, Sirny said, not only in advancing his skills in hwa-rang-do but in teaching him the basics of how to make a living at it. He started working for Kijek, and helped run the first location of the Madison school while Kijek opened a second location, and "that's where I got hooked on teaching kids," he said. Black belt candidates must test in front of Grand Master Joo Bang Lee, which Sirny did, in 1998. Soon after, he accepted a position at the Hwa-Rang-Do World Headquarters in Los Angeles where he worked for about 18 months as the head instructor. Sirny also worked as administrator of the World Hwa-Rang-Do Association, which manages quality control of the art and oversees operations of hwa-rang-do schools around the world.

Lee visited Sirny's new school in October to teach a seminar for the new instructor. Many of the attendees were Madison students who did the four-hour drive to meet the grand master. The weekend coincided with a first birthday party for Jeffrey Lee, the grand master's grandson, who lives in Minneapolis with his parents Danny Kim and Janet Lee, a first degree black belt .

According to Sirny, the tradition of maintaining the quality and integrity of the art of hwa-rang-do sets it apart. Firstly, the name "Hwa-Rang-Do" is protected with an international trademark, so that not even the name can be used in connection with advertising or teaching a martial art without the permission of the Association. The intent of the grand master is to preserve the integrity of the art by adhering to the centuries-old tradition of passing the complete set of teachings from teacher to student. This is now happening on a very large scale, as the number of black belts in hwa-rang-do has climbed to more than 2,000.

"With a lot of martial arts instructors, it's the trend to learn as many things as you can," Sirny asserted. "Because of that trend, many instructors will learn many different martial arts - they'll use taekwondo, karate, hapkido, kung fu. …In hwa-rang-do, we take the more traditional mentality, that if you want to do hwa-rang-do, you should stick with this art. It's very comprehensive. You'll pretty much learn everything you ever wanted to learn in a martial art."

His experience working with Lee in Los Angeles taught him a great deal about the grand master and through his academic studies and personal interest, he has learned a lot about the history of hwa-rang-do as well. Both histories are fascinating. Lee, who is now in his '60s, started training with his master in early childhood, during the Japanese occupation. At that time, hwa-rang-do, as well as all the other native Korean arts had to be practiced in secret, because they were banned.

Grand Master was trained, along with his brother, by a monk Suham Do-Sa, thought to be the last of the hwa-rang-do masters, in hiding in the mountains, Sirny explained. Training started in the early 1940s, and continued until the boys were adults. "They lived in North Korea, and then because of the war, they went to South Korea and continued training, part of the time in Seoul, part of the time at O-dae Mountain."

There are similarities and important differences between hwa-rang-do and the better-known taekwondo, Sirny said. Where taekwondo concentrates mainly on the "hard" or "linear" techniques of kicking and punching, hwa-rang-do teaches kicking and punching as well as the self-defensive, "soft" or "circular" skills of martial arts, including joint manipulation, weapons training, throwing and grappling. In hwa-rang-do, one often appropriates the opponent's power in a defensive move, to either harmlessly divert the power or use it against the opponent, in making him lose his balance.

Hwa-rang-do has a depth and complexity that makes it both interesting and difficult to master. For example, Sirny said, there are 365 different kicks in hwa-rang-do, compared with six to 10 standard kicks used in most martial arts training today. There are 108 traditional weapons that trainees must learn how to use and defend themselves against. "It's one of the few truly comprehensive martial arts," he stated.

Hwa-rang-do, since it is based on a balance of techniques, looks "fluid, yet strong," Sirny said. It is sometimes demonstrated as a domination by technique over strength. In an introductory class held by Grand Master Lee in Edina in October, Lee spent 15 minutes demonstrating how a slight woman could disable a punch by her tall instructor (Sirny) with a two-handed joint manipulation that opens the hand of the opponent with a painful twist of the thumb.

There are also many other techniques that look ferocious and require considerable athleticism and strength. In a demonstration video, Lee is shown attacking two assailants at once by launching himself into the air almost horizontal to the floor, and bringing down one by wrapping his legs around one opponent's neck, while simultaneously catching the other one in a neck hold that crashes them both to the floor simultaneously.

The hwa-rang-do training has a standard syllabus that goes from beginner white belt to the tenth dan (rank) black belt. In earning each level in hwa-rang-do, the student masters a certain collection of skills, which then must be used in the next rank, so that the knowledge accumulates over time. "You have to have (the techniques of) all the color belts memorized and there are over 1200 techniques in just the color belts."

There is an "undergraduate" program in hwa-rang-do now, developed because hwa-rang-do can often be difficult for those with no prior martial arts training. The program, called tae-soo-do, takes about two and a half to three years to complete. The program focuses on physical development, principles of martial arts, as well as what Sirny calls "the proper attitude for training in martial arts." Students can get a black belt in the tae-soo-do program, which entitles them to start out as a yellow belt in the hwa-rang-do program.

Another difference that sets hwa-rang-do apart from other martial arts is the healing aspect of the art form, in which black belt level students are taught acupuncture, acupressure, bone-setting, and herbal remedies.

Sirny thinks a lot about the philosophy of hwa-rang-do and the relevance of this ancient tradition in the modern world. He has reflected on the position of children in today's society, how kids go wrong, and why, and what hwa-rang-do training can do to mitigate the negative influences kids absorb in their environment. After beginning training in hwa-rang-do, Sirny started to notice the differences between what is valued in hwa-rang-do and what is valued in modern society. "You start to see that there's not much focus in the modern world on discipline or respect for other people, as well as basic principles of human morality," he observed. "Often, it seems that modern society is tending to give up those things in favor of better technology, and that the goals of people are very - well, I don't want to say selfish, but individualistic - people think about their own jobs, how much money they're going to make, when they're going to retire - this kind of thing."

Because of the risks of "making a weapon out of a person," he said, the study of any traditional martial art incorporates a focus on "respect and understanding human morality that it in turn develops a very strong sense of self discipline." This focus imparts to children a high level of self-respect, self-esteem and respect of others that is not seen in other sports or other disciplines, he said.