The phrase The Nine Kwans is used to refer to nine of the most prominent martial arts schools to open in Korea following the end of Japanese occupation at the end of World War II: five school opening before the Korean War (The Five Kwans) and four major schools opening after the Korean War. Each school practiced its own martial arts style, so sometimes the name of a kwan is also used to refer to the style of martial art practiced by that school. We say "nine schools" but in fact many of these schools later went on to open annex locations that practiced similar styles; utlimately the total number of schools in Korea numbered much more than nine.