BBs should know who Jhoon Goo Rhee and Jack Hwang (Hwang Sae Jin) was!

Gerry Seymour

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I don't think the name's come up at my dojang. The history of the art doesn't come up much, either.

Then again, I'm horrible at gossip. In high school I only found out who was dating who after they broke up.
Remember I said earlier that this is my probably flawed expectation. It doesn’t really color my opinion of folks when they don’t know these things - it just drives me nuts for a while. I know intellectually that it rally doesn’t matter in any meaningful way for most folks.
 

Kung Fu Wang

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I had my 1st Fung Fu school at the same location as Jhoon Rhee had when he was in Austin, Texas (back in 1970). I had also taught to one of his students. From what his student told me, Jhoon Rhee believes TKD is all about "side kick".

Google Maps
 

CB Jones

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I had my 1st Fung Fu school at the same location as Jhoon Rhee had when he was in Austin, Texas (back in 1970). I had also taught to one of his students. From what his student told me, Jhoon Rhee believes TKD is all about "side kick".

Google Maps

Interesting....the style my son trains in puts emphasis on the side kick.

I wonder if that was due to Jhoon Rhee or if the original Kwans emphasized it
 

Buka

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I know of Jhoon Rhee from him introducing us to Safe-T-Kick and Safe-T-Punch in the early seventies. Heck, I wanted to send him a thank you card.

That being said....when we first used it in competition it produced some of the coolest brawls I've ever been part of.
 

Gerry Seymour

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I know of Jhoon Rhee from him introducing us to Safe-T-Kick and Safe-T-Punch in the early seventies. Heck, I wanted to send him a thank you card.

That being said....when we first used it in competition it produced some of the coolest brawls I've ever been part of.
What are those things, Buka?
 

Buka

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What are those things, Buka?

These things...

Safe-t-kick.jpg


The very first ones were odd. The hands were tin can shaped with a string inside to grip with your fingers. But when they first came out, oooh mama, did it rock the tourney world. We only competed in tournaments where head contact was allowed. No-contact seemed strange, it was kind of like you were practicing to miss.

I remember the very first tournaments where they were used. It was nuts. I have been in more peaceful riots. And I mean that one hundred percent literally.
 

Flying Crane

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I know of Jhoon Rhee from him introducing us to Safe-T-Kick and Safe-T-Punch in the early seventies. Heck, I wanted to send him a thank you card.

That being said....when we first used it in competition it produced some of the coolest brawls I've ever been part of.
I remember those too.
 

Dirty Dog

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I know of Jhoon Rhee from him introducing us to Safe-T-Kick and Safe-T-Punch in the early seventies. Heck, I wanted to send him a thank you card.

That being said....when we first used it in competition it produced some of the coolest brawls I've ever been part of.

Marking the end of (widespread) bare knuckle sparring.
 

kitkatninja

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I'm in two minds about this (pls note that I do not train in TKD)... Personally I like to know the lineage of my art, so for my "MA tree", I've gone back a bit but how far back do you go? Your instructor, your instructor's instructor, the founder of the art, their instructors? How many TKD practitioners know of Won Kuk Lee or Gichin Funakoshi and his son, Gigō Funakoshi, or even their teachers?

General Choi Hong Hi <- Funakoshi Gichin <- Ankō Asato, Ankō Itosu, and Matsumura Sōkon

Jhoon Goo Rhee <- Won Kuk Lee <- Gigō Funakoshi <- Gichin Funakoshi (Gigō father)
<- Gichin Funakoshi <- Ankō Asato, Ankō Itosu, and Matsumura Sōkon

And as for the records, yeah, use to have them as a kid in the early 80's... Disney soundtracks :D
 

Gerry Seymour

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I'm in two minds about this (pls note that I do not train in TKD)... Personally I like to know the lineage of my art, so for my "MA tree", I've gone back a bit but how far back do you go? Your instructor, your instructor's instructor, the founder of the art, their instructors? How many TKD practitioners know of Won Kuk Lee or Gichin Funakoshi and his son, Gigō Funakoshi, or even their teachers?

General Choi Hong Hi <- Funakoshi Gichin <- Ankō Asato, Ankō Itosu, and Matsumura Sōkon

Jhoon Goo Rhee <- Won Kuk Lee <- Gigō Funakoshi <- Gichin Funakoshi (Gigō father)
<- Gichin Funakoshi <- Ankō Asato, Ankō Itosu, and Matsumura Sōkon

And as for the records, yeah, use to have them as a kid in the early 80's... Disney soundtracks :D
My (mostly reasonable) expectation is for students to know the founder of the art (as it is named) and one key person after that (in most lines here, that'd be the person who brought it to the US) - plus anyone I jabber about on a regular basis (because those should become easy to remember without them putting forth any effort).

Of course, none of that really matter except in an intellectual capacity. But since I really hope the students never need to use any of the fighting skills I teach, I want to incorporate some other practices and habits that can be useful elsewhere in life. So I set some expectations that support those habits.
 

Earl Weiss

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. From what his student told me, Jhoon Rhee believes TKD is all about "side kick".

Google Maps
I am not sure what he was thinking, but I have long held the belief and told students that the "Side Piercing Kick" (Many "Side Kicks" In the Chang Hon system) is very likely the most technically difficult basic kick to learn ( "Basic" as compared to jumping multiple kicks ) but once you are able to do that well it will make learning / executing all the other kicks easier. I have had transfer students with instructors whom i never met in far away places tell me their instructors said the same thing.
 

Balrog

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I was calling a round to find a new school. I live in Texas. The girl answering the phone said she was a 2 degree Black Belt. She asked If I had any experience. I said I had gone to one of Jack Hwang's schools. She said she had never heard of Jack Hwang. So then I ask had she heard of Jhoon Goo Rhee, she said no. I had no more questions. I do not know maybe I am crazy, but if you are a Black Belt living in Texas you should know who Jhoon Goo Rhee and Jack Hwang was. We can argue about the years need or what skill level a black belt should have, but Black Belts should know who Jhoon Goo Rhee was, who many consider the father of American Taekwondo.
When I first started training back in 1966, I was at the U. T. Karate Club, which was actually a Taekwondo school that was started by GM Rhee. I almost made Black Belt there, then sat out for much too long a time and restarted with ATA in 1987.

I had the opportunity to meet GM Rhee about three years before his death and thank him for getting me started in Taekwondo.
 

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