rmclain, its awesome that you know so much about him, but i'm not about to call him a liar. its no suprise that the forms came from other systems, the more i learn of other tkd systems, the more it seems like they all get there forms from the same place. if you read the history and the training he has, again i'm not about to call him a liar, on younwha.com, the history of youn wha is shrouded in some fantasy myth, the words youn wha is the name of a woman and means way of water lillies. i am going to paste it here from the site so that i don't say anything wrong or what i feel would be a misrepresentation.
This is a story, a legend, a myth. Many people consider that arts that claim to be made up of many different arts should be avoided as they are not true martial arts. The truth is that Grandmaster Han has over 60 years experience in many different martial arts styles and has extensively developed the Youn Wha Ryu system to what it is today. Parts of it may look like hapkido, judo, kung fu or jiu-jitsu but it is Youn Wha Ryu plain and simple. The legend is just that, told to Grandmaster Han many many years ago - fact or fiction it doesn't matter, it is the art and the artists that count!
**********************************
The Youn Wha Ryu system of martial arts is shrouded in mystery and legend. Grandmaster Han himself has stated that the actual facts of Youn Wha Ryu's history are unclear. He relates the story told to him by his Youn Wha Ryu master, Sae Chong Wang.
"Youn Wha was a legendary female martial artist living on a remote island in the Orient. She was a regognized master of alchemy and a highly skilled martial artist. Her beauty was as legendary as her skill level in the martial arts, and many highly proficient martial artists in the nations, knowing of her acclaimed beauty and skill, embarked on journeys to see her and train with her.
To reach her, the martial artists had to defeat and avoid traps that could maim and kill the unwary. It was only the best and the most highly skilled martial art masters that weathered these pitfalls and were rewarded with the opportunity to view the beautiful Youn Wha. Unbeknownst to these masters, Youn Wha would use her skills in alchemy to prevent these high level martial artists from leaving her island, by drugging their food and drink. As she was the only one who had the daily antidote, for the drug, those who left her fortress did not survive the traps. In this way, she required the masters to write down their secrets so she could gain the knowledge of their systems and train in the techniques. It is from these writings that the system of Youn Wha was formed. The Youn Wha system contains all high level techniques from all systems and is unique in that no other system contains so many high level principles in one training method."
The Youn Wha Ryu, therefore, is an advanced system of fighting techniques from almost every available style of martial art. Due to its complexity, Grandmaster Han integrated Tae Kwon Do into his teaching system.
Tae Kwon Do is considered a basis for Youn Wha Ryu and it can be learned by nearly anyone. Youn Wha Ryu, however, is extremely complex and requires several years of basic martial arts training before its concepts can be understood. Training in the Tae Kwon Do system that Grandmaster Han teaches enables his students to observe the weaknesses of their own personal styles and that of other martial art systems. Thus, students are well equipped to deal with any fighting method they may encounter.
With Youn Wha, the student is now able to develop a higher degree of timing, speed, balance, control (mental and physical), and confidence.. It has taken Grandmaster Han a lifetime to develop and perfect this system so that anyone and everyone may participate. He strongly believes that this system is the best and will continue to grow world wide.
