Lamonte

Scott Shaw's book Hapkido: Korean Art of Self-Defense said that Hapkido is more closely related to Aikido than TKD. It seems to me that many martial arts styles differ not so much in techniques as they do in philosophy. Some have divided MA into "soft styles" such as Hapkido and Aikido and "hard styles" such as TKD. I would agree with this, even though I'm certainly not expert enough to distinguish the subtle differences between the MAs. Long ago when I was an Orange belt in TKD, a fellow orange belt classmate said he was going to try a Hapkido technique for "capturing" a roundhouse kick during sparring. Unfortunately for him, he never could grab the leg of the brown belt he sparred, while the brown belt kept kicking him again and again. After that he said, oh well, there are some things you just can't practice well just from out of a magazine. Does anyone remember seeing the old Billy Jack movies? Those fight scenes were choreographed by Hapkido expert Bong Soo Han. Lamonte

I used to teach computer classes to business folks. I knew large classes meant more profit for my employer, but I also discovered large classes are a lot less "personable." I preferred smaller classes where I could interact with the students on a one-on-one basis. I have seen this same analogy in the martial arts schools I've visited. In my experience there does seem to be a large gap between the "rich" dojos and the "poor" dojos. I started out in a "poor" dojo - we initially met in a dance studio - and have always felt uncomfortable in the "rich" dojos. My comments will show this bias, but remember its only from MY limited observations. I've observed that the "richer" dojos I've visited have some form of marketing and business plans. They have geared themselves to attract large numbers of students, usually kids. Their dojos are cleaner and their classes are larger. The "poor" dojos I've been in have virtually no marketing and rely mostly on word of mouth. They meet in rented (sometimes odd) places and have fewer students. They are tougher and they give you good one-on-one attention. They are more geared to mentor.

"Loving You" by Minnie Riperton Its such a bad song it makes me want to fight...

If you are looking for solid and reliable sources, I believe Keith Yates (10th dan) is a good one. He has written many articles for various MA magazines. Here is an article at his website concerning the history and "Americanization" of TKD: http://www.a-kato.org/inside2.html Keith Yates earned his black belt from Allen Steen. Allen Steen earned his black belt from Jhoon Rhee. Allen Steen was also Jhoon Rhee's first black belt in America. Lamonte

Ken, Good article! I like your question/answer style and the easy-going manner in which you write. Under your meditation question, what some call meditation is actually visualization as you pointed out. Also meditation is not exclusively an eastern religious practice, there are distinct Christian meditation techniques in the Christian tradition. There are many Christian MA associations all over the USA - too many to mention. The dojo I attend is essentially a Christian TKD because of the instructors and the parent organization. Some well-known people in MA are Christian, such as Chuck Norris: http://www.connectionmagazine.org/archives_old/archives/2000/sept2000/newnorris.htm and Keith Yates, 10th Dan in TKD and well-published MA writer: http://www.a-kato.org/newsarticle.html BTW Keith Yates has a masters degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and wrote his thesis on "The Dymystification of Ki." Then there are many ministers, pastors or priests who also have Black belts in various MA. Charles Bouton is 9th Dan in Okinawan, 9th Dan in TKD, 9th Dan in Jujitsu, 3rd Dan in Aikido - and he is a Greek Orthodox Priest. Here also is an interesting article on the martial arts from a Christian apologetics organization called Christian Research Institute (CRI): http://www.equip.org/journal/contents.asp?Volume=61 Lamonte

My old Chung Do Kwan TKD school belt ranks were: White, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown, and Black. My current TKD school belt ranks are: White, Yellow, Green, Blue, Brown, Red, and Black. Oldrookie, you are right the Camo belt is in the Greens. The ATA belt rankings are: White, Orange, Yellow, Camoflauge, Green, Purple, Blue, Brown and Black.

I really think this idea of a "world championship" match between the two is a myth, according to their biographies. Bruce Lee fought local matches in Hong Kong in the late 1950s. Then in the early 1960s Bruce went to college and developed his own personal system. He began giving "demonstrations" at the Long Beach Karate Internationals in 1964-1967. From 1964-1968 Chuck Norris was competing (and winning) in state, national and international tournaments. So 64-67 is the possible time frame when they could have fought together. But it seems unlikely to me. Lee took a turn to Hollywood in the late 1960s until his death in 1973 while Norris was the World Professional MiddleWeight Karate champion from 1968-1974. Lamonte