Jhoon Rhee-where does he fit in?

[koreantiger81]

I know he developed his own system of tae kwon do, which i practice..HOwever, i want to know where he fits in TAe kwon do history..Was he a student of GEneral Choi????

 

There's really not enough information about their connection between each other... Jhoon rhee is considered the father of tae kwon do in the united states...I believe at one time, Jhoon rhee and General choi practiced the same or similiar form of tae kwon do?????I"m really not sure! i would like to find out! anyway, I believe General Choi was in charge way back in the early years of tae kwon do...General's choi's goal was to spread tae kwon do worldwide...I believe Jhoon rhee was shared this same goal or was asked by general choi to go to the states..I don't know! my guess..anyway, Jhoon rhee modified or included or added on GEneral's choi's I.T.F system....

 

I can't even find jHoon rhee's name in the Tae kwon do history books...Any thoughts on their connection?

 

[ This Message was edited by: koreantiger81 on 2002-08-01 05:43 ]

[eXcerion]

I believe Jhoon Rhee was,at one time, General Choi's leading disciple and had an 8th dan from General Choi but General Choi and most of the Rhee's had different ideas on where taekwondo was headed. The Rhee's left and formed there own organization/s. Jhoon Rhee is no longer part of the ITF. And after talking to a friend i believe Jhoon Rhee after getting his 8th dan (he may have even gotten 9th, the same level general choi but i'm not sure) he became a 10th dan in his own style (which seems odd to me since 9 is the highest in taekwondo and such a sacred number) but there is no doubt Jhoon Rhee is very impressive, even though he would be in his 80's he can still do 100 pushups in under 1 minute. Aah well that was all different points jumbled together and i'm not 100% sure if it's all true so please correct me if it's not, umm damn this seems like a long post, aah i'm just making it long...

[koreantiger81]

exerion..Thanks for your feedback! There's just a lot of rumours! I heard that General choi taught Jhoon Rhee the I.T.F forms at an airport... I would really like to find out the truth behind their connection, 'cause I do practice both styles...

[taezee]

master rhee is one of the pioneers of taekwon do in america..a great master who ive had the pleasure of meeting on two ocasions.. http://www.aarp.org/mmaturity/jul_aug99/rhee.html

 

 

[KickChick]

... here's a little more info on Rhee

 

In 1956, Jhoon Rhee arrived in Texas for military training with the United States Air Force. While there, he taught what was possibly the first American class in Taekwondo. He was called back to Korea almost immediately to complete a year of active duty in the Korean Army, but he returned to Texas in late 1957 to attend San Marcos Southwest Texas State College. While a freshman at the college, Rhee held Taekwondo demonstrations and started a club to teach Taekwondo to students. He later transferred to the University of Texas at Austin and taught in an even larger Taekwondo club. In 1962, Rhee moved to Washington, D.C. to become a professional instructor.

 

In 1966, he hosted his First National Karate Championships in Washington, D.C. He also hosted events that helped publicize Taekwondo, such as giving free Taekwondo instruction to Congressmen and having his students march in parades.

 

In the early 1970s, Rhee was the first to introduce padded sparring equipment to Taekwondo.

 

Some consider Jhoon Rhee to be the "father of American Taekwondo" and he is still a major contributor to American Taekwondo.

 

 

[BlueDragon1981]

Jhoon Rhee is in my opinion a good martial artist. He I think has been appointed to some kind of political postion. Its under the martial arts and politics. (Im the one who posted it)

 

Dont believe all the rumors you hear. Just research it yourself. The Grand Master In my style is getting a lot of untrue stuff said about him. It started after he died and from a person who does not like him. So trust me rumors you think arent true....research them and often times you will find out different.

 

[RF_Brown]

Actually Jhoon Rhee promoted what he taught as "Korean Karate". In the mid 60's, General Choi visited him in Texas and encouraged him to start using the name Tae Kwon Do. Rhee eventually started his own organizations. Today the Tae Kwon Do of that organization would little resemble what the ITF today teaches.

 

In the early days of TKD, it was called Tang Soo Do, in fact many independent organizations that are not part of the ITF or the WTF today still do. It essentially means the "Way of the Chinese Hand." Tang meaning the Tang dynasty in China. It is just the Korean version of the same name as what Karate-Do meant in Japanese. In Japan before WWII, because of nationalistic pressure, the way Kara was written in Japanese was changed to mean "Empty Hand." In Korea, to reflect this change, the word Kong Soo Do was sometimes used. In the 1960s when all the various Kwans, or schools, in Korea merged (what eventually became the Korea Taekwondo Association), the name Tae Soo Do was adopted, and then later when Gen. Choi became the President of the KTA, it was eventually changed to Tae Kwon Do. By this time many of the early Korean instructors in this country had been using the term, "Korean Karate." Choi visited this country in order to promote the use of the name Tae Kwon Do. Choi even created an organization to promote the Korean art, the International Taekwon-Do Federation. After Choi left South Korea, the KTA created the WTF as the international wing of that organization. Today Jhoon Rhee is affliated with neither the ITF or the WTF but is an independent branch of Tae Kwon Do. Both the WTF and the ITF have evolved what they teach in vastly different directions. Independent organizations and instructors today usually write the name of their art as Tae Kwon Do, while the WTF uses Taekwondo, and the ITF writes it as Taekwon-Do. Independents use the term, Hyungs for patterns, while the WTF uses the term Poomses, while the ITF calls them Tuls. Many independents teach the ITF Chang Hon Pattern Set but do not use the Sine Wave while practicing them, or teach the Theory of Power, of which the Sine Wave is a distinctive component of.

 

The Moo Duk Kwan did not become part of the KTA and continued to call their art Tang Soo Do. Many Moo Duk Kwan instructors did though, so that in effect there became two Moo Duk Kwans, so that we have Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do, and Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do. Because many of the Korean masters left the Moo Duk Kwan(Tang Soo Do) and created their own Tang Soo Do organizations, the Moo Duk Kwan today uses the name, Soo Bak Do, to describe the art they practice. Just a side not. Tang Soo Do features the original Okinawan forms of Shuri-Te that the early Korean masters taught, before either the Chang Hon set was created by Choi, or the TaeGue(sp?) and Palgwa(sp?) sets that are currently practiced in most WTF affliated schools.

 

Jhoon Rhee still promotes his style as an art, as does the ITF, but the KTA, and therefore many if not most all of its WTF affliates push Taekwondo as a sport. Most all Korean masters are associated in some form or fashion, even if just in name, with the WTF. The WTF is much much bigger and more influential than either Jhoon Rhee's organization or the ITF.

[KickChick]

Came across this article in the Washington Post.

 

A good read.... something for us older martial artists to aspire to.

 

Read about his diet.... his daily workout (1000 pushups a day and several hundred sit ups!)

 

"At 70, Master Jhoon Rhee Is Still Getting in His Kicks

 

Taekwondo Instructor Says He's Got a New Mission: Happiness"

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A54398-2002Aug7