Off to Korea

[monkeygirl]

Enlighten us when you return.

[Hybrid]

Enlighten us when you return.

 

Yeah, please do.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[Chris from CT]

Thanks. I made it back in one piece!!!! Now that my make-up work for acupuncture school is out of the way, I'm gonna be able to post some info about the trip.

 

We were leaving to go to Korea on September 11th from Logan Airport in Boston, MA. I caught a lot of flack for the fact of 9/11 and that being the same airport one of the flights flew out of. But I figured, “It’s not too often lightning strikes the same place twice.” Also my girlfriend’s mother, who is a travel agent, said that Logan would probably be the safest airport to fly out of on that day. So anyway, “If you’re gonna go, you’re gonna go.”

 

I stayed at Master Todd Miller and his wife’s home for the night and in the morning we would meet the others to leave for Logan Airport in Boston. Our flight left around 6:00am so we woke around 2:00am because of the travel time to Logan and it being an international flight. Didn’t seem so bad.

 

The flights went well. Even though I couldn’t sleep and everyone else passed out for about 18 hours, I was happy that the airline showed quite a few movies (X-Men 2, Bruce Almighty, etc.) and handed out a bunch of meals. We even had our own movie screens installed in the back of the seats in front of us. Ok, so I’m easy to please! Also, I was seated next to some very friendly Koreans who helped me with my phrasing and pronunciation of Korean. They did their best!

 

Once at Inchon Airport in Seoul, South Korea we were supposed to take a bus to Gimpo Airport and connect with a short 45-minute (if that) flight to Daegu International Airport. Well let me tell you that didn’t happen! We kept trying to get tickets for it, but everyone we talked to made this “X” sign with their fingers indicating, “no fight to where you want to go.” We were just finding out about the Typhoon that hit lower South Korea. So our 45-minute plane ride now turns into a 5-hour bus excursion through the Typhoon. It’s dark and wet navigating though a major typhoon and people still drive like nut-jobs.

 

I believe we got into Daegu around 2:00am, their time, and we could see some of the damage that was caused; trees turned up, roads were flooded, business signs ripped down by the tremendous wind and rain. I have to say one of the streets where the bus station was, was flooded and torn up, but the rescue workers in the orange jumpsuits had most of the immediate area cleaned up before our ride had arrived. Considering what they had to work with, that’s some job!

 

We were greeted in the rain by a loud, “Masta Todd, how is everyone?!” That was Kim, In-Sam, who also trains at the Jung Ki Kwan and runs his own English academy in Daegu. Between the fights, the layover in San Francisco, the confusion /waiting at Inchon and the bus trip that felt like a water ride at a theme park, our trip was approximately 30 hours. It was good to know we are almost home. (at least for the next few weeks).

 

More to come…

[Darce]

Keep it coming.

[monkeygirl]

Perhaps your experience could be best portrayed in a KarateForums.com Article?

[SaiFightsMS]

I do remember some of the severe storms that we I saw while I was in Korea. I am sure there are more areas now with better draining systems than there was in 1976. It is an incredibly long flight to get there because you cross the international date line. But when you come back it is possible to hit the US before you left because of the dateline.

[Chris from CT]

Perhaps your experience could be best portrayed in a KarateForums.com Article?

 

Do you think it would be appropriate for that section?

 

Take care.

[Chris from CT]

So I wake up around 9:00am on Saturday and considering the time changes and traveling I felt surprisingly good. Todd and I went downstairs to the front desk of the hotel and we ran into Kim, In-Sam. (Our savior upon arriving in Daegu) The three of us took a walk and he showed us around the immediate area around the hotel. Just a couple of blocks down the street was “Iljyong Golmok” (sp), the medicinal herb center of Daegu. The entire street is dedicated for just eastern medicine, mostly herbs. You could smell the ginseng from quite some distance. I would have loved to have taken some home, but I was unsure on customs so I played it safe. Also there was Moxa galore there. Moxa is a type of medicinal herb consisting of a type of mugwort that is burned on the body to stimulate acu-points. (More on that later)

 

Kim, In-Sam also showed us where his last academy of English was on Iljyong Golmok and eventually had to depart for a previous engagement. Todd continued the tour and we went to the Jung Ki Kwan. I was surprised how close it was, perhaps a 10-15 minute walk, not thinking about doing this everyday after training.

 

At 3:00 Todd, Frank, Trevor and I met up once again at the Jung Ki Kwan to see Grandmaster Lim and everyone else. Among the people there to greet us were Master Chae, Hung-Joon (Hwejangnim), Master Shin, Dong-Won, Master Kong, Won-Gee and Kim, In-Sam. GM Lim said it was good to see us. He also asked how we were and all the families and while Kim, In-Sam was there to help translate their English was very good.

 

While we were there we asked about the many calligraphies that were hanging in the dojang so Master Chae and Kim, In-Sam took us on a small tour and explained each one of them. Among them were sayings such as, “Hwa, Won, Yu” which reminds us of the three principles of Hapkido, “The Essence of the Martial Spirit” and another of how continuously practicing can lead to unbeatable ability. If I’m not mistaken, Master Chae actually did the calligraphy and has quite a skill. Master Chae is a remarkable man. He is around 70 years old and was one of Dojunim Choi’s 8th dan students and quite the swordsman. I spent an afternoon with him working on one of the Kahapdo forms and even though he spoke very little English, he helped me immensely with working with the sword.

 

After our meeting we ate samgaetang (sp), or in other words, chicken soup. It was fantastic! To start off, they gave us some small bowls of white radish. One was plain and the other was hot and spicy. I was told there are many types of kimchi and that was one of them. The main course came out and they gave us a bowl of broth with a chicken that was stuffed with rice. Inside the rice was ginseng and I believe a date or fig. There was also a small bowl of salt on the table to add to your liking. It was some of the best soup I had ever had. (Second to only mom) After the meal, we were given a cup of what seemed to be apple cider with cinnamon. Again I was informed that apples are a major trademark of Daegu.

 

We had a couple of long hard weeks ahead of us, but we were all pumped to start training. Todd said, “rest while you can.” And even though they were empty words at that moment, we would all understand the deep meaningful truth later on in the week.

 

More to come…

[monkeygirl]

Perhaps your experience could be best portrayed in a KarateForums.com Article?

 

Do you think it would be appropriate for that section?

 

Take care.

 

I think it would definitely be appropriate, a nice laid-back personal essay of your experience. Remember guys, KarateForums.com articles aren't big scary essays that you will be graded on. You're simply offering your thoughts, opinions and ideas to the rest of our community...to the rest of the world! Heck, you could probably even write a short story about a martial artist finding his way in the dark streets, with only a katana by his side and his trusty dog....oops, sorry got a bit carried away there

[Ben]

I'll definatly second that! (not the man,sword and dog story ) I've loved reading everything you've put down here, i think its great Most people would kill for an opertunity like you have!

 

*hides dagger* me included