This has to be one of the cutest martial arts videos I have ever seen. This little 3 year old Asian British girl saying her Taekwondo creeds.
The instructor with the British accent reminds me of that one scene in the Sound Of Music where they are telling the kids what to do in a military style. The little girl looks sooo cute in her little dobok with her big white belt. Her voice is soooooo cute and you can hear her little British accent. I just want to pick her up and hug her soooooooooo much!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! CUTEE!!!!
Taekwondo or any martial art is great for kids and if your child is willing to do what they are told like this girl is they will go far! Tons of discipline and respect is taught. I know “Premiere Martial Arts” is a huge mcdojo chain but for little kids mcdojo’s are not a big deal and kids can have a ton of fun. This girl is just loving it up soooo much! And her little kiap and punch at the end is adorable!!! She is just a tiny Taekwondo baby!
Islamic State “Jihad Special Forces” Taekwondo Terrorist Martial Arts
Before I posted about how the Taliban and Al Qaeda were training in Taekwondo and showed footage of them demonstrating some moves. Well it seems that ISIS also trains in Taekwondo. Apparently, Taekwondo is popular for Muslim Jihadists. I don’t know why, but it is. It really sickens me to know that Taekwondo was taught to evil terrorists and brought back to their bases for them to teach to other terrorists. Taekwondo was a martial art started for good, to fight totalitarianism and stand up for what is good. That is why Taekwondo teaches a moral code such as the 5 Tenets along with combat techniques. A warrior should fight for what is good and true. Taekwondo morality has nothing to do with the vicious evil that the Islamic State practices on a daily basis.
How it can be identified as Taekwondo and not another martial art is in how they practice certain self defense moves and especially since they open up their newest training video they uploaded, which was now deleted by YouTube, opens up with a masked Jihadist doing Tae Guk Il Jang which is the yellow belt form. It is a World Taekwondo Federation approved form. So they are practicing Kukki-Taekwondo over there. Since the video has been deleted another person uploaded clips of it mixing them up out of order which kind of ruins it. It can be seen below:
Tae Guk Il Jang in this clip is shown near the end. But you can see their versions of self defense moves which clearly resemble Taekwondo. Now it is obvious to the trained Taekwondo person that these terrorists have pretty bad technique in this particular video. Their form is not very crisp and they are doing some moves wrong. In other videos some of them have solid technique. In this video It seems to be a modified version of Tae Guk Il Jang with some splits move at the end to look cool. They are doing demo style martial arts. A lot of people are giving them tons of criticism and acting as if they totally suck and will be easy to defeat. I would say do not underestimate an enemy, especially one that is determined, one that has a religious fanaticism as an ideology that is determined to kill you for their god. “Crazy” on many levels intensifies a fighter and makes them deadly. Maybe they suck at Tae Guk Il Jang and also do slow self defense moves and are not black belt level, maybe they learned Taekwondo from a terrorist who became a mcdojang black belt in some country they formerly lived in, but they are still motivated.
Admit it or not, it takes balls to break a tile over your head. A few people break tiles over their heads and another punches several with his bare fist. Of course I have to question his punching technique as it is very wide and arched out weird. But he still broke them. Even if this does not make one a better fighter (as Bruce Lee said boards [in thise case tiles] do not hit back), breaking things gives a person serious confidence and focus.
A lot of people online have mocked the camouflage the guy uses where he has leaves from a bush tied all over his body and weapon, but if you look at it without bias it seems to be pretty god camouflage and he really does look like a bush when kneeling still. He could easily be a sniper and sneak up and shoot someone in such an outfit. It really is not silly, but should be taken seriously. Yes they are in a desert, but that plant is also in their desert which is where they found it. But they could also take ideas like this over seas on jihadist missions. Do not underestimate this enemy and simply disregard them as posers or “hilarious.”
Martial arts provide confidence, focus, discipline, and other positive things. But the Islamic State is using positive things for evil. Martial arts drills can instill serious confidence in people and make them more able to fight even if they are not UFC championship level. Taekwondo can make people brave and without fear to die in battle. Indomitable spirit is one of our tenets, the problem is they are misusing Taekwondo and will have indomitable spirit for their god Allah.
Here is some more martial arts training footage:
It looks like they are using standard military combatives, but the kid doing flying kicks could either be doing Taekwondo or Kung Fu stuff. Who knows. What is obvious is ISIS or ISIL is becoming a disciplined army that will work in unity with each other and are not just a rag tag group of rebels with no training. It has also been reported that ISIS is using Special Forces techniques that even the US military uses in how they train gun battles and certain tactics. They are winning many battles and taking over many towns. I doubt their “crappy” martial arts are inhibiting them very much at all.
This next clip shows kids around age 9-12 or so training in a very tough style. An adult punches and kicks them as they stand and take it. It reminds me of Kyokushin training but I still think they are doing Taekwondo. There are demos of self defense.
*YouTube deleted the full video and only this short clip remains. It leaves out the whole self defense section.
Obviously, these kids are tough. I doubt many American kids their ages would be able to stand there and let an instructor punch and kick them. He is hitting them with pretty good contact too. Of course not full adult power, but still it is pretty rough. No kids wuss out or cry. It is safe to say these kids might kick the asses of many kids their age in the USA. This is not a good thing.
I would love to fight their instructor and destroy him because he is a terrorist POS who is instilling evil into the minds of these kids. But this does not make such children innocent either. When I was their age I knew in my heart that murder was wrong and killing people for having different beliefs was murder. We have all heard of and possibly seen the videos of the 7 year old holding a severed head, a 10 year executing captives by shooting them in the head and more. These kids are killers and violent sociopaths.
The kids are doing demo style martial arts but more realistic than standard Korean Tigers stuff. The takedowns these terrorist kids are doing are pretty effective and smart in themselves. Breaking sticks over the body is a parlor trick many martial arts masters use to impress audiences. Even so, it instills confidence in the student who is having it broken over his body and makes them mentally tougher. The kids are also trained in firearms. The Islamic State is training future terrorist soldiers for the next generation. If America and its allies do not band together and actually go and fight ISIS and kill them all i can see this war going on for a very long time with each subsequent generation training the next and the next until they kill everyone of us.
This last clip shows a lot of people standing still taking kicks from an instructor as well as a Taekwondo self defense demonstration:
These videos are obviously propaganda videos and not the extent of their serious training. They are made to inspire future jihadists and get new recruits. The videos also can inspire loan wolf terrorists. Even if these martial arts videos are theatrical and somewhat silly (the west has pretty much seen it all and we also watch UFC all the time here) they still should be taken seriously that these enemies of what is good are training to kill you.
The videos also serve as a reminder that if you own a martial arts school and you have students from Syria or other known countries infests with terrorists you may be teaching terrorists martial arts. You could very well be teaching them how to fight and they will take their knowledge back to their people and train them. I am not sure if many Koreans are fighting for ISIS, but I know many Chinese are. Maybe they also brought Kung Fu over there too. But I really think that some of these terrorists had the privilege of training at mcdojangs in whatever countries they were at before joining the fight and brought over their techniques. All we need now are MMA trained Jihadists. I find it very sad and depressing that the Islamic State is literally training in Taekwondo for the purpose of killing anyone who does not subscribe to their ideology.
In Choul Jeong is a great Taekwondo master of our day who has been very influential with advancing Taekwondo techniques. He is on the education committee in the Kukkiwon. He is the author of Hand Techniques of Taekwondo for Actual Fighting written for the Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA). I found out about master Jeong through YouTube last year when I was looking up hand techniques for real Taekwondo fighting. I was looking up videos for Taekwondo and self defense. I stumbled upon this video:
When I saw that I was impressed and felt really encouraged to keep training hand techniques in Taekwondo. He even emphasizes use of the kwon go (Korean translation of the Japanese term makiwara, which is the board with rope tied around it used for the hitting of the fist)for hand conditioning, something Taekwondo people have forgotten which used to be one of the essential training tools in the old days. Now days it seems only karateka use it while taekwondoin (who came from Karate and used to use it) are busy training for tournament sparring without much use of hands.
Master Jeong also makes videos showing applications for poomsae. He shows what the movements mean and why you are training them, and how they relate to self defense. He keeps putting out one awesome video after another. I think more people need to know about his videos and subscribe to his channel. It is awesome to see Korean Taekwondo masters training for the purpose of fighting and self defense and not only doing demo’s or Taekwondo-dance which seems to be 99% of the videos you see online today.
I was given the opportunity by master Jeong to do an interview with him so he could tell us all more about his training background and martial arts philosophy! If you have not checked Master Jeong’s YouTube channel please do so! Make sure to like his videos and subscribe to his channel!
Enjoy the interview:
WHITE DRAGON: What’s your name?Where were you born? Please introduce yourself.
MASTER JEONG: My name is In Choul Jeong, but my Face book page’s name is “Taekwondo master Jeong In Choul” (Korean style). I was born in Seoul, South Korea. I teach Taekwondo to foreign people at the World Taekwondo Culture Expo, World Youth Taekwondo Camp and at my dojang. Nice to speak to you all.
WHITE DRAGON: How did you get involved in martial arts and how old were you? What made you want to start training? Please list your training history and be as specific as possible. Who were your instructors in the past? Any notable characters?
MASTER JEONG: You are asking me many things at once! Haha! I started training Taekwondo at 6 years old. My father was a Grandmaster and so his Dojang was my playground. His name is “Soon Kyu Jeong”and he is at the level of 9th dan.He is a former vice president of Odokwan and he taught many students. One of them is Grandmaster Hwang (Kukkiwon Director, Instructor). Master Hwang is also my master. I think I am a lucky guy because I’ve gotten chances to learn from many great teachers: Grandmaster In Sik Hwang, Grandmaster Ik Pil Kang (World Champion at poomsae), Grandmaster Jae Ro Ahn (President of Cheongjihjoe), as well as many teachers in other martial arts. They are all my masters in my life.
3rd place poomsae division at World Hanmadang, standing with his father Master Soon Kyu Jeong
WHITE DRAGON: What are your ranks, certifications, or titles in martial arts? Do you have tournament titles?
MASTER JEONG: Taekwondo – 6th Dan Kukkiwon
Kendo – 5th dan
Kyungho Moosool (martial art for body guards) – 5th dan
Member of Kukkiwon Education Committee
Instructor of World Taekwondo Culture Expo
Instructor of World Youth Taekwondo Camp
Author of Hand Techniques of Taekwondo for Actual Fighting (KTA, ANIBIG,2013)
Author of Textbook for Kukkiwon Instructors (WTA, 2014)
International poomsae competition held during the Korean Open, 1st place
Taekwondo poomsae competition held on the honor of KTA president, 1st place in senior department
Taekwondo poomsae competition held on the honor of KITF president, 2nd place
Besides Taekwondo, I have trained in Boxing, Muay Thai, Kendo, Kyungho Moosool,etc..
Master Jeong with foreign students
WHITE DRAGON: What is Kyungho Moosool and who is allowed to learn it? What techniques and concepts does it entail?
MASTER JEONG: Kyungho Moosool is aKorean martial art for body guards. It trains a person to protect VIP’s. I do not teach this even though I am 5th dan, butit was very helpful to study real fight Taekwondo. The president of Kyngho Moosol is named Jae Sool Byun. He was my father’s student and he has earned over 20 dan ranks from many styles of martial arts. He is the president of the Korean Special Kyungho Moosool Association in Korea. I received my certification in 2004.If someone wants to become a professional body guard he can apply to this program, but he should hold a rank of at least 3rd dan in some other martial art style before he will even be considered. There are many techniques and systems about defensive automobile driving, tactical firearms, and weapons disarms training in that program. They teach the principle of body guarding and all that it entails to protect a VIP.
WHITE DRAGON: What is Cheonjihoe?
MASTER JEONG: One of the top poomsae teams in Korea. Master Ik Pil Kang was 1st president of Cheongjihoe, and I learned poomsae from him. The word means “the people who have pure minds.”
WHITE DRAGON: Have you ever had to use Taekwondo in a real life fight or self defense situation? Have you ever been given a challenge by someone who wanted to fight you? If so how did you deal with it?
MASTER JEONG: Yes, When I was a boy, I had so many fights and used skills of Taekwondo (It’s such a shame, I was so childish). Apchagi (front kick) to the stomach is a very useful skill and sometimes I used dwit chagi (back kick) to finish an aggressive enemy. When I was in my 20’s, I worked as a manager in my uncle’s night club. There were so many fights especially at Friday night. I usually tried to break up the fights and some guys tried to punch me. But I parried all their punches with steps and blocked the attacks with Taekwondo skills. After that I suppressed them easily. Actually, small and fast action is very important in a real fight situation, not fancy action.
WHITE DRAGON: What is your opinion on the modern state of Taekwondo? Many feel that Taekwondo has lost much of its combative nature these days. Is this true?
MASTER JEONG: Yes it is. I want to answer with this famous quote, “You win some, you lose some.” Boxers can’t use kicks in a boxing match, so their punching techniques have been developed brilliantly and skillful. Likewise, we as Taekwondo competitors can’t punch in the face in a Taekwondo match, so the kicking techniques of Taekwondo are the best they have ever been now because they have been developed over time just as boxing developed punches in their sport.
However, while we’ve developed great kicks because of sport, many of us have unfortunately lost the development of hand techniques. Sadly, many of us don’t train the hand techniques of Taekwondo anymore which causes many people feel think that Taekwondo is just a sport and is not effective for self defense.
But I want to say “The essence of Taekwondo” is a martial art for actual fighting. I will quote from my book Hand Techniques of Taekwondo for Actual Fighting (KTA, ANIBIG,2013):
“The 1st and 2nd class Master Course Textbook (for Kukkiwon Taekwondo Master Training Course attendees) says the same thing – ‘Taekwondo is a martial art for knocking down enemies.’ (Kukkiwon Master Course Textbook). This is very important and we should remember this.”
Hand Techniques Of Taekwondo For Actual Fighting book
The number of hand Technique is larger than the number of kicking in Taekwondo, nevertheless we barely use hand techniques in sparring training or a match. So I have intensely studied the techniques of Taekwondo for actual fighting and have written the book Hand Techniques of Taekwondo for Actual Fighting (KTA, ANIBIG,2013) with great masters Jaeyoung Um and Jae Ro Ahn. I have translated the book into English and you may be able to buy it online in a few months. (Special thanks to Master Andy Jeffries for supervising). Search for it on Amazon and other book outlets in the near future.
Demonstrating accurate poomsae at a clinic for foreign students
WHITE DRAGON: What is your opinion on the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF)?
MASTER JEONG: I respect Grand master “Choi Hong Hi” the founder of ITF. They use punches to the face in competition sparring and they have been trying to keep Taekwondo as a martial art. I think that’s good.
WHITE DRAGON: It is said that martial arts change people’s lives. In what way has martial arts training influenced your life? What can it do for other people?
MASTER JEONG: People learn patience, concentration, courtesy, and manners while training Taekwondo. And so did I. The real power of education is changing a person. Not only in terms of combative martial arts, but also in terms of personal edification. Taekwondo is a very powerful martial art.
WHITE DRAGON: What is your opinion of the “Taekwondo-dance trend”? The Korean Tigers really promote it and have made it popular all over the world. I would like to know your thoughts on that.
MASTER JEONG: I think of it positively and I like K-Tigers team. But I think balance and sequence are very important. If some masters teach Taekwon-dance to a white belt student, it is not proper. If someone trains Taekwon-dance over 30 minutes in a one hour training session, this is not proper also.
Kendo master
WHITE DRAGON: What is your opinion of mixed martial arts, and how does Taekwondo today fit in the world wide trend of MMA? Is MMA something to embrace as a Taekwondoin? Do you have any favorite fighters in the world of MMA or Kickboxing?
MASTER JEONG: I really like MMA. My favorite fighter is Ronda Rousey. Many MMA fighters and kickboxers are learning Taekwondo’s kicks and trying to apply it to their game. I am very proud of it. And I think Taekwondo masters should learn the skills of other martial arts and study them for upgrading. To develop something, we need flexibility, not a fixed idea, so I think “embrace” is an excellent word. Sometimes I do free sparring with MMA fighters or Kickboxers here and there. It is very helpful to understand more about martial arts.
Boxing practice
WHITE DRAGON: How important is poomsae practice to you and your philosophy?
MASTER JEONG: I learn the principles of body movement from poomsae, and I have been trying to apply the skills of poomsae to a real life situation. You can find my videos on YouTube and Facebook (search “Master Jeong In Choul”) demonstrating poomsae applications and scenario based self defense training with the movements found in Taekwondo forms. I believe that people will find the essence of Taekwondo in poomsae.
Taekwondo fit!
WHITE DRAGON: Do you enjoy Olympic Taekwondo sparring?
MASTER JEONG: Yes I do. There is an advantage in Olympic style techniques to learn and we should not ignore it. I think that a real master should be skilled with both parts (poomsae and kyorugi) and should be able to apply poomsae into actual fighting. When I was in elementary school I had won a few medals from national competition. I also did sparring in tournaments all the time when I was a middle school student. Unfortunately, my parents did not agree that I should be an athlete and instead made me focus on studying in high school. So my Taekwondo focus turned towards poomsae training and hoshinsool study. Then in college I trained sparring and usually competed. I was a sparring champion in the university union division. I still enjoy sparring with various people here and there from time to time. I just never compete anymore and focus on self defense concepts and poomsae applications.
WHITE DRAGON: Do you have any final shout outs, statements, or feelings to express? If so feel free to mention them!
MASTER JEONG: It was my pleasure to do this interview, thank you for asking me to do it!
WHITE DRAGON: I appreciate the chance to interview you thank you!
*This post has been updated as of August 11th 2015 to currently reflect the author’s view
Here is a video of 4 guys fighting in a backyard in Virginia. This is a 2 on 2 fight. Apparently, they had beef with each other: 2 brothers against 2 cousins. I thought this fight was hilarious and pretty entertaining. This is some wild stuff. There is nothing like a redneck party!
This YouTube channel is called “Street Beefs,” and is dedicated to local people who have disputes they want to settle with a little good ol’ fashioned violence. I followed this channel for awhile including their facebook page. But one wonders if these “beefs” are real, and if they are real how “serious” they are. The owner of this channel, who goes by the nickname Scareface (or just Face) claims these fights are disputes that have gotten past the point of reconciliation and can only be settled through a down and out fight. According to the owner of this YouTube channel, a former youth-competitive-boxer who claims that as a teenager and young-in he fought in over 40 boxing matches. His backyard is used to allow people to fight out their differences and settle disputes to keep people from actual street fights. It is a way for angry people who are upset at one another to let off their steam. “Face” claims that his backyard saves people from actually killing each other on the streets and that much of these disputes could lead to actual gunfights. He says this all the time, but one will wonder if this is actually true or he is embellishing things. In the past he titled his videos with fake titles mentioning broken arms or legs on the youtube video which he admitted that he did just to get people to click on it. So such embellishments or lies about the fights themselves show that he is not that honest about what is going on in his backyard. Possibly some of the fights are tiny little argument, but it seems they serve more of a way for his channel to get popular, for him to get popular, to make adsense money, and give the fighters a little attention on the internet. There is no real evidence to prove these fights are 100% deadly serious to where each fighter may actually want to murder the other. And if they did it would seem that a backyard fight wouldn’t squash th dispute either and after the fight the loser would still get a gun and shoot the other person.
Another thing about the Street Beefs channel owner is that he is an ex-con, a cop hater (serious, serious, serious cop hater), a far left extremist who despises the Confederate flag and hates republicans. I guess being an ex-con makes him a little biased and someone who will ignore criminal, thug behavior and claim cops are all out to kill black people. Other than that the dude seems nice, but noooo don’t you EVER disagree with his ridiculous criminal ideology about cops and white people. You will get shunned or he will want to fight you in his backyard. There is no talking sense or intellectual discourse, this guy is from DA STREETZ YALL and doin’ it to save the kids from murdering each other. I guess…the concept is nice and interesting and I could agree with it, but I doubt it is as serious as he makes it.
The fights are controlled with a referee and certain rules in place. They seem to mostly use MMA rules, except in the case of the above video with multiple guys fighting. There are people there to make sure no one gets seriously hurt, yet I am sure it is still pretty darn dangerous. Let’s hope they have properly trained medical people on hand in case something serious happens. I doubt they do though, this is some redneck, ghetto stuff. At least they have gloves and mouth pieces, yet it seems in some videos some fighters throw out their mouth guard and keep fighting. So apparently it is an option.
I kind of like the idea of people fighting it out to settle a dispute. I think it is a lot more healthy than shooting each other or stabbing someone on the street, or fighting it out with no ref to break it up. It is a fact of life people get angry and pissed off sometimes and I find combat is a good way to relieve such rage and let it out. Hopefully the fighters respect one another after the fights and their so called “beef” is solved. It is also noticeable in various videos that these fights are bringing together many ethnic groups, cultural backgrounds and ideologies into one backyard. This is a positive thing. Yet, not so positive in the fact the guy will get butthurt if you tell them to get martial arts training to b safer, or learn MMA, and also if you actually respect cops and think they are mostly good. That is the cardinal sin right there. Also, criminal thugs are always okay unless of course one happens to be a nazi. That is the most intolerable evil, that someone is a skinhead who commits crimes VS someone who is not a skinhead or is black and commits crimes. So somehow the racists crimes are worse than the other guys crimes etc. There was a time he posted a video on his own Facebook page showing the beginning of a sexual assault in a prison where a black prisoner attacks a white prisoner with a shaved head who then orders him to take off his clothes so he can rape him. He was very positive about the thug who happened to be black who was attacking the white guy in the prison. This shows you his way of thinking. If you can tolerate that or hate cops sure join his group, but for me I cannot be associated with criminal culture and cop haters who seem to be very biased against white people who happened to be in authority, such as police, as well as gives terrible training advice such as not being able to use a speed bag properly (you would think after boxing as a youth he wuld have known his way of punching a speed bag makes absolutely no sense and is just plain wrong. It is calld a speed bag for a reason, not a slow bag…) and he hates people who tell them to train in MMA. I can understand the latter, as MMA onlyists are incredibly pretentious and people have the right to fight in their backyard and have some fun, but it is the anti-proper training and cop hating attitude that turns me off.
Watching the videos it is obvious hardly any of the people fighting are skilled in any martial art yet somehow these videos are still highly entertaining. The fights seem to last for 1 minute rounds, or possible 1 and a half minute rounds. There is always action most of the time as untrained people tend to spazz out. A few of the fighters may have a limited amount of martial arts or boxing training but not a lot. To see some people with limited martial arts skill watch the following 1 on 1 fight:
I thought I would discuss the idea of backyard fights and the idea of fighting to solve arguments for society. Do you believe that such “non-lethal” duels are healthy for society? Of course no one in these videos are going to kill one another like in the old days of sword or gun duels from the Victorian era and before that (at least I do not believe any of these “beefs” are as serious as “Face” makes them out to be as I believe he is embellishing this to get attention. Nonetheless, it seems like a positive thing to be able to challenge someone to a fist fight duel in a backyard. If it keeps poeple from shooting each other or jumping one another outside with absolutely no rules and chances of serious injury it seems like it is a positive thing. I would suggest a rule change of mandatory safety gear such as headgear (at least sometimes for people who fight a lot), groin cups, and mouth pieces. I would also suggest the fighters get training before they fight, and warm up before the fight to avoid more injuries. Either way the channel offers a lot of hilarious and entertaining fights.
What is your all opinions about such fights? Is it right or wrong? Does fighting keep society healthy? Discuss in the comments below!
While our congress talks and talks and votes on things other countries elected government officials fight it out with fists and kicks! In the Ukraine just the other day some parliament members had a disagreement over a bill and started a fight. They were throwing hands really good before it was broken up by some soldiers. Great stuff! In Ukraine, to be an elected official you must know politics, but also be in shape and know how to fight! Political fight club! Check it out!
Many readers may know of Master Boseong Kwon from his YouTube channel. He is known as being “a Korean master who teaches Taekwondo for serious fighting in Australia.” I found out about Master Kwon when randomly searching up Taekwondo videos a few years back. From the first video I saw of him I was impressed! Not only are his videos great, he is also an approachable person who is willing to message you back and give you training tips.
If for some reason you have not checked out his YouTube channel go now and watch his videos. Be sure to subscribe to his channel and like his videos.
He even gave me permission to send him interview questions that I can post on my blog. I am sure many of you will be excited to know more about Master Kwon! Enjoy the interview:
WHITE DRAGON: I am excited to do this interview. You are an inspiration to me for Taekwondo. Ever since I saw your videos on YouTube I was impressed right away. I’ve watched every video you’ve uploaded. Your videos give me hope for Taekwondo’s future and also training and teaching tips. Some of your ideas on your videos I use for my own students. So thank you for agreeing to do this interview. Many of us on the internet, I am sure, want to know more about you. I think you are kind of a Taekwondo celebrity on YouTube. People know you as the Korean master who teaches the fighting art of Taekwondo in its most serious state.
Here are some questions for you sir!
WHITE DRAGON: Where and when were you born?
MASTER KWON: I was born 18th of April, 1979 in Seoul city, South Korea.
WHITE DRAGON: How did you get involved in martial arts and how old were you? What made you want to start training? Please list your training history and be as specific as possible. Who were your instructors in the past? Any notable characters?
MASTER KWON: My father was a big fan of martial arts. Since a Taekwondo dojang opened in my local town, my dad put me in class straight away when I was 7 years old. I did Taekwondo, Hapkido, Composite Martial Arts, Muay-Thai, Protaekwondo, Bulmudo and Kumdo (sword art). I did as much cross training as I could to become an expert martial artist.
My Instructors;
-Grandmaster Dosa Kwon (President of International Protaekwondo Oceania Association) my uncle.
-Grandmaster Ando (President of World Bulmudo Federation, Highest Ranking Master Instructor of Bulmudo)
Grandmaster Kwon and Ando trained under Grandmaster Yeo Po on the Mangkyung Mountain over 10 years.
Grandmaster Kwon immigrated to Australia in 1991 to spread his martial arts, and Grandmaster Ando became a monk in the Beomeosa Temple, which is a popular birthplace of Korean Buddhist martial arts.
Beomeosa Temple in Korea
Now Grandmaster Ando is a successor of this art since Grandmaster Yang-ik (founder of Buddhist martial arts) has since passed away.
-Grandmaster Byung Suk Lee (WTF Taekwondo)
WHITE DRAGON: What are your ranks, certifications, or titles in martial arts? Do you have tournament titles?
Champion- International Protaekwondo Association- 1999, 2001
Champion- Korea Composite Martial Arts Federation- 1999, 2001, 2002
WHITE DRAGON: Have you ever had to use Taekwondo or Hapkido in a real life fight or self defense situation? Have you ever been given a challenge by someone who wanted to fight you? If so how did you deal with it?
MASTER KWON: I have a peaceful personality. I don’t like getting involved in any fighting. When I was a boy in high school, university periods, I had several fights. Normally ending quickly with a side kick or back kick as they are very powerful, final kicks. After migrating to Australia, I taught martial arts as a part time job and second being a security guard. I worked in clubs, pubs and faced many drunk and aggressive people. When they wanted to fight with me, I could scare them off with a few kicks in front of them. Otherwise, using Hapkido pressure points and joint restraining techniques was useful also to escort people out. I also had fights where they attacked first. In such situations a few low kicks or body kicks for self defense were effective.
WHITE DRAGON: What is your opinion on the modern state of Taekwondo? Many feel that Taekwondo has lost much of its combative nature these days. Is this true?
MASTER KWON: Yes It is. Unfortunately Modern Taekwondo developed as a sport.
But originally Taekwondo is a martial art for self-defense. There has to be a balance. I hope High Position Kukkiwon executive members consider putting more political power to rebuild martial arts Taekwondo.
WHITE DRAGON: What is your opinion of the “Taekwondo-dance trend”? The Korean Tigers really promote it and have made it popular all over the world. I would like to know your thoughts on that.
MASTER KWON: I like the Korean Tigers Team’s amazing demonstrations. They are a demonstration Team. Blending gymnastic skills with Taekwondo, making aero kicks look good. All good… But the dance is too much. It doesn’t look good as martial arts. I don’t understand what they are doing.
WHITE DRAGON: How long have you owned your school in Australia? Was it your first dojang that you operated? Where are you located exactly? What classes do you offer?
MASTER KWON: In 2004 I arrived in Australia. The first two years I focused on my immigration and training. I trained under Grandmaster Kwon along with teaching his classes. In 2006, I opened a part time school and 2010, I bought current property and opened full time Protaekwondo Club. We are at 36 Rocky Point Road, Kogarah, NSW 2217, Australia. It is a 10 minute drive from Sydney airport. Mainly I teach Protaekwondo blending with other martial arts.
WHITE DRAGON: It is said that martial arts change people’s lives. In what way has martial arts training influenced your life? What can it do for other people?
MASTER KWON: For me, it gave me confidence, a strong spirit and patience. This has been very important in changing my life attitude. I never gave up once I knew it was right. I can see a lot of my students gaining their confidence, learning how to focus on what they are doing and having respect for other people. We are teaching, good mannerism and strengthening their spirits, so whatever they are doing, wherever they are, it will change their lifestyle.
WHITE DRAGON: What is the Protaekwondo organization? How can one get involved with it?
MASTER KWON: International Protaekwondo Association of Oceania http://www.protaekwondo.org.au/flash/index.html anybody who wants to become a Protaekwondo instructor or join our organisation, please contact Grandmaster Dosa Kwon (61 2 9597 5373) or Master Boseong Kwon (61 2 432281371).
We operate instructor courses and Black Belt seminars on a regular basis. If you become a member, we support all round curriculum (punching, kicking, self defense, grappling, meditation, weapons)… Keep updating through instructor seminar. We are open minded martial artists, and directly link to other martial arts associations such as Korea Composite Martial Arts Federation, Global Hapkido Federation, World Bulmudo Association, World X- Impact Federation (MMA organisation based in Korea)
Master Kwon with students
WHITE DRAGON: What is your opinion about the International Taekwondo Federation?
MASTER KWON: Taekwondo is Taekwondo. WTF and ITF have the same root. I understand ITF sparring rules or patterns are different with WTF. In my view it looks similar. I hope for a reunion in the near future to build up strong Taekwondo.
WHITE DRAGON: What are Korean Buddhist martial arts? Can you be specific about how they are trained and what they focus on?
MASTER KWON: The original name the art is 불교금강영관 (kumkangyungkwan), but it is too difficult to pronounce to the general public, so Grandmaster Ando renamed Bulmudo for the promotion of his art.
Master Ando demonstrating Bulmudo
Half of the training is yoga and internal training ( meditation/abdominal breathing) and half is martial arts training. It is a well balanced art (internal energy + physical strength). This is not the competition arts. They believe through harmony of the mind, body, breathing and the healing of body and mind, you can attain true wisdom. The movements are very beautiful. Most of the movements use circular motions. Taekwondo kicking uses a snap, Bulmudo kicking doesn’t use a snap much so it uses a whole body with circular energy based on breathing. It really helps to increase my flexibility and control of Taekwondo kicking short or long range, any angle possible. Personally, I like the meditation side. I do meditation 2-3 hours everyday for healing energy and clearing my mind. The LA Times wrote an article about Buddhist Martial Arts and Grandmaster Ando and can be found at http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/26/world/la-fg-korea-fighting-monks-20111226.
WHITE DRAGON: How did you learn Hapkido? Was it along side of your Taekwondo training? What is your opinion on the differences between Hapkido and Taekwondo?
MASTER KWON: I was interested to learn Joint manipulation, or pressure point skill. so I studied Hapkido since I was 15 yrs old. Hapkido more uses circular movements more than Taekwondo. When I started Hapkido training, a lot of gyms used circular motions of kicking. Nowadays, Hapkido practitioners use a lot of Taekwondo style kicking, and also a lot of Taekwondo masters teach Hapkido techniques as self defense. The human body is all the same: two hands, two legs. A lot of martial arts share similar techniques with different names. I learned Hapkido to complete my Taekwondo style.
WHITE DRAGON: What is your opinion of mixed martial arts, and how does Taekwondo today fit in the world wide trend of MMA? Is MMA something to embrace as a Taekwondoin? Do you have any favorite fighters in the world of MMA or Kickboxing?
MASTER KWON: For me, TKD is MMA. Taekwondo practitioners get too obsessed with too many rules and training the sport side of Taekwondo. Martial arts has no rules. We have to practice ground techniques, and punching skills, elbow, knee, head and whatever available weapon; and so I trained all these techniques along with my Taekwondo and teach to my students from the beginning. I like the way of training MMA side, but sometimes it is too violent (ground and pound until unconscious…). I wish for more protection to the player. They can use brutal techniques for life or death situations, not for money or title..
Master Kwon teaching Taekwondo for MMA and fighting
WHITE DRAGON: Is Taekwondo a serious, deadly killing system? Yes, or no?
MASTER KWON: If they are training a combative mind, it must be very strong system.
WHITE DRAGON: What was the Taekwondo scene like in Korea when you were growing up? How is training different today in most dojangs compared to then?What is the Australian Taekwondo scene like?
MASTER KWON: In Korea, Many students train at least 5-6 days per week. Here in Australia one or two times per week is very popular. In Korea, inside the dojang they teach general Taekwondo, and competition players focus training in their school team. But in Australia, inside the dojang, both train as competition players and normal students.
WHITE DRAGON: I notice that you do not wear traditional Taekwondo dobok uniforms in your videos and many of your students simply have the pants and a tank top or t-shirt. How important is tradition within Taekwondo? Some instructors might say that if one is not wearing a dobok then they are not truly doing Taekwondo. How would you respond to that?
MASTER KWON: For teaching respect or manners and encouraging to wearing uniforms…I agree with that. Especially, if you are training traditional Taekwondo, mainly training patterns, or competition kicking. When you practice patterns, wearing a long sleeve uniform is good for protection of the joints. But we practice a lot of realistic hand techniques also. Tank top or t-shirts is good for fixing their posture and developing the striking feeling. As long as students show respect to their art or master, the long sleeve uniform is not a big issue.
WHITE DRAGON: How important is poomsae practice to you and your philosophy?
MASTER KWON: For me, practicing poomsae is respecting its tradition. When a student memorizes whole patterns, and control power and balance, they can feel more confident about something they achieved. That’s why they practice patterns. Not for fighting.
WHITE DRAGON: Do you enjoy Olympic Taekwondo sparring?
MASTER KWON: Not really.
WHITE DRAGON: Who are some Taekwondo masters that inspire you? Do you have heroes in other styles of martial arts as well? Do you have any favorite fighters?
MASTER KWON: I respect grandmaster Hee Il Cho. He is one of the pioneers of Taekowndo. I like his way of training, adopting boxing skills to improve his Taekwondo, his tough conditioning, and traditional way of training. Favorite fighter is Fedor (he knows how to use his weapon, and most of fights, he shows perfect mind control.)
WHITE RAGON: Do you have family involved in Taekwondo or any martial arts? Are they located in Australia as well?
MASTER KWON: Yes, as I mentioned before, my uncle Grandmaster Kwon teaches Protaekwondo in Australia.
WHITE DRAGON: How did you get the idea to join YouTube and begin uploading videos? Do you have any specific future plans with YouTube or video production?
MASTER KWON: Nowadays, WTF Taekwondo has developed as an Olympic sport and pattern performance competition. People think practicing patterns are the martial arts side Taekwondo. But I don’t agree. I just want show to other martial artists how Taekwondo is useful and encourage Taekwondo students to train true martial arts, and how Taekwondo techniques apply for self defense. And I want to show how the Taekwondo style cooperates with other martial arts for its future. That’s why I started with YouTube. In the future, I will be uploading more self defense or grappling, and meditation videos. I also plan to produce videos of all of our official training curriculum.
WHITE DRAGON: What does it take to become an instructor? What qualifications would you suggest? Do you have any tips for people wanting to start their own gyms and become full time Taekwondo teachers?
MASTER KWON: When I was a kid, I dreamt about being Interpol, but I have very bad eye sight and can’t see strong lights so I gave up that dream. Since the age of seven I never stopped training martial arts, and I realized I couldn’t live without martial arts. So naturally, I became an instructor and training more and more gave more benefits to me, and I realized there always is a next level… so I am going to achieve my next goal.
Most important thing is the passion and life attitude about martial arts. Instructors have to create positive energy. If they have teaching ability, first aid skills, and moral etiquette they are already at the first stage of becoming an instructor.
WHITE DRAGON: Do you have any final shout outs, statements, or feelings to express? If so feel free to mention them!
MASTER KWON: Thank you for the interview and allowing me to introduce myself to the martial arts community through your blog.
WHITE DRAGON: Thank you so much for doing this interview Master Kwon!
VLogging is a fun thing that martial artists can do. It is fun to see yourself on camera and see how you are progressing. Uploading videos onto social media is also exciting and can foster a community with other martial artists worldwide and provide encouragement, support, and training tips. Martial artists pay extreme, close attention to movement and that is why we need a high quality camera. I recently bought a new Full HD camera. Previously I had used an Olympus Master FE-370. This was from 2008. The quality was good for its time, and when YouTube used to have decent quality for all videos. Now YouTube has changed its quality for uploaded videos and having an HD camera is a necessity.
My new camera is a Canon PowerShot ELPH 340 HS. What do the numbers mean? I have no clue, but I can tell you this camera has slick picture and sound. It is smooth and works great. I bought it at Best Buy because the sales person helped me out and it is the kind of quality I want for martial arts VLogging. Check out a sample test video:
What do you all think? Have any other cameras you think work great? Do you enjoy VLogging your martial arts skills? Has it helped you develop as a martial artist? Did you make worldwide martial arts friends? Let us know in the comments below!
A Korean Actually Showing Good Self Defense Applications Of Movements
Just when I lost hope that South Koreans would promote Taekwondo as a fighting art and thought, possibly, that Koreans simply think Taekwondo is a form of hip hop dancing and ballet I find a couple of really cool videos. Apparently, this guy’s name is Lee Dong Hee and he is showing some great body mechanics on both himself and his attacker. It reminds me of how Kung Fu masters show the intricacies of joint movements and body postures that enable them to attack certain areas and take a man down. He is using movements from poomsae and I find this very encouraging. We need more and more guys like this to bring the roots of Taekwondo back. It is refreshing these are not simply “how to score points for Olympic Taekwondo sparring” videos.
A Tiger Rock Black Belt Has Challenged Me To A Real Fight, Not That Gay Sparring Stuff
Today on my own blog, White Dragon Dojang Taekwondo & Martial Arts Blog, yours truly, White Dragon, has been challenged to a fight by a butthurt, Tiger Rock black belt who did not like my criticism about his mcdojang organization that he is a member of. This is typical of Tiger Rock students. It is not the first time a Tiger Rock student has challenged me to a fight. This likely will go nowhere and will never happen as most people who issue internet challenges never go through with them. Especially when there is no way I need to go to his address and fight him. If anyone wants to fight they can come to me here. I also do not really accept challenges or seek them out. But I will on the other hand fight delusional mcdojangers. It has never happened yet.
Such people cannot reasonably argue a point, use observable evidence, or logic to argue their grievance. It is pure emotion and no discipline. In the blog article Tiger Rock’s Claim Of Accredited Instructors Is Meaningless you will see Mr. Miles Williams (who can also be found on Facebook easily through google by typing his name + “tiger rock” if you want to see his photo) state the following:
“And if you want me to get personal, I do kyokushin and muay thai and the body conditioning is beyond your comprehension👌 and I know I’m not the only person in tiger rock that does body conditioning. Again… I’m friends with alit of students. Including our grandmaster ( who is a grandmaster by the way). Look ill give you my damn address and we can see who wins. And I don’t mean that gay sparring. I mean a real fight… In a ring… With nothin but gloves. I would really love to see your stupid sport face my style of tkd anyway. (sic)“
Uh oh, I better be scared. Tiger Rock is SERIOUS business. I could end up fighting the NEXT Karate kid Miles Williams!
To see the full arguments in the comments please click the article link above and enjoy some comedy. I stand by my original blog post because it is full of observable evidence and facts about what Tiger Rock is, and why their claim of “instructor accreditation” is a joke.
Oh noz! He trains da MMAz at tiger rock!!!
Yes, Tiger Rock is not a mcdojang, but serious business and REAL fighting!
I find it funny that he is going to show how badass his “Taekwondo” style is by using “Kyokushin” and “Muay Thai” on me, in a REAL fight, in a ring with NOTHING but gloves on. I hope he does not mean we should fight naked with only gloves. (well he did say “not that gay sparring” so hopefully he means we will wear clothes). He wants a REAL fight that is not sport, but it will still be in a ring and with gloves, the same stuff that combat sports always use. You know beause REAL fights are not sport, yet they they occur with sporty stuff like gloves and in rings. Also, this guy claimed he fights MMA. OH WE GOT A BADASS OVER HERE!
There is no reason I need to fight this guy, and of course he will not follow through. I believe everything he claimed is not even true and simply made up. I doubt he trains in anything but Tiger Rock crap. Last I heard Tiger Rock does not give Kyokushin or Muay Thai certifications. But they do give a crapload of cirtifications of copy cat “grappling” that is the mcdojang style of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
If he did want to show up I would easily win. Mcdojangism breeds a delusional cult mentality, and egocentric black belts and instructors who really know nothing about martial arts. They only know their corporate mcdojang programs they paid an extreme amount of money to be certified in.
Martial arts will always be criticized by people in and out of the martial world (suck it up Miles!) The Kukkiwon style of Taekwondo especially recieves tons of criticism and insults. You don’t see much of us walking around challenging people to fights on the internet. It is called “getting over it” and “self control.” This dude came to the wrong blog. This blog openly states it is not friendly toward mcdojangs. He needs to get over it and walk away. Which he did apparently….I hope.
Well, apparently he DID find his limit and backed out. Typical. YAY!
Go to the blog article and read it, then read the comments and see the hilarity.
There Are Other Reasons To Train In Martial Arts Besides Competitive Fighting
There are all kinds of reasons to train in martial arts besides competitive fighting. In the old days of Karate nobody was concerned with sport fighting or winning points. The Okinawans and Japanese only cared about fighting in general and staying alive. Likewise, in Taekwondo’s infancy nobody was thinking about how they can create a popular sport, but how to promote a Korean way of fighting more perfect than Karate itself.
Besides fighting in general and self defense martial arts in my opinion are the ultimate fitness and health activities anyone can do. It is better than dancing, better than gymnastics, and better than just lifting weights alone. Martial arts combine everything into one. Movement of the joints in various ways, moving the body in every possible way it can move, and development of serious cardio and blood circulation. Martial arts also offer healing by strengthening the body and systems of the body. Many martial artists, including myself age pretty well. We look younger and are more fit than average people. We can last longer and have a better quality of life. On top of this is of course our self defense skills that will keep us alive longer if we are attacked. Martial arts are ultimate self preservation.
Martial arts help mental health by inducing stress relief, intense focus of the mind with forms and meditation, coordination skills, and give enjoyment and pleasure to practitioners. It keeps people busy who otherwise might be bored if they did not know a martial art style. Traditional martial arts also offer great ways for solo training such as forms that can be performed anywhere which also sharpen the mind and develop masterful techniques.
Of course with anything, martial arts also provides a way for a competitive spirit. Competition is a way to test skills and see how someone holds up with another human being. Combat sports are always there for people to participate in but are not the main goal. There are ways to compete inside the dojo with friends without entering huge tournaments or serious combat sports such as full contact kickboxing and MMA. But even so some people want to participate in MMA and see how they do. That is fine, but it should not be the sole purpose of a life long martial artist. There is so more more you can do and the toll that MMA and full contact fighting events takes on the body can be a negative force in your personal martial arts journey. There is a time to retire and a time to understand to take training slow because of injuries. Over the years your body will wear down immensely and basic martial arts skills will suffer. The nature of MMA is hurting another and avoiding being hurt. It is impossible to not get hurt yourself as every fight you will get hit. Over time it can cause brain damage and serious joint injuries and arthritis. I believe it is possible to regress physically and regress as a martial artist with too much combat participation.
“Almost everybody at the UFC level can fight through an injury. We’re all hurt by the time the fight comes. I’m starting camps off with the injuries that I haven’t properly addressed and that’s affecting the way I train, movements we’re using and what we can do on a certain day. I’ve got Forrest Griffin making jokes about it like, ‘It’s time to retire when I train like Mir.’ I’m like, ‘what are you saying?’ He’s like, ‘Well you walk in the gym, what doesn’t hurt?’ So I was like, ‘well, you’re right.’ So I was like, let me take time off, address these issues and train healthy – relatively speaking for what we do in our sport – then I’ll keep fighting. But it’s to the point where I’m only 35-years-old and you know, the quality of life. I’d like to play a pickup game of baseball with my kids…So that’s kind of the decisions and why I did what I did.”
Frank Mir understands that having a high quality of life is important, not just for himself, but for his family. It is a fact that someone who trains hard in a martial art style who does not have injuries or brain damage can train harder and better than someone who has such injuries.
If someone only participated in a minimal level of combat sports, or none at all except dojang training, he possibly will have better technique, better health, better cardio, better power and proper body mechanics than an old retired MMA fighter with 50+ fights. In self defense who will do better at this point? Obviously combat experience is important to factor in, but with enough combat training in a dojang or dojo a person can still master a martial art and effectively win a street fight. He can also train in martial arts longer during his life and benefit his martial arts style and community longer than someone who has too many injuries.
Being a life long martial artist also has the duty of promoting that martial art, teaching it to new students, developing new techniques and keeping the art alive. I often find it strange many MMA fighters who retire have nothing much to do with teaching martial arts or starting a martial arts gym business afterward. Some simply just do other things and walk away. Even professional boxes. I don’t see Mike Tyson running a gym or promoting his boxing to new generations. Maybe he does in a way that I do not know, but he is basically in movies, doing 1 man Broadway shows, developing an animated TV show, writing books etc. But he is not being a boxing instructor. The professional fight scene seems to exist for personal glory more than enjoying a martial arts community and making training and practice a life long journey. There is no end to training and practice for a Taekwondoin. We will go until we are 100 years old until we die. We should be teaching and passing on concepts and martial arts to new and younger people.
Benson Henderson said it best after his fight with Nick Diaz in 2012 when he claimed there is more to life than fighting. He said,
“Fighting’s cool. I love this guys, thank you guys for all of the support. Seattle, I love you, but fighting is just a small part. There’s a lot more to life, guys. There’s a lot more to life. Hug on your loved ones, cherish them. These moments we have together, they’re a lot shorter than you think.“
Simply just to fight in a sport, I believe, is not the sole reason to train in martial arts. Living life and enjoying other things is important too and martial arts themselves, even without competition, help a person achieve a higher quality of life than if one was not training in them. There is much benefit also for people who train without fighting.
There is a current and ignorant trend that says the only reason to train in any martial art is if you compete. If you do not compete you are somehow a deficient martial artist and doing something that is pointless. Also, you are not a real fighter. This is bogus. Anyone who trains in a combat art with the intention of fully embracing it’s self defense aspects while enjoying its other benefits is literally a fighter in their being. The attitude of a fighter is not only displayed in combat sports or street fighting. Does a soldier in the military only become a soldier when fighting in a war? What about during times of peace? Are they not real soldiers unless they become combat veterans? That would be absurd. Of course they are still soldiers. Someone who trains to be a soldier is a soldier whether or not they ever fight in a war their entire life. A martial artist is likewise a fighter whether or not they literally fight people in combat or self defense or not. The fact is they are seriously training.
There are many good reasons to train in martial arts besides competitive fighting and they are just as valid as one who has a quest for MMA glory. I plan to teach Taekwondo and practice it for the rest of my life. I also plan to train in other styles as well until I can no longer do it. I plan to always be involved in the martial arts world through teaching, promoting, and training. Too many injuries from too much heavy sparring is detrimental to a martial arts lifestyle, but it is necessary to train with sparring to truly encompass the full range of martial arts perfection. It all depends on your attitude. There is nothing wrong with MMA, but trendy MMA hipster culture is full of ignorant people who have never learned what being a true martial artist is. A few intelligent fighters do understand this as well as MMA students, but the popular trendy culture surrounding it needs to be ignored while true martial artists become masters and perfect technique into old age and never quit.
White Dragon
White Dragon Dojang 