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Jhoon Rhee, Taekwondo Grandmaster And National Treasure

Back in the day or should I rather say in the late 70s, when I was actively practicing Shotokan karate, some of my buddies and I would go check out Taekwondo schools on our “off” days.

But there never were any real “off” days, because we were just so karate-crazy. Can any of you relate?

I must say that we picked up some great ideas about improving our own kicking abilities on those “off” days by thinking and looking outside the box.

Then came the phase of incorporating contact in our sparring sessions.

And what a blessing it was when I stumbled across information in some martial arts magazine that Jhoon Rhee had developed Safe-T-equipment in 1972 which absolutely revolutionized karate training and tournaments not only in the U.S. but worldwide.

It sure did for us after we got the large box full of equipment. This must have been in 1979 or so. But here I go dating myself again.

And would you believe that I still have my set of Safe-T’s. I kid you not!

Jhoon Rhee, who is now 77 years young and a 10th dan in Taekwondo, did more than just that:

After leaving Korea and coming to the U.S. in 1956 he successfully promoted Taekwondo on such a grand scale that he is today widely recognized as the Father of American Taekwondo.

Due to his countless activities, especially in the Washington DC area, promoting overall fitness and American values at their best, Jhoon Rhee was referred to by Congressman Ike Skelton as a “national treasure”.

Jhoon Rhee and Bruce Lee became friends in the 60s and learned quite a bit from each other.

According to Linda Lee Cadwell they had a very close and respectful teacher – teacher relationship.

Bruce taught him how to much punch and Jhoon taught Bruce how to kick.

They exchanged letters (that’s what people used to do before email and twitter!).

During the late 60s, Jhoon Rhee’s self-defense classes became the talk of the town in the DC area after this TV commercial that people still talk about today:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7PEMGuA6tw[/youtube]

Jhoon Rhee also showed Muhammad Ali, aka “The Greatest” a thing or two about punching:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEJdaiJ1cPs[/youtube]

Even at the age of 77, Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee is still as active as ever, working out on a daily basis which he hasn’t missed in twenty years and getting in his 100 push-ups per day.

Thank You, Jhoon Rhee, for your never ending inspiration!

Technorati Tags: American Kenpo, American Kenpo Karate, BJJ, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Bruce Lee, Cung Le, Frank Shamrock, full contact, Gina Carano, girls fight, Jhoon Rhee, judo, karate, kenpo, kick-boxing, kicking, Martial Arts, MMA, Muhammad Ali, punching, Safe-T, Self defense, Shotokan Karate, Taekwondo, Urijah Faber, weapons, women's self defense

Tags: American Kenpo, American Kenpo Karate, BJJ, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Bruce Lee, Cung Le, Frank Shamrock, full contact, Gina Carano, girls fight, Jhoon Rhee, judo, karate, kenpo, kick-boxing, kicking, Martial Arts, MMA, Muhammad Ali, punching, Safe-T, Self defense, Shotokan Karate, Taekwondo, Urijah Faber, weapons, women's self defense