Taekwondo
Nip Tuck And Martial Arts
How do the two go together?
Well, if you’re Roberto Miguel Rey Júnior, not a problem.
Some of you might be asking yourselves, whom I’m talking about.
You’re probably more familiar with his aliases such as Dr. Robert Rey or simply Dr. Rey.
I saw him the first time on E! about 3 years ago on the reality show Dr. 90210.
Again, if you’re not familiar with all these U.S. American intricacies, that’s the zip code for Beverly Hills, California.
In my humble opinion, Dr. Rey is quite an interesting guy and here’s why.
Born in th U.S. in 1961, the naturalized Brazilian lived in Sao Paulo until he was about 12, when he was brought to Utah along with his siblings by Mormon missionaries.
Four years later his mother reunited and lived with them in Prescott, Arizona.
So, what happened to his father?
Well, let’s put it this way:
It just didn’t work out and yet it did a lot better in many ways for Dr. Rey, who went on to study medicine at Tuft University School of Medicine, where he got his M.D. in 1990.
He advanced to acquire the knowledge and skills to become a very accomplished cosmetic surgeon licensed in California and Massachusetts.
And believe it or not, Dr. Rey has performed over 10,000 surgeries!
He has been featured on too many TV shows to even list here and it is safe to say that he is somewhat of a household name through the reality show, simply known as Dr. 90210.
What I find admirable is the fact that the married father of 2 children donates a lot of his time and skills to humanitarian missions to operate of children with physical deformaties.
Even with the craziness of a heavy workload and countless other obligations, Dr. Rey still has the drive and enthusiasm to pursue his commitment to martial arts which include Tae Kwon Do (black belt) and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (blue belt).
I found the following clip of Dr. Rey starting his BJJ training with Rener Gracie. Very cool!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1542083985294472959
Finland: Sauna, Wodka And A Very Eclectic Korean Martial Art
Most of us would make the connection between Finland and Finnish sauna and even some of the most famous Wodka brands money can buy, right?
But Finland and a very eclectic Korean martial art?
Let me tell you how this post came together.
Last Sunday while getting ready for a tennis mixed doubles match I was talking with one of my team members and his wife about martial arts.
They told me that that they had studied some Korean martial art several years ago in Mississippi, which they referred to as Han Moo Do.
I actually had no in-depth knowledge of this style and they were kind enough to tell me a little bit more such as:
Han Moo Do is a fairly young style which consists of elements of Tae Kwon and Hapkido. They probably told me more, but that’s what stuck with me.
That sounded pretty intriguing to me, so I started to dig a bit deeper and here is what I found online:
Han Moo Do was created by 8th dan Young Suk (Yoon Soon Hwang) about 20 years ago, when the first club was established in Finland!
Lately it has been spreading to other Nordic countries, such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
The first club outside of the nordic region was recently set up in Limerick, Ireland. But also even in Mississippi in the U.S. Southeast as I mentioned above.
Hanmoodo is descended from other Korean styles, such as Hoi Jeon Moo Sool and Taekwondo, so Hanmoodo resembles these styles as well as Hapkido in many areas.
Hanmoodo’s techniques include kicks, punches, throws, takedowns, grappling , joint-locking techniques and chokes.
Kicks are mostly aimed at ribs or head.
Punches can be targeted to the body only.
Throws and takedowns resemble Judo and wrestling techniques but are done even more elegantly.
Joint locks mainly target the wrist and elbow but there are also leg locks.
Chokes are performed mostly with forearm and wrist.
The art contains three weapon styles: nunchaku, long staff e.g. Japanese bo; and sword e.g. Japanese katana.
Hanmoodo practitioners are also encouraged to engage in exhibitions where a practiced choreography is presented to an audience. These choreographies feature several practitioners performing self-defence techniques on each other.
In competition, Hanmoodo rules permit kicks above the waistline and punches between the waistline and the head.
All strikes must hit the front of the body and other kinds of strikes are prohibited.
Competitors may also grapple by throwing or taking down their opponent and controlling him/her on the mat but striking is prohibited when either competitor has a hold on the other or is considered to be on the ground.
I have found Han Moo Do or hanmoodo to be a rather interesting mixed martial art that covers the four combat ranges of long, medium and close as well as ground fighting. Oh, yeah, weapons, too.
Personally, I can do without the high-flying kicks, which in no way criticizes the style itself. High kicks might have their justification.
Summa summarum, I am impressed with Han Moo Do and to give you some visuals of it all, here is a clip I found. Hope you enjoy it.
P.S.: My wife and I won our tennis match 6-0, 6-3.!
Girl Power Expressed Through Karate Kata Perfection
If you have been following this blog lately you probably have noticed that I like to mix things up between different martial arts styles such as Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu aka BJJ aka Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Western Boxing, Jeet Kune Do, Wing Chun Kung Fu, just to name a few.
Today, I’m in the mood for some really impressive Karate moves. The kind of moves you see when true artists are at work or better performing a kata.
For those of you not familiar with kata, here a short description:
Kata is a Japanese word for choreographed patterns of movements that can be performed either solo or in pairs or even groups.
Kata is commonly known in the Japanese martial arts such as Aikido, Judo, Karate, Iaido and others.
You come across patterns of movements in other non-Japanese martial arts such as Tai Chi Chuan and Taekwondo. They just use Chinese and Korean words instead.
To get a better idea of what karate kata perfection looks like, have a look at this video clip of the Japanese Female Kata Team competing in 2008.
Amazing! But I will let you be the judge.
Bruce Lee One-On-One With Kareem Abdul Jabbar
If you’re into any style of martial art that involves high kicks every now and then such as taekwondo, karate, kung fu, muay thai, savate, kick-boxing and others, you have probably encountered the challenge of executing the perfect high kick.
Let’s say you’re 5’10″ and you nail a kick at your opponent’s temple who happens to be 6’1″.
Who wouldn’t consider that to be quite a feat?!
Bruce Lee was able to take similar challenges to unchartered heights.
According to a number of reports, Bruce Lee was 5 feet 7 1/2 inches tall.
So, normally in our equation it would be pretty good to execute a high roundhouse kick or similar to the head of an opponent who was around 6 feet tall, right?
That wasn’t good enough for Bruce Lee. He picked an opponent for his movie “Game of Death”, who was 18 1/2 inches taller.
His opponent’s name was Kareem Abdul Jabbar who at the time was a NBA star still playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and measured 7 feet 2 inches in height.
As we know a picture can say more than a thousand words.
So let’s just enjoy 5 minutes of a martial arts movie classic with Bruce Lee vs. Kareem Abdul Jabbar in “Game of Death”.
One Of The Best Weeks In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
I hope you are enjoying your weekend as much as I am enjoying mine.
Time sure flies when you’re having fun.
Putting these posts, articles, stories together for you is fun for me.
So, please keep on visiting TheMartialArtsReporter.com and tell your friends and family about this blog.
It’s about informing, inspiring and entertaining martial artists and martial arts enthusiasts.
Are You Ready For Tonight’s UFC 107 BJ Penn Vs. Diego Sanchez?
BJ “The Prodigy” Penn Vs. Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez At UFC 107 Lightweight Title Fight in Memphis, TN.
Amir Perets, Martial Arts Champion, Fitness Guru, Israeli Self-Defense Expert
The Real Deal, Amir Perets Shows You Self-Defense That Works… For Real.
Legendary Renzo Gracie Gets Multi-Fight deal With The UFC
UFC Dana White Gets BJJ And MMA Legend Renzo Gracie Back Into The Octagon.
Fight Deal For Manny Pacquiao Vs. Floyd Mayweather set For March 13, 2010
Already Heralded As The Fight Of The Century: Manny Pacquiao Vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. On March 13, 2010.
Before Steven Seagal Was “Lawman” And “Above The Law”
Action Movie Superstar And Martial Artist Steven Seagal Stars As “Lawman” In A&E Reality Cop Series.
TKD Gold Medalist Dana Hee And Change “I Can’t” To “I Can”
Taekwondo Gold Medalist, Actress, Stuntwoman And Motivational Speaker Dana Hee Knows A Thing Or Two About Changing “I Can’t” To “I Can”.
Hope you enjoy catching up on some of the posts you might have missed. Or maybe you liked them so much that you just have to read them again.
I can’t leave you without two really good quotes:
“Happiness depends on ourselves.”
Aristotle
“Every man dies; not every man truly lives.”
Mel Gibson (Braveheart)
TKD Gold Medalist Dana Hee And Change “I Can’t” To “I Can”
I am pretty sure that most of you will agree that the Korean martial art of Taekwondo is one of the most popoular and well-known styles.
Interesting to me is the fact that it was not really developed and introduced until after WWII ended in 1945. That’s not that long ago.
While Japan was occupying their country for decades, Koreans were not allowed to practice martial arts. Except only when in service for the Japanese military.
After the war, that all changed for countless individuals striving to improve themselves through Korean martial arts and Taekwondo in specific.
Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee as well as many other Korean instructors and former U.S. military service members returning from the Far East paved the way for Taekwondo to widespread acceptance, especially in the United States.
Another boost for Taekwondo in the U.S. certainly took place in the realm of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
And our featured martial artist today, Dana Hee, played a pivotal role.
Some of you reading this post might not be old enough or you simply did not follow the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul to the degree to remember her name.
Let me share some very intriguing insights about Dana Hee and what an inspiration she was then and still is today.
Dana was born in 1961 in Louisiana and based on what I found out about Dana, she had to endure a rather crappy childhood, to say the least.
Growing up with divorced and alcoholic parents, Dana had to go through what no child should experience, namely despair, abuse and being abandoned.
Over years, Dana was passed between orphanage, suicidal family members, halfway houses, and finally a foster home.
As you can probably imagine that took its toll on her self-esteem and led to a major fear of failure.
At the age of 25 and way too many years of having been programmed with the “I Can’t” mindset and running from her fears, Dana was finally able to make a decision to commit to change her life forever.
Through her agonizing, against-all-odds process of this struggle, Dana Hee transformed from the young woman with low or no self-esteem in a such profound way that changed “I Can’t” to “I Can”.
Dana trained vigorously and competed for several years, pushing past her self-doubts and fear of failure to finally win the Olympic Gold Medal on the U.S Olympic Taekwondo Team that consisted of 8 men and 8 women. Team USA Taekwondo won another 3 gold medals in Seoul.
I will add that Takewondo was a demonstration sport in Seoul and became an official Olympic discipline in 2000 in Sydney.
After her Olympic success, Dana has moved on to become a leading Hollywood stuntwoman and double for leading actresses including Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Gwynneth Paltrow, Renee Russo, and Jennifer Garner in big budget movies such as Independence Day, Terminator III, Charlie’s Angels, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Demolition Man, Lethal Weapon 4, Swordfish, The Long Kiss Goodnight, plus an ongoing list of television shows like Star Trek Voyager, The Pretender, VIP, and the X-Files.
With her life experience and unwavering persistence to succeed Dana Hee is high in demand as a motivational speaker for dozens of clients including Hewlett Packard, IBM, United Way, and United Airlines.
I would like to leave you with a quote by Henry Ford:
“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right. ”
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:
Jhoon Rhee also showed Muhammad Ali, aka “The Greatest” a thing or two about punching:
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!
2016 Olympics Awarded to Rio de Janeiro – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Anybody?
“Tonight I have the honour to announce that the Games of the 31st Olympiad
are awarded to the city of Rio de Janeiro,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said.
My heartfelt congratulations go out to the people of Brazil in general and the
citizens of Rio de Janeiro in specific.
When I think of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro, what immediately comes to my mind:
Pele and artistic Brazilian soccer football, Copacabana, super-model Gisele Buendchen,
the famous song “The girl from Ipanema”, churrasco, Carnival in Rio, and …
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, of course.
The Gracie familiy members have done herculean work in laying the foundation
and together with their Machado cousins spreading the now immensely successful
and, just ask any of their opponents, very effective martial art.
BJJ founder Helio Gracie must have a really big smile on his face right now!
So, the Olympic Games 2016 have been awarded to the mesmerizing metropolis
of Rio de Janeiro and that leads me to the following question:
Can Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu become an Olympic discipline ?
And why not?
Just look back at the Olympics 1964 in Tokyo when Judo became an official
discipline and has stayed one ever since!
Or how about the Korean martial art of Taekwondo that first was a demo sport
during the 1988 Olympic Games of Seoul, Korea and then just 12 years later
officially became an Olympic discipline in 2000 during the Sydney, Australia games.
By the way, this recognition came less than 50 years after Taekwondo was first
officially introduced to the world.
Can Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu do the same?
Tell me what you think!
Check out some great books on BJJ, too:
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