MY STORY
GM Tim McHugh
on the upswing with the rest of the nation. A natural athlete, Tim grew up in Detroit in the US. He discovered Korean martial arts during a visit to recreational center that held swimming classes. He took to the arts quickly and eventually came to the attention of a famed Korean grandmaster, Jae Joon Kim. After a string of tournament victories, he followed a dream of traveling to Moo Duk Kwon’s motherland. It is there that this tale begins.
Korea – Then and Now A Voyage Back in Time with Grandmaster Tim McHugh By Master Guy Edward Larke South Korea, the Land of the Morning Calm, has captured our senses and has become a part of nearly part of our lives. It is hard to imagine the technological powerhouse not being part of computers, automobiles, sports, entertainment, politics, history… and at the heart of it all…. The martial art of Tae Kwon Do. After wowing the world in the 1988 Olympics, the massive demonstration of speed, power and skill mesmerized the world and made its mark. Nearly 25 years later, you can find Tae Kwon Do schools in nearly every town and city throughout the world. When I moved to South Korea in 2000, I felt a bit exotic as there were so few ex-pats in
the country, especially in the dojangs. Over the course of the next two decades, I felt like I saw 3 or 4 generations pass as Korea develops so fast! A number of years into my time here I found myself working with and studying Tang Soo Do. One of the several visitors we greeted was a veteran in Moo Duk Kwon, Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, and… pretty much the full gamut of martial arts in the nation. His name… Grandmaster Tim McHugh. Finally, I met another foreigner (an American to be precise) who could not only relate to the difficulties a lifelong foreign martial artist, but could explain the “how”, the “why”, and “what next” better than most. Lots of people talk a good talk. As a writer I am very much aware of that. The aspects of his 50 years of training in the Korean arts could fill a large novel. For now, we are going take a little history trip into the 80’s and 90’s when Korean martial arts were
1. When did you start considering military or law enforcement as a career? Well, truthfully, law enforcement was actually my second choice. Martial arts were always the first love in my life and continue to be my passion to this day. However, as circumstances changed, so did the direction of my career(s). But since the question is about law enforcement, I will answer accordingly. As a child, my friends and I would often play “cops and robbers.” I somehow always ended up being one of the “cops.” As such, I found that I enjoyed acting as the policeman and capturing the “bad guys.” Growing up around Detroit in the 1960s was pretty tough. Crime was rampant and fighting was an everyday thing. However, I always looked up to the law enforcement officers and saw them as a positive influence. 2. Why Korea? What attracted you to it? What attracted me to Korea was, without a doubt, my passion for martial arts. My primary styles were (are) Taekwondo, Hap Ki Do and Tang Soo Do. That being the case, I could not think of any better place to pursue my martial arts dreams. 3. Did your master influence your decision? Of course! My original masters were all from Korea. Jae Joon Kim, Chung Il Kim and Kwang Sik Myung were the three most influential teachers from my martial arts beginning. Incidentally, even most of my American seniors back then were all married to Korean women, including Dale Drouillard, David Praim and Lynn Jackson.
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