ENTER THE REAL OF COMBAT TKD SMaster Guy E. Larke

ENTER THE REALM OF COMBAT TAEKWONDO! PART 1: THE RHYME & REASON

By Master Guy Edward Larke

Before K-Pop, K-Dramas and kimchi, when people first though of Korea, it was of the spectacularly powerful art of Taekwondo. The explosive kicks, spins, leaps and spirited shouts mesmerized not just North America, but the world. During the 1988 Olympics in Seoul cemented the art in the hearts and souls of the global audience. Taekwondo is now the world’s most popular martial art. You can find locations in nearly every city around the world. Having said that, every art, no matter how formidable, needs to evolve. Especially whereas Taekwondo functions as a martial art, sport, exercise method, and cultural icon. Many have tried with varying levels of success. One recent pioneer, Jeong Il-Cheol, has done just that, with his carefully designed Combative Taekwondo? What is it exactly? How did it Start? Why? Many questions may pop into your mind. This series will help answer all those questions and more.

Master Jeong, was there anyone in your family who did martial arts before you?

My father did. GM Jeong Soonkyoo, 8th dan in Oh Do Kwan, and he was a vice president of ODK.

What were you like as a child?

When I was 4~6 years, I was very excited boy. I usually wandered everywhere all the time so my grandma and mom had to chase me. My father asked the practitioners to get me to the gym in the case that they find me in the street.

Why did you start?

I played in my father’s gym every day and I watched the training all the time. So, I memorized Taegeuk 1~4 Jang and my father recognized that. Then I started to join in the training. I didn’t want to do Taekwondo much at that time, but it was a close and familiar thing in my everyday life at that time.

Then how long have you been teaching Taekwondo? And what have you been doing for your job?

Over the past 20 years. I have been researching the application of Taekwondo skills and have written 2 books about the issue, “Hand Techniques of Taekwondo for Actual Fighting (Anibig)”, “Taekwondo Application (Anibig)”. In addition, I have been uploading videos on my YouTube channel “Master Jeong’s Taekwondo TV” and on Facebook.

I know you are doing seminars in many countries. What do you teach in the session?

1. The way of moving by Taekwondo basic skills 2. Official Poomsae following the regulations of the Kukkiwon and the WT

3. Applications of Taekwondo (Poomsae, sparring, basic skills, etc.) I went to several countries and did over 30 sessions in Europe and US. Since 2020 I changed the way to online session due to pandemic and have been doing almost 20 sessions by Zoom.

I heard you started your own Taekwondo training group, how is it going? Could you explain it for readers?

Yes, I started “Combative Taekwondo” m;.group and announced it on Facebook. Over 30 people joined in my group in a week. They all got memberships and will be joining our training program. We are the people who love Taekwondo in terms of martial arts. No monthly fee, no annual fee at all. If you love Taekwondo and have a passion, you can join us with only one sign up. That's all. Not a federation per say, but a union for real martial artists and practitioners. We will keep doing Combative Taekwondo session (by Zoom), along with the text "Combative Taekwondo". Online session will be running for our members in a cheap price, but we will let nonmembers to join in little bit higher price. Training, seminar with Combative Taekwondo system. It probably is one and only application program in Taekwondo. We are starting as a small group but will be bigger and very effective. I am sure our members will be proud and get powerful image of real martial artists. So, to speak, no1. Training / No2. Seminar / No3 Combative Taekwondo program / No 4. Promoting the member's own clubs. I surely will focus on the Combative TKD system so that the members do various applications of Poomsae and other skills. I expect we can host international training camp for masters and students in every summer and winter. If you want to be with us, contact us anytime at office@ combativetaekwondo.com. And you can also watch some videos about “Combative Taekwondo” on my Youtube channel (Master Jeong's Taekwondo TV) and Facebook page(Master Jeong's Taekwondo). Of course you can also find the information about “Combative Taekwondo online seminar”.

There are few more masters who teach “Combat Taekwondo”, what is the difference from them?

I think we should develop and innovate Taekwondo. And we should take some advantages from other martial arts for that. Nevertheless, we should change the skills in terms of Taekwondo first and apply them to Taekwondo. That is a reasonable way. But many masters just put other martial arts into Taekwondo and insist that is a “Real Taekwondo”. I am afraid I cannot agree with them and respect neither. I will do things differently. For instance, I will analyze Hapkido and Judo as a Taekwondo practitioner. Next, I take from them the essence of what makes them work. And then I will apply those skills to Taekwondo. That is Combative Taekwondo system I

Why did you create Combative Taekwondo?

I thought people cannot apply Taekwondo skills to real situations in the current Taekwondo. If you practice basic skills and Poomsae, then you should be able to spar well. That is a reasonable process of martial arts. In the case of Taekwondo, you can do Poomsae well if you practice basic skills a lot. But you cannot spar well even though you are a Poomsae champion, because there are many differences between the two types of training(Poomsae and sparring). Of course, there is a similar problem between Poomsae and real fighting. The same goes between Olympic style sparring and fighting on the street as well. So, I thought we need upgraded basic skills and body mechanics for real fighting. I started to researching and writing that.

What countries have you taught in? How does teaching overseas differ from teaching in your homeland?

I taught in England, Northern Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and USA. They always welcomed me and were really passionate all the time. I am always getting stressed however, because I want to teach as much as I can. When I do a seminar, I usually stay in Europe or the States for 2 weeks or more. I really miss Korean food and my family in that case, so the hosts usually prepare What are your most impressive memories?

I was very impressed with their humble and sincere attitude on Taekwondo and Korean culture. You can find “Hangeul” in everywhere in their dojang, car, clothes, etc. And they always bow just like Korean. How amazing! I realized Taekwondo is the origin of “Han-ryu” when I visit other countries and teach them.

Did you study other arts?

Yes. I trained boxing, kickboxing, Kendo, Kyung-ho Moosool (bodyguard training). I spent 10 years training in boxing, and achieved a 5th dan in Kendo and 4th dan in Kyung-ho Moosool. For more information go to Facebook or office@ combativetaekwondo.com.

Senior Master Guy Edward Larke has spent most of his life enamored with the martial arts of Asia and Asian cultures in general. These led him to move to South Korea 20 years ago where he continued to study, research, and write about the various disciplines that shaped his life. In addition to teaching martial arts in Korea, USA, Malaysia and Denmark he has written over 800 articles in over 20 magazines. He named the synthesis of his pilgrimage Kisa-Do Muye (the Knights Way Martial Arts). Larke can be found on Facebook or by e-mail at kisadomuye@gmail.com.