From: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: the_dojang-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #505 Reply-To: the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: The_Dojang-Digest Fri, 15 Oct 1999 Vol 06 : Num 505 In this issue: the_dojang: ICHF in WSJ (found it) the_dojang: Hapkido forms the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #503 the_dojang: lineage question: pellegrini the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #502 Re: the_dojang: hapkido forms Re: the_dojang: lineage question: pellegrini the_dojang: . ========================================================================= The_Dojang, serving the Internet since June 1994. ~775 members strong! Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, California Taekwondo, Martial Arts Resource Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe the_dojang-digest" (no quotes) in the body (top line, left justified) of a plain text e-mail addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. To send e-mail to this list use the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com See the Korean Martial Arts (KMA) FAQ and online search the last four years worth of digest issues at http://www.MartialArtsResource.com Pil Seung! Ray Terry, PO Box 110841, Campbell, CA 95011 KMA@MartialArtsResource.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ray Terry Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 12:58:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: the_dojang: ICHF in WSJ (found it) - ----------------- October 8, 1999 - ----------------- Eye-Gouging, Hair-Pulling Is Part of 'Fighting Dirty' By ROBERT JOHNSON Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL TAMPA, Fla. -- When John Pellegrini enters the padded, mirrored training room at Hector Noyas's martial-arts school, the students who welcome him include a man in a wheelchair and another one tethered to an oxygen tank. About 70 people -- the biggest crowd Mr. Noyas has ever drawn to a single class -- are here for Mr. Pellegrini's course in "combat hapkido." But the techniques he teaches could just as easily be called "fighting dirty." In combat hapkido, all kicks are directed to the lower body -- most below the belt. Mr. Pellegrini teaches how to twist joints until they lock up and break wrists, elbows and shoulders. He encourages eye-gouging and hair-pulling, always done with one hand while the other is used to inflict pain on or gain control of another part of an attacker's anatomy. These techniques would shock many of the 2.5 million Americans already practicing traditional martial arts. Gone are the acrobatic jumping kicks and complicated, dancelike "forms" of better-known hapkido disciplines, including traditional hapkido, a graceful martial art originally practiced centuries ago by Korean royalty. Battling Thugs But combat hapkido is catching on around the world as a martial art that gives the weaker and creakier members of society a fighting chance. "The tae kwon do and karate that many American children are learning are beautiful," says Mr. Pellegrini, a balding and unmuscular 51-year-old. "Combat hapkido isn't beautiful, but neither is fighting off some thug on the street." While interest in the better-known fighting styles appears to be stagnating, combat hapkido is drawing crowds of followers, particularly men and women over 40 who want self-defense techniques that are tough on adversaries but not on themselves. Roughly 50,000 people from San Francisco to Finland have shelled out $60 to $80 for one-day seminars by Mr. Pellegrini since he started them in the early 1990s. Other instructors in his techniques charge $60 a month for twice-weekly classes. Mr. Pellegrini's International Combat Hapkido Federation has 5,000 dues-paying members, many of them instructors in other disciplines who are looking to expand class offerings. Pricey fitness centers are hiring combat hapkido instructors. To attract older members, Citrus Athletic Club, in downtown Orlando, recently hired Van Palmer, a former tae kwon do trainer, as a full-time combat hapkido teacher. Barry Rodemaker, who introduced Mr. Pellegrini's course at his tae kwon do school in Erie, Pa., four years ago, says 16% of his overall student base is now in combat hapkido. He says the older combat hapkido students tend to stick with the classes longer than children in tae kwon do. The dropout rate for traditional martial-arts classes is about 50%, according to industry figures, and only one out of a thousand beginners achieves the prestigious black belt. The buzz around combat hapkido annoys the martial-arts establishment. Some traditionalists contend that Mr. Pellegrini's Jupiter, Fla., federation overpromises. "Do you really think John Pellegrini can control a huge, screaming guy who's so crazy on angel dust or some other drug that it may take three or four police officers to handcuff him? I doubt it," says John Graden, president of the National Association of Professional Martial Artists, an 18,000-member group, based in Clearwater, Fla. "No martial art is a guarantee in some situations." 'Fight Dirty' But John Corcoran, senior editor of Martial Arts Professional magazine, also in Clearwater, says the time for this kind of fighting has arrived. "Pellegrini fills a need," Mr. Corcoran says. "You should know how to fight dirty to survive street crime. What he teaches may be dirty, but it's also intelligent." Mr. Pellegrini, a native of Florence, became interested in hand-to-hand fighting techniques during a 1960s stint in the Italian Army. In the 1980s, as a tae kwon do instructor, Mr. Pellegrini began devising combat hapkido. He sold his tae kwon do schools in 1992 to focus on promoting the technique. It borrows heavily from several traditional martial arts, but adds tactics for grappling on the ground. "That's where you may end up -- rolling around by the curb -- and you'd better have some skills if you hope to get up," he says. Unlike other martial arts, Mr. Pellegrini's approach makes no pretense of being a sport. There are no tournaments or black belts. Breaking boards with kicks and hand strikes isn't required. Combat hapkido requires no long aerobic warm-up or weeks of conditioning. That appeals to out-of-shape baby boomers. Students practice several "escapes" from various holds in their very first class. His suggested warm-up is about five minutes of mildly stretching the wrists and forearms. "What good is learning to kick to the attacker's head for a 50-year-old who needs 10 minutes of jumping jacks to be able to do it?" Mr. Pellegrini asks. Mr. Pellegrini emphasizes "scoop" kicks that reach behind the ankle or knee to buckle an adversary's leg. He encourages kicks to the opponent's foot, which he highly recommends stomping. Young children, who dominate most martial-arts classes, are excluded because Mr. Pellegrini considers his self-defense techniques to be fit only for mature students. Indeed, some of Mr. Pellegrini's proteges, fearful of liability for injuries caused by others, won't teach the techniques to police officers, many of whom learn the more traditional form of hapkido. Dan Godby, a retired Tampa truck driver who has lost 75% of his breathing capacity to a lung condition, keeps an oxygen tank at his side in class. "I never thought I could start martial arts at age 54, and being ill," he says. "But I can do this." Jurgen Schmidt, a protege of Mr. Pellegrini's in Asheville, N.C., has been a paraplegic for several years due to a shooting accident. He has taught more than 300 wheelchair-bound students a series of fast-hand tactics, such as twisting the wrists, elbows or arm of an attacker. Mr. Pellegrini admits his moves aren't as elegant as those of Bruce Lee, the late martial-arts film star. But he notes that Mr. Lee would be 59 years old today. "Instead of jumping and spinning all over the place, he might just stand there and do combat hapkido now." [end] ------------------------------ From: ABurrese@aol.com Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 16:59:30 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Hapkido forms Alain. Could you please tell me what the "Americanized" names of these Hapkido forms were? Thanks. Dana I'm sorry, I don't know. All instruction was in Korean, my instructors did not speak English, nor have they ever been to America. So there is no "Americanized" name. And without going home to look, I'm not sure the Korean names. One was Chogup hyugn I think. And I know that last one was called Beak pal ki Which that one actually translates into 108 technique I think. But again, everything was in Korean in Korea, no reason for any Americanized names. Alain ------------------------------ From: TKDSCRIBE@aol.com Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 18:10:33 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #503 In a message dated 10/15/99 6:30:20 AM Pacific Daylight Time, the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com writes: > > >Hi > >I am looking for some inspirational quotes and poems...... > >If anyone has some I would sincerely appreciate it if you could send them > to "Whose bread I eat, his song I sing." Chiun, The Reigning Master of Sinanju (SESilz) ------------------------------ From: "John Groff" Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 16:15:40 -0700 Subject: the_dojang: lineage question: pellegrini >>I was wondering about Mr. Pellegrini's lineage as I've never read anything<< >>about him. I know about J. R. (that's Jeff, not James) West's history.<< >>Also, does anybody know about a guy named Scott Shaw? Just wondering, I don't<< >>have much time for research. Thanks. << Regarding Pellierini, his first art was tkd. The last word I heard regarding his taekwondo rank about 10 years ago was 4th dan--he may have moved up in tkd rank since joining up a business partnership with of Sells in Florida a couple years ago. Pellegrini earned a 1st dan in Hapkido under Wollmerschauser's hapkido association (American Hapkido Association, or something similar) in the late '80's. In 1997, he was given an 8th dan by the World Kido Federation (headed by Seo, In-sun). Since he was never a student of Seo or Kuk Sool Won, and never held a dan higher than chodan in Hapkido, It seems safe to conclude that the rank was given to him to reaffirm his position of leadership within the system he had founded, Combat Hapkido (and yes, memberships of this sort can get expensive). Pellegrini has shown a willingness to seek out different arts and at different points work with different martial artists in including useful material within his system, but he has never been very open about who he has studied under. This isn't to say he wouldn't be willing to talk if you asked him, but most CH people don't seem to know. Then again ~my~ interest in history and miniscule/mundane facts like these probably goes a bit beyond the norm for a martial artist. C'mon, folks. Share the knowledge. It's the only way we learn. There are no secrets, only people who'd rather you didn't know as much as they do. - -cj ------------------------------ From: MJD99AB@aol.com Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 19:42:18 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #502 In a message dated 10/14/99 9:27:56 PM US Eastern Standard Time, the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com writes: << I did not think Hapkido had forms. The closest I learned were a short set of no more than five moves in Chont'ong (traditional) Hapkido, and they had no relation to practical techniques. >> The two Hapkido systems I studied under did have forms, but not all Hapkido systems do. My first Master was Master Gedo Chang in the Chicago suburbs and he trained with Master Ji Han Jae. Im not sure if the forms came form Master Ji or Master Chang ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 17:31:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: the_dojang: hapkido forms > The two Hapkido systems I studied under did have forms, but not all Hapkido > systems do. My first Master was Master Gedo Chang in the Chicago suburbs and > he trained with Master Ji Han Jae. Im not sure if the forms came form Master > Ji or Master Chang Unless there has been a very recent change, DoJu JI's Hapkido has no forms/kata/hyung. Ray Terry raymail@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 17:42:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: the_dojang: lineage question: pellegrini > in Florida a couple years ago. Pellegrini earned a 1st dan in Hapkido > under Wollmerschauser's hapkido association (American Hapkido Association, > or something similar) in the late '80's. I believe that he was active in James Benko's organization and other US based groups prior to and into the late '80s. But not sure what HKD rank he obtained from them, nor is it really all that important. What really matters, IMHO, is that he has formed a large and popular org that must be meeting the needs of its members or they'd be running elsewhere. Ray Terry raymail@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 17:34:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: the_dojang: . ------------------------------ End of The_Dojang-Digest V6 #505 ******************************** Support the USTU by joining today! US Taekwondo Union, 1 Olympic Plaza, Ste 405, Colorado Spgs, CO 80909 719-578-4632 FAX 719-578-4642 ustutkd1@aol.com http://www.ustu.com ===================================================================== To unsubscribe from this digest, the_dojang-digest, send the command: unsubscribe the_dojang-digest -or- unsubscribe the_dojang-digest your.old@address in the BODY of an email (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com in pub/the_dojang/digests. All digest files have the suffix '.txt' Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, Martial Arts Resource, California Taekwondo Standard disclaimers apply.