From: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: the_dojang-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #568 Reply-To: the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: The_Dojang-Digest Mon, 15 Nov 1999 Vol 06 : Num 568 In this issue: the_dojang: RE: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #567 the_dojang: RE: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #567 the_dojang: Grandmasters at student's wedding the_dojang: Re: demonstrations the_dojang: Inverted roundhouse kick the_dojang: Our Website the_dojang: USTU the_dojang: . ========================================================================= The_Dojang, serving the Internet since June 1994. ~780 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: "Vaught, Clifford (CLF N6Y2K8)" Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 10:12:42 -0500 Subject: the_dojang: RE: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #567 For Jeremy, I went to the MACS site and have a question. What is meant by "The Martial Arts Collective Society, or MACS, is dedicated to ... the unification of the Martial Arts"? I, for one, do NOT desire a unification of the arts. I believe variety and diversification is a part of the martial arts that is good. There is a concept in Moo Duk Kwan known as Ryu Pa - river flows down divided. It is the natural progression of a body of knowledge. Not all of it is good. Some of it, though, leads to and facilitates greater insights into the arts and into the person. I personally feel bad about the fractured nature of Tang Soo Do from the original Moo Duk Kwan. I would like everyone to have been flying under that same banner. I'm sure practitioners from TDK and hapkido can say the same - in fact, is there a style out there that hasn't splintered into numerous organizations? The point is though, it would be worse to drive everyone into a single unified "art" - I don't believe that is what it's all about. I think General Choi tried that in Korea and it didn't work, in fact, it looks as if it led to greater splintering in Korean styles. My $0.02. Cliff Vaught ------------------------------ From: "Vaught, Clifford (CLF N6Y2K8)" Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 10:15:26 -0500 Subject: the_dojang: RE: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #567 New, or perhaps old topic - can anyone tell me CONCLUSIVELY that Frank Dux is either the real thing or a fraud? I've seen a book he wrote and of course, there's Blood Sport. But on the bulletin boards of late I've been reading a lot of "Dux is a fraud" type postings. Cliff Vaught ------------------------------ From: Stan Lim Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 08:04:06 -0800 Subject: the_dojang: Grandmasters at student's wedding I'm getting married on Nov. 27, and I have invited my Grandmaster to attend the ceremony and banquet. He invited 3 other Masters to join him. I think this is an honor. Please correct me if I am mistaken. Also, are there any customs or traditions I should be aware of? Grandmaster is not going to whip out a 3" brick and ask me to break it with my head, right? :-) Since it is my wedding, in an American-style setting, I figure I get to call the shots, but just in case.... Thanks, everyone. Stan Lim ------------------------------ From: dbuehrer@carl.org Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 10:29:08 -0700 Subject: the_dojang: Re: demonstrations \ From: "Anthony or Clare Boyd" \ \ A question has been forming in my mind for a while now. I'm curious how \ people feel about participating in demonstrations. I get nervous, my palms sweat, and it feels like there are butterflys in my stomach :) \ My question resolves into these elements: are demonstrations a necessary \ part of a martial art? Should a member of a dojang be expected to \ participate in a demonstration? Should it be volunteer or mandatory? I feel that demonstrations should be a part of a martial art. IMHO, one of the goals of any martial art should be to perpetuate itself, to pass on it's traditions and techniques and philosophy of conflict resolutino and self defense. A good way to do this is to do demonstrations, to let people see what a martial art provides. Also IMHO, a demonstration should be part flash (have a skilled student do a "showy" form, have some students break boards, have a coreographed combat, etc) to get people's attention, followed by a more realistic demonstration of the martial art (I'd suggest running a short class, or teaching a few white belts, to demonstrate what your school really does). And if at all possible try to include your audience (either by bring them on to the mat, or engaging them in conversation or a question/answer session ("What would you do if that (point to one of the students) man attacked you?"). Let's face it, the turnover rate for new students is very high. Giving demonstrations is a good way to increase the number of people that give your martial art a try. Should demonstration participation be mandatory?... No. However, if I were the instructor I would tell everyone that I wanted as many students as possible. I.e., give em the coach's "Let's show them what we're made of!" speech :) \ A demonstration should impress and enlighten the viewers, possibly \ giving them the desire to join the dojang. So, if you train for solely for \ the demands of the demonstration are you not letting your real training \ slide in favour of doing free advertising for the school? If you do not \ devote special training to the demonstration are you not then increasing the \ chances for a poor performance? IMHO if train hard you'll be ready for any demonstration. I guess I'm not sure what you're trying to say. I try to learn everything I'm taught in class. If the instructor came to me and said, "Dave, I'm doing a demonstration next Saturday at the mall. Would you please come and help out?" I'd say yes. If the instructor asked me to do something I'm not comfortable with I'd let him know, and let him be the judge of whether or not I should be the one demonstrating that particular technique (he may want to demonstrate his teaching skills :). \ Our dojang was \ given a call to replace a TKD school which had cancelled out of a televised \ demonstration. The call came on a Sunday morning and I found out about the \ demonstration around 1 pm. The demonstration was scheduled for 4:30pm - the \ same day. \ We didn't have to do much. Some guys had to do some bamboo cuts and another \ fellow had to cut rice plant bundles. A few of us had to do forms. That was \ the first problem. We had only two hours to try and figure out how to \ synchronize the timing between the forms teams as well as trying to learn \ the proper way to link the chosen forms seamlessly into one. We also had to \ do this without seeing the presentation space beforehand. \ So, we had no idea how the forms would fit into the space we had to perform \ them in, we were performing them with several alterations, we were blending \ them together and we were doing them as a synchronized team - with virtual \ strangers. (and me with very limited Korean!) \ As if this weren't enough it began to rain - HARD. The performance space was \ an outdoor stage covered in plastic sheets. The stage was waaay too small \ for even one form. We had to delete a member of the team just to make the \ forms possible at all and they didn't delete me! Then, as we headed up the \ stage to perform we were given another change. *sigh* \ In credit to our training we didn't fall, slide out of control, slice off \ each others' limbs or blow the forms despite the rain, the puddles, the \ slick plastic, the screaming crowd, the blaring music or the TV cameras and \ odd host. We did blow the timing all to pieces and resemble men on ice with \ no skates. After seeing us the kwanjangnim cancelled the remainder of the \ forms sets and moved on to the cuts which went very well. End of show. That's definitely a bad experience if ever I heard one. You have my sympathy. \ Since that day I've been pondering the whole experience of demonstrations \ and trying to remember one I enjoyed. I've learned to have more pride in \ some of my skills - I train indoors mainly and the perfect grip of the \ padded floor is not the same as a sandy school yard, a gravel parking lot, \ or a plastic, rain-drenched stage. \ Despite that I was able to rely on my training to provide the skills I \ needed to perform my patterns and keep on my feet and cutting on target. \ So what's the problem? The problem is to the untrained eye... I'd look like \ some foreign guy in a martial arts uniform, swinging a wooden stick or \ perhaps an aluminum toy around my head - sliding across hell's half acre. \ No grace. No surety or poise. Just wind and noise. Is that what a \ demonstration should be? \ Therein lies my question... IMO, a demonstration should be a well planned event. It should not be, as it was in your example, something hastely thrown together with no knowledge of the environment. No offense to your instructor, but I don't think he should have accepted the job. Or, maybe he should have planned a small show, with the option of adding a set of forms if space and time allowed. - -David Buehrer 6th Gup, Hapkido http://home.att.net/~Graht/Hapkido/Hapkido.htm - -- "The light is reached not by turning back from the darkness, but by going through it." ------------------------------ From: David Gordon Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 19:39:58 GMT Subject: the_dojang: Inverted roundhouse kick Is there a Korean def for the inverted roundhouse kick? This is where you kick, with the ball of the foot, at a 45 deg angle? Maybe this is call something else... Thanks. - -- David, 2nd Dan, TKD. ------------------------------ From: TaoArt@aol.com Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 18:42:26 EST Subject: the_dojang: Our Website Greetings all, We just finished with a major update on our website. If you get a chance, please drop by and check it out. I'd appreciate it if you let me know if you find any bugs or broken links. Here's the link: http://www.guardup.com And if you hunt around, you'll find a picture of me... so you can put a face to these posts. Thanks! Meghan Gardner Director Guard Up! Inc. "First Rule of the Universe: Pay Attention." Peyton Quinn ------------------------------ From: TKDSCRIBE@aol.com Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 18:46:14 -0800 Subject: the_dojang: USTU USTU OFFICIAL CANDIDATE UPDATE Name: Steven E. Silz Date of Birth: October 1, 1957 TKD Starting Date: September 2, 1976 Kukkiwon Dan #: 05901302 Master: Sang Lee Greetings to my fellow taekwondo professionals and USTU supporters. My name is Master Steven Silz and I am a candidate running for vice-president of our Union. I humbly ask you to take just five minutes out of your day to read about me, who I am, and what I have accomplished. Most importantly, I would like for you to hear how I plan to work for our taekwondo community if I am elected. If you know my history, abilities and plans, I believe you will be pleased to support me on election-day. I have been involved in taekwondo continuously for twenty-four years. During this time I have progressed from beginning student to successful competitor, from assistant instructor to master of my own dojang - which I have run for over eleven years. I have produced both a National and World Medallist. I have been a coach, have served as a referee, and was honored to serve as U.S. National Team Manager for the most recent World Taekwondo Championship. Currently, I am writing a book about the taekwondo movement in America. Here is list of some highlights of my years in taekwondo: 1. New York State Welterweight Champion, 1981, '82, '83, '85. 2. U.S. National Silver Medallist, 1983. 3. 7 time International Goodwill Match competitor US, Mexico, Canada & Spain, 1981 through 1985. 4. Empire State Games Event Coordinator and Gold Medallist, 1983, '84. 5. Exhibition member at 1986 World Cup Taekwondo, Colorado Springs. 6. Coach for OTC Resident Athletes 1987 Pan Am Team Trials. 7. Opened Dojang: US Taekwondo Center - San Diego in 1988. 8. Elected Secretary General, California State Taekwondo Association. 9. Produced famous "US Players" taekwondo video, 1991. 10. Attended 10th World Championships, Athens Greece, to film the Official USTU video production of the event. 11. Attended 11th World TKD Championship, New York, NY, 1993. 12. Hosted the 1994 California State Championship in San Diego. 13. California State Taekwondo Team Head Coach, 1995 - '99. 14. Hosted and Directed TKD portion of the California State Games, 1996. 15. CSTA Presidential Advisor, 1997 - '99. 16. First Place in 1998 USTU National Kick-A-Thon raising $5,200.00. 17. Have raised a total of over $9,000.00 for the USTU's building fund. 18. Achieved 5th Dan, WTF and National Referee "B-1" rank, 1998. 19. U.S. Team Manager, 14th World Taekwondo Championships, Edmonton Alberta, 1999. 20. Currently Project Historian to research and write a book covering the USTU's 25 years of progress. I am a Life Member and 20 year supporter of the USTU with experience in many aspects of our art. I am seeking your vote to elect me to the office of Vice President where I pledge serve you and our membership with honor, integrity and innovation. Before I describe my visions for the future of our Union, I would like to briefly explain why I feel I am the best candidate for this job. It is actually very simple: According to the USTU's bylaws, the job of national vice president is to assist the USTU President in the execution of his duties. Well I have already been doing pretty much of this job for years! Additionally, I am the only candidate who both lives in the same community as both President Lee, and our USTU Headquarters. Finally, the things I would work to make happen in the future are as follows: 1. Establish a national program to install taekwondo in America's public school system. Aside from being a wonderful program for the youth of this country, and provide an ideal grass-roots athlete development arena, this program would create numerous job opportunity's for instructors - and would help fill our schools with those children wishing to practice taekwondo more seriously. 2. Develop a truly standardized curriculum and color-belt system for USTU schools. This would help make our schools much more organized and advanced than others. It would also make the pairing at tournaments simple and quick, and would be both less stressful and more fair to the competitors. 3. Develop a tournament management package that State Presidents' could use to run their state's events more smoothly, efficiently for their associations, and provide better events for America's athletes. 4. Seek better funding for the development of our athletes. 5. Pursue legislation that would require background checks for all martial art instructors in America. Put the phonies out of business and more people will come to our USTU Certified Schools. 6. Work to assist the State Presidents' in achieving non- profit status and help them acquire corporate sponsorship for their state association. 7. Be accessible to State Presidents for to assist them in understanding and working within the USTU bylaws, and provide assistance in drafting of their state's bylaws, as well. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss any of these issues so that you may feel 100% comfortable supporting me on November 20th. Thank you for your time in reading about my history and platform. See you in Las Vegas. Respectfully, Steven E. Silz ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 19:02:34 -0800 (PST) Subject: the_dojang: . ------------------------------ End of The_Dojang-Digest V6 #568 ******************************** 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.