From: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: the_dojang-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: The_Dojang-Digest V7 #194 Reply-To: the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: The_Dojang-Digest Sat, 25 March 2000 Vol 07 : Num 194 In this issue: the_dojang: re: failing tests the_dojang: _Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary_ the_dojang; _Farmers' Dance_ and _Day-Shine_ the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V7 #193 the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V7 #191 ========================================================================= The_Dojang, serving the Internet since June 1994. 800+ members strong! Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry and 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! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: foxdragon@cuttingedge.net Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 10:24:57 -0800 Subject: the_dojang: re: failing tests > My question to the instructors of the list....Do you promote or test, and > if you test do you fail students? > > Best Regards, > Mark Gajdostik In our school I never seen one fail. I have seen however, several put on a probation. If they meet the requirements they need to improve on then they will automatically give them their belt. The last one I seen this happen to had talked back to the testing board. He did not come to school after that. Donna - -- Me and my shadow ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 9:08:33 PST Subject: the_dojang: _Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary_ Forwarding. Ray ====================== _Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary_, by Keith Pratt and Richard Rutt with additional material by James Hoare. Durham East Asia Series. Richmond: Curzon, 1999. (ISBN 0-7007-0464-7, cloth; ISBN 0-7007-0463-9 paper). Reviewed by Dennis Hart Kent State University Keith Pratt and Richard Rutt provide readers with "a quick handbook" that provides "factual information about events, people, and topics in the history and culture of Korea." (vi) It is as advertised - an extensive reference work meant to be used by scholars and students of Korean studies. The dictionary also provides readers with five pages on the McCune-Reishauer romanization system (xiii-xvii), four maps (a map of ancient Korean kingdoms, two maps of modern provinces, and one map of the beacon system in Chos™n Korea), a chart of East Asian dynasties (xx), a general bibliography (542-543), an index of personal names (544-560), another index of literary and musical titles (561-568), and innumerable charts, tables, and drawings throughout the book. Included in this dictionary were entries on historical events from ancient Korea all the way up to today, an extensive list of persons (both Koreans and non-Koreans who lived and worked on the peninsula), politics, literature, language, philosophy, religion, and art. The dictionary also went beyond the high culture of the royal courts and aristocracy. Often, there were references to folk tales, horoscopes, and even such commonplace items as pets, games and kimch'i. I found the book to be, in general, well organized, easy to use, and filled with an impressive list of information on historical Korea and Korean culture. All entry headings were capitalized, in bold font, and listed alphabetically, using the English alphabet. (A, B, C, etc.) The entries appeared sometimes in English ("MANCHU INVASIONS," 276) and other times in romanized Korean ("KUNHAP, union of palaces" 249-250.) Note that in the case of the latter, an English translation of the term also appeared in the entry heading. Still other entries were in romanized Chinese ("ZHU XI," 538-539.) Many of the entry headings included Chinese characters, which was often useful. However, the authors chose to not use hangul in the entry headings and instead employed the McCune-Reishauer system of romanization. I found this choice to NOT use hangul to be both unnecessary and distracting, as may other readers. The entries varied greatly in length. A number of them were a paragraph in length (2 to 10 lines of text) such as CHIGONG (46), KOREAN PEOPLE'S PARTY (237) or KI, EMPRESS (206.) The majority of them were two or more paragraphs long (10 to 20 lines) such as CONCUBINES (89), RICE (382), or SAMGUK SAGI (400.) However, it was not uncommon for other entries, such as the DEMOCRATIC PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF KOREA (97-99), MINJUNG MOVEMENT (291), or FACTIONS (115-119) to be given one or more pages. One of the longest entries was KAPCHA CHARACTERS (the Sixty-fold Cycle.) This entry traversed five pages and allowed readers to find the Chinese Zodiac sign of anyone born from 1384 to 1983. (I discovered I am a "black dragon.") An important and very useful feature was the frequent use of cross-references indicated by bold face. Thus, as you read about one topic, you were immediately referred to related topics. Here is one example, from page 326, of a full entry that includes a pair of cross-references, though the Chinese characters are not included here: "OM-BI (1854-1911) Lady Om entered the palace to serve on the queen's staff, but after the queen was murdered in 1895 her status as the king's consort was gradually enhanced until after the birth of her son Yi Un in 1897 she was named Sunhon Hwang-guibi, 'imperial concubine Sunhon'. She made generous contributions to the establishment of several modern schools for girls." I conducted my review of the dictionary by using it as it was intended to be used - to find quick information on a person, place, event, or idea. First, I tested the dictionary on what I thought would be easy facts. The dictionary refused to be stumped and not only provided the requested information ("SILLA? Yes." 418-419) it regularly gave me more than I asked for. ("SILLA KINGLY TITLES," 419; "SILLA, QUEENS OF," 419-420; and, "UNIFIED SILLA" including every king's name, reign, and clan, 498-499.) Obviously, I realized, the dictionary needed a greater challenge. So I checked my memory for lesser known facts about Korea and then checked the dictionary for the same information. On most occasions, the dictionary matched my memory. ("HONG-GILTONG? Yes!" 168.) Occasionally, certain facts I expected to be there were missing. ("RED PEPPER? No.") But more often, the simple act of searching for one item allowed me to uncover a wealth of entries that I had not expected to find, but proved to be enormously interesting nonetheless. ("CATS! Ooooo...." 37, "RATS! Eeeee...." 377.) I found that I enjoyed simply "flipping" through pages and finding a variety of names and facts about Korea that I simply had not known, which may be as much a comment on my own status as a dusty academic as it is on the dictionary's content. Finally for this review, I am compelled to address the question of who would find this dictionary useful. After all is said and read, the key question for this book is exactly that - how useful will it be and for whom? My research focuses upon politics and identity in the contemporary Koreas. For me, the dictionary's entries on history were informative. In one place I now have a listing of the places, kings, queens, places, literature, et cetera of pre-colonial Korea, should I ever need them. For someone who is not an expert on Korean history this book was informative and provided quick and concise information. But I am not so sure that a historian would say the same thing. I often found the entries that dealt with my era of expertise (post-colonial Korean politics) to be too brief and overly simple. Experts on Korea will probably find the information that deals with their area of expertise to be thin and unsatisfactory. However, I believe that this shortcoming would be inevitable with any cultural or historical dictionary. The range of topics covered in this book are so wide that virtually anyone interested in Korea will be able to find useful facts or information. Next, we should consider this book within our role as teachers. I reviewed the paperback version, which was listed at £16.99. The hardback was listed at £60. As a teacher, I have to ask if it is fair have my freshman to pay either of these amounts when the majority of them will, probably, not continue on in Korean studies. However, the dictionary is likely to be a valuable asset for someone who has more than a passing interest in Korea and plans to keep learning about it. In brief, as a scholar of Korean studies, I would urge my library to purchase the hardcover, while I, myself, would buy the paperback. Citation: Hart, Dennis 2000 Review of Keith Pratt and Richard Rutt, _Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary_ (1999) _Korean Studies Review_ 2000, no. 1 Electronic file: http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/korean-studies/files/ksr00-01.htm ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 9:11:24 PST Subject: the_dojang; _Farmers' Dance_ and _Day-Shine_ More forwarding. Ray ========================================= _Farmers' Dance_, by Shin Ky™ng-Nim, translated by Brother Anthony of Taizˇ and Young-Moo Kim. Cornell East Asia Series, 105. Ithaca: East Asia Program, Cornell University, and Seoul: DapGae Books, 1999 (bilingual edition). 212 pp. (ISBN 1-885445-05-9, paper, 14.00). _Day-Shine_ by Chong Hyon-jong, translated and edited by Wolhee Choe and Peter Fusco. Cornell East Asia Series, 94. Ithaca: East Asia Program, Cornell University, 1998. 128 pp. (ISBN 1-885445-54-7 cloth, $22.00; ISBN 1-885445-94-6 paper, $14.00). Reviewed by Gregory Nicholas Evon The Australian National University In the Series Editor's Afterword to _Farmers' Dance_ Young-Moo Kim states that "to fall upon a good translation is much harder than to discern a good original work." Nonetheless, it seems that he and Brother Anthony of Taizˇ have succeeded on both counts, and to this may be added Wolhee Choe's and Peter Fusco's efforts in _Day-Shine_. Born within four years of each other, both Chong (b. 1939) and Shin (b. 1935) experienced the political and social upheavals suffered by Korea in this century. These upheavals, nonetheless, largely remain in the background to their poetry. They serve as context, but in no way limit the poets' engagement with the concrete, human element. "Common humanity" and "shared humanity" are emphasized in the introduction to Chong's collection, yet these descriptions are applicable to Shin as well, and in a sense these two collections can each be seen as a companion pieces. Chong is the more self-consciously literary of the two--with references to Samuel Beckett (p. 62), the Marquis de Sade (p. 14) and Nietzsche (p. 117)--and paradoxically, he is the more East Asian of the two, so to speak. As noted in the introduction (pp. 5, 6, 8, and 9), one finds in his poems certain Taoist and Buddhist sensibilities, and yet these come across not so much as clichˇs but instead inventive re-readings of clichˇs. The introduction states (accurately, I think) that through the use of "clichˇs or near-clichˇs...he opens up possibilities of new meaning by novel juxtapositions, parodies, or partial substitutions and changes. Since words, once uttered, begin to limit the reality to be comprehended, he tries to rescue words by lifting them from a given context and placing them in poetic constructions where they may float freed from contentious discursiveness" (p. 9). This evaluation strikes me as being in fundamental agreement with Chong's interesting essay / meditation on poetry, "Breath and Dream--On Poetry" (pp. 113-117), which concludes the selection and is beautifully translated by Uchang Kim and Ted Hughes. Appropriately, we find a degree of mistrust in Chong's attitude towards words, and this is given its clearest expression in "Empty Room, 5" (p. 50) where he exclaims "There is no deliverance from this word to that word. / At any rate, as for the tongue, / it's most useful to kiss with!" A similar sense of the natural and physical offering a release not found in the intellectual is found also "In Praise of Dusk" (p. 24), which begins "With the passing of twilight / the world becomes richer!" and concludes with a comparison of the corporeal body to the void, resolving with "there's nothing my hands cannot touch. / Water is the same: / its hands extend to infinity--" There is in this a sense of expansiveness which, intriguingly, seems to be at odds with another poem with a similar title: Jorge Luis Borges' "In Praise of Shadow" (Elogio de la Sombra). Whereas Chong's praise of dusk centers on opulence-- "to be opulent is to lack distinction"-Borges' self-knowledge comes through a stripping away of thoughts on other matters to arrive at a distinct self: "Emerson and snow and so many things. / Now I can forget them. I reach my center, / my algebra and my key, / my mirror. / Soon I will know who I am." This is not to say that Chong's work as represented here is without political content. "To Get Attached to Someplace Is Hell-- May 1980 Kwangju" (p. 14) and "Like a Ghost" (pp. 55-56), detailing Korea's liberal use of tear gas-- "so poisonous it can not be exported"--on college campuses, are both fine poems which happen to depict political oppression. Indeed, his question in "Ghost"-- "How come you act so without restraint?"--is sufficiently answered in the former poem: that one who commits a crime to gain power then "uses that power to secure the freedom to commit other crimes." In other words: "How come you act so without restraint?" "Because we can." It is perhaps not unreasonable to wonder whether his recognition of this fact ("part of Maurice Blanchot's explanation of the world of the Marquis de Sade") is in some sense responsible for his evident love of nature and even his very vision of poetry as "breath, the breath of liberation" (p. 114). Shin's poems, on the other hand, seem largely devoid of any self-consciously intellectual thought, and nature itself is usually a setting for observations of people busy with living, or as is more often the case, trying to live. In "Summer Rains" (p. 33), for instance, we find this sense of "trying to live" brought out forcefully through the mundane which seems to serve in Shin a function similar to the use of clichˇ in Chong: the promise of food ("pig's lard in shrimp sauce"), the desire for cigarettes ("our pockets have run out of fags"), mention of an "old woman" who "lost her son," uncomfortable as she sits "drenched in the monsoon rains," and finally, "Old So [who] is worrying about his flighty wife, and Pak [who] / is spinning tales of stockings he never bought, so fine / his daughter's flesh would have shown right through." Music, food, and above all else, booze-- makk™lli and soju--are basic ingredients in these poems. Brother Anthony's decision to discuss those things peculiarly Korean (food, alcohol, political / social background, the architecture of Korean houses, etc.) in the introduction seems to me to have been a good decision. Consistent references to similar items throughout the poems allow for Brother Anthony's comprehensive initial treatment, and in turn, the reader is able to see rather clearly the Korean elements of Chong's poems when reading the English translations: "it was the usual chilly April / as uncle's friends in their sneakers / gathered in our yard and tossed back soju" ("The Abandoned Mine," p. 73) or "We plain folk are happy just to see each other./...gulping down makk™lli sitting at the bar" ("After Market's Done," p. 19). Yet one of Shin's poems also manifests a mistrust of language. He paints this mistrust by looking at a baby from an adult perspective, noting that "in a little while he will learn the word 'Mama.' It means / he will lose the secret contained in the word 'Mama.' / But he doesn't realize that." In this poem, the very process of language acquisition results in the loss of the secret contained in each thing a word designates, and the "day he loses every secret, he will become fully human" ("A Baby," pp. 119 and 121). This equating of becoming human with the loss of understanding or at least, the loss of appreciation of actual objects ("flower, tree, star") suggests the recognition of the distance between what we become and what we might have become: self-knowledge that only adults have. The indication that this is, indeed, what Shin has in mind is found in the final line of the poem: here, that baby has grown up, and "he will suffer torment at the thought of some girl. /...he will weep, homesick for himself. Yet one senses that even the near-philosophical aspect of "A Baby," with its sense of frustration and loss, is not all that different from the other frustrations found in the poems: that this homesickness for oneself is but one more example of that frustration--political, economic, or otherwise--which is visited upon us when we "become fully human." Despite the apparent gloominess of this observation and the harshness of the majority of the human lives he depicts-- "after living a lonesome life, he died" ("Graveside Epitaph," p. 115) or "the carrier's grandson, gone to make his fortune, / came back even poorer than before and / we held a party for him to celebrate only / the party soon turned into a fight" ("That Winter", p. 81)--Shin's poetry is marked not so much by a grim view of life but rather a careful accounting of the grimness of certain aspects of certain lives. To make poetry of this must not be easy, and to make of these Korean poems English poems is also an accomplishment worthy of praise. Both _Day-Shine_ and _Farmers' Dance_ deserve high praise for contributing to a relatively small but growing body of excellent Korean literature in excellent English translation. Volumes such as these demonstrate admirably the strengths of and beauty to be found in Korean literature, and moreover, demonstrate that Korean literature can be translated into English well, given the proper texts and the proper translators. Citation: Evon, Gregory Nicholas 2000 Review of _Farmers' Dance_, by Shin Ky™ng-Nim, trans. Brother Anthony of Taizˇ and Young-Moo Kim (1999); and _Day-Shine_ by Chong Hyon-jong, trans. and ed. by Wolhee Choe and Peter Fusco (1998) _Korean Studies Review_ 2000, no. 2 Electronic file: http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/korean-studies/files/ksr00-02.htm ------------------------------ From: "hkdhal" Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 11:53:13 -0800 Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V7 #193 Mr Mahan, You stated that you Train under Ed Annibale is he the same person that is under Klaus Schumaker 10th dan Hapkido ? I seem to remember in that Taekwondo times that he invented a new martial art called Shendo Aikkijuitsu ? I was not sure if it was the same person I remember when he Broke from Combat Hapkido a few years ago,I am not questioning you only wishing to clarify a few things . > From: Knife1@aol.com > Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 00:28:33 EST > Subject: the_dojang: Re: Shendo > > Todd - > > I have been with Grandmaster Ed Annibale (my present master) since '97. > > I have been training since 1979. > > Jim Mahan > > and Jujitsu. > > Also, the joint locking and manipulation techniques are close to identical > with a few twists (Ha!). > > The Kote- Hineri (Inward wrist lock), and the Kote-Gaeshi (Outer Wristlock > and throw) are very similar to the San Mak Soo #7 (Inward wrist lock) and the > San Mak Soo # 21 (Outer Wristlock and throw). > > Many, many more..... > > The philosophy of the two is alot different, but here is the kick. They are > both very combative. I guess that it always goes back to your instructor. I > have always had very feisty and combative instructors, so my taste of both > have been a plethora of pain and flying through the air. The lessons of philo > were never really taught much. The general aspects of the meditation and > Ki/Chi breathing exercises and development was taught more in the Aiki. I was > given more latitude in my version of the Aiki than I was in learning Hapkido. > > Oh, well... More later > > Jim Mahan ------------------------------ From: Chuck Sears Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 11:27:38 -0600 Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V7 #191 > > From: Laura Kamienski > Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 17:34:42 -0500 > Subject: the_dojang: women instructors > No difference. I am fully supporting the male who doesn't want to learn > from me. I'm telling him he'd be better elsewhere...and he would. > > Women's only classes are necessary because of the reality of pervasive > violence against women in our society. Many women don't trust men enough > to train with them or simply can't emotionally handle training with > them. Female on male violence is not pervasive so similarities or > generalities can not be made in reverse. > And that is a sad statement on the status of our society, IMHO. As a male instructor, I am faced with some initial resistance from female prospects. I'm the chief instructor in our school and am the one who teaches our beginning classes. However, I have found the best way to overcome this resistance is by inviting them to try a beginner class with us at no charge. I make sure that I really exercise the first two Class Management Skills by setting the mood and tone of the class, and creating a positive environment. I then proceed to totally ignore the fact that they are female and teach them some simple techniques that they are immediately successful with. I also invite them to speak with my partner in the school (a very charming lady who beats on me like a big drum :-) ) or any of the female students in the school. I've never had a female prospect refuse to join simply because I'm male. - ------------------------------ > > From: Ken Howard > Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 16:47:41 -0600 > Subject: the_dojang: RE: BB promotion > > Exit lurk mode.. > Update: In 1998 my instructors were pushing me to test for my BB and I > refused because I was not ready physically or mentally. The master agreed > to let me decide when I would be ready to test.(I can be more > stubborn/obstinate than a rock. My wife says I have as many brain cells as > one.) > > ...snip... > > I was told that a lot of my grading was done when I was in class and did not > need the full testing. > > Pass the da dit jow, it's time to lurk in a quiet corner. Congratulations! And you are absolutely right. The grading is done in class, not at the testing. Testings are really just a public demonstration of skills and an excuse to show off. I tell all my students that the hard part is getting my permission to test. If they get that, it means that I think they are ready for their next rank, both phyically and mentally. I'm quite fond (probably overly fond, actually) of saying that you do not earn rank. Rank earns you. When you are ready in all ways to be a Black Belt, you'll be one and not before. > > > ------------------------------ > > From: Ray Terry > Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 15:23:26 PST > Subject: Re: the_dojang: women instructors > > > them. Female on male violence is not pervasive so similarities or > > generalities can not be made in reverse. > > Actually it is common, not VERY common, but common. It is very seldom > reported, which makes it seem not pervasive. > Reminds me of the time that I lived out on Kwajalein. I started TKD while I was there, and got to be friends with several of the cops on the island. One of their major domestic abuse problems was a Samoan family that they finally asked to leave. Seems every weekend, they would get called for a spousal abuse complaint - the wife would get snockered and whack the bejeezus out of the husband. It does happen, far more often than one might think. ------------------------------ End of The_Dojang-Digest V7 #194 ******************************** It's a great day for Taekwondo! 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 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. Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource Standard disclaimers apply.