RIP Grandmaster Park Jong Soo

Grandmaster Park Jong Soo and Dr. Sanko Lewis (2014)

I am saddened to hear that Grandmaster Park Jong Soo – one of the most prominent (ITF) Taekwon-Do pioneers and one of the original grandmasters – passed away this weekend in Canada. I tried to contact him a month or two ago, but without success. One of his students told me that he is not doing well, so his passing didn’t come as a complete surprise, but it is still sad and a terrible loss for the global martial arts and (ITF) Taekwon-Do community. He was a phenomenal martial artist who inspired thousands of people.

 

Grandmaster Park is one of the “lineages” I claim, as he was the mentor of my instructor, Master Kim Hoon. I also did my last Taekwon-Do black belt test to 5th Dan with Grandmaster Park in April 2014. Master Kim Hoon insisted that I grade directly under Grandmaster Park so that I could have the honour of having been tested by one of the original ITF Taekwon-Do grandmasters. It was indeed a privilege to have met Grandmaster Park on several occasions. Even at his advanced age he had a powerful charisma that inspired admiration and respect. 

 

One memorable moment with Grandmaster Park that suddenly stands out to me now was directly before my 5th Dan test when I and my student Cory Wells who tested for his 2nd Dan went to pick up Grandmaster Park at his hotel and drive him to the dojang where the test were to take place. The traffic was somewhat heavy, so the ride was a bit slower than expected, but it also afforded us more time to just chit-chat as we made our way through Seoul. Grandmaster Park commented on the different landmarks he recognized and how dramatically Seoul had changed since the time of his youth. It was a sweet moment to share in his reminiscences. He talked about the political situation, the governance of Park Chonghee, his times with General Choi Hong Hi, and several other memories. It reminded me anew how much Taekwon-Do is connected with the modern history of Korea, with the politics and with the nation that took up the charge to rebuild themselves after the decades of Imperial oppression and the wars. Also, seeing Seoul through his eyes made me fall in love with the city I now call home all over again.

 

Cory Wells, Sanko Lewis, Grandmaster Park Jong Soo, Master Kim Hoon (April 2014)

 

I extend my condolences to Grandmaster Park’s family, loved ones, and many students. His impact was prodigious, and he will be greatly missed. Taekwon!

Q & A: Who is Choi Hong Hi, did he get a Nobel Prize, and was he a unifying figure between North and South Korea?

Several months ago I saw the following question on Reddit/taekwondo:

"Can somebody please help me clear the story of how Master Choi Hong Hi managed to share TaeKwon-Do to the world and what is the story behind this martial art. Also did the man get a Nobel Prize or anything at all? He was a real unification figure of the 2 countries!" [June 25, 2021]

I answered the question there and decided to post the answer here, now:

On 18 June 2021 I visited the Kukkiwon in Seoul, South Korea. (The Kukkiwon is basically the Mecca for WT / Kukki style Taekwondo.) The reason for my visit was to see a photography exhibit about the early history of Taekwondo. The photo exhibit lasted only one week; it was unusual in its clear depiction of Choi Honghi's central role in Taekwondo. I must be clear that the exhibit was not about Choi Honghi, but about the history of Taekwondo. Yet, nearly half of the photos featured had Choi Honghi front and centre. As the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words.

 

 

Taekwondo History Photo Exhibition at the Kukkiwon, Seoul, Korea - June 2021

When I came to Korea over a decade ago, I was advised to be careful what I say and write about Choi Honghi and (his) ITF Taekwon-Do. This was during President Lee Myung-bak's administration who was very anti North Korea. Up until that time, Choi Honghi was practically considered anathema and his involvement in Taekwondo history was actively suppressed by the government and Taekwondo authorities. People who practised ITF or spoke favourably of Choi Honghi were covertly investigated by the NIS (National Intelligence Service; previously known as the KCIA).

Things have changed a lot since that time. Especially, in recent years I've seen a re-evaluation of Choi Honghi academically and within major WT/Kukki Taekwondo organizations here in South Korea. (WT, i.e. World Taekwondo, and Kukki Taekwondo have historically been negative of Choi Hong hi.)

Here are some examples:

On 28 November 2018, I attended an academic conference titled: "Conference for the 100th Anniversary of Choi Hong Hi: Taekwon-Do and Life; How to View Choi Hong Hi". The conference was held at the Korea National Sport University and was organized by TaekwonBox Media. Attendees included mostly people from the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation, and Taekwondo professors, researchers and students from Taekwondo colleges. Note, that at the time the conference occurred, there were no ITF Taekwon-Do departments at South Korea universities; the participants at this conference were primarily WT people. I think one of the speakers made a valid point: Dr. Heo Keonsik, who is the General Director of the Chungju World Martial Arts Mastership Organizing Committee suggested that Choi Honghi's legacy was suppressed and ignored because of "Red Complex", which is a "complex" in Korea that causes people to avoid and self-censor anything related to communism and North Korea. (Choi Honghi visited and introduced ITF Taekwon-Do to North Korea in the early 1980s. He did so in his capacity as a Canadian citizen, not as a South Korean citizen; nevertheless, as a previously South Korean military general, this act was viewed as treasonous by many South Koreans.)

On 22 June 2020, I participated at a symposium at Youngsan University's Busan Campus. The symposium focused on the article "The Early Globalization Process of Taekwondo, from the 1950s to the 1970s" by Taekwondo scholars Drs Udo Moenig and Youngil Kim. The article was submitted to the Asian Journal of Sport History and Culture and was published in March 2021. I think Dr Moenig would not be offended with me for saying that he is not a fan of Choi Honghi; nevertheless, his article made it abundantly clear that Choi Honghi and his direct subordinates were fundamental in the early spread of Taekwondo around the world. (Dr Moenig has submitted a very critical article about Choi Honghi -- I think to the same journal -- which, if accepted, should be published towards the end of this year or early next year.)

The Taekwondowon (a Korean government institution dedicated to the advancement and promotion of Taekwondo) has included Choi Honghi in the "Hall of Taekwondo Greats" where they credit him (if I remember the plaque correctly) as the person who coined the name "Tae Kwon Do", the first president of the Korea Taekwondo Association, and for spreading Taekwondo around the world.

Now to address the original question more specifically.

Choi Honghi organized and spearheaded the first Taekwondo demonstrations outside of Korea (Taekwondo Goodwill Tours) which led to the establishment of the first Taekwondo organizations in other countries. Many of Choi's subordinates became the first formal teachers of Taekwondo in other countries. When you search for "father of Taekwondo in [Germany/Netherlands/Poland/UK/Singapore/Vietname/etc.]", practically each one of these "fathers" are direct subordinates of Choi Honghi. It was on this foundation that the WT could later claim a world wide Taekwondo presence that helped get Taekwondo into the Olympics.

Choi Honghi did not get a Nobel Peace Prize, but he was nominated for it by the Canadian government. He was a Canadian citizen in good standing and high esteem. The Canadian embassy in Seoul, Korea, even named their exercise hall the "Choi Hong-Hi Gym." There is an academic article currently in process that is considering Choi Honghi as an advocate for peace. After some recommended edits by the academic journal reviewers, the article is likely to be published towards the end of this year or early next year.

Choi Honghi was not a unifying figure between North and South Korea although he clearly articulated his hope that Korea would be unified again. He also (in)directly created a means for North and South Korea to interact through what has become known as "Taekwondo Diplomacy". In recent years, when North and South Korea were at a political stalemate, they have used "Taekwondo Diplomacy" as an excuse for these two governments to re-establish diplomatic relations. The North Korean (ITF) Taekwon-Do Demonstration Team and the South Korean (WT) Taekwondo Demonstration Team joined in shared Taekwondo demonstration over several years now (such as at the 2015 WT World Championships, the 2016 North Korean visit to South Korea, the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and some other joined activities). You can find some recent academic articles online about how Taekwondo diplomacy has been used and even how Choi Honghi's philosophy contributed to this. (Search for "Taekwondo" + "diplomacy" or "sport diplomacy" or "soft diplomacy".)

Choi Honghi is a divisive figure, but even in South Korea where his contributions were actively suppressed by the government (since the time of the dictatorial president Park Chunghee), his contributions are as of late being critically re-evaluated and he is being honored as one of the key-figures in the establishment and spread of Taekwondo.

As for part of your question, "what is the story behind this martial art": the question is a bit vague and the topic is quite broad to discuss here properly. Nevertheless, here is a very short summary. Taekwondo is a Korean martial art that evolved out of Japanese Karate. The term "Taekwondo" ("Tae Kwon Do" / "Taekwon-Do") was coined around 1955 by South Korean military general, Choi Honghi. By the late 1960s the term was applied to all the forms of Koreanized Karate that was pracitsed in South Korea.

By the early 1970s there were two clear branches of Taekwondo that became known as ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation, with Choi Honghi as founder and first president) and Kukki Taekwondo (which means national Taekwondo) or WTF (World Taekwondo Federation; the name was changed to simply "World Taekwondo" in 2016). WT is the Taekwondo practised in the Olympic games and has a primarily sport focus. ITF is not in the Olympic games and follows a more "traditional martial arts" curriculum.

I recommend the book A Killing Art: The Untold History of Tae Kwon Do for a more thorough answer to your question.

Pondering Martial Arts in and of the Future

I was recently invited to speculate about how technological advancement might change martial arts. What will the martial arts of the future look like? You can read my essay on the topic in the World Martial Arts Union newsletter (PDF link); it starts on p. 14.

"Sine Wave" in Korean

Sine Wave Motion in Korean

By Sanko Lewis, PhD

From relatively early in Taekwon-Do’s evolution, there has been a type of “verticality”—i.e. up-and-down movements. The term “verticality” was coined by Judy Van Zile, an ethnographer studying Korean traditional dance. She uses the term to describe the conspicuous characteristic of bending-and-straightening of the knees (and other parts of the body) in Korean traditional dance. Such bending-and-straightening of the knees also became a feature of Taekwon-Do, which differs from Japanese Karate in which Taekwon-Do has its roots. Karate prefers little or no “verticality” during stepping. Prototypical Taekwon-Do (i.e., the “Taekwon-Do” of the late 1940s and 1950s) did not have “verticality” as it was basically still Karate, and participants moved according to Japanese body culture. However, “verticality,” which is innate to traditional Korean body culture, slowly seeped into Taekwon-Do movements. By the 1960s, “verticality” was already implied in the “knee-spring” notion. (This focus on the bending or 'spring'-action of the knee is an iconic feature of traditional Korean body culture.)

Initially ITF Taekwon-Do stepping was done in an up-down motion. Around 1981-1983, under the guidance of General Choi Hong-Hi, this up-down execution was amended to a down-up-down execution (or relax-rise-fall, as I prefer to describe it), which became known as the “sine wave motion.” In some of his writings, Stuart Anslow identifies a seminar in 1983 as the year the term “sine wave” became used to describe this down-up-down kinetic expression. This concurs with the first edition of the Korean version of the ITF Encyclopedia in which the English term for this motion is provided as “싸인 웨이브,” which is the transliteration of the English term “sine wave.”

The common assumption is that General Choi appropriated the term “sine wave” to infuse a scientific notion to this type of movement. This is an assumption I held too for quite some time, but it has always made me rather uncomfortable because it is not scientifically sound. The contemporary down-up-down manifestation mimics the shape of a cosine wave, not a sine wave that has an up-down-up shape, if we start at 0 (i.e., X = 0).  

I began to wonder what term General Choi used in Korean, so I looked up what term is used in my Korean versions of the ITF Encyclopedia. There are two synonyms in Korean for “sine wave”: jeonghyeon-pa 정현파 and sain-pa 사인파 (the latter is simply an Anglicanism of sine-wave). Unexpectedly, neither of these words are used in the Korean versions of the ITF Encyclopedia. The Korean term has actually no relation to this scientific concept. Instead, the Korean version of the ITF Encyclopedia uses the term hwaldeung-pado 활등파도, which literally translates as “bow-back waveform.”

What does this mean? Literally, bow-back refers to one side of a bow (archery weapon). The English collocation is “back-of-the-bow,” and refers to the outside of the bow, which is the side facing away from the bowstring. Whereas the side that faces the bowstring is called the belly-of-the-bow. When the bow is stringed, and the archer draws the bow, the wooden bow is arched into an obvious curve (the typical bow shape).

In other words, the original Korean term simply refers to the curvature of the wave form, which should resemble a smooth crescent or bow-like shape; this shape is contrasted in the Encyclopaedia with the “saw-tooth wave” (abrupt up-and-down movements rather than naturally curved movements) and the “horizontal wave” (keeping one's head level throughout the movement), which are incorrect ways of moving in ITF Taekwon-Do.

Upon further investigation I was surprised to note that the transliteration of the Korean term in the 1999 version of the English Encyclopedia (and presumably all subsequent editions) is not hwaldeung-pado 활등파도. Instead, it is yulson. Because the English version of the Encyclopedia doesn’t use hangeul (the Korean alphabet), but only transliterations of the Korean words, it required some effort to try and figure out what the word means. “Yulson” can be written in Korean in various ways 율손, 율선, 열손, 열선—each with different possible meanings. Discussions with native Korean speakers seem to all agree on the second variant: 율선, which is Romanized according to South Korea’s current system as “yulseon.” Finding a proper translation for yulson 율선 is not straightforward.

The translation for yulson 율선 律旋 given by the dictionaries I checked is “melody”. This translation was affirmed to me by a Korean Taekwon-Do master (8th Dan) I consulted. This word is hardly used in modern Korean. A more recognizable term for “melody” is garak 가락, which dictionaries provide as a synonym for yulson 율선. If this is indeed the correct translation, my Korean friends suggest that yulson implies the melodious movement of a tune. It is noteworthy that Korean traditional music has a “curved melodic line with typical vibrato known as nonghyeon or nongeum”—I got this explanation from Professor Sheen Dae-Cheol 신대철 of the Academy of Korean Studies, during a lecture on the aesthetic characteristics of Korean traditional music. If this is the correct understanding of yulson 율선, then we may assume that it refers to the “curved melodic line with typical vibrato,” which may be represented by the oscillating shape of a sine wave.

However, with all due respect to my Korean friends, I’m not completely convinced about the “melody”-hypothesis. The reason for my doubt is that suffix “-son” [-선]. The same page in the ITF Encyclopedia that mentions yulson 율선 as translation for sine wave, also lists soopyong-son and topnal-son as translations for “Horizontal Wave” and “Saw Tooth Wave” respectively. (Notice the same “-son” suffix used in these words.) In the Korean versions of the ITF Encyclopedia, the Korean term is not “-son”, but “-pado” 파도. The relevant pages in the Korean version of the encyclopedia (Volume 4, p. 195) and the Korean version of the condensed encyclopedia (p. 322) lists Sine Wave as 활등파도 hwaldeung-pado, Horizontal Wave as 수평파도 soopyong-pado, and Saw Tooth Wave as 톱날파도 topnal-pado. It is clear, therefore, that “-son” -선 has to have the same or similar meaning as “pado” 파도 which literally translates as wave.

Therefore, a more likely translation of -son is based on a different hanja 線 that means “line.” This better matches the accompanying pictures in the Encyclopedia that shows drawings of a sine wave line, a horizontal line, and a saw tooth line.

This brings us back to the meaning of yul 율 in the term yulson 율선. I suggest that it is based on another hanja 率 that means “rate” or “frequency.” For instance, one’s pulse is biyul 비율, literally “blood-rate”. The alternative hanja 律 means “a law, a rule, a statue, a regulation” which doesn’t seem to fit. On the other hand, “rate/frequency” 率 seems sensible, because a sine wave can accurately be described as a line depicting a frequency. This matches with how some (North) Korean masters describe the sinewave motion as “rhythmic motion”.

Consequently, based on the Korean terms hwadeung-pado (back-of-the-bow wave) and yulson (melodic shape or frequency line), the intention was not to invoke scientific notions of “sine” or “cosine” waves in particular. The picture in the Encyclopedia doesn’t provide us with a single truncated sine wave (or cosine wave), but instead shows a continuous wave. The argument whether the movement looks more like a sinewave or a co-sinewave misses the point. General Choi was using a metaphoric descriptor to depict the smooth curvature of the stepping motion. The stepping should be smooth like a (sine)wave or smooth like the back-of-the-bow. The metaphors are clearly intended to suggest smooth “verticality”; which General Choi juxtaposed with a stepping motion that has no vertical movement (“horizontal wave”) on the one hand or a rugged (“saw-tooth”) movement on the other hand.

While the Korean Encyclopaedia uses the term “bow-back waveform” 활등파도, it also includes the English translation as “싸인 웨이브,” which is the transliteration of the English term “sine wave.” It is not clear why General Choi chose the metaphor of a bow in Korean, but the sine wave in English. It might have been that he thought few Western people are familiar enough with the archery weapon; or, maybe he did choose to use the scientific term “sine wave” to add some scientific notion to the technique.

Nevertheless, another question may be asked: why the change from the original up-down to the current down-up-down motion for most standard movements in ITF Taekwon-Do? The common assumption that the term “sine wave” (or “co-sinewave”) explains the three phases (down-up-down) is not supported by the Korean terminology used by General Choi. The Korean terms hwadeung-pado and yulson, whether understood literally or metaphorically, do not suggest any number of phases (ups-and-downs) in the motion.

There are some possibilities: 

Several people believe it was a political move by General Choi to discredit masters that were not loyal to him and had left the ITF. By introducing this change the General could claim that they are not teaching the founder’s “authentic” Taekwon-Do. A proponent of this view includes Mr. Alex Gillis, the author of the historical exposé A Killing Art: The Untold History of Tae Kwon Do.

Another possibility proposed by myself (a Korean body culture researcher) and Dr He-Young Kimm (Korean martial arts historian and author of Taekwondo History) is that the General introduced a three-beat rhythm as part of his continuous effort to make Taekwon-Do a truly Korean art. Moving according to a three-beat rhythm can be seen in Taekkyeon (a Korean folk martial art) as well as traditional Korean dance, and is the basic rhythm used in Korean traditional music. The change to a three-beat rhythm is a departure from the Japanese two-beat rhythm found in Karate. The three-beat rhythm in ITF Taekwon-Do is achieved by an initial conscious relaxation, followed by an up-down (or rise-fall) movement when executing many techniques. This initial relaxation was, as far as I am concerned, an ingenious contribution to ITF Taekwon-Do’s makeup. It has completely changed the way Taekwon-Do is performed—moving it away from Taekwon-Do’s Karate roots towards a more naturalistic Korean way of moving (emphasizing relaxation over tension). Of course, my and Dr. Kimm’s cultural hypothesis doesn’t exclude Mr. Gillis’ political hypothesis.

In short, the term used in the Korean versions of the ITF Taekwon-Do Encyclopaedia to describe the stepping motion is not “sine wave”—but rather “back-of-the-bow waveform”; in other words, a wavelike movement like the smooth curved shape of a bow. It should obviously be understood as a visual metaphor, and not as some inclusion of a trigonometrical function to increase power. 

Interview with ITF RADIX (Roy Rolstad)

On 8 July 2020, Instructor Roy Rolstad did an interview with me on Instagram Live for his ITF Radix Talk series. I announced it on my Instagram account (@sooshimkwan) and posted the recording on my Facebook account, but forgot to also share it here on the Soo Shim Kwan blog.

Instructor Roy and I spoke about my martial arts journey, my life in Korea, and of course, the martial arts. We also reminisced about the time he and his family visited Korea a few years ago.

This ITF Radix Talk is just under an hour long; however, we actually had a 30 minute conversation prior to this recording, but there was a drop in the connection so we missed the first 30 minutes. Nevertheless, I think our discussion was still lots of fun and I'm sure will be informative to listeners. 

On the ITF Radix Instagram account you can also watch Instructor Roy's ITF Radix Talks with other notable ITF practitioners from around the world.

Interview with Whistle Kick Martial Arts Radio

 

In April last year (2020), I did an interview with Whistlekick Martial Arts Radio. I forgot to upload it here on the Soo Shim Kwan blog.

This hour long conversation covers some of my early years of coming to Korea and how my early training in other martial arts (Hapkido and Taekkyeon) informed and influenced my ITF Taekwon-Do training, as well as how a better understanding of Korean and Korean culture affected my Taekwon-Do practice. 

I really enjoyed the conversation with host Jeremy Lesniak and we might even do a follow up discussion in the future. 

You can hear the interview, as well as read a transcript of the interview on the Whistlekick Martial Arts Radio website: Episode 490.