Issue 23 - Professional Unification of Martial Arts
Issue 23 - Professional Unification of Martial Arts
Issue 23 - Professional Unification of Martial Arts
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The magazine from the <strong>Pr<strong>of</strong>essional</strong> <strong>Unification</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong><br />
ISSUE <strong>23</strong>, November 2012<br />
In this issue: An in depth interview with Master Black, Musings from Korea,<br />
part III; A Blast From The Past; Camps; The Black Belt Grading Results; and<br />
much more!!
I n this issue………<br />
Editorial……………………………………………………………………………………………..3<br />
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Black Belt Presentations June 2012…………………………………………………...4<br />
How Can I Improve My Taekwon-Do Training? - Junior Essay…………….5<br />
How Can I Improve My Taekwon-Do Training? - Adult Essay……………..6<br />
Master Gayle’s 8 th Dan Celebration Banquet……………………………………..8<br />
Diary <strong>of</strong> a Team Tournament Competitor………………………………………...10<br />
Kids Camp 2012………………………………………………………………………………..13<br />
Adults & Family Camp 2012……………………………………………………………...15<br />
Interview With Master John Black 8 th Degree - Part 1……………….………19<br />
Musings From Korea - Part 3……………………………………………………………..29<br />
Side-kick Specials……………………………………………………………………………….33<br />
A Blast From The Past………………………………………………………………………..34<br />
The Search………………………………………………………………………………………...35<br />
Little P.U.M.A. Page…………………………………………………………………………...36<br />
P.U.M.A. Calendar 2012……………………………………….…………………………….37<br />
C<br />
ontributors: Mark Adams; Ian Bedborough; Daniel Bromley; Pete Bullough; John Dowding;<br />
Master Ray Gayle; Simon & Alison John; Matthew Lloyd; Andrew Sanderson; Christopher<br />
Ventura; Brandon Yuseri.<br />
Editors: Pete Bullough, Mandy Bullough & Matthew Lloyd; Art & Design: Matthew Lloyd.<br />
Thanks to Tiina Elise and Regina Buechner for an excellent pro<strong>of</strong>-reading reading job.<br />
Opinions expressed in these articles are those <strong>of</strong> the author(s) and may not represent the views <strong>of</strong><br />
P.U.M.A. as a whole. © P.U.M.A. 2012<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Hi, and welcome to <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>23</strong> <strong>of</strong> Planet P.U.M.A.! Lots has been happening since we were last here, and<br />
we have another jam-packed issue for you. The summer started <strong>of</strong>f with one <strong>of</strong> the most important<br />
events <strong>of</strong> the P.U.M.A. calendar, the Black Belt presentations. Those <strong>of</strong> you who have been know that<br />
they celebrate the well-deserved achievements <strong>of</strong> the new grades and those supporting them. For those<br />
<strong>of</strong> you contemplating Dan gradings in the near future, we also have a couple <strong>of</strong> thought-provoking essays<br />
for you to get your teeth into.<br />
The summer then continued with a festival <strong>of</strong> celebration and training. Most <strong>of</strong> you will know about the<br />
awesome events at the World Championships earlier in the year, when Master Gayle was awarded his 8 th<br />
Dan. In May we had a banquet to celebrate this event, which provided a fascinating glimpse into the early<br />
years <strong>of</strong> P.U.M.A. This was followed by the Team Championships, Kids Camp and Summer Camp which<br />
were all superb. Also in this issue we have an in-depth interview with Master Black 8 th Degree; we have<br />
all heard bits <strong>of</strong> his remarkable story, but this really gives an idea <strong>of</strong> what it was like training in those early<br />
days <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-Do. Finally Mr Sanderson gives us another fascinating glimpse <strong>of</strong> modern-day Korea<br />
and how it links to the terminology we all know and love. We wrap up the issue with a little fun - look out<br />
for the Blast From The Past, with long forgotten photos <strong>of</strong> people we know.<br />
Finally do remember that Planet P.U.M.A. is the association magazine, and without contributors it is<br />
nothing. Don’t be shy, if you have a great idea come and talk to us at the next competition or camp. We<br />
will be glad to see you. In the meantime enjoy the rest <strong>of</strong> 2012 and we look forward to seeing you again<br />
at the beginning <strong>of</strong> 2013 ~ Mandy, Pete and Matthew<br />
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Black Belt Presentation June 2012<br />
By Master Ray Gayle<br />
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
First Dan<br />
Alexandra Steward<br />
Cameron Webb<br />
Charlie Whittaker<br />
Christopher Philips<br />
David Morris - Kickboxing<br />
Duane Archilletti<br />
Enzo Bavetta<br />
Steven McCauley - Kickboxing<br />
Haris Mahmood<br />
Harvey Marfil<br />
Heather Bednall<br />
Jack Ely<br />
Jake Cray<br />
Jason Ranger - Kickboxing<br />
Joanie Webber<br />
Kylie Stevenson<br />
Mark Adams<br />
Nicola Bond<br />
Nicola Clennell<br />
Owen Wilson<br />
Peter Li<br />
Raymond Bolt<br />
Roberta McInnes - Kickboxing<br />
Shane Jupe - Kickboxing<br />
Shannon Tomlinson<br />
Zach Morton<br />
Daniel Tester<br />
Joseph Heath<br />
First Dan with Credit<br />
Lewis Hanney<br />
Sam Abel<br />
Jamie Lee Parker<br />
Erica May Levett<br />
Joe Bluff<br />
Kieren Walsh<br />
Michael Dyer<br />
Samuel Williams<br />
Oliver Cottrell<br />
Second Dan<br />
Medea Creed<br />
Richard Phillips<br />
Daniel Bromley<br />
Gareth Jones<br />
Joseph Wood<br />
Lewis Webb<br />
Second Dan with Credit<br />
Liliana Cottrell<br />
Lisa Hurndall<br />
Ryan Hanney<br />
Jason Bint<br />
Third Dan<br />
Kevin Costello<br />
Third Dan with Credit<br />
Edward Colman-Roberts<br />
Fourth Dan<br />
Marc Hollier<br />
Daniel Ashmead<br />
Richard Thornton<br />
Fourth Dan with Credit<br />
Gary Foster<br />
Fifth Dan<br />
Roger Lawrence<br />
Awards<br />
Heart & Soul - Edward Colman Roberts<br />
Best Adult Black Belt - Lisa Wheatley<br />
Best Junior Black Belt - Jason Bint<br />
Best Coloured Belt adult -<br />
Michael Dyer<br />
Best Coloured Belt junior - Joe Bluff<br />
Best spirit test - Gareth Jones<br />
Adult Essay - Mark Adams<br />
Junior Essay - Daniel Bromley<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Junior Winning Essay (May 2012 grading):<br />
How can I improve my Taekwon-Do training?<br />
By Daniel Bromley<br />
There is really only one common answer to that question and that is to keep practicing and keep on training,<br />
but there is more to it than that. The word Taekwon-Do is one word but can be broken down into<br />
three. The most important part <strong>of</strong> the word Taekwon-Do is ‘Do’ as this translated means the correct way.<br />
Learning to kick and punch are only physical attributes. By practicing Do and the principles <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-<br />
Do, students become overall martial artists both physically and mentally. The correct way for Taekwon-Do<br />
is trying to follow the tenets and apply them to your training. For a martial artist to truly practice “the correct<br />
way” they must understand and involve Taekwon-Do’s five tenets into their daily life. My essay focuses<br />
on perseverance which is one <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-Do’s five tenets because it has been the most challenging for<br />
me.<br />
Perseverance is the quality <strong>of</strong> being persistent and <strong>of</strong> not giving up. I have learned that practicing<br />
Taekwon-Do is very difficult. As a teenager I am learning that there are choices to be made. Frequently<br />
my friends will make arrangements to go out and while sometimes I would like to go with them, I know<br />
that training is more important to me and that I need to persevere with this. Sometimes this is not an<br />
easy decision to make as my friends put pressure on me to do other things.<br />
I feel that, since passing my Black Belt, my Taekwon-Do progress has been very slow. There have been<br />
times when I have compared my progress to that <strong>of</strong> others and sometimes feel that they are doing better<br />
than me. However, I have come to realise that ‘my Taekwon-Do is not their Taekwon-Do’. This is not a<br />
competition and that people will make progress at different stages. Everybody’s level <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-Do is<br />
personal to them, and not everybody will reach the same level. Whilst I know that I will not achieve Olympic<br />
gold, my targets are much smaller but are still as important. For example, I have always found sparring<br />
very difficult and in fact until recently had not sparred at competition level since I was a green belt. I was<br />
frightened <strong>of</strong> doing this but recently felt as a Black Belt I needed to set myself a target and decided to<br />
compete. This took a lot <strong>of</strong> courage for me but I knew I had to persevere with this target in order to make<br />
progress.<br />
Therefore to succeed in Taekwon-Do and life in general we should realise early on that to reach your<br />
goals there will be difficult times. Anything worth achieving takes a lot <strong>of</strong> hard work. The key to reaching<br />
your goal is to never give up. To overcome any challenge you should meet it with a positive attitude and a<br />
sense <strong>of</strong> purpose. In other words, the satisfaction you get out <strong>of</strong> achieving something is your reward.<br />
‘How can I improve my Taekwon-Do training?’ Practice makes perfect and perseverance is the key.<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Adult Winning Essay (May 2012 grading):<br />
How can I improve my Taekwon-Do training?<br />
By Mark Adams<br />
On setting out to write this essay, I did initially think about explaining about how as an individual I should<br />
improve my individual movements and stances. How can I improve my L-stance or foot-sword? I then sat<br />
back and thought a lot deeper and realised as with so many things it is not always the finished product<br />
that requires a few tweaks to make it better, it’s the design and build process that makes the finished<br />
product. If this design and build process has big flaws in it then how can the finished product ever be perfect?<br />
So instead <strong>of</strong> looking at what individual movements I can improve on, I decided to look deeper.<br />
Setting your goals<br />
I feel the level <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-Do that you can achieve depends on where you set your goal. If you want to<br />
just get by, then that is probably as good as you will ever be. However, if you set your goal higher, to be<br />
as good as you possibly can be, then you have a good chance <strong>of</strong> getting there as long as you keep your<br />
focus and your goal. Setting yourself the highest goal will naturally lead to you wanting to constantly improve<br />
your Taekwon-Do. If you do not want to be the best that you can be, then your mind-set will not<br />
drive you to achieve the highest level <strong>of</strong> competence that you can. With this in mind, you should always<br />
look to the superior grades both in your school and at other events such as competitions and squad training<br />
for levels you could be achieving and always striving to get there.<br />
Be self-critical<br />
One very important way <strong>of</strong> improving my Taekwon-Do is to be self-critical. If you tend to cruise through<br />
each lesson waiting for the instructor or even other students to pick up on mistakes you are making,<br />
then, bearing in mind that there are very <strong>of</strong>ten 35 plus students in a class, it is not realistic to expect the<br />
instructor to identify every individual element that needs improvement. I feel it is very important to think<br />
about each movement and check what you are doing yourself. Is your stance correct, are your hands in<br />
the correct position, was the block formed correctly and is your reaction hand O.K.? All very easy things<br />
to check yourself on and if you do it continually, then gradually, rather than checking and correcting, you<br />
find that, although you are still checking, less correcting is needed.<br />
Understanding the purpose <strong>of</strong> each movement<br />
Another way <strong>of</strong> improving one’s Taekwon-Do is to fully understand the purpose <strong>of</strong> each movement. How<br />
can you expect to execute a move correctly if you do not know what its purpose is or how it is intended<br />
to be executed? Once you know what the move is designed for, it becomes more apparent if you are carrying<br />
it out correctly. A good example <strong>of</strong> this would be Hechyo Makgi in Do-San Tul. Most people have to<br />
be told that it is used to break a double handed grab from the front before they can start to picture it in<br />
their own minds and start to perform it correctly. Prior to this most people simply put their hands up and<br />
bring them down to the finish position without the emphasis on the power <strong>of</strong> the down and out motion.<br />
Understanding the purpose <strong>of</strong> each movement then leads to identifying the correct attacking tools for<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
different areas <strong>of</strong> the body and also at what section the attacks within patterns should be. A high section<br />
punch for example, must be aimed at the neck, nose or jaw line, aiming at the forehead is likely to result in<br />
a very sore hand and an opponent who is still on their feet. Equally important in understanding the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> each movement is the understanding <strong>of</strong> using the correct striking tool. A flat fingertip thrust to the<br />
eye or neck would be a devastating attack, whereas using the same attack to the jaw line, although it may<br />
cause a fair amount <strong>of</strong> damage, would not render the opponent unconscious.<br />
Fitness<br />
Fitness is obviously a major factor in improving all areas <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-Do. If you are becoming fatigued early<br />
then the movements within patterns will start to lose power very quickly. Power is an important factor<br />
within Taekwon-Do, what attacker would be put <strong>of</strong>f by a weak block or counter attack. Did General Choi<br />
Hong Hi not say that ‘One strike is sufficient’? This theory only works if the one strike has massive power<br />
generated within it. Most people can do a few patterns maintaining this initial power, but to perform all <strong>of</strong><br />
your relevant patterns maintaining that initial power requires a very good level <strong>of</strong> fitness. Once the power<br />
starts to fade then it will follow that other areas such as stances and foot positions on kicks will follow suit<br />
becoming sloppy and lack the technical correctness that you have worked so hard to achieve. In sparring,<br />
fitness plays a much more apparent role as fatigue can set in much more quickly, even after a few minutes<br />
<strong>of</strong> full speed sparring your fitness levels can make a major difference to whether you are still able to maintain<br />
your level <strong>of</strong> sparring.<br />
Do not confine your Taekwon-Do to the Dojang<br />
Some students regularly train at their schools, but then leave their Taekwon-Do at the door as they leave.<br />
To really succeed you must at least be thinking about your training whilst outside <strong>of</strong> the Dojang. Whilst it<br />
may not always be possible or feasible to practice patterns at home or at work, you can be thinking about<br />
them. What better way to ensure you are ready for your next lesson than to have run through in your mind<br />
ways to improve your movements and patterns? It does go further, do you take the car everywhere, or do<br />
you try to get that extra bit <strong>of</strong> exercise? Do you have that extra large portion or do you restrain? Always<br />
thinking about your Taekwon-Do means that a lifestyle change can happen without realising it. Of course<br />
then there is the history <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-Do, this really is a must to research at home as there really is no time<br />
within lessons to learn all that you should. Increasing your knowledge <strong>of</strong> the theory and history <strong>of</strong> Taekwon<br />
-Do is all part <strong>of</strong> making it a martial art rather than being a sport or a fitness regime.<br />
Always be ready to learn<br />
I think most importantly, however good you are at Taekwon-Do, you should never believe that you know<br />
everything there is to know or are as good as you will ever be. You should be open to allow others to <strong>of</strong>fer<br />
their criticisms, ideas and points <strong>of</strong> view, but also to listen to them, understanding what they are trying to<br />
say. They may not be right, but they may have a point. After all, unless you train in front <strong>of</strong> a mirror permanently<br />
you cannot see yourself and you should be humble enough to accept criticism. You should always<br />
remain keen to learn and continue your quest for excellence, whilst always striving to be the best you can<br />
be.<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Master Gayle’s 8 th Dan Celebration Banquet<br />
By Matthew D. Lloyd<br />
Sunday 13 th May, and P.U.M.A. members are arriving at the Devere Hotel<br />
in Swindon for the celebration <strong>of</strong> Master Gayle’s promotion to 8 th Degree<br />
Black Belt. It is around 1 p.m., and already many P.U.M.A. members are at<br />
the hotel and there is a buzz in the air. More people arrive from far and<br />
wide, all in black tie, until the whole room is filled with people. Some <strong>of</strong><br />
the people are fresh from the Black Belt grading the previous day, and although<br />
many <strong>of</strong> them are obviously tired their enthusiasm shines through.<br />
Almost all <strong>of</strong> the people there are or have been students <strong>of</strong> Master Gayle,<br />
so this is going to be special moment for all concerned. Then to great applause, Master Gayle arrives.<br />
A demonstration <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-Do skill by Mr David Pixton, Mr Adam Swain and Ms Jenny Francis kicked <strong>of</strong>f<br />
proceedings. Mr Pixton started <strong>of</strong>f with a hybrid pattern demonstration,<br />
incorporating elements <strong>of</strong> 1 st Dan pattern Po-Eun and 4 th Dan<br />
patterns Moon-Moo, Yon-Gae and Ul-Ji. This was followed by a sparring<br />
demonstration by Mr Swain and Ms Francis, which involved some<br />
moves not normally seen in<br />
competitions! Finally Mr Pixton and Mr<br />
Swain demonstrated some breaking<br />
techniques. This was followed by a slide<br />
show presentation by Master Ogborne,<br />
showing some <strong>of</strong> the many high points <strong>of</strong> Master Gayle’s career (too<br />
many to mention) and some <strong>of</strong> the people who had been instrumental in the careers <strong>of</strong> Master Gayle and<br />
Master Ogborne. It was clear from this that the decision <strong>of</strong> Master Gayle and Master Ogborne to split<br />
away from the previous organisation and form P.U.M.A. had been a difficult one, but looking back it had<br />
been the right one. One <strong>of</strong> the last tributes was from a couple <strong>of</strong> young<br />
fans who wanted to congratulate ‘Uncle Ray’ on this special day.<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Then the food was served, a<br />
great starter, main course and<br />
dessert combination with some<br />
great company. As c<strong>of</strong>fee was<br />
served we had a question and<br />
answer session with Master<br />
Gayle. Some <strong>of</strong> the questions<br />
were very light-hearted but most<br />
were serious questions about various aspects <strong>of</strong> training and the<br />
early days <strong>of</strong> P.U.M.A. We also had some presentations <strong>of</strong> gifts including a cake for Master Gayle to mark<br />
his achievement and not forgetting a cake for Master Ogborne whose birthday it had been a few days<br />
previously. Finally it was time to go home. Everyone had a great day, and I was left feeling that it was such<br />
a privilege to be part <strong>of</strong> it. It just goes to show that the P.U.M.A. organisation is going from strength to<br />
strength.<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Diary <strong>of</strong> a Team Tournament Competitor<br />
By Christopher Ventura<br />
If you have never competed in tournaments before,<br />
this event is perfect for you to ‘cut your teeth on’.<br />
Like so many people in Taekwondo, I have trained<br />
for many years and only ever entered a few tournaments.<br />
This has been mainly due to other commitments<br />
like work, having a young family, or generally<br />
feeling you’re just not up to the standard required.<br />
Well let me try and put your mind at rest…….<br />
The Team Tournament does exactly what it says on<br />
the tin. Now I have never been one for ‘team’<br />
sports, or team anything for that matter. It brings<br />
back so many bad memories <strong>of</strong> being picked last for<br />
school football and generally being called a ‘duffer’ when I could not kick, pass or throw a ball. Being in a<br />
team means responsibility, working as a team, not<br />
being the weakest link! Oh my word... the pressure...<br />
So let’s say I just like my own company or as<br />
my family would say ‘miserable and antisocial’! Anyway<br />
I digress.....<br />
Recently I have made a concerted effort to try and<br />
participate in more tournaments, not with any illusions<br />
<strong>of</strong> somehow becoming a world-class competitor,<br />
but just to develop myself both physically and<br />
spiritually. So when I was visiting Swindon school <strong>of</strong><br />
Taekwon-Do and they were one person down for a<br />
five man patterns team, I literally jumped at the<br />
chance. As it turned out I was not the only outsider to join this ragamuffin group. Another chap, who I<br />
now know to be called Jason Bint from Newbury, was coerced into joining the team. Who was doing the<br />
coercing, no other than the legendary Mr Pixton. So there we were, Jason, Catriona Conway, Yoshen<br />
Moodley, Halene Somal and I. All <strong>of</strong> the others were<br />
considerably younger than my good self, in their<br />
fitness primes should I say, and me, the ‘Old Codger’,<br />
under the experienced nurturing tuition <strong>of</strong> Mr<br />
P. For those <strong>of</strong> you that have had the pleasure <strong>of</strong><br />
training with Mr Pixton, you may well be thinking....<br />
hold on a minute.... this is an unfair advantage. Well<br />
let me tell you, life would be not as much fun if it<br />
did not have a cruel sense <strong>of</strong> irony. More <strong>of</strong> which I<br />
will tell you later. Due to logistics, as a group we<br />
could only train for 3-4 sessions before the event.<br />
So training was started in earnest. Now like most,<br />
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I roughly know most <strong>of</strong> the people I train with, and<br />
we exchange cordial greetings etc., etc. when we<br />
meet. So to actually perform a pattern in unison<br />
was a bit awkward to start <strong>of</strong>f with. We were out<br />
<strong>of</strong> sync and we all had our little idiosyncrasies <strong>of</strong><br />
how the pattern should be performed. But under<br />
the eagle-like watchful eye <strong>of</strong> Mr P. these imperfections<br />
were soon ironed out and we were performing<br />
quite a well-polished routine. But what<br />
really ‘floated my boat’ was working as a team.<br />
There was a sense <strong>of</strong> camaraderie, we started to<br />
become relaxed with each other and were not<br />
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
afraid to voice our opinion. We exchanged views in order to improve our performance. And every time<br />
we perfected a little part <strong>of</strong> it, my confidence and sense <strong>of</strong> well-being grew. So did my admiration for my<br />
fellow team members.<br />
On the day, I was impressed with the number <strong>of</strong><br />
participants taking part and the quality and standard<br />
<strong>of</strong> competitors, but more impressive was the<br />
atmosphere. Everyone was competitive but also<br />
respectful to each other. This was evident in the<br />
sparring section. Folk seemed to be more relaxed<br />
and therefore were demonstrating more advanced<br />
technical skills and trying to outwit their adversary<br />
rather than trying to dominate one another with<br />
brute force. As for our patterns team, yep, I made a<br />
few mistakes, but for me at least I did not forget my<br />
pattern (which I did the previous time) so for me it was a great success!! We did not win any medals, but<br />
I did walk away knowing four other human beings more than I did several weeks earlier.<br />
Going back to my previous statement about ‘life having a sense <strong>of</strong> irony’, guess what happened? Mr P<br />
formed a team <strong>of</strong> his own on the day from people who wanted to compete but were unable to get a<br />
group together, and yes, you have guessed it already, his team won first place!! Would you Adam<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
and Eve it..... So the moral <strong>of</strong> the story is.....well there is no moral. Next time you hear about the Team<br />
Tournament, just get yourself a team together and enter. If you can’t gather a team just join us on the<br />
day and we will soon have you teamed up. Who knows, you could get first place. But one thing is for<br />
sure, that you will enjoy the experience and make new friends.<br />
From a Middle Age guy who thinks he is 20 years younger.<br />
The author (middle) <strong>of</strong>ficiating destruction, while Master<br />
Gayle looks on.<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> the competitors collecting their well-deserved<br />
medals.<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Kids Camp 2012<br />
By Brandon Yuseri aged 9<br />
Hello to whoever reads this article about Kids Camp 2012. I’m going<br />
to tell you about Kids Camp 2012, it’s funny, fun and anyone who<br />
wants to come is invited! (Age restrictions apply).<br />
On Friday 3 rd August mums and dads and children came to put their<br />
tents up ready for the camp and then there was a bit <strong>of</strong> FREE TIME!<br />
Later on we were sorted into teams and decided a weird-cool name.<br />
There was Skittle Munchers, Team Epic, Soggy Ducks, Team Happy and the Cheesy Death Stink Bombs!<br />
Sooner or later was tea, some children<br />
thought this was like prisoners’ food! After<br />
that some more free time, then it was time<br />
for bed and hot chocolate. People brushed<br />
teeth, got changed, and got things ready<br />
for a midnight feast!<br />
The next day... people<br />
woke up knocking on tents saying, “WAKE<br />
UP! IT’S SEVEN O’CLOCK!” and then everyone woke up after all the shouting about seven o’clock. And<br />
then was breakfast, a range <strong>of</strong> cereal, yoghurts and drinks. After breakfast Master Ogborne (7 th Degree)<br />
told everyone that the tent inspection was in 20 minutes. The tent inspection was to see whose tent was<br />
the most tidy and the winner received a flag to show the winning tent.<br />
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After this we had training then lunch, sandwiches and crisps. Later on<br />
a football match got going until the bonfire. We sang songs, told<br />
jokes and played guitar until a movie and then bed. Four people<br />
named Brandon, Ben, Jacob and Kai had a sleepover and midnight<br />
feast together!<br />
The next day there was free time, breakfast, more free time until THE<br />
WATER CHASE! The children had their water pistols and squirted the<br />
adults. After the fun it was “P.U.M.A.’s Got Talent”, lots <strong>of</strong> acts performed to the adults and children.<br />
Guess the host - It was one <strong>of</strong> the students... Mitchell! He was quite a good host. Then awards were given<br />
before it was time to go.<br />
Article written by Brandon (7 th Kup Yellow Belt)<br />
14
P.U.M.A. Summer Camp, August 2012, Croyde Bay<br />
by Simon & Alison John, Crediton & Copplestone Taekwon-Do<br />
Summer Camp is one <strong>of</strong> our favourite events on<br />
the P.U.M.A. calendar. It has become our annual<br />
family holiday. It’s so nice to be able to meet up<br />
with old friends, and to make new friends; all <strong>of</strong><br />
whom have a common interest (some may say, obsession)<br />
– Taekwon-Do! We started to get excited<br />
about Summer Camp 2012 as soon as we got back<br />
from Summer Camp 2011! Even better (for us at<br />
least) this year’s Summer Camp was to be a family<br />
camp – so the kids could train too!<br />
Photos by Ian Bedborough<br />
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
First stop on our journey to Cherry Tree Farm was<br />
the Williams Arms (on the A361 in Braunton) for a slap-up pre-Summer Camp breakfast. This has become<br />
a tradition for us, and marks the <strong>of</strong>ficial start <strong>of</strong> Summer Camp for the John and Mullen families.<br />
Then it was straight to the campsite to get settled in for the week ahead. The weather had been a bit unsettled<br />
(to say the least) on the lead-up to camp,<br />
but it stopped raining just about long enough for us<br />
to get our tents up. Putting up a tent is an art form<br />
in itself, and it’s surprising how time consuming the<br />
process can be. When we started erecting our tent<br />
there were maybe five other tents already up, by<br />
the time we were finished there were more like<br />
twenty!<br />
In the evening, once everyone had set up their<br />
tents, we all met up for a roll call and welcome to<br />
Summer Camp 2012 by Master Gayle and Master<br />
Ogborne. After this we all lined up in grade order and thus our teams were formed. We were a bit confused<br />
at first, as we had not expected the juniors to be included in the teams – we thought there would<br />
simply be extra afternoon sessions specifically for the under-13’s. It was brilliant that they could join in<br />
the morning run and training on the beach! The only thing Cam wasn’t too keen on was getting up at 6<br />
a.m. to get ready for training!<br />
For the benefit <strong>of</strong> those <strong>of</strong> you who have yet to make it to Summer Camp, a typical day in the life <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Summer Camper starts with getting up around 6 a.m. There’s something about the cool morning air, the<br />
sound <strong>of</strong> various alarms going <strong>of</strong>f followed by tent doors being unzipped - oh and the distant sound <strong>of</strong><br />
sheep! Next comes the (seemingly) long, cold walk to the toilet block, which if you can picture a scene<br />
from a zombie movie kind <strong>of</strong> sums up people’s demeanour at such an early hour. This is followed by a<br />
chat and warm up with your team on the field, before lining up for the warm-up proper with Master<br />
Gayle. After a somewhat hilly run to Puttsborough beach, we then kick <strong>of</strong>f our trainers and embark on a<br />
full-on, sandy (and sometimes wet) training session. This year there were no jellyfish, so some <strong>of</strong> the<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
training involved total immersion in the sea. Situps,<br />
press-ups and burpees are surprisingly harder<br />
than you might think when there are waves crashing<br />
over you! After a steady trot back to camp it’s<br />
breakfast time; time to chill out and prepare for the<br />
day ahead. Some people did extra training on return<br />
from the beach [Messrs Whitlock, Spreadbury<br />
and Powlesland (Jnr) to name but a few] in preparation<br />
for forthcoming gradings and championships.<br />
We watched them in awe as we ate our<br />
breakfasts, feeling somewhat guilty!<br />
During the week there were a number <strong>of</strong> field based seminars with some <strong>of</strong> the senior Dan grades on<br />
subjects such as power with Mr Mike Whitlock, nutrition with Mr Evans, set sparring with Miss Elise, a<br />
technical seminar with Miss Francis and stretching with Mr Hitchcoe. There was also a F.A.S.T. Defence<br />
weapons seminar with Messrs Chance, Walker, Harper and Powlesland (Snr) and Miss Velitchkova<br />
Cottrell. These seminars are a great opportunity to train with different people, try different things and<br />
perhaps look at things from a different perspective.<br />
Training resumes daily at around 4.30 p.m. for a<br />
two hour evening session. On the first evening we<br />
all received our Summer Camp 2012 T-shirts, and<br />
had a full group photo taken with the Masters, followed<br />
by many team photos in various poses;<br />
some taking inspiration from the recent Olympics<br />
(the Mo-bot and the Usain Bolt pose to name but<br />
two).<br />
After being dismissed everyone goes back to their<br />
tents for dinner, socialising with friends old and<br />
new. Various games are played on the field each evening (e.g. cricket, vortex, football). This year notably<br />
‘Ninja’ games <strong>of</strong> various sizes were popping up here and there. Even when you’re tucked up in your<br />
sleeping bag, you can still hear the feint sounds <strong>of</strong> such games continuing, until the noise curfew at 10.30<br />
p.m. Then it’s <strong>of</strong>f to sleep, ready to start all over again the next morning!<br />
Tuesday in particular was a very busy day – beach training as usual, then a hurried brunch followed by<br />
Mr Evans’ nutrition seminar. Then quite literally<br />
straight down to the village hall for the F.A.S.T. Defence<br />
weapons training course. Twenty-eight <strong>of</strong> us<br />
took part in this session, working on scenarios <strong>of</strong><br />
being attacked from various angles with a knife or<br />
gun; culminating in a full on physical confrontation<br />
and attack. For those <strong>of</strong> you who haven’t taken<br />
part in a F.A.S.T. Defence course before - do it! The<br />
whole process is empowering. Everyone stepped<br />
up to the plate using his or her newly found<br />
knowledge – it was awesome, simply awesome!<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Plus the session helped raise funds for the Ghana<br />
appeal. There was just enough time to get back to<br />
camp and into our doboks, then straight on to the<br />
dojang for afternoon training. Phew! That was a<br />
great day. The weather was still quite good, but<br />
from that point on it started to become a bit more<br />
unsettled.<br />
Wednesday was a day <strong>of</strong>f for the coloured belts,<br />
but the Black Belts still got up early for a walk to<br />
Baggy Point and a philosophical chat with the Masters.<br />
We, however, went into Barnstaple for our<br />
(now traditional) shopping trip. We returned to camp just in time for the quiz, which is always a good<br />
laugh. Having been caught out on our first year at Summer Camp, we now have notepads and pencils<br />
stashed away with the camping gear! The Quiz can be quite enlightening, and you get an insight into<br />
your team members’ knowledge and interests outside <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-Do.<br />
Master Black joined us on the beach on Thursday<br />
morning, which was a lovely surprise. We played<br />
handball and other games on the beach. In the<br />
evening Master Black held a bong (stick) seminar,<br />
which was very interesting, although took some coordination.<br />
Mr Powlesland kindly invited the Crediton<br />
crew to a barbecue that evening. It was really<br />
nice, and a chance for us all to get together; which<br />
ironically doesn’t happen that <strong>of</strong>ten on camp, as<br />
everyone is <strong>of</strong>f doing their own thing. Simon took<br />
the kids body boarding, for example; other people<br />
went cycling, swimming, walking or shopping - but the nice thing is that you don’t have to “go out” and<br />
do things - there’s always something going on in the field you’re living in!<br />
There is a timed run to the beach on the Friday morning. Everyone who takes part (it’s not compulsory)<br />
tries to beat their time from last year. This year’s timed run was won by Mr Evans, and the first lady back<br />
was Miss Deakin. Ollie Cottrell was the first junior to cross the line, despite his on-going knee problems.<br />
It was quite a cold, drizzly morning, but once all the runners had got their breath back, we made our way<br />
on to the beach for the final morning’s training. At<br />
the end <strong>of</strong> training we are invited to go to the beach<br />
cafe for bacon baps and c<strong>of</strong>fee - it’s a nice place to<br />
unwind and reflect on the week with friends and<br />
family. We got to have a lovely chat with Master<br />
Gayle too. The only downside was, having had a rest<br />
and dried out, we had to walk (or run!) back to<br />
camp!<br />
Several students took their coloured belt gradings<br />
on Friday afternoon, and then, just prior to the final<br />
training session <strong>of</strong> the week, the heavens opened!<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
However, full <strong>of</strong> indomitable spirit we all braved it<br />
and took part in a fun, fitness-based session, running<br />
up and down the grassy slope, and enjoying<br />
every minute. We also had a spur-<strong>of</strong>-the-moment<br />
team patterns competition, which was won by<br />
Powlesland’s Power Rangers.<br />
Once dismissed we were <strong>of</strong>f to get ready for the<br />
traditional party/presentation evening. Unfortunately,<br />
the village hall had been double booked<br />
(ferret racing - can you believe it?), but the Masters<br />
secured an alternative venue for us - a Social Club in nearby Braunton. Awards are given each year for<br />
best team, best team leader, best coloured/black belts and so on. There were, however, a few extraordinary<br />
awards this year. For example, Mr Lammin was given a special ‘award’ for having made us all get up<br />
so early for training each morning! Ollie Cottrell was given the ‘Spanner <strong>of</strong> the Week’ award. Mr Tettmar<br />
won the much coveted ‘stickers’ competition with, quite possibly, the world’s smallest tattoo. Well I say<br />
tattoo…! It was during Mr Tettmar’s (some would say) misguided youth that in an act <strong>of</strong> rebellion he<br />
attempted to tattoo himself - but after the first few attempts (<strong>of</strong> what I think was meant to be an anarchy<br />
sign) he gave up as it hurt! It was hilarious listening to his story. This must have been back in the<br />
days before perseverance and imperviousness! Medals were given out for those who placed 1 st , 2 nd and<br />
3 rd in the timed run, and it was announced that all those who had taken their coloured belt gradings earlier<br />
that day had passed.<br />
The last morning <strong>of</strong> Summer Camp is always a bit<br />
sad. Some people have to pack up and go home the<br />
night before (after the party). Tents disappear at<br />
quite a rate, and the field starts to look quite empty.<br />
We are just about as slow at packing up the tent<br />
as we are at erecting it in the first place; so we usually<br />
get to say goodbye to everyone as they do a<br />
little tour <strong>of</strong> the field before they depart.<br />
With the car finally loaded we drove out <strong>of</strong> the field<br />
and slowly through the campsite, and as we said<br />
goodbye to Croyde and started the drive home we<br />
were already talking about what we’ll do when next year’s camp comes around! Can’t wait!<br />
18
Interview with Master John Black, 8 th Degree - Part 1<br />
By John Dowding<br />
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
I first met Master John Black when I was a 9 th Kup and<br />
he was a 5 th Degree, and I was immediately struck by<br />
how friendly, enthusiastic and approachable he was. His<br />
knowledge was apparent and he had time for everyone<br />
and would give it freely. I am now a 4 th Degree and Master<br />
Black is an 8 th Degree and he is still as friendly, enthusiastic<br />
and approachable to all as the very first time I<br />
met him. I interviewed Master Black during the<br />
P.U.M.A. British Championships back in October 2011<br />
and it was a genuine pleasure to listen to his experiences<br />
and gain his perspective on the <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong>. I’m<br />
proud that P.U.M.A. has Masters like John Black, and<br />
I’m proud to call him an inspiration and a friend.<br />
Can you just tell us a bit about your background?<br />
(Master Black) I was born in Glasgow and was the oldest<br />
<strong>of</strong> seven brothers and sisters. My mother was Catholic<br />
and my father was Protestant. I was the only<br />
Protestant in a Catholic school and the area was pretty<br />
rough. You had to be in a gang to survive. We eventually<br />
moved to Southampton with my mum and again it was<br />
a rough time and, being the eldest, I was the one who<br />
looked after everyone else. I finally was able to join the Army when my Mum agreed to sign the papers.<br />
When did you join the Army and how old were you at the time, what regiment?<br />
(Master Black) I joined the Army when I was 16 at Wyvern Barracks in Exeter. That was in the 1970’s,<br />
partly junior soldiers and partly a training company where I did my 18 weeks training before joining the<br />
Royal Hampshire Regiment when they were reformed. I eventually joined the regiment at Colchester Barracks.<br />
I believe you first became involved in the world <strong>of</strong> Self-defence and boxing during your military career,<br />
can you tell us a bit about this.<br />
(Master Black) In my training as a recruit there was a Sergeant, a PTI (physical training instructor) Dickey<br />
Doors who was a Shotokan Black Belt and I used to see him doing training and think “That looks good”.<br />
So I got chatting to him and he did a few lessons with us. We did a bit <strong>of</strong> self-defence in the army anyway<br />
as a recruit, basic self-defence to look after yourself and I thought I want to do something like this. When<br />
I get to the Regiment I want to carry this on. That’s how it started <strong>of</strong>f.<br />
You must have travelled a bit and had some interesting postings?<br />
(Master Black) Well my first posting was Northern Ireland as a young boy <strong>of</strong> 17. It was my first tour in<br />
Newry in Ireland and it was a big eye opener. You don’t think you’re going to get into anything like this<br />
and then all <strong>of</strong> a sudden it’s reality. You know you do the training and yes it is getting to you that it’s<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
reality but it’s not reality until you are<br />
on that boat going from Liverpool to<br />
Belfast. They get you up at five<br />
o’clock in the morning and everybody<br />
is upstairs and as we are coming into<br />
Belfast we were getting bricks thrown<br />
at us. We were not even <strong>of</strong>f the ship<br />
and we were getting stoned by the<br />
builders, who were spitting and<br />
shouting at us, you know “Go home<br />
you ********”, you know that sort <strong>of</strong><br />
thing. And I thought “We’re not even<br />
<strong>of</strong>f and on the soil!” It was a little bit scary. And then we had the journey to Newry, I was in the four tonner<br />
as we called them, the army vehicle that carried all the weapons. We hadn’t slept much on the boat<br />
and we were dropping <strong>of</strong>f and getting bumped about by the road, and then we get to Newry and there is<br />
a welcoming committee with another load <strong>of</strong> bricks!<br />
Were you involved in training in any other Asian <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> while you were in the U.K. at that time?<br />
(Master Black) I was interested in martial arts long before<br />
the Bruce Lee film was launched, but when the<br />
film (Enter the Dragon) was released we all went<br />
down, me and the lads, to the premiere in Colchester,<br />
and thought wow! The guy was awesome! I went to<br />
London to Leus Jacob who was doing a style <strong>of</strong> Kung<br />
Fu; He was a Mongolian and his Kung Fu style was like<br />
Mixed <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> even then in the 70s. I went to London<br />
a couple <strong>of</strong> times and had a few lessons. There was<br />
also a lad in the Army who was a red belt in Taekwon-<br />
Do under Master Rhee Ki Ha and I did a bit with him and thought “This is alright”.<br />
You were shortly afterwards posted to Hong Kong. There must have been a huge amount <strong>of</strong> excitement<br />
at the thought <strong>of</strong> being posted to the home <strong>of</strong> Bruce Lee and the Chinese <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong>?<br />
(Master Black) After the film we were all thinking<br />
yes! Wing Chun that’s his style and that’s what we<br />
want to do when we are in Hong Kong.<br />
What was the reason for your posting to Hong<br />
Kong at that time and what role did the British<br />
Army have there?<br />
(Master Black) We were over there to stop the<br />
immigrants coming to Hong Kong from China, but<br />
our other strategy was to show force because <strong>of</strong><br />
the balance between China and the Western<br />
World. At the time it felt that they could attack at<br />
any time.<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
What was the atmosphere like in Hong Kong at that<br />
time? As the Vietnam War was in full flow, it must<br />
have been a pretty strange and dangerous place<br />
with American Servicemen on R & R and the influx<br />
<strong>of</strong> Vietnamese boat people.<br />
(Master Black) It was a very dangerous place. We<br />
were also there because the boat people were coming<br />
from Vietnam and they were in a terrible state<br />
coming <strong>of</strong>f the boats. Untreated wounds, some <strong>of</strong><br />
them were dead, and we had to put the survivors<br />
into refugee camps and these people were on our<br />
side, well you know side <strong>of</strong> the Americans. What we<br />
didn’t know was that some <strong>of</strong> the bad guys were on the boats as well and had got in amongst the refugees.<br />
They were there to assassinate some <strong>of</strong> the top political figures who had become refugees or people<br />
who had sided or helped the Americans.<br />
Part <strong>of</strong> my duties was to patrol the camps and I was a green or blue belt at the time. I was walking round<br />
the camp at about 12 o’clock at night and there was a basketball area with a load <strong>of</strong> guys all in sitting<br />
stance and I thought they were doing Karate. Then as I was watching they started doing Saju Jirugi and<br />
Chon-Ji and I thought “Blimey that’s the same style as I’m doing”. So I got chatting with the chap who<br />
was teaching and he had been a Captain in the Vietnamese ARVN Special Forces who were trained by the<br />
Americans, and he was a 3 rd Degree Taekwon-Do Black Belt. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat<br />
which was his Taekwon-Do. I developed a great rapport with him and others and used to take them<br />
clothes and stuff to help them out. He told me he was part <strong>of</strong> a five man fire team with the American<br />
Rangers and they would go into areas behind the lines taking out Viet Cong sympathisers or other important<br />
targets that had to be done silently with no messing, so hand-to-hand [combat] was very important.<br />
He told me that Taekwon-Do was an awesome weapon but that during Special Forces training in<br />
Vietnam they lost one person a week who either got killed or badly injured. He said they had loads <strong>of</strong> other<br />
injuries, broken arms, legs, sternums but they actually lost one a week, because they had to train for<br />
real, using real knives and just one mistake with a knife or a fatal blow and that was it. I was laughing<br />
thinking he was joking, then I spoke to my instructor Lee Chong Oh who was also ex-Special Forces and<br />
he just looked at me and said “That would be about right”. That’s all he said!<br />
I know from talking to you that you had a great night out at the Cinema in Hong Kong can you tell us a bit<br />
about that?<br />
(Master Black) Yes, it was after Bruce [Lee] had died and there was a new film out starring Bruce Li, who<br />
was supposed to be the new Chinese <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> Superstar and it was a premiere and I managed to get<br />
a ticket. It was huge and there were loads <strong>of</strong> people outside who couldn’t get in. So I was sat there with<br />
an Asian lad who spoke English and I was the only Western guy in the cinema, and I was thinking this is<br />
going to be really good. The lights went <strong>of</strong>f and the film started and within a couple <strong>of</strong> minutes I thought<br />
“This guy is rubbish, nothing like Bruce Lee”. Well that was it, the Chinese were going mental, they were<br />
throwing their ice creams and all shouting in Chinese, and then all <strong>of</strong> a sudden someone ripped up a chair<br />
and threw it at the screen and they all started joining in throwing chairs. The lad I was sat next to<br />
grabbed me and said “We had better go, they are not happy, they are shouting that it’s not the real<br />
Bruce Lee, it’s false and they are upset” so we left pushing our way through all these rioting Chinese.<br />
21
Tell us a bit about your visit to the home <strong>of</strong> Bruce and your brush with the Hong Kong Police.<br />
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
(Master Black) When we got there it was not long after<br />
he died, and there were loads <strong>of</strong> stories going round.<br />
One <strong>of</strong> them was that he had been threatened by Triads<br />
who wanted him to smuggle drugs for them, and so<br />
his death had been faked so his family would be safe.<br />
There were loads <strong>of</strong> “sightings” <strong>of</strong> him supposedly practising<br />
in the garden <strong>of</strong> his house, lights in the house being<br />
on, that sort <strong>of</strong> thing. Well the house was about six<br />
miles away from where we lived in married quarters. So<br />
I thought I will take the dog and a camera and have a<br />
look at his house. I had been looking for his house for<br />
about six months and had eventually found it. It had big<br />
golden letters on the front which was his name in Chinese. So I got there and tied the dog up, climbed up<br />
on the wall and it was a beautiful house with lovely Asian formal gardens, and there I was snapping<br />
away, sat on wall with no cares in the world. All <strong>of</strong> a sudden up come all these Police cars and they all<br />
jump out pointing guns at me and shouting in Chinese. I didn’t have a clue what was going on. I jump<br />
down <strong>of</strong>f the wall and I’m waving the camera at them and trying to explain. So they grabbed me and<br />
handcuffed me and put me in one <strong>of</strong> the cars. There was an Officer who could speak English and he was<br />
asking me what I was doing. So I said sorry and I explained to him that I was a Bruce Lee fan and was taking<br />
some pictures. That changed things and he said “Ah we are all Bruce Lee fans too!” They took the<br />
cuffs <strong>of</strong>f me, and gave me a bit <strong>of</strong> a talking to and let me go. It could have caused an international incident<br />
at the time with me being a soldier and getting arrested, but they let me go. Looking back it was<br />
funny but it wasn’t funny at the time when they came screeching up and started pointing guns at me!<br />
How long after being posted did it take you to find a martial arts school and were you looking for a Kung<br />
Fu school at that time?<br />
(Master Black) When I went to Hong Kong my<br />
mind was made up. My second day there we<br />
took over from the Black Watch. One <strong>of</strong> the Black<br />
Watch guys was a Taekwon-Do Black Belt and<br />
we got talking and I said “I’m thinking <strong>of</strong> taking<br />
up Wing Chun” and he said “Look I don’t want to<br />
put you <strong>of</strong>f but we have Taekwon-Do.” He said<br />
“It’s a Korean form <strong>of</strong> Karate” and I said “I don’t<br />
really want to do Karate I want to do Wing Chun,<br />
Bruce Lee’s style.” He said “Just come along and<br />
watch, there is a big demonstration in the gym”.<br />
So I thought I have nothing to lose so I will go<br />
along. So 500 squaddies packed into this gym<br />
and we watched this demo which absolutely blew me away. From breaking to forms, self-defence, weapons<br />
and the kicks! I’m thinking “What?” I had never seen anything like it before, double side-kicks! And<br />
the power <strong>of</strong> the breaking, sparring with no gear, it was just amazing to watch. So 250 squaddies signed<br />
up to do Taekwon-Do right there and I was just one <strong>of</strong> them.<br />
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PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
What was the name <strong>of</strong> your Taekwon-Do instructor<br />
and was he an ITF member?<br />
(Master Black) My first Master was Young Son<br />
Sun but he left because the General was spreading<br />
Taekwon-Do, and so he was moving the ITF<br />
Masters around all over the world. Master Lee<br />
Chong Oh took over the beginning classes for us.<br />
Tell us about your training at that time and your<br />
experiences as a non-Asian student. Was there<br />
much resentment from the Asian students or<br />
were you just accepted as a fellow student?<br />
(Master Black) My training days were Monday, Wednesday, Friday but I was training on all the other<br />
days because I was really passionate about it, it gets you like a bug. For the first two months all we did<br />
was walking stance, walking up and down. I remember he had the Taekwon-Do “bible” and we had to<br />
read about Moral Culture and what the General said about Moral Culture and about the Hwa Rang youth<br />
group, and I thought when are we learning to fight and kick? All we would do was walking stance and<br />
sitting stance punching up and down the Dojang. He had a cane and if you were not in the right stance he<br />
would hit your hands and legs. He would say “You are soldier, you can take it” then bo<strong>of</strong>! He would<br />
whack you, for anything fist not clenched, whack! If you were doing press ups, if you couldn’t do them he<br />
would hit your hands or sit on your back! “Now! Do it!” He was great, he was ex-Korean Special Forces<br />
and a 6 th Degree Black Belt. He was very skilled in Hapkido as well and we did a lot <strong>of</strong> self-defence from<br />
the first grade. I actually jumped my first grading, I didn’t do a yellow tag and went straight onto yellow<br />
belt because <strong>of</strong> the time we had trained. I remember he brought in a bag <strong>of</strong> belts and everyone lined up<br />
and was saying to me “Ask him if we passed”. So I thought I’ll do it and asked “Sir, did we pass?” He<br />
looked at me and said “No you did not Black, but everyone else did” and he gave everyone else’s belt out<br />
except mine. I was there thinking I’m sure I was as good, cos you do don’t you? And everyone was looking<br />
at me and I was now lining up at the back behind everyone with a new belt. I’m thinking what’s going<br />
on? Anyway I thought I’m not asking again! Two weeks later he walked in and gave me a yellow belt and<br />
said “Black, you can wear this now”. I said “Thank you Sir!” I learnt my lesson that you never ever ask<br />
about passing a grading. Every time after that I never asked, he would bring the bag in and leave it there<br />
sometimes for two months! Anyone who ever asked about grading results always got the same answer<br />
“You didn’t pass!”<br />
I’m aware you did eventually manage to train in the art <strong>of</strong> Wing Chun, can you tell us who you trained<br />
with and a bit about your Wing Chun training?<br />
(Master Black) It was just after we had managed to get out <strong>of</strong> the Cinema and I was still with the lad who<br />
was with me when the Chinese kicked <strong>of</strong>f and who said we should leave. He said to me “Would you like to<br />
come and meet my Master, I’m here to learn Wing Tsun, not Wing Chun.” So I said “Yes, O.K. I would love<br />
to meet him.” He told me that his Masters’ name was Grandmaster Sifu Leung Ting. Anyway we got to a<br />
block <strong>of</strong> flats and I said to him “Is this his Dojang?” He said “No this is where he lives, we will go and see<br />
him.” Well I thought here we go, he just wants to get me into the elevator and he will pinch my money.<br />
So I get my back against the wall, and in my mind I’m thinking go on just try it! I’m imagining all these<br />
moves in my head and he is just talking away to me and I’m watching him thinking yea, yea in a minute!<br />
So we get to a door and I’m still thinking that it’s going to be full <strong>of</strong> Triads and drugs.<br />
<strong>23</strong>
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
An Oriental guy came to the door and said “Come in, come in” and was very welcoming. I was introduced<br />
to him and explained that I was interested in Wing Chun but was doing Taekwon-Do. He had a lot <strong>of</strong><br />
magazines that were called Real Kung Fu and he was doing an article on Bruce Lee and he asked me<br />
what the Westerners thought <strong>of</strong> him. I told him that he was my hero and got talking to him. Sifu said “Ah<br />
yes, he used to train with me and Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Ip Man who was my instructor.” Well I was like, wow! Anyway,<br />
we got talking and before I knew it, it was four o’clock in the morning just talking away about the<br />
martial arts. He told me that Ip Man had fallen out with Bruce Lee because Bruce was taking his Wing<br />
Chun out onto the streets to see if it worked. He said if he hadn’t made it as a film star he probably would<br />
have been a gangster. He wasn’t into robbing people but he would challenge others to fight. He said he<br />
was a man beyond his time, but after they fell out that was when he started to develop his own style.<br />
So I started to train with Sifu Leung Ting after he asked me to. I said that I couldn’t afford to because I<br />
was already training in Taekwon-Do, but he said “No, no free, come and train with me for free.” I went to<br />
his gym and it was a little place, really small but with a wooden dummy, and pads on the wall to punch,<br />
you had to go up stairs in this block to get to it. There was another room that had a bed and there was<br />
stuff all around, and that was where they used to train. So I trained with him there regularly and he was<br />
lovely.<br />
Why did you eventually decide to stop Wing Chun and devote yourself to the art <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-Do?<br />
(Master Black) Well I was training in Wing<br />
Tsun and I was taking the stuff I was<br />
learning back to Taekwon-Do because I<br />
wasn’t very experienced. I was trying to<br />
use the stuff I was learning with the<br />
Taekwon-Do, you know the straight hands<br />
and techniques. My instructor asked me if<br />
I was training elsewhere, so I told him and<br />
he said that he knew Sifu Leung Ting and<br />
thought he was really good; he never<br />
spoke badly <strong>of</strong> people. He told me he<br />
thought he was a very good man, but said<br />
that I was confusing both arts and needed<br />
to concentrate on one in order to be good at one. I said “Well, can’t I do both Sir?” He replied with a story<br />
and said to me “If you are hunting animals and the animals split into two directions you must make a<br />
choice and follow one path, and decide which animal you want to track.” He explained that it’s the same<br />
principle with martial arts. You have to become pr<strong>of</strong>icient at one art and understand it inside out, and<br />
then you can do other things. It doesn’t influence your style or the way you teach, but you have other<br />
stuff that makes it stronger or better for you. So I said “O.K. Sir” and he said that I had to make up my<br />
mind whether or not I wanted to do Taekwon-Do. He said he would be happy if I did, and would also be<br />
happy if I chose Wing Tsun. Sifu Leung Ting had wanted me to do an apprenticeship with him for five<br />
years, he was going to buy me out <strong>of</strong> the Army, I would have had to live in that little room where you<br />
couldn’t swing a cat which wouldn’t have gone down too well with Patricia who I am married to! I would<br />
have enough money to live on and food and clothing. I would have to train for five years solid and at the<br />
end he would pay for a flight back to London, England and I would open a Wing Tsun academy, get that<br />
<strong>of</strong>f the ground and up and running and he would then send a Chinese Wing Tsun instructor over who<br />
24
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
would take over running that one and I would go to another<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the country and open another Academy and so on. I<br />
was going to be the English Ambassador for Wing Tsun who<br />
paved the way for the Chinese instructors. I thanked Sifu<br />
Leung Ting for the opportunity but explained that I had made<br />
my mind up to stay with Taekwon-Do as I was a blue belt and<br />
felt I should stay with it to get my Black Belt. He was very understanding<br />
though and told me I had made a wise choice. I<br />
became very good friends with him but eventually lost touch.<br />
How would you describe your first Black Belt grading and<br />
how and when were you presented with your first Black Belt?<br />
(Master Black) I was training every chance I got, every<br />
chance. So three <strong>of</strong> us from the Army were ready to do our<br />
Black Belt grading. It was me and the others were Barney<br />
Thomson and a guy called Harry Harris from Plymouth. Well,<br />
Barney got sent back on the advance party to Northern Ireland<br />
so he couldn’t take it. I didn’t even know I was taking it<br />
until my instructor said “Black, I want you to come to the<br />
school and take your Black Belt.” I said “Sir, I’m not ready. I need to practise more” and he said “You have<br />
practised enough, you are ready.” So me and Harry were going “But Sir?” and he just said “No, you are<br />
ready”. That was on the Monday and the next training session was on the Thursday so he had given us<br />
the two days to prepare! So we turned up and we went through the grading, we did the same as we do<br />
now. Introduced ourselves name and grade, then<br />
we did all the patterns, we did line work, then kicking<br />
drills, three-step sparring, two-step sparring.<br />
Then we did self-defence which was the one-step<br />
but it was freestyle and we did breaking which was<br />
knife-hand two house bricks, punching downwards<br />
through eighteen slates, turning kick through four<br />
inches <strong>of</strong> wood, no focus! Flying side-kick over six<br />
people one board and that was it, but you had to<br />
break, you were allowed one focus apart from the<br />
turning kick. Luckily I went through as the adrenalin<br />
was going. We had been training doing loads <strong>of</strong><br />
breaking anyway. Then we sparred, first against<br />
our own grades, and you sparred everyone. Then<br />
he lined up all the Black Belts from 1 st Degree to 4 th<br />
Degree and we had to spar all <strong>of</strong> them, one on one,<br />
two on one and we had to show control. There<br />
were no pads and you had to spar with power and<br />
focus but you must not hit. You were not allowed<br />
to hit! I’m not exaggerating there must have been<br />
between 10 and 15 Black Belts and you just went<br />
from one to another one and it seemed like that<br />
25
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
by the time you got to the 4 th Degrees nothing was left; No<br />
power, slowing down, couldn’t breathe, just battered! I went<br />
home to Patricia and I was just bruised all over, my arms, my<br />
legs, I couldn’t walk for a week after. And you don’t know if you<br />
have passed and I wasn’t going to ask! My posting to Hong<br />
Kong was coming to an end and I was due to fly out in the<br />
afternoon and I got a call from Master Lee Chong Oh asking me<br />
to come down to the Taekwon-Do Dojang. So I went down<br />
there with Patricia and my friend Jimmy Sayssol and I was<br />
wearing jeans and a shirt. We got there and I entered and took<br />
<strong>of</strong> my shoes and Master Oh said to me “Black, I want you to<br />
spar.” I said “Sir, I haven’t brought my Dobok” and he just<br />
looked at me and said “Do you need your Dobok in the street?”<br />
so I said “No Sir”. Again he had a load <strong>of</strong> Black Belts lined up<br />
and I had to spar them and I’m thinking what is going on here?<br />
I had really tight jeans on and couldn’t even throw a kick so I<br />
did my best and spent a lot <strong>of</strong> time trying to dodge them, sweat<br />
was pouring <strong>of</strong>f me! My shirt was soaked. He stopped us and<br />
said “Black, I have something for you” and took out my Black Belt with his and my name and ITF on it and<br />
gave me a Dobok. I hadn’t paid him for the grading and he said “Black, when you get home you send the<br />
money over to me.” Which I did! It was a fantastic moment! General Choi eventually moved him to Ethiopia<br />
to teach and there was a war there at the time and I lost contact with him. I would love to find out<br />
where he is because I would like him to know that I never gave up. He said to me “Black, you must promise<br />
to me that you will never give up Taekwon-Do, you must keep doing Taekwon-Do and teaching General<br />
Choi’s way. Do you understand, you must teach my way but my way is the General’s way.” I would<br />
love him to know that I never gave up but I don’t know if he is still alive.<br />
We have all heard stories <strong>of</strong> <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> schools in Asia “challenging” each other, did you ever come<br />
across anything like this and were you involved in any “underground” challenges to defend the honour<br />
<strong>of</strong> your school?<br />
(Master Black) There was a demo with all different martial arts, we were the last ones to go on, you had<br />
all the Chinese Kung Fu styles like Praying Mantis, Five Animals all on and then before us was the Karate<br />
and we were last on. The display blew the public away with all the kicking, breaking and sparring, but the<br />
Japanese group that were there were very disrespectful, laughing during the demo and saying that<br />
Taekwon-Do was flimsy, not strong. I didn’t know what they were actually saying as it wasn’t in English<br />
but it was clear enough. All the Chinese Taekwon-Do lads were getting very uptight and aggressive and I<br />
could feel there was a bad atmosphere. I asked Master Lee Chong Oh about it and he told me that they<br />
were being disrespectful to Taekwon-Do. I was only a blue belt so wasn’t actually in the demo, as it was<br />
just Black Belts and I said “Sir, shall I go over and say something?” He said “Black, Why? We try to live the<br />
tenets <strong>of</strong> Taekwon-Do and the moral culture General Choi has taught us, so I go over there and I beat the<br />
instructor up badly, where does that get me? Disrespect from other <strong>Arts</strong> because I lower myself to the<br />
same level.” I said “I understand Sir”. He said to me “What do you think about the demo, Black?” and I<br />
replied that our demonstration had been brilliant. He said “All martial arts are good, all the demonstrations<br />
were good.” I said “yes Sir, but Taekwon-Do was better.” He replied “That’s your opinion Black, but<br />
all were good, all were good!”<br />
26
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Anyway I went to the Dojang later that week and<br />
some <strong>of</strong> the Chinese students were bruised with fat<br />
lips out and a bit battered. There was a lad there<br />
named Willy Wong who was a Black Belt and he had<br />
adopted me as his brother. I asked him about it and<br />
thought it was because <strong>of</strong> sparring and he said “No<br />
no! They went and beat the Karate Instructor up and<br />
his student’s”. I couldn’t believe it; it was just like the<br />
film Fist <strong>of</strong> Fury! I said “What? You went round and<br />
beat up the instructor and his students?” He just<br />
looked at me and went “Yes.” I still couldn’t believe it<br />
and asked him how many went and took part he looked at me and said “only four <strong>of</strong> us.” I asked him how<br />
many <strong>of</strong> them and he just replied “A few.” So I said you must have been hurt and he just said “Not as bad<br />
as they were.” I asked him if this went on all the time and he explained that if someone disrespected their<br />
Master they couldn’t lose face so they would arrange to meet secretly and fight. Challenges were common<br />
between Chinese Kung Fu styles against the Korean Art. I asked him if we had ever lost and he just<br />
smiled and said “All the time I have been doing it, No!”<br />
During your time in Asia did you come across any tournaments and if so what were they like? Were they<br />
in the style <strong>of</strong> films such as Bloodsport or more like the tournaments we are used to today?<br />
(Master Black) A lad I knew called Jimmy Sayssol married a Chinese girl and because <strong>of</strong> that a Kung Fu<br />
Master took him on. It was unusual for a Chinese Master to take on a Westerner. He trained with him for<br />
a year before he died. He then was taken on by another Master who trained him in Hung Gar style. He<br />
was also an Army boxer and we all used to train together and swap techniques. His Kung Fu Master said<br />
he would put him into a tournament because he thought he would do well. So me and my wife Patricia<br />
and Jimmy and his wife were invited to this Kung Fu Open Championship. A big venue, a big arena for the<br />
fights and all different Kung Fu schools. It started at about three o’clock in the afternoon and goes way<br />
into the early hours <strong>of</strong> the morning. There’s food and everything for the spectators and it is a bit like a<br />
Western boxing match with tables and people are drinking and eating. It started with weapons and Jimmy<br />
did a spear form and then Nunchucks and did very well and picked up some points. Then it was onto<br />
the sparring, and it was same as we do now, so he<br />
had about ten fights before he made it to the quarter<br />
finals and he was just destroying people! They<br />
were doing all the traditional style with big long<br />
stances and all the five animals hand movements<br />
trying to grab and so on. Jimmy was just moving<br />
round up on his toes and using bits <strong>of</strong> Kung Fu, bits<br />
<strong>of</strong> boxing, double jabs and following up with kicking<br />
as well. They just couldn’t handle him as he wasn’t<br />
fighting in the traditional way. He went all the way<br />
through and got to the finals where he was against<br />
the champion who had not been beaten for five<br />
years. He was a Kung Fu Instructor and he was really<br />
good. We had been watching him and he would<br />
adapt his fighting style depending on how his<br />
27
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
opponent fought. I thought Jimmy was going<br />
to meet his match but then the fight started.<br />
This guy started with the traditional long<br />
stance and fancy hand movements, but then<br />
changed his style and tried to copy Jimmy’s<br />
style, but he just wasn’t as fast as Jimmy who<br />
was a vey good boxer. Jimmy just moved<br />
around and then would slip inside and use his<br />
punches then use different range and switch<br />
to kicks like turning kicks and side-kicks. The<br />
lad was bruised and kept getting knocked<br />
down and the fight was five rounds. Every<br />
round Jimmy was winning. Anyway the fight<br />
stopped and the Judges came up and announced “Gwailo win!” They called him that as it was a name for<br />
a foreigner. Well the place just erupted because a white person had won. The lad who he had fought was<br />
battered and bruised and was with his helpers and as Jimmy was walking <strong>of</strong>f towards us, the lad got up<br />
and was shouting and screaming and started to run at Jimmy who had his back to him. I shouted a warning<br />
to Jimmy who looked round and saw him coming and just stepped in and side-kicked him, bo<strong>of</strong>! He<br />
went flying into the tables and the crowd and it was chaos. Jimmy was just standing there looking at him.<br />
Now Jimmy was a real fighter and he goes “Who’s next?” and I’m thinking “Oh my god!” He just looked<br />
at me and said “John, you got my back” and my wife Patricia is looking worried and I just didn’t know<br />
what was going to happen next. Jimmy’s wife was crying now, begging us to leave as the Chinese crowd<br />
were very upset. Jimmy casually grabbed his stuff and his Master came over to him and said “Jimmy, I<br />
need you to leave, people are not happy that he has been beaten.” Jimmy <strong>of</strong>fered to go over and apologise<br />
for humiliating him, but his Master just said “No, you must leave now”. So as we were going out another<br />
Chinese Kung Fu stylist came over and said to Jimmy “You think you are tough?” He then challenged<br />
Jimmy to a power blocking contest, just blocking each others arms as hard as they could. So Jimmy<br />
accepted that and beat him as well, which didn’t go down well, and I’m still thinking “What is going<br />
on??” So we got into the nearest taxi and got away. It was in the Hong Kong papers next day that a<br />
Gwailo had won this championship. It did get a bit nasty but could have got a lot worse and we were a bit<br />
lucky there!<br />
In the next instalment, Master Black talks about his return from Hong Kong, his tours <strong>of</strong> duty in Northern<br />
Ireland and his journey since then in Taekwon-Do.<br />
28
M usings from Korea:<br />
Part 3<br />
B y Andrew Sanderson<br />
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Previously, I have discussed my time on Jeju Changgyeonggung Palace - Destroyed by the Japanese in 1592<br />
Island, including a conference and my experiences<br />
climbing Mt. Halla. This was followed 1945) the Japanese turned it into a zoo.<br />
(rebuilt in 1616). During the Japanese Colonial period (1910-<br />
by a quick hop to the mainland, which included<br />
a flying visit to Busan in the south-east <strong>of</strong> the peninsula, before settling in Gyeongju for a few days,<br />
whilst exploring the relics <strong>of</strong> the ancient Silla kingdom. The reader left me, having travelled to Seoul where<br />
I did some Taekwon-Do training with the only I.T.F. style dojang I could find and returning from a tense<br />
visit to the North Korean border.<br />
My last day in Seoul was also my busiest. I first visited one <strong>of</strong> the five grand palaces <strong>of</strong> the Joseon dynasty,<br />
Changgyeonggung Palace, which is a very beautiful site and well worth a visit. Immediately outside the<br />
palace stands the statues <strong>of</strong> King Sejong the Great (after which the 5 th Degree pattern Se-Jong is named)<br />
and Admiral Yi Sun-Shin (after which the 1 st Kup pattern Choong-Moo is named), as well as their adjacently<br />
located museums. Upon visiting these museums, my knowledge and respect for the writing system devised<br />
under/by King Sejong (called hangul) increased dramatically, and I bought a small ply-wood model <strong>of</strong><br />
Me in front <strong>of</strong> the statue <strong>of</strong> King Sejong the Great.<br />
A statue <strong>of</strong> Admiral Yi Sun-Shin in downtown Seoul,<br />
with a model <strong>of</strong> the kobukson beneath.<br />
the Kobukson, the famous battleship for which most Taekwon-Do students will know him.<br />
This was then followed by a visit to Tapgol park, which hosts monuments to both the 1 st March (1919) independence<br />
movement (after which the 3 rd degree pattern Sam-Il is named), and a statue <strong>of</strong> its leader,<br />
29
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
A climb to the top <strong>of</strong> Namsan, which is the mountain in the middle <strong>of</strong> Seoul, punctuated the middle <strong>of</strong><br />
the day, which included a visit to the top <strong>of</strong> Seoul tower for a panoramic view <strong>of</strong> Seoul. Following a cable<br />
-car descent from the top <strong>of</strong> the mountain, I located a monument to Ahn Joong-Geun (after which the 4 th<br />
Kup pattern Joong-Gun is named), as well as visiting a museum dedicated to him. There were other monuments<br />
I had planned to visit which were located inside Namsan national<br />
park, but let’s just say that a map does not do the scale <strong>of</strong> a mountain justice.<br />
A statue <strong>of</strong> Son Byong-Hi (Eui-Am) in Tapgol park.<br />
A statue <strong>of</strong> Ahn Joong-Gun inside the Ahn Joong-Gun<br />
museum.<br />
A monument to the Sam-Il independence movement<br />
in Tapgol park.<br />
Ahn Joong's gun! The gun and bullets used by Ahn<br />
Joong-Gun to assassinate Ito Hirobumi.<br />
30
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
I headed back to my hotel to freshen<br />
up ready for the evening. In the<br />
evening, I headed into downtown<br />
Seoul to see a comedy martial arts<br />
show called “Jump!” This is an internationally<br />
acclaimed show which has<br />
theatres in not only Seoul, but New<br />
York as well; in addition, they have<br />
performed at the Edinburgh Fringe<br />
Festival, as well as the Royal Variety<br />
Performance. Should anybody ever<br />
get the chance to see it, I would<br />
highly recommend it. The only problem<br />
was, however, that a certain degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> audience participation is required.<br />
The fact that I was the only<br />
Westerner in the audience, and that<br />
Disappointingly Westernised - Central Seoul.<br />
I was sat on an aisle seat close to the<br />
front, dressed all in white, and the performers had already taken an interest in my hair on their way to<br />
the stage, it seems, in hindsight, somewhat inevitable that they would get me on stage, which they<br />
promptly did. Let me at this point say that anybody who has ever met me, or knows me in the slightest,<br />
will vouch that I am not, by any definition <strong>of</strong> the word, an extrovert. However, on stage, they simply<br />
tasked me with copying some basic martial art moves. I was acutely aware that I did not wish to appear as<br />
though I had done any martial arts before, so as not to overly prolong my experience. However, when you<br />
are not thinking, your body does what it knows, and I think I may have given the game away when, after<br />
performing an old-school front snap kick, I landed back into a guarding stance. This was identified by the<br />
audience with a rapturous applause, and a smile and a nod from the performers. A few forward and backward<br />
roles (a la little PUMAs), I was back in my seat, and much happier for it. The show was enjoyable because<br />
it featured obviously very dedicated martial artists who were simply having fun with their skills; it<br />
was refreshing to see, in a pursuit which sometimes takes itself far too seriously. I enjoyed the rest <strong>of</strong> the<br />
show, and made my way back to my hotel, ready for my flight home in the morning.<br />
Whilst travelling throughout Korea, I noticed a great deal <strong>of</strong> things, due to either their differences to the<br />
culture and history <strong>of</strong> the U.K., or because <strong>of</strong> their similarities. One thing that I noticed very early on is<br />
that South Korea is very clearly influenced by the culture <strong>of</strong> the U.S.A. I should stress that I have never<br />
been to the U.S.A. However, the culture <strong>of</strong> the U.S.A. is something that we are also heavily exposed to (if<br />
not as strongly influenced by) here in the U.K. It is perhaps no surprise that South Korea is as heavily influenced<br />
as it is by the U.S.A., considering the two countries’ relationship in the last 60 years. However, I was<br />
a little bit saddened that whilst walking around I saw a great deal <strong>of</strong> American cultural influence, from numerous<br />
food outlets and stores, down to the road signs. This is particularly surprising given the Korean<br />
people’s obvious pride in their own country, culture and history. Though I harbour no particular sympathies<br />
with North Korea, one <strong>of</strong> their chief criticisms <strong>of</strong> the South is their influence by the U.S.A., and it is<br />
difficult to argue with them on this topic. This brings me onto my next point. South Korea appears to be a<br />
nation <strong>of</strong> obvious contradiction between the attitudes <strong>of</strong> the government and that <strong>of</strong> the people, sometimes<br />
between the people, and even inside the government itself. This is perhaps not surprising given the<br />
31
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
The Hotel Lexington - a very American hotel where I stayed during<br />
my time in Seoul.<br />
rapid and substantial flux in the South<br />
Korean political system in the last few<br />
decades; however, the contradictions<br />
were so clear to the eyes <strong>of</strong> the outsider,<br />
I was genuinely surprised that they have<br />
not been addressed. Some <strong>of</strong> the things<br />
on the south side <strong>of</strong> the border have<br />
names like “Freedom Road” and<br />
“<strong>Unification</strong> Bridge”; in fact, everywhere<br />
you go in the South there are reminders<br />
that the Korean people desperately wish<br />
to be united. However, this appears to be<br />
juxtaposed quite heavily with the fact<br />
that most South Koreans exhibit a strong<br />
dislike <strong>of</strong> anything even tangentially associated<br />
with North Korea, which is a substantial<br />
hurdle to reconciliation.<br />
Another observation that I made about Korea was the impact the Japanese had on the country. I had<br />
known that the Japanese had been kicked out as a result <strong>of</strong> their defeat after World War II, and I knew<br />
they did some damage and were strongly disliked<br />
throughout Korea (even before this). However, I was taken<br />
aback by the damage that the historical artefacts and<br />
sites had suffered at their hands. It seems that every ancient<br />
temple had been dismantled by Japan, and the cultural<br />
relics taken by the Japanese. Almost every cultural<br />
sight has a plaque in front stating that it is however<br />
many hundreds or thousands <strong>of</strong> years old, then in the<br />
next breath stating that the thing you are actually looking<br />
at was rebuilt in the 1970’s. It reminded me somewhat<br />
(but on a much larger scale) <strong>of</strong> the influence Henry<br />
VIII had on the Catholic locations in England during the<br />
reformation, or <strong>of</strong> Oliver Cromwell’s influence in the<br />
years after the English Civil War.<br />
This concludes the third article about my visit to Korea. I<br />
think that you will be able to appreciate the volume <strong>of</strong><br />
things I did and places I visited in the time, which unfortunately<br />
means that I cannot go into much detail here. In<br />
the fourth and final instalment, I will talk about the<br />
things that I really enjoyed about the Korean culture that<br />
I experienced, along with how the culture compares to<br />
the western culture. I will finish by talking about how the<br />
Korea and culture we learn about through Taekwon-Do<br />
differs from reality. Stick around.<br />
A South Korean soldier at the border - with a very<br />
American looking appearance, and with a great<br />
deal <strong>of</strong> American soldiers in close proximity.<br />
32
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Side-kick Specials<br />
We are always looking for new content and ideas for the magazine, and<br />
again we see some side-kicks in exotic (and not so exotic) locations. This<br />
time round we have several <strong>of</strong> our senior members in Croatia, with Bosnia<br />
in the background in the top photo. Closer to home, we have photos<br />
from Winter Camp 2010 held at Warmwell in Dorset. We have great<br />
weather and an excellent training programme with the top P.U.M.A. instructors - who could ask for more?<br />
Pete Bullough ~ Editorial Team<br />
33
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
A Blast From The Past<br />
How many celebrities can you spot?<br />
34
T he<br />
Search<br />
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
Devon Little PUMA’s were recently at St<br />
Michaels’ School in Exeter at the Cancer<br />
Research U.K. Race for Life. Stop! Stand<br />
Back!! They are ready for action!!! Can you<br />
help them find their way through the maze?<br />
35
Answer: TAEKWON-DO<br />
T he Little P.U.M.A. page<br />
Fill in the missing letters <strong>of</strong> these words describing student skills or<br />
qualities to spell out a fun and exciting activity (answer at the bottom <strong>of</strong> the page).<br />
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
S I T T I N G S A N C E<br />
W A L K I N G S T N C E<br />
D O U B L E P U N C H S<br />
D O B O<br />
E L B O<br />
L O W B L C K<br />
R U N I N G<br />
S T A N I N G<br />
H I G H B L C K<br />
Children’s Corner Jokes<br />
Question: How do you get a squirrels’ attention? Answer: Climb a tree and act like a nut!<br />
Question: What can you hold without ever touching it? Answer: A conversation!<br />
Question: What is round and bad-tempered? Answer: A prickled onion!<br />
Question: What’s green and loud? Answer: A froghorn!!<br />
36
PLANET P.U.M.A.<br />
P.U.M.A. Calendar 2012<br />
November<br />
Sunday 11 th Tang Soo Do Grading<br />
16 th 17 th 18 th Irish Championships Cork<br />
Sunday 18 th Exeter Grading<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> rd Yate Grading<br />
Sunday 25 th British Championships Oasis Swindon<br />
Friday 30 th Southampton Grading<br />
December<br />
Sunday 2 nd Berkshire Grading<br />
Monday 3 rd Wiltshire Grading<br />
Sunday 9 th New Century Grading Leek<br />
Sunday 9 th Plymouth & Cornwall<br />
37
The reality <strong>of</strong> confrontations and violence are<br />
grim and ugly.<br />
F.A.S.T. stands for Fear Adrenaline Stress<br />
Training. It is a world-renowned method for<br />
training for the reality <strong>of</strong> confrontations,<br />
conflict and violence.<br />
Junior courses look at anti-bullying<br />
and anti-abduction skills<br />
F.A.S.T. courses <strong>of</strong>fer training in key self<br />
-protection skills such as awareness,<br />
avoidance, situation control, using<br />
your voice and simple, effective defence<br />
techniques. All training is against our Bullet man padded assailant.<br />
Full power techniques are practiced<br />
done in an adrenaline environment<br />
so you learn not to freeze and panic when<br />
you need it.<br />
All <strong>of</strong> our<br />
highly<br />
trained coaches are self-protection<br />
instructors and dedicated martial<br />
artists and with many years <strong>of</strong> practical<br />
experience.<br />
Give yourself the edge in this fun,<br />
empowering and highly practical<br />
course.<br />
Contact PUMA on 0845 6001967 or email<br />
info@pumafastdefence.com