10 Most Asked Questions

Q1. With all your success with the International Tae Kwon Do Federation (I.T.F.), why did you leave?

A.1 For many years, I knew many of the techniques of Tae Kwon Do were wrong. Teaching systems were all incorrect. Philosophies were being lost - They were being drowned by all the support for tournaments. Unfortunately, many other existing martial art disciplines are also based on what I believe to be inappropriate theories and concepts.

As Chairman of the Techniques Committee, for the International Tae Kwon Do Federation, I was responsible for the standard and techniques of Tae Kwon Do. I taught thousands of students. When you have had as much experience as I have, you begin to realise and question certain things - things you know you can no longer ignore.

In short, I felt I was doing a great injustice to my students by teaching them something that not even I believed in. Some martial artists, understandably say that I developed Yun Jung Do for my own egotistical reasons¡¦ that I developed Yun Jung Do for greater financial pursuits. With all my success in ITF, I can tell you truthfully that I would have been far more financially better off if I had remained with ITF.

Q2. With all due respect, what right do you think you have to question the direction of Martial Arts?

A.2 I created YUN JUNG DO because I had a vision. A vision of a new martial art that would be developed as the martial arts of the future. Believe it or not, but Yun Jung Do was my vision.
Well, to give you a very straight forward answer, I have been involved with martial arts for almost 54 years now. During that time, I was fortunate enough to meet most of the leaders of different martial arts, some of them of course are founders of various styles of martial arts. Like the Founder of Go Ju Ryu, Karate, Gogen Yama Kuchi, the Founder of Kyokoshin Karate, Mas Oyama, the Founder of ITF Tae Kwon Do, Gen Choi Hong Hi, the Founder of Hap Ki Do, Ji Han Jae, Grandmaster Son Duk Sung, Chief Instructor of West Point in USA, Grandmaster Um Woon Kyu, Lee Chong Woo, Lee Nam Suk, Nam Tae Hee, the fathers of Tae Kwon Do in America and Jhoon Rhee.

You name it, I've met all of them and I have extensively studied their views and opinions.

I have also personally conducted hundreds of seminars in different countries and have always held open seminar discussions to allow participants the opportunity to ask me any questions, and to discuss their opinions and views.

It is because of all of these things that I believe I have the knowledge and the foresight to be able to see a very clear picture of what needs to be done - of what needs to be emphasised in martial arts.

Q3. In the Physical Sense, why did you find it necessary to develop a totally new style and what is the difference between Yun Jung Do and other Styles?

A.3 To begin with, many existing traditional styles are based on movements that simply do not relate to practical self defense situations.

Secondly, many traditional movements are just too rigid and stereotyped for realistic application. Practitioners look like puppets. Not only do movements totally restrict the fluidity of movement making them very impractical, but are also proven to cause physical harm such as knee, shoulder, arm, hip, or spine problems.

And thirdly, the movements of some martial arts go to the other extreme. They are so fluid and fancy that they are unrealistically suited for proper defense and attack. They often don't make any sense and in my opinion, are a waste of time and effort.

Basically, they are teaching the wrong system.

Be honest. Haven't you ever noticed incorrect movements or techniques that simply disagree with modern science and even common sense.

Do you think that these movements should still then be used and implemented just because that's the way the movements were shown to us?
Of course not! We can always improve and get better.

Most practitioners don't even realise that there are areas that can be improved. Mainly because they've never been encouraged to challenge and identify areas that are wrong with their art to then be able to improve on it.

Then, on the other hand, there are those who do know that something is wrong with their art but don't know what to do about it. After all, do you think an instructor is going to implement a change simply because one of their students sees things differently. Everyone else seems to follow with no problem.

On top of all that, many martial arts styles don't cater for practitioners of all age groups. Why do you think most martial artists these days are young? Because they cater for the young.

All these reasons are why I strongly felt it necessary to develop a new system. That's why I developed Yun Jung Do.

What is the difference with Yun Jung Do? Yun Jung Do's movements are specifically designed to develop practical self defense skills. I have eliminated all the unnecessary movements. What is left is a style that harmoniously combines both the theoretical and actual application of techniques. Benefits are maximised with minimal wastage of time and effort.

Yun Jung Do's movements are developed around the human body and its natural rhythms. They are also designed to reflect the physical and mental state of the practitioner. As a result, Yun Jung Do's movements are not only natural, fluent, explosive, fast, and powerful, but more importantly, rich with the true spirit of martial arts.

Furthermore, Yun Jung Do movements are not based upon brute strength therefore making it indeed suitable for everyone. Young and old. Male and female.

The latest medical advances are applied in Yun Jung Do. From the stretching system through to the concepts of maximum strength development. It Is logical and practical.

That is the difference between Yun Jung Do and other styles.

Q4. Why are you so against tournaments and why do you believe they are detrimental to the future of martial arts?

Do you think you are effectively appealing to people of all walks of life?

What kind of people do you have in your classes?

What percentage of the population do you think are involved in martial arts?

A.4 Statistics show that only 0.2% of the whole population take up on martial arts and out of that 0.2%, 50% are children aged between 5 and 12. 40% are generalised as 'thugs', and only 10% are intelligent professionals.

Why? Because we portray the wrong image.

Let's face it, the public generally look upon us as thugs. After all, we are the people to be avoided!

But maybe they have reason to believe this. Have a look at the people in our classes. Maybe, we are attracting the wrong type of people.

As long as the public image of us remains this way, as long as we continue to attract these same sorts of people, then martial arts as we know it today is not going to survive.

So, why do we have such a bad public image.

Because of tournaments. I don't agree with tournaments.

Over the last 10 to 15 years, I have been saddened by the increasing sports orientation of martial arts which has gradually been eroding the true philosophy of martial arts.

Tournaments are just another aspect of a sport. There must always be a winner and a loser. But I believe that in true martial arts, everyone can be a winner. There are no losers. After all, the greatest rival you will ever meet will be yourself.

Not only that, there is the fact that practical self defense skills cannot be obtained through tournament training.

Training for tournaments and training for real attack situations is totally different and let's face it, the majority of people don't want to fight.

Those who do wish to be involved I tournaments are usually the egotistical type who are young and seek the glory of winning. No wonder we are considered as thugs.

Now, by saying all this, I may be creating some kind of resentment from those in favour of tournaments. But I will give you a warning that as long as you encourage your students to participate in tournaments, there will be no chance of success in your martial arts career.

There is enough violence in today's world without us encouraging this type of attitude amongst our students. We are ultimately responsible for our society.

Q5. As an instructor can we make a successful career out of martial arts?

A.5 Of course we can. But it all depends on the individual and what martial art you're involved in.

Do you think that as a martial arts instructor, we should always be struggling financially¡¦ even after many years of dedication?

Of course not. We can be very successful. Actually, we deserve to be successful. We have a right to be successful. Financially - Spiritually - and Professionally.

However, in order to be a success as a martial arts instructor, you need to be primarily concerned with your own standard.

It is your responsibility as an instructor to continually increase your knowledge and improve your quality of instruction. Only then can you be of real guidance to students and reap the benefits of being a good instructor.

Unfortunately, this is very difficult for some instructors who are affiliated with organisations that provide little or no support for them.

Are you absolutely happy with your organisation? Answer these questions¡¦

1. Do they provide you with continuous support and back you up when you need it? I mean technically and professionally.

2. Does your organisation have the knowledge and the reputation to give you the support you need?

3. Does that person or organisation show any real interest in who you are or are they only interested in themselves? Are they just offering you their name for a fee?

Take a close look at many organisations and you'll discover that they really do not offer much support for their instructors. Oh, yes¡¦ that's right. They do offer you something. They offer you a higher dan promotion and send you a beautiful certificate for a fee. Oh, and of course, their tournaments. You can participate in their tournaments.

What else? Think about it.

I think most of you realise just how little you do get form them.

I personally believe that only by looking after the standard and direction of your instructors, can an art hope to survive and grow stronger.

For this reason, I am a firm believer in providing as much support for instructors as possible. We, at Yun Jung Do International take very seriously our commitment to our instructors. For that reason, we provide our instructors with a number of incentive improvement schemes.

A. We conduct regular seminars¡¦ quality seminars that really teach you something and not just 'revenue makers'.

B. We offer scholarships to students and instructors on a regular basis to allow practitioners the opportunity to continuously upgrade their knowledge and standard.

All these factors contribute to make Yun Jung Do International an organisation that proudly offers much to its instructors and students.

Q6. Most martial arts have a history of political involvement. What is your view on this?

A.6 I feel very strongly against any kind of political involvement. Unfortunately, there are too many organisations that have this problem. It is sad to see the extent of corruption that resultantly exists. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Yun Jung Do has no political ties to interfere or hamper with an art's performance and direction.

Q7. I have been doing martial arts for the last year. How do I go about making a change to Yun Jung Do?

A.7 First, don't think of it as a change to Yun Jung Do, Think of it as a progression of your martial arts study.

By simply attending one of my seminars which are regularly held, you will learn enough to be able to adapt very easily to Yun Jung Do.

Q8. I am a 2nd Dan Black Belt in another martial art. If I join Yun Jung Do will you recognise my rank?

A.8 Well, that depends on who promoted you. if you were promoted by a qualified examiner, then yes, I will.

One thing I don't do, though, is recognise those that have been purchased, if you know what I mean.

In any case, you shouldn't fall into false concerns of worrying about your rank. After all, it will always be recognised by your art or organisation. Just like a judo champion cannot be recognised as a boxing champion, your rank should not be considered comparable to Yun Jung Do's. They are two different styles.

Q9. Can you tell us more about your scholarships and what are the pre-requisites to obtain one of them?

A.9 Scholarships are normally offered for instructors courses. They involve free lessons and free accommodation.

As far as pre-requisites are concerned, firstly, the applicant must be interested in becoming a Yun Jung Do instructor and have a minimum 3 to 5 years experience in their chosen art. They must also be aged between 21 to 45.

Out of the many applications I receive, I then carefully select the members whom I believe have the character and moral standards commendable for an instructor.

Q10. I have seen in several of your magazine articles that you plan to expand overseas. Where are you planning to expand to and how are you going to do it?

A.10 Well, in order to expand globally, first, I need good quality instructors. I must train thousands of instructors.

To achieve this, I will continuously search for the right men and offer them scholarships to train at headquarters under my personal instruction. Once their skills and knowledge have been refined, they will then be sent all over the world to promote our art Yun Jung Do.

To expand globally, I realise the need for various steps to be taken.

A. Publish Text Books: Completed
B. Produce a Video: Completed
C. Foster a high standard of instructors through the scholarship scheme
D. Centralise Promotions:
Employ a professional marketing company
E. Set international expansion plans to Asia and Europe:
These are already underway and the next few months should prove very exciting as Yun Jung Do spreads its light throughout new parts of the globe.