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The Future Direction of Martial Arts

There comes a time in all persons’ life when they must stand up for what they believe in. In some instances their beliefs can be contrary to popular consensus or the ‘norm’. Such people have, throughout the ages, been ridiculed as radicals. Yet, how often has history proved them to be right? Where would the world be today had the Wright brothers bowed to the humiliating contempt heaped upon them when they said they would build a machine to allow human beings the freedom of the skies? Where would women be now if not for the Suffragette movement? So often these idealists have been proven to be forward thinkers – the individuals who shape the future. One such man is Grandmaster Young Ku Yun.

In the martial arts world, dormant and static for decades, there is a ripple of immense power rumbling from an increasingly noticeable ‘epicentre’. It is gathering force and heading this way, and when this tidal wave of truth and simplicity strikes these shores, the thin facades that have been built around the martial arts will come crashing down, and only the foundations will remain.

This epicentre is in Brisbane, Australia and standing in the centre of it is Grandmaster Young Ku Yun, veteran of over five decades of martial arts and founder of the innovative new style, Yun Jung Do. As a former Director of the International Tae Kwon Do Federation (I.T.F.) and former Chairman of the Techniques Committee, Grandmaster Yun believes he has the experience and the knowledge to enable him to remodel martial arts as they stand today. His expertise has allowed him to implement corrections that he knows are vital to bring martial arts back to their true nature as art.

Grandmaster Yun comments, “Martial arts as a whole have portrayed the wrong image to the public in the past. We are largely viewed as thugs and hoodlums”. With more people from an increasingly diverse cross-section of the community turning to martial arts for exercise and self-defense, it is not only desirable, but essential that the basic nature of martial arts be reclaimed. To improve the image, says Grandmaster Yun, you have to return to the origin and illustrate what martial arts really mean.

No longer can the tired old doctrine of “blind obedience to your instructor” be expected of a class made up of intelligent, professional people. The modern martial artist is likely to question, and rightly, the limited and limiting philosophy of a school which, for example, focuses on encouraging violence between people. Many of the new breed of practitioners have no interest in fighting in tournaments; they are more likely to be people who are interested in martial arts for reasons of personal development and to learn practical skills of self-defense should a situation ever arise.

“Furthermore, training for a tournament is entirely different from training for a real, life-threatening situation”, insists the Grandmaster. “The martial arts that survive the next few years will be those catering to reality. In this practical sense, Yun Jung Do is undoubtedly the way of the future. The movements and teaching syllabus are designed for simplicity, fluidity and effectiveness”. Gone are the days of fancy, decorative and useless movements. Today’s martial artists demand practical self-defense; something which they can use, if all else fails, to get out of trouble quickly and effectively. “A Yun Jung Do student learns the basics and keeps practising them until they are able to execute them properly. The reasoning is that a basic movement correctly executed could save your life; an elaborate movement incorrectly executed is more likely to get you further into trouble”.

Grandmaster Yun’s argument is that martial arts in their correct form are a visionary philosophy of life. In their corrupted form, which we see today, their quality and depth have been lost. To restore them to their true glory we must reclaim a philosophy which guides human beings to peace and self-fulfilment.

In the Australian, Asian and South Pacific regions, it is apparent that a large percentage of the established organisations agree with Grandmaster Yun’s assessment of the future direction of martial arts. Having gained a big following in these areas, Grandmaster Yun is now planning to head for Europe and the United States where, if recent history is any indicator, Yun Jung Do will make large waves in the established martial arts. Riding in on those waves will be the thinking men and women who recognise the significance of a streamlined style of self-defense, and also know that martial arts are meant to be more than this. There must also be a philosophy of human well being.