With two new hip replacements, what does Taekwondo have to offer me?

Defending against a knife with one of my best blackbelts Jim Cannel

                             

 WITH 2 NEW REPLACEMENT HIPS CAN I "DO" TAEKWONDO AGAIN?

 "Slow down, you're not a kid anymore!" said Supreme grandmaster Chun Kae-bae, my instructor in a recent telephone conversation. "The problem Sir is that 'I think I am' " was my reply. I'm sure most everyone knows my story and how I had to give up my Taekwondo schools because my hip and back pain had become so intense in 2005 and that in 2007 probably because of a broken-heart over the loss of the martial arts, I  had a major heart attack right before my 50th birthday. I was so hurt and depressed that the last time I walked out of the the studio, back in 2005 I didn't even take my uniform or black belt, I left them there. I knew  that I would never be putting them on again, this part of my life was OVER. I had not hit bottom, but I was on the slide.

By December 2013 walking was almost standing still, my gate was only 2 inches per step, 6 steps to move a foot and in constant, excruciating pain. I decided that it was time for the hip replacement that my cousin Dr. Sandy Naples had insisted was necessary for such a long time and he sent me to a wonderful orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Timothy Domer who did my left hip replacement on April 28, of 2014 and five months later on September 23 did the right hip, the worst of the two.  

From the first day of physical therapy back in early May of 2014 I knew that I wanted to do taekwondo again. It is who I am. 

But taekwondo for those of you that don't know includes 5,000 ways to take a guys head off WITH YOUR FOOT! It specializes in: hopping, jumping, spinning, twisting and flying kicks. I was pretty good at a lot of them. But now I'm pushing 40  ;-)   and also have two artificial hips. 

For Senior's Kukki Taekwondo's got nothing to offer.  

As I developed as an instructor, at onetime teaching 42 classes (way too many) per week, I began to noticed that for many students older than myself, the high kicks which were the trademark of taekwondo were not very practical or useful for them even if they could approach doing them correctly. 

I had many friends, grandmaster and master instructors that had come up in the Kukki Taekwondo system that no longer practiced. Their attitude was that they were coaches and like a swimming coach, you didn't need to "get wet." I was shocked at this attitude because I had grown up being taught by a sabam nim, Supreme grandmaster Chun that taekwondo jidokwan was a way of life and that anyone could practice it.

It seemed that there was a disconnect between "the philosophy of taekwondo" and the "current attitude of many in it's leadership."  I even learned that in Korea, taekwondo was taught in the school system as a sport and that almost zero adults practiced it. In fact I was told that if someone wanted to learn self defense in Korea, they trained in hapkido, kongsoodo or some other martial art. For most people, after they graduated from secondary school they never put on a do-bolk (official taekwondo uniform) again. 

What was I to do? 

I often ask sport-martial-artists, What are the rules of competition? Their reply is something like: no low kicks, no sweeping, no throwing, no falling techniques, no striking to the eyes, throat, groin, neck, back of the head, spine, kidneys, no pulling hair, no grabbing, clinching is okay but no knee, elbow or headbutt strikes. 

Then I ask, "What are the best self defense moves?" There usually is an uneasy laugh as they admidt that they are practicing and teaching the use of the least practical self defense moves. 

As I looked back at the philosophy that had been a part of the first 38 years of my life the PLEDGE OF THE MEMBER OF TAEKWONDO JIDOKWAN came to mind.

#3 I devote myself to creating new traditions and achievements in The Spirit of Jidokwan   

The Wisdom School of Taekwondo was about creating, developing and furthering the art that we had been taught. This doesn't mean every Joe-blackbelt should make up his own techniques. But it does mean that as a master instructor, I should leave the art better than I found it. So I committed myself to developing my taekwondo as a means of practically defending myself and into a program that other BOOMERS could practice safely and use to defend themselves. For me the days of sport karate that I so loved are over. 

BACK TO THE FUTURE  

Supreme Grandmaster Chun demonstrates in NYC with Master Jim Evans.

 

So I began studying, even before my first surgery the skills of low kicking for self defense, which were part of the historical art Chosen Yunmookwan Kongsoodo Bu that was to evolve into the amazing sport of Kukki Taekwondo. As I studied the ancient poomsae I found that there were many low kicking techniques as well as throws and grappling movements hidden within the poomsae. The same techinques that Supreme grandmaster Chun Kae-bae  had taught as the chief instructor of the Korean National Police Force and had taught more than 45 years ago. I've made it my mission to study and master these many practical ancient self-defense moves that have become almost extinct as Kukki Taekwondo has become more well known as a world wide and Olympic sport. 

My mission is to live out my life training in taekwondo and maybe one day teaching again but with a focus upon a new tradition of taekwondo that older people can  use for self defense and practice for health and fitness for the rest of their lives.