To get started in the right direction as I begin to have discussions on martial arts topics, I thought it would be good to give a brief history.  I began training in the martial arts when I was 5.  I did it with my dad in Logan, Utah studying Chung Do Kwan.  This style was one of the 5 original schools, and together with the Moo Duk Kwan was probably the strongest school.  It later unified with the other “kwans” and formed Tae Kwon Do.  I didn’t get very far before my parents moved to Idaho.  I found a Shorin-ryu school there where I trained for maybe a year.  Shorin-ryu is an okinowan style probably most closely associated with the Chinese Shaolin style.  The instructor quickly retired after a logging accident and I was able to find another instructor, Earlene Burk, who I trained with starting April 9, 1993, which I consider my birthday in the martial arts.  This is when I began studying Tang Soo Do.

Tang Soo Do is a generic style of Korean karate that can trace its roots back to Hwang Kee’s style, the Moo Duk Kwan.  Through the years, Tang Soo Do has evolved to be more of an American martial art with a plethora of organizations and variations, Chuck Norris, being one of the more known members.

After receiving my dan (black belt) and being issued dan #1025 (meaning I’m the 25th most senior member in that organization), discovered that a 4th degree Master-level instructor (called Sa Bom), was moving to Sun Valley, ID–only 2.5 hours away.  He belonged to the parent organization, the US Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation.  Understanding that he was the key to me furthering my knowledge of Tang Soo Do, I transferred schools and began learning under his guidance in the art of Soo Bahk Do.  Soo Bahk Do is the parent style of Tang Soo Do and has a mission to try and uncover some of the ancient training methods of Korea.   I retested for my 1st dan (dan #36364) in 1997 and currently hold a 3rd dan and am a kyo sa (certified instructor).

This category is dedicated principally to the further knowledge of Korean martial arts.

Soo Bahk!

This semester I’m taking a Business Ethics class. Part of the class deals with choosing piece of literature or theater that deals with ethics. I have always had a passion for Eastern thought and believed that this would be a perfect opportunity to learn and understand about the Chinese Classic, The Analects by Confucius. Together with a friend, Daniela Cisternas, we will be reading the Analects and posting frequent comments about our findings. I hope that some of you will visit this new blog and make comments as this will help us gain a better grade in the class. I also think it will have some extremely interesting content. The site is at confucius.corralesonline.com.