Overview

Ji Do Kwan The Way to Wisdom provides a history of one Korean Kwan that was unlike all the rest. Through its dynamic and sometime precarious existance, the Ji Do Kwan survives Korea's civil war to became a major influence in the 1950's era of Korean Kwans and the internal conflicts between the Korean martial arts community and the new, independent, post Japanese occupation, Korean government fighting with the martial arts community to unify and Ji Do Kwan's support to the Korean government and its secret plan to force the Korean martial arts community to create Taekwondo and get Taekwondo into the Olympics as Korea's national martial art, just as the Japanese government was working to do the same with Judo. Other chapters include Ji Do Kwan and other important Korean Kwan's and their influence on the direction of Ji Do Kwan, their Grandmaster's conflicts with Ji Do Kwan Instructors and Grandmasters and which Kwans became famous and why and which did not and disappeared. There are tables for correlating traditional Ji Do Kwan Tang Soo Do Hyungs (the predecessor to Taekwondo) and Ji Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do Poomsae to Okinawa and Japanese Kata versions. There are also several tables for correlating many more Hyungs to Chinese, Okinawa and Japanese Kata that existed and evolved during the 19th and 20th centuries and a Korean martial arts chronology. This book has the largest amount of information in one location about the Ji Do Kwan and its instructional methods that made it one of the most powerful Kwans with some of the information about the Ji Do Kwan will not have been be published previously. The author includes a substantial Bibliography of over 80 references, a Glossary and all encompassing Index for the serious reader of martial arts history. This book is for the serious, experienced and knowledgeable reader of Korean martial arts and a reader that wants to become one.

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9781537540528

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The author lives and trains in California. Len has earned 5th Dan Black Belts in Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwon Do and 3rd Dan Black Belt in Soo Bahk. Len has been learning martial arts since he joined his first Tae Kwon Do dojang after graduating college. Len began teaching martial arts after earning a Cho Dan (1st degree) Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do almost simultaneously. Len has been using aspects of martial arts in his own life to bring order, understanding, patience, wisdom and self-awareness. Len augments his martial arts with meditation, strength-based weight training, boxing skills including the hand speed bags, heavy bag and long distance running. Meditation keeps his body-mind-spirit in-tack, allowing him to train at higher levels of performance while minimizing injuries. Len has written and published many martial arts magazine articles and books. Writing and publishing more than 20 articles and editorials for several martial arts magazines including the prestigious Tae Kwon Do Times, Black Belt and the Mudo Dojang. Many of Len's articles illustrate the forgotten history and evolution of Korean martial arts and so are often republished in other countries because of their excellent historical content, unavailable otherwise. Len's articles also appear on many martial arts web sites around the world. Len has also published 25 books on Korean martial arts. These books include the traditional styles of Tang Soo Do, Soo Bahk and Tae Kwon Do. One of Len's books for children's martial arts has earned the Good Housekeeping magazine's Seal of Approval. Len has more than 25 years of martial arts experience in Korean, Japanese and Chinese styles. Academically, Len has earned three A.A. degrees, two B.S. degrees, one in Physics and the other in Mathematics, an M.S. degree and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and an M.A. degree in Education. Len has worked professionally as a Teacher, Physicist, Astrophysicist, Nuclear Physicist, a Mechanical Engineer, an Aerospace Engineer and an Electrical Engineer designing spacecraft and launch vehicles for NASA and the U.S. military space programs and has been an executive at companies in several industries. Len's major professional achievement was getting the Air Force's largest space program in history, the Global Positioning System (GPS) designed, launched, tested, redesigned and funded by the Pentagon.

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