I m Up, They See Me, I m Down By: Michael Munyon, VI Dan ITF-HQ (South Korea)

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1 I m Up, They See Me, I m Down By: Michael Munyon, VI Dan ITF-HQ (South Korea) Interesting title of this article. In the military we have a particular timing when moving from one spot to another in the event we are engaged in a fire fight. When this occurs and we must get from point A to point B we do a technique called the Rush and Roll. The time it takes for the enemy to spot you takes a few seconds. That s why we say to ourselves, I m Up They See Me I m Down. On 19 September 2013, I departed South Korea after being there for a second tour. My time there was filled with many adventures from visiting numerous Korean historical sites, spending time with HapKiDo Grand Masters, meeting up with ITF Taekwon-Do friends and competing in a HapKiDo World Championship. My trip back was a fast paced whirl wind of a trip. First, I start my trip back by visiting San Ramon, California. This is the location of Mr. Josh Hardings, Harding Taekwon-Do Academy. We ve been talking about me doing a Hosinsul seminar for a few years and it was finally time to make it happen. This time though, we decided to do a pure HapKiDo seminar. I was representing Senior Grand Master Hee Kwan Lee s, Global HapKiDo Association. While I was there Mr. Harding and his family were generous enough to host me at their lovely home. We got to spend a lot of time talking about martial arts, his dojang and more. When I got to see his dojang I could tell he had good students. His facility was top notch and he really poured himself into the school. On 21 September we got up early and headed to Mr. Harding s dojang. The seminar had a great showing of over 50 students of all ages. We began learning about the history and meaning of HapKiDo. Then we moved onto break falls, rolls and eventually in various escape, throw and take down techniques. My partner in this fun and educational seminar was Master Joseph Bosse, 7 th Dan, USTF. It was great working with professional and humble black belts during this seminar. Joining for a visit was a special guest and old friend of mine named Grand Master Robert Parham. He is a retired Air Force Service member, kickboxing champion, movie actor and Hall of Famer. Having him visit was a great joy and brought back old memories of when we were stationed in Mississippi together.

2 The following day I departed California and flew out to Pennsylvania where I was met by my friend and student Mr. David Quigg, 4 th Dan. It was great to see him again. We drove to his lovely home and relaxed the first night I was there. However, the following morning, we started working on some training agendas and invited black belts to come train with us. During the visit I got to meet with Mr. Kocur and his students. He was kind enough to allow me to teach a few classes. The kids class went great. They were very respectful and did a great job with the various drills and topics covered during the classes. The adult classes were fantastic because I got to see some old friends who attended previous seminars I conducted. Mrs. Patty Care was one of them. When she saw me it was like old friends reuniting. I got greeted with a bow, hand shake and then a hug. The adult classes got to learn some special techniques and tactics. This went well because everyone was a red belt or higher. Another fun training session was when Mr. Kocur, Mr. Quigg and Mr. Michael Louie got with me and we got to train in Kum-Sul (Sword Techniques). The goal was to train them in sword fundamentals and have something new to bring to their school. We had a good time learning drills and concepts applying to sword techniques. After a few hours of training we departed the dojang and Mr. Quigg and I found a local restaurant to grab a bite to eat and enjoy some Pennsylvania unique food. When Thursday came, Mr. Quigg and I took a drive to New Jersey to meet up with Mr. Nick Malefyt. When I walked in I saw Mr. Malefyt working with some of his students. He saw me, smiled and waved. When I got changed into my dobok I walked onto the training floor and Mr. Malefyt and I bowed and hugged. It was good to see my Taekwon-Do big brother again. Mr. Malefyt lined us all up and led a great warm up session. We did various kicks to pads and then broke into Tuls. After that Mr. Malefyt allowed me to teach some fundamentals in falls and rolls. After a fun training session the black belts went out to eat. Our time together was precious and it was great to train with Mr. Malefyt again.

3 The following day, Mr. Quigg got to learn more about his patterns. We spent a few hours in his backyard going over foot work, angles, facings and tactics associated with his patterns. We completed our day of training by talking about some great ideas for creating an organization representing ITF-HQ (South Korea). On Friday, Mr. Quigg drove me to Baltimore to spend the night and catch a military flight to Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal. We ate at a restaurant within the hotel and then said our goodbyes. It was a great visit and I got to cover everything I could ever imagine. I got to hit up the West and East Coasts, taught Taekwon-Do and HapKiDo, spent time with great black belts and I got to be in my element. Thank you for everyone who came out to train with me and it was an honor to work with such great martial artists.

4 Vertical kick (Sewo Chagi) This technique is used in attacking a target from a 90-degree angle. It is performed mainly with the foot-sword and occasionally with the reverse foot-sword. The foot must be vertical to the target while bending the leg about 30 degrees at the moment of impact. The attacking tool reaches the target in an arc. Spinning Kicks Contrary to what you might see in the movies, spinning kicks are sometimes more effective as counter strikes than as offensive attacks. When an opponent employs a ranged attack, such as multiple side piercing kicks while advancing, an effective counter is to spin on the ball of your front foot, turning your head faster than your body acquiring your target first then bringing your rear foot around for a side piercing kick or a turning kick to the target. The spin will hide your stomach and chest from your opponent's kick, exposing only a portion of your back, which is not a valid target zone. Keep in mind spinning techniques of any kind in a sparring scenario MUST BE executed quickly to be effective.

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6 Figure 1 Congratulations to Mr. Michael Munyon and Master Sanders

7 Congratulations G.M. Lim!

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