Figure 1 Master Gary Meek 1st on Left Gary Wayne Meek December 29, 1948 - July 7, 2013 It is indeed one of the more difficult tasks in life to do, to tell of the passing of someone. The deed is made even more difficult when the person who has passed away was one who lived his or her life with honor and was someone you could either look up to or call a friend. The Taekwon-Do world has again suffered a great loss! While we do not enjoy reporting this sad news, we realize that we have some obligation to report it to our Taekwon-Do following. Gary Meek, an ITF Black Belt was an 8 th Degree with the United States Taekwon-Do Federation (USTF) and senior Master Instructor. He departed from this world on July 7, 2013, when he was just 64 years of age. According to Grandmaster Paul De Baca, 9 th Degree of the USTF, Master Meek died in a motor vehicle accident when he was riding his motorcycle. His wife Pam was riding with him at the time and escaped with only some physical injuries. They were on an honoring motorcycle ride when his wheel came off causing the crash. Master Meek started his Taekwon-Do training in Thailand in 1970 under Huh Moon Sun a 6 th Degree Black Belt. Master Meek went on to teach at military installations in Torrejon, Spain; Sault Ste Marie, Michigan; Yokota, Japan; Wichita, Kansas; Hahn, Germany; Sembach, Germany and again Stateside in Omaha, Nebraska. He tested for and received his 5th degree black belt in 1990 under then Master Charles E. Sereff, 8 th Degree Black Belt and the highest-ranking non- Korean in the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF). Gary held positions in the ITF and USTF as a Regional, State and National Armed Forces Director.
In 1994, he was nominated and selected as one of the top five instructors in the United States. The principle founder or as some call him the Father of Taekwon-Do, General Choi Hong Hi, presented this prestigious award. On June 28th 2008 the President of the USTF Grandmaster Charles Sereff promoted him to VIII Dan. Master Meek has created and operated more than a dozen successful Taekwon-Do schools over the years. During his long time involvement in Taekwon-Do he has touched countless numbers of lives. Truly there are untold numbers of people who are better for having known him or who have had his guidance passed onto to them by his many students, including his son, Gary 'Bo' Meek Jr., a USTF 5 th Dan. President Emeritus of the USTF, Grandmaster Charles Sereff said: It was a very sad moment when another student of mine, Grandmaster DeBaca called me and told me with a trembling voice that Gary Meek had been killed in a motorcycle accident. He was my beloved student and a pioneer of ITF Taekwon-Do. He was also fine instructor, husband, father and grandfather, a true gentleman and a great American patriot. I first met Gary at one of my early Taekwon-Do camps in Rye Colorado. He was a 1 st Degree Black Belt and this was back in the early 1980s. He joined General Choi and me and never left my side. He taught the General s Art at every U.S. Air Force Base he was stationed at around the world. He was still teaching at the Air Force Base in Omaha Nebraska when he retired from his long military career. His senior student Master Ricky Todd still teaches on the same Base. My deepest condolences are offered with respect and humility to his wonderful family. He will be greatly missed and forever honored. In the words of Grandmaster Renee Sereff of the USTF, the highest ranking female ITF stylist in the world: We have sustained a shock and a great loss by Sr. Master Gary Meek s sudden passing. From the 1970 s to today, Sr. Master Meek was one of the USTF s greatest assets as well as a personal friend to those who worked with him. The many years he devoted himself to Sr. Grand Master Sereff will long be remembered by the officials, instructors and students forever. A true pioneer of the USTF throughout the world by the classes he started at every base he was stationed on in the United States Air Force. Along with his career, love of Taekwon Do, his greatest accomplishment was his devotion to his family. A good husband, Father, Grandfather and Taekwon-Do Son of Sr. Grand Master Sereff. We believe the greatest tribute to him will be maintaining the high professional standards he represented and so strongly encouraged. It was a pleasure working with Sr. Master Gary Meek. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his son Gary II, his wife Pamela his other children; Matt, Krista, and Jonni. He is also survived by 3 brothers, a sister, 7 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. A memorial service was held at the Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Harry J. Vaughn officiating. Memorial contributions may be made in his name to the National Legacy Fund. This program provides scholarships for children whose parent has been killed in combat. Please send donations to: American Legion, Department of North Carolina, P.O. Box 26657, Raleigh, NC 27611. Condolences may be made to the family at www.mclaurinatpinecrest.com Submitted by Master George Vitale
Downward block (Naeryo Makgi) The purpose of this technique is to drop the opponent's hand, foot or weapon attacking the solar plexus and point below. It is executed principally from rear foot and L stances, though occasionally a walking or vertical stance is used. The blocking tool should reach its point of focus in a circular motion, keeping the elbow bent about 45 degrees at the moment of the block.
Recently a pattern has been rediscovered, U Nam Tul. This pattern has raised many questions for the historians of Taekwon-Do. If anyone has any information or can identify the person performing the pattern please contact bluecottagetkd@yahoo.com. U Nam Tul 42 movements Dated 1959 FGMR's response is as follows: "U Nam was one of the patterns used in the early developmental stages. At that time Syngman Rhee was the first President of South Korea and as Taekwon-do was in this early developmental phase, our Founder General Choi Hong Hi wanted to gain the support of the South Korean President. U Nam was the pen name of Syngman Rhee and as such, General Choi created pattern U Nam. The pattern was replaced by Choong Jang tul after the President's resignation in 1960. Choong Jang tul contains many similar and also upgraded movements from pattern U Nam"
Strike Defense: Arm Wrap and Eye Gouge By Thomas A Locke 4 th Dan, International Combat Hapkido Federation Nothing flowery. Nothing fancy. To the point. We in the martial arts are so often bound to our own proclivities and eccentricities; overthinking, over-moving, overanalyzing. The layperson, due by no fault of their own, when asked to think of an image of martial arts, often draw of something very unapproachable. They mystify and separate reality and practicality from what can be done. That s dangerous. Unless you KNOW you can do it, you never let yourself give into the possibility of the practical. Experienced practitioners know real altercations are an emotionally charged messy affair. Simplicity is an absolute necessity. In this series we will demonstrate a very common circumstance: a strike towards the head. This is the framework for a simple application that can certainly be applied to a lead or reverse hand strike; either straight or circular. Place a knife, bottle, stick, or screwdriver in the attacker s hand and still nothing changes. It should also be noted that we are demostrating this from a lead strike versus a traditional stepping reverse punch. This would work for that mode of training as well, but working from what is closest, I believe, is much more realistic. Trained or untrained, the attacker will most likely be motivated by emotion and adrenaline and fueled by alcohol or drugs, not cold calculated precision. Figure 2 Starting in a non-confrontational and open-handed stance, you assume that there may have been either a flinch reaction to get to this position or attempts to deescalate the building aggression in the assailant, and you are prepared for what may come wit
Figure 4 The attacker throws his strike and you intercept the movement; smoothly uniting with it. Figure 3 As the momentum of their strike carries them toward you, simply allow your cross hand to move to a finger jab to the attacker s eye(s), preventing their natural cyclical striking pattern (hitting you with their cross), and allowing your inside arm to wrap around the striking arm of the attacker
Figure 5 Rotate the head of the attacker and never remove the mask-like contact that takes away sight, projects direction, and prevents disconnection from the attacker s physical and psychological changes. Figure 6 Follow the flow of inertia in a dynamic and degrading orbit towards your center of balance and the ground while maintaining the arm-wrap armbar. Thomas Locke is active duty in the United States Air Force and has been studying Korean, Russian, and Okinawan martial arts for 17 years. He now teaches Combat Hapkido at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. www.lockesdefense.com