Perhaps I should have read ALL of the posts, before I began working the ones I had missed due to our week of training and promotion here. At first I though we had a great discussion going, but now it seems like it has turned once more in the same old BS that is so detrimental to our arts.
Why is it that we cannot have a civil discussion???? Kevin had a legitimate question, we had some good debate, I was learning to see it the way some others viewed it (so the entire thread was a good learning experience for me), and suddenly we are at it again.
Like I said, the "go train" with the man (in either Seo or Ji's case) is not a challenge. I (at least) was simply suggesting that a "trained eye" should be able to SEE if the person is doing Hap Ki Do or not. Nothing to do with what an art is called, just a simple way to check the validity of the roots of our art.
Suh (not Seo) has a reason why he claims that Kuk Sool was never called Kuk Sool Hap Ki Do. I have certificates sent by him from Korea in the 60's that prove otherwise. On visits to Korea, I found a ton of vehicles parked outside the Olympic stadium (where we had a Hap Ki Do competition) that bore the name Kuk Sool Hap Ki Do. Yet, in an interview with Tedeschi, Suh claims it wa NEVER called that. We know different.
As founder/president of NKMAA, I get a lot of inquiries and applications. Many are rejected because I do not recognize the sources from which they originated (and that includes any Hap Ki Do certificates from GM Porter). I know he is/was an excellent Judoka, but IMHO he is not qualified to grant rank in our art. Hence, I follow my own belief and reject these aps at a considerable economical cost to our association.
Similarly, I have rejected an application from a group that was shortly after accepted by one of our peers. IMHO, the applicant showed good Jiu Jitsu technique, but I could not and would not transfer that into a Hap Ki Do certificate... again at a considerable economic cost to NKMAA. This particular rejection was simply because I SAW that the technique in the video set was not Hap Ki Do. Same reason I suggested folks take a look at GM Seo's technique. If, after watching, you still feel he does not do Hap Ki Do you no longer need to wonder about his background... you simply KNOW for yourself what you must believe.
I could care less that someone else accepted the very same people I rejected. They did what they had to do, and I followed MY heart. IMHO, who is right and who is wrong makes no difference to most others in the arts. I am not the all knowing, I simply know what I want in NKMAA
I walk my talk right or wrong, and I know I make mistakes. I just do my best to learn from them, and I will not demean anyone who trains differently than I do just because it is different. Hopefully that is a step toward brotherhood in the martial arts, 'cause I surely hate to see us continue to bicker.
If it turns out that Kevin does not believe GM Seo does Hap Ki Do, that is not a problem for me. I will continue to respect him for the person I understand him to be (from reading his posts). IMHO, raising a point should never be considered a threat, and talking trash is not an option for folks who love martial arts. The reason I no longer follow GM Suh (WKSA) is because I do not like his business practices and ethics; however, I will always respect his skills as a martial artist, and his son Suh Sung Jin is about the most skilled practitioner I have ever seen (oh to be young again
. Oddly enough, his formative years in the arts were under the tutelage of his Unlce GM Seo.
