youn wha ryu

[painstain]

i am a part of Grand Master Man Hee Hans world youn wha ryu association. its foundation is tkd but very extensively mixed with wing chun, chinese boxing, judo, and a few others. our main websight for my divission is younwha.com. i was wondering if any of you have heard of this system before and if so, what do you think about it.
but i don't want you to get me wrong, i am very confident i am in a great system, i was just wondering what others thought about it.

with respect,
painstain

 

[Brother John]

No, I've never heard of this before.

interesting


Your Brother
John

PS: Please, tell us more.

 

[painstain]

well brother john, i'm not sure what to say other than ask a specific question and i'll answer the best i can. i am always worried that i might not represent our system as well as i should if i just go on about it. i started three years ago with my wife and two oldest sons. i became addicted with it and a year later took the instructors course so i could teach. we have a great one step, like most tkd systems, our youn wha self defense goes to about seventy. we have an abundance of hand techniques to match our extinsive kicking. we practice randori once or twice a week, depends on how much you want to learn in one week. we have realistic self defense classes along with cane fighting, escrima/ kali stick fight, nunchucku, and the han method tai chi. i'm not sure what else to say but am willing to answer any question you may have to the best of my ability. i do recomend visiting younwha.com learn more about us.

with respect,
painstain

 

[Brother John]

What is the belt stucture like?

What is the Grandmaster's background?? ((as in: Who'd he study under? What ranks did he achieve? What art comprises the largest amount of the curriculum? Do you have/use manuals to detail the students progress???))

Thanks for sharing.
I LOVE to hear/learn about different systems.

Your Brother
John
PS: What does the name of the art mean??

 

[Brother John]

also:
Is there a location or 'center' of this system? Where is the grandmaster? (USA? Korea??)
Are there 'internal' aspects of the study?

How many schools are there of this system??

thanks again


Your Brother
John

 

[painstain]

john,
i'm seeking advice on some of your questions so bare with me. we have schools in 19 states and Grand Master Han is now based in dallas texas.
here in springfield, mo, we have 19 schools in surrou8nding towns. our training priciples are as stated: be polite be patiant be alert be brave do your best respect yourself and others. he is korean, but the system is very much influenced by japanese and chinese systems. the curriculum up to brown belt is mainly tkd. after brown belt one starts to engage in more advanced martial arts including but not limited to weapons, our self defense system, philosophy, teaching, and public serviceadvanced sparring. i will get back to you on the rest of your questions within 24 hours.

with respect,
painstain

 

[rmclain]

i am a part of Grand Master Man Hee Hans world youn wha ryu association. its foundation is tkd but very extensively mixed with wing chun, chinese boxing, judo, and a few others. our main websight for my divission is younwha.com. i was wondering if any of you have heard of this system before and if so, what do you think about it.
but i don't want you to get me wrong, i am very confident i am in a great system, i was just wondering what others thought about it.

with respect,
painstain

Hello Painstain,

Yes, I know of your Grandmaster. You may have a great system, but Mr. Han made up some false stories about his background and teachers. He originally started training under Kum Hong Lee (Sec. General of W.T.F.) in South Korea.

Even if you look at the form requirements from the younwha web site, students are learning the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Palgue 1-8 forms and the WTF 1967 Yudansha forms (Koryo, Tae Baek,, etc). I saw later that students get some Okinawan forms beginning in the black belt ranks and even a chuan-fa form (Palgi Kwon) at 7th dan. This makes sense, because Man Hee Han was a student of Lee Kum Hong, who was from the Kang Duk Won (chuan-fa and karate dojang). Of note: Palgi Kwon is NOT a Youn Wha form. This form was a standard chuan-fa form taught at the Chang Moo Kwan and Kang Duk Won.

A more accurate lineage of Mr. Han would be: Yoon Byung-in (Pal Guek Moon Chuan-fa & Shuto-Ryu), Park Chul Hee & Hong Jong Pyo (Kang Duk Won), Lee Kum Hong, then Man Hee Han.

R. McLain

 

[Flying Crane]

I am curious to know what of Wing Chun and the other Chinese Boxing has been incorporated into the system? Is it on a basic level such as specific hand technques, or it is more extensive such as complete forms including the basics and foundations appropriate to the specific system, so that the forms are done properly?

also, what are the other Chinese Boxing systems that have influenced the art? thx.

 

[painstain]

rmclain, its awesome that you know so much about him, but i'm not about to call him a liar. its no suprise that the forms came from other systems, the more i learn of other tkd systems, the more it seems like they all get there forms from the same place. if you read the history and the training he has, again i'm not about to call him a liar, on younwha.com, the history of youn wha is shrouded in some fantasy myth, the words youn wha is the name of a woman and means way of water lillies. i am going to paste it here from the site so that i don't say anything wrong or what i feel would be a misrepresentation.

This is a story, a legend, a myth. Many people consider that arts that claim to be made up of many different arts should be avoided as they are not true martial arts. The truth is that Grandmaster Han has over 60 years experience in many different martial arts styles and has extensively developed the Youn Wha Ryu system to what it is today. Parts of it may look like hapkido, judo, kung fu or jiu-jitsu but it is Youn Wha Ryu plain and simple. The legend is just that, told to Grandmaster Han many many years ago - fact or fiction it doesn't matter, it is the art and the artists that count!

**********************************


The Youn Wha Ryu system of martial arts is shrouded in mystery and legend. Grandmaster Han himself has stated that the actual facts of Youn Wha Ryu's history are unclear. He relates the story told to him by his Youn Wha Ryu master, Sae Chong Wang.

"Youn Wha was a legendary female martial artist living on a remote island in the Orient. She was a regognized master of alchemy and a highly skilled martial artist. Her beauty was as legendary as her skill level in the martial arts, and many highly proficient martial artists in the nations, knowing of her acclaimed beauty and skill, embarked on journeys to see her and train with her.
To reach her, the martial artists had to defeat and avoid traps that could maim and kill the unwary. It was only the best and the most highly skilled martial art masters that weathered these pitfalls and were rewarded with the opportunity to view the beautiful Youn Wha. Unbeknownst to these masters, Youn Wha would use her skills in alchemy to prevent these high level martial artists from leaving her island, by drugging their food and drink. As she was the only one who had the daily antidote, for the drug, those who left her fortress did not survive the traps. In this way, she required the masters to write down their secrets so she could gain the knowledge of their systems and train in the techniques. It is from these writings that the system of Youn Wha was formed. The Youn Wha system contains all high level techniques from all systems and is unique in that no other system contains so many high level principles in one training method."

The Youn Wha Ryu, therefore, is an advanced system of fighting techniques from almost every available style of martial art. Due to its complexity, Grandmaster Han integrated Tae Kwon Do into his teaching system.
Tae Kwon Do is considered a basis for Youn Wha Ryu and it can be learned by nearly anyone. Youn Wha Ryu, however, is extremely complex and requires several years of basic martial arts training before its concepts can be understood. Training in the Tae Kwon Do system that Grandmaster Han teaches enables his students to observe the weaknesses of their own personal styles and that of other martial art systems. Thus, students are well equipped to deal with any fighting method they may encounter.

With Youn Wha, the student is now able to develop a higher degree of timing, speed, balance, control (mental and physical), and confidence.. It has taken Grandmaster Han a lifetime to develop and perfect this system so that anyone and everyone may participate. He strongly believes that this system is the best and will continue to grow world wide.

 

[painstain]

i would love any more info you may have and appriciate your comments and i will certainly talk to my instructor about it.

with respect,
painstain

 

[rmclain]

You should contact his first instructor, Lee Kum Hong. Probably you can get his e-mail address from the WTF web site. I don't think his English is very good, so you may have to convert to Korean for him.

R. McLain

 

[painstain]

where did you get this info from if i may ask, is it just word of mouth from other masters or did you look it up somewhere. i would like to read more about it and i will try to get the e-mail. one thing i would recomend to anyone though, if there is a younwha school in your area, check it out.

flying crane, so far the wing chun as i have trained has been some basic technique, not forms. i feel kind of stupid when i can't answer some of these questions mainly because this is the only system i've been in other than karate of some type when i was a child. in regards to the chinese boxing, i will inquire about it with my instructor zach shaw. also you could look up or anyonone for that matter could look up master ceth jordan, master sherry jordan, master jeremy fox. i have trained under master ceth and grandmaster han a few times and had a blast. there instruction felt more traditional than i was used to. also we have a guest book at younwha.com if you have any questions i can't answer. i am reluctant just because i don't want to misrepresent the system.

 

[painstain]

here is info that my instructor gave me about him

first instructor was master Son Bop Sa 6 yrs of training while a child,
this training was mainly strengthening and sensitizing the mind through Zen and other mental activities. his training consisted of focusing the mind and qigong or breathing exercises.

second was Byung In Yun who taught as system called kong soo starting at age 13

his youn wha teacher was master Sae Chong Wang

he also studied hwarang do, kendo hapkido and various weapons. he has attained an 8th dan in hwarang do 7th dan in kendo 8th dan in hapkido 4th dan in judo

he also has a bachelors degree in law from Kon Kuk university

he was on the board of directors in the korean tkd federation in its early days

he served as a special tactics instructor for the korean intel agency
and also called to train the 7th US army infantry division from 1970 to 1972.

thats all the info i have on him. and have no reason up to this point to think any of it is false

with respect
painstain

 

[rmclain]

here is info that my instructor gave me about him


second was Byung In Yun who taught as system called kong soo starting at age 13

with respect
painstain

Hello Painstain,

The bio you listed looks the same as on the website. Yoon Byung-in was long gone from S. Korea before Mr. Han began training.

If you really want to know about his background, contact Kum Hong Lee at the WTF or you can e-mail Grandmaster Kim Soo in Houston. http://www.kimsookarate.com Grandmaster Kim Soo is Kum Hong Lee's senior in Korea and knew Mr. Han in Korea.

Otherwise, you may never get an answer about his background from this forum. This is the reason why some martial artists from Korea put false history about themselves out there. No one in America really knows or can check their background. But, I've given you a lead if you really want to know.

R. McLain



R. McLain

 

[Brother John]

This is a story, a legend, a myth. Many people consider that arts that claim to be made up of many different arts should be avoided as they are not true martial arts.

I read this story.
Does the grandmaster actually put this story forward as THE sourse of the art?

If so, It'd be Very difficult to take it seriously at all.
TRUE: Seeing/feeling the techniques would make a huge difference perhaps....show some true quality one way or the other....but why the need for such a fabricatd story????
It just doesn't make sense to me.

Your Brother
John

 

[Brother John]

.....by the way:
Where does "RED" come in, w/in the belt progression of your system?

Thank you

Your Brother
John

 

[painstain]

brother john,
the belts go as this
1 white
2 yellows
2 greens
2 blues
2 reds with a minimum of 6 months before testing for brown
1 brown minimum 6 months before testing for black.
black your in line with every blackbelt within 19 states

we do have manuals for every belt rank
also an encyclopedia of youn wha ryu

gm han immigrated to the us in 1976
moved to dalls tx in 1978 and lives and opperates there

he is present at every test i've witnessed and is a great motivator
i am under

 

[YounWha]

Hello Painstain,

Yes, I know of your Grandmaster. You may have a great system, but Mr. Han made up some false stories about his background and teachers. He originally started training under Kum Hong Lee (Sec. General of W.T.F.) in South Korea.

Even if you look at the form requirements from the younwha web site, students are learning the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Palgue 1-8 forms and the WTF 1967 Yudansha forms (Koryo, Tae Baek,, etc). I saw later that students get some Okinawan forms beginning in the black belt ranks and even a chuan-fa form (Palgi Kwon) at 7th dan. This makes sense, because Man Hee Han was a student of Lee Kum Hong, who was from the Kang Duk Won (chuan-fa and karate dojang). Of note: Palgi Kwon is NOT a Youn Wha form. This form was a standard chuan-fa form taught at the Chang Moo Kwan and Kang Duk Won.

A more accurate lineage of Mr. Han would be: Yoon Byung-in (Pal Guek Moon Chuan-fa & Shuto-Ryu), Park Chul Hee & Hong Jong Pyo (Kang Duk Won), Lee Kum Hong, then Man Hee Han.

R. McLain

Hey all - new here....I hope to help to ask more questions to RMCLAIN if I could. I have gathered information that I would like to possibly have confirmed through this website.

What we think happened (myself and few others) is that the original biographer mistranslated certain things in his interview. He now still has limited english and is hard to understand sometimes. We are working to find his certificates and records to make an accurate timeline of his life.

Here are two things I have found that needs to be verified:

GMH received 8th Dan (TKD) - 57th Promotion Test by Lee, Chong Woo
12/17/1972

GMH received Instructor Certificate from KTA - Un Yong Kim
11/30/1974

Any verify this?

 

[QIGONG]

I am currently a student at a Youn Wha School. I have also been a student of JKD/Kali and WTF style TKD for several years, so the incorporation of the Japanese/Chinese style arts are very apparent in the training, to me at least.

As in any system, there are variations in teaching when comparing school to school, instructor to instructor. The basis of the style seems very grounded in the striking skills of the Korean TKD, and of course the forms as well - however, there are adaptations where traditional techniques that for instance were developed for a basic combination (like a down block + punch) have been adapted into incorporating a sticky hands, mantis style trap, into a TKD style strike, into a sweep/throw reminiscent of Judo/Jiujitsu doctrine. To me it's very streamlined and very effective, it's art as applied to sport translates just as well on the street. Short of calling it a Hybrid style, it does take influence from hard and soft styles, ground fighting, trapping, striking and solitary meditation, even Yang style Tai Chi. The weapons curriculum is diverse, from Filipino style stick fighting to traditional two-handed swordsmanship from Kendo. It's diverse but it's structured, not thrown together, it is a style, some of which I believe including the origin, has been lost in translation. The structure of training however does not appear to have suffered any error from this. Comparatively for such a young organization, it is very well put together when compared to the "traditional" federations that have existed for years and years.

And this is nothing I've read in any brochure, just my personal observation from a years worth of training with them. If the "Legend of Youn Wha" turned out to be a martial arts bedtime story, which obviously it sounds like to anyone reading it, it doesn't change the fact that Youn Wha is an effective well-rounded style, IMO at least.

 

[woot]

The Grandmaster Han schools are all over in my area. I too am from missouri. I do not mean to be disrespectful, but I am going to be honest. When people on this site begin talking about "McDojos", these are the schools that I think of and make my comments on. You will never be allowed to compete in an open tournament, you must buy everything through your school and it must have the Han's logo on it, you can only compete with other students within the Han system, and you had to sign a really big contract. These schools crop up in my area like starbucks on every corner. You will be a black belt within a few months.

The instructors from these schools go around to our public schools doing demonstrations for the students and when I see them, I am embarassed for them. It's terrible. Maybe it's just these instructors, but they were deemed worthy to teach at these Grandmaster Han schools. Whenever a student becomes a black belt they open up another school and let him teach there. It's like a chain restaraunt and they keep promoting managers, like McDonalds.

I'm sorry, and it really doesn't matter to me where you want to learn your martail arts, but if you want some really good stuff. Go check out Richard Osborns (Ozzie's Crew) there in Springfield. They're really top notch. I have competed against them, and they have some really good students.

The fact that you are asking these questions tells me that you already are a little skeptical of this school.