Jhoon Rhee is highly regarded as the father of American Taekwondo, his contribution to the martial art was outstanding. Jhoon Rhee came to America in 1956, and like most people , even Bruce lee , he came to America to go to school and explore opportunities America had.
By 1962 He had opened his own martial arts studio in washington DC. Grandmaster Rhee being the visionary he is , he wrote letters to many of the ambassadors from around the world who were serving in DC, telling them about the opening of his school. He promised that he could not only teach their children Tae Kwon Do, but also guarantee their children’s character education and help them all make A’s and B’s in their academic studies.
Rhee also ran two small ads in the sports section of the Washington Post. He couldn’t believe it when the phone rang all day with people asking for more information about tuition and class times.
This was the beginning of Grandmaster Rhee’s influence in taekwondo, he taught a lot of influential people , including a lot of children. He Taught that martial arts is more about discipline than offense. He was very much about the future , even in combat situations, it is no mystery that the use of safety equipment in sparring was attributed to him.
What I personally like most about Jhoon Rhee is his fitness, at 66 years old he could still do 100 pushups.
By 1980 he retired from being an instructor ( full time) so he can travel and share his message around the world, it was at one of these serminars that I got the chance to meet him. He was very approachable and shared a wealth of knowledge with us , not to mention a picture and an autograph.
On April 30, 2018 we all had to say good bye to our beloved ,Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee,
May he Rest in Peace
