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Master
James Pumarejo Visit and Testing in Korea
press release by Master Mike
Bogdanski
On Oct 6th, 2016 my son and I departed
Tucson for Korea for a 9 day stay that was going to
be busy from beginning to end. But not the bad kind
of busy. Busy training, visiting and meeting old
friends and Masters, making new acquaintances, and
of course testing. The majority of my time would be
spent near Songtan, close to Osan Air Base, with a
few days in Incheon and one day at Soraksan
mountain.
On
Friday, Oct 7th, we arrived in Korea and
as it turns out, another World Dang Soo Do Union (WDU)
Member, Master Andy Tyzzer, of West Elk Martial Arts
in Colorado also happened to be in Korea with his
son. We arranged to meet near Osan Air Base and the
next day travel to Soraksan mountain. It turns out
that Saturday was probably the busiest weekend of
the whole year at Soraksan mountain and there were
more than 10,000 people on the mountain that day.
Although we didn't get to hike Soraksan, we did find
some nearby beautiful mountains for some great
scenery and got in a few forms together with Master
Tyzzer while we were there.
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Above - Master Tyzzer visited the WDU
Headquarters school in Songtan and got
to meet GM Song Ki Kim as well as have a
nice
lunch with myself and Grandmaster Ki Bok
Cho. (We had a rather funny waitress if
you can tell by the bunny ears). |
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Above photos - Near Soraksan Mountain |
Monday morning we decided
to make up for the missed hiking on Soraksan
mountain and went to a the local mountain near
Songtan called Buraksan mountain. Master Tyzzer
hiked and Master Tyzzers's son and I ran it. His son
was a beast running up that mountain!
Tuesday were days I had
set aside to get in some last minute training and
brush up before my testing on Wednesday as well as
make the rounds to visit many Masters in the local
area who are now advanced in age. Master Yoon Ki Kim
and GM Song Ki Kim surprised us with a trip to the
Korean folk village near Suwon where you can see how
Koreans lived throughout the Chosun dynasty. We also
watched a performance of Sameulnori (Korean fold
drum and dance) as well as an historical Korean
equestrian show where they did archery, sword, and
spear from horseback.
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Above - GM Song Ki Kim, GM Yoon Ki Kim,
myself, and my son in front of Min Seok Chun
(Korean Folk Village), and also my son
dressed as a Choson Dynasty king's
bodyguard, called "Sato." |
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Above - the building where traditional
Korean historical dramas and movies are
filmed and also
Minsu with a few Korean school girls who
also happened to be touring Min Seok Chun
that day. |
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Chosun Dynasty criminals were punished in a
variety of ways - these are few of those
ways.
We joke today that this is what parents do
in modern days to ensure kids get good
grades! |
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The trip was filled
with meeting friends and family from far and
wide. Left is a Spencer Villanueva, a black
belt
in the Western Pacific TSD Association.
Right is Minsu with his uncle, Ung Jae Seong,
who he is now taller than! |
Wednesday was the day of
my 6th Dan testing. The testing board
consisted of GM Song Ki Kim, President, WDU (Dan #
312), GM Young Il Kim (Dan # 3179), Master Bae Il
Nam (Dan # 8838), Master Yoon Ki Kim (Dan # 13174),
and Master Ki Tae Nam.
Thursday and Friday, we
trained at the World Kummooyeh Headquarters in
Incheon. They
were long days of extensive training in sword and
archery.
Master Pumarejo completed his instructor
certification and Minsu tested and received his
Black Belt in Kummooyeh.
Our final day
Saturday was much busier than expected as we had a
lot of visitors from all over the world. Master
Cecil Hong from Gilbert, Arizona happened to visit
us in Songtan and many worldwide Masters who
happened to be in Korea for the Moo Duk Kwan Ko Dan
Ja Shim Sa and leadership conference visited the
Songtan Dojang and got to see a lot of Moo Duk Kwan
history during their stay. It was a significant
visit as many of the younger upcoming generations of
Ko Dan Ja were able to put aside politics and
associations and just enjoy our love of training and
also share our connected history with our roots in
Moo Duk Kwan. It was a great way to wrap up another
memorable trip to Korea!
Dang Soo!
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