My HwaRangDo Experience

**antonanton** · Posted On: 10/23/2004 8:59pm

people dont like henry taejoon lee because his meathods of teaching are to intense for most people- hes been known to make people vomit and pass out beacuse he pushes people so hard- also- hes really mean to everyone haha- really though- master lee's school is near me and i know some people who train there- also my instructor is good friends with master lee- the school is set up like this- to train in HRD you have to first get a black belt in tae soo do under them or have a black belt in a simular martial art like hapkido or tae kwan do or somthing like that- up until your training in HRD theres pretty much no sparring- then i think its only light contact- untill you get invited to a full contact class- the school seems pretty well rounded- they teach ground stuff thats simular to bjj and have lots of different types of weapon training-
for a long time i was thinking about going to his school after i got my frist dan in hapkido under grand master bong soo han- but now im not so sure- dont get me wrong- ive seen master lee in action and hes amazing- but he just seems like a dick- and i have heard alot of other horror storys about him and lots of bad **** but i dont want to write it beacuase i cant verify it- also all the stuff about no contact sparring and stuff seems like bullshit- so i think ill stay with grandmaster han
check out his website
http://hwarangdo.net/

**parthenon** · Posted On: 10/23/2004 10:03pm

I was in the Tae Soo Do program for about 3 years and we did plenty of sparring under Eric Lee's watch. Training under Eric was just as intense as Henry's school (I visited the Downey school a few times). But then again its been a long time and their training regimen could have changed.

And yes Eric yelled at me for screwing up also. But when it came down to it Eric was a humble person who wasn't an ego maniac.

As for the art of HRD, it was a great one that could possibly produce well rounded fighters but it seems like those days are long gone.

Antonanton, try at out a class and tell us what you think.

**Miguksaram** · Posted On: 10/23/2004 11:53pm

Originally Posted by Freddy

From what I understand Gil Kim is perhaps the highest ranked member that left that still activily teaches. (Second to that is Bob Dugan and Micheal de Alba of course.) I havnt heard anything about Jo Sang Lee though? Does he still know Hwarangdo????

If I remember correctly, Lee, Joo-sang dropped out of the marital art world and owns a furniture store or some sort of business similar. However, he no longer teaches.

**parthenon** · Posted On: 10/24/2004 12:02am

Originally Posted by miguksaram

If I remember correctly, Lee, Joo-sang dropped out of the marital art world and owns a furniture store or some sort of business similar. However, he no longer teaches.

What sad way to let that training go to waste.

**GrapplerGabE** · Posted On: 10/24/2004 10:39am

What is this u guys are talking about Michael De alba and Bob Duggan?

http://www.hwarangdo.com/judicial/ju...d%206-4-01.htm

These is what they are saying of him. I thought this was a well known fact.

Forgive me if it has already been debated upon.

**antonanton** · Posted On: 10/24/2004 12:17pm

Originally Posted by parthenon

What sad way to let that training go to waste.

unfortunetly this sort of thing happens alot in the martial arts- for exsample one of the great shuai chiao grand master who was a student under under grand master chang was a janitor at an old folks home for years

**parthenon** · Posted On: 10/24/2004 12:50pm

Well you have to remember that thereare two sides to every arguement here is De Alba's rebuttal:

http://www.dsystem.com/response.htm

I am really looking foward to checking out De Alba's school I just have to find some time.

**Miguksaram** · Posted On: 10/25/2004 7:48am

Originally Posted by parthenon

Excellent. I am quite curious of meeting Mr. De Alba myself since his SanFrancisco school is nearby.

If you go, tell him that Jeremy from Chicago sent you. :) I am hoping to see him in May for the Warrior's Quest Tournament or sooner if ever I can find a venue and enough people to host him for a seminar in Chicago.

**Miguksaram** · Posted On: 10/25/2004 7:57am

Originally Posted by GrapplerGabE

What is this u guys are talking about Michael De alba and Bob Duggan?

http://www.hwarangdo.com/judicial/ju...d%206-4-01.htm

These is what they are saying of him. I thought this was a well known fact.

Forgive me if it has already been debated upon.

So basicly since they didn't pay them their money, they took their rank away from them. What does this tell you about WHRDA? Ok..let's compare skill. Go by Henry Lee's combat knife tapes then go get De Alba's and compare. I especially enjoy seeing Henry Lee dressed in a Korean military uniform when he has never served time in an American military much less Korean. Don't believe the hype of the WHRDA.

Ironicly, if you talk to GM De Alba about the Lee's, he still speaks well of them and wished the incident never happened. Other than that, he has evolved the art of HRD into something a hell of lot better than the Lee's ever did.

**Freddy** · Posted On: 10/25/2004 11:02am

For those who arnt aware f this from what I understand in HWRD theres a policy that says you are not permitted to study any other art other than HWRD. I personally think thats a whole lot of nonsense and is meant for them to have control over you. At the same time they have this so called "tribunal" where they can remove your rank for whatever their reason is. Theres obviously something wrong with this whole scenario.