A student of Nakamura taught classes with Sogaku Takeda, on Nakamura's advice, in the mid-20th century. His name was Peter Seo Limg; he was a student, along with many others, of the man said to be the last samurai recognized as such. Choi, Yong Sool, and Morihei Ueshiba, the creator of Aikido, were among those at his dojo. It is said that his son, Koichi Tohei, wrote "The Book of Ki" (a book recommended for any teenager beginning to discover new things and to ask themselves who they are and what their purpose is).
Nakamura taught the art known (in his Japanese dialect) as Shito Ryo Karate-do. Takeda's martial style was called Shito Ryo Aiki Yu Yuit su.
This distinction stemmed from the Middle Ages in the East, where several samurai families in the 15th and 16th centuries (coinciding with the Enlightenment in Europe), although sharing an ancient martial art, were labeled according to the oldest surname practicing that art.
Along with Takeda's students were Bruce Lee, and the creator of Japanese Kendo, or the art of the Japanese sword or katana, who made the Suzuka family's Sotokan karate style his own (Kempo karate), which gave rise to many disputes between wealthy classes and karate practitioners, disputes that spread to the USA. This led to numerous fight films featuring clans and individual Americans who wanted to train with one of these masters, resulting in great stories of great white fighters (see "Kickboxing" and other films starring actor Janet Van Damme).
One student of this karate master, who added katana mastery to the unique style of Kempo Karate, was actor Jeff Brades, who contributed, albeit briefly, to films about Japanese and Korean mafia fights, such as "Perfect Weapon," among other lesser-known films.
It should be noted that Bruce Lee (admired by many and who inspired many young people to join the nearest martial arts gym) along with other Korean martial artists (such as Ji Han Llae and Bong Soo Han), Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese, as well as those from South Africa and Australia, placed their trust in the Land of Great Opportunities (USA). In their quest for success, they gave action cinema a wealth of martial arts material.
Many of these immigrants, along with characters from the USA and "great actors," contributed significantly to the genre. "British" (I hope I don't offend anyone) made Westerns great, as well as great novels about the Middle Ages, melodramas like "Casablanca," "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "North by Northwest," "Out of Africa," "The Thorn Birds," "The Count of Monte Cristo," "El Dorado," "Rio Lobo," "Rio Grande," and "The Philadelphia Story." These last films, along with the famous "Bringing Up Baby," coincided with the production of the same series, in which actor and martial artist Bruce Lee was gaining recognition for his role in the police series "The Green Beetle." In it, he became more popular (despite being a supporting actor) than the lead actor, almost like Robin stealing the spotlight from Batman.
Before living in the USA, Bruce Lee spent several years in Hong Kong, where he trained under a Wushu master known as Fhuei. This master taught him Wushu and also a particular technique involving the use of feet, hands, and elbows together in defense against an opponent. He called this technique Kung Fu.
Back in the USA, Bruce Lee had already carved out a niche for himself among American citizens, as he spoke English from childhood—given his American heritage through his father, who, after World War I, had been a lady's companion to the British consul. This opened doors for him to meet people from the USA, France, England, and elsewhere. It is said that Bruce Lee was born from a relationship that lasted several years during a stay in a Korean village. As a child, to avoid gossip, he emigrated to Japan, where he met some of the students mentioned in the first two paragraphs and learned a broad martial arts foundation.
Circumstances led his grandparents and mother—his father having died in combat in Cambodia—to emigrate to Hong Kong. This life led him, along with his Wushu master, to want to teach self-defense to the most vulnerable in an era when crime (theft, kidnapping, slander) and rape were rarely prosecuted. This led him to have several run-ins with the law. He was a local policeman who had several fights with wealthy and reputable members of the British army.
His grandfather decided to send him to the USA for his safety. Years later, when he received the news that he had been given the honorary role of portraying a Shaolin monk in the series known as "Kung Fu"—a series that was exceptionally instructive, realistic, and deeply human—his grandfather died. He returned to his grandfather's homeland to give him his final farewells.
When he returned to the USA, the role had been given to the well-known actor David Carrandine. This plunged him into a deep loathing for his life, and he spent whatever money he managed to earn working various jobs in Washington, D.C. (on the Pacific coast). Meeting Linda Cadwell spurred him to find a way to gain his parents' approval of his love and be free to start his own family with her.
He took control of his will and did everything he could to finish his Philosophy degree at the university in the city. While teaching Wushu, emphasizing the technique of his teacher Fhuei, he managed to pay for his room and board, saving money and searching for a way to balance teaching martial arts, writing philosophy books, and being with the love of his life, Linda.
He struggled so much that he succeeded. They had to move to another city, San Francisco, California. There, he opened his first gym and achieved some success. Why "some success"? People connected to the mafia and other influential figures were very conservative about teaching martial arts to non-Asians unless you paid a bribe.
He refused, and to prove his business was legal, he agreed to fight an opponent they chose, thus demonstrating his dignity and refusing to be beholden to any family sect, even if it was outside his ancestral homeland.
He won the fight. It's said that, in his eagerness to make deals, he offered one of his students the chance to train at his gym (he didn't want to go against tradition, but I think he erred—in my humble opinion—in advocating a very free approach to combat techniques before learning the 80 forms that supposedly comprise the art created by the Silla monks in the early 1st century AD in parts of Korea, China, and Thailand; and that this art led him to constantly strive to prove his theory, finding enemies along the way in his quest to win against anyone in any kind of fight). It's said that the defeated fighter reacted wildly and, with Bruce defenseless and his back turned, received such a blow to the back that it left him paralyzed from the waist down.
It took him a long time to recover, and with the help of his wife Linda, and drawing on his knowledge of Eastern philosophy (his specialty), he drew strength from weakness, made it immense, and wrote the treatise Jeet Kune Do. He had learned Ju-Ju-Su with Takeda, he had learned Wushu with Fhuei, but he needed to explain his approach to combat. How could he make the ancient techniques of Eastern martial arts efficient in a real fight? Chinese forms seemed to incorporate many of these techniques into their Tai Chi movements, and the idea of separating good seeds from bad, like a farmer, or better yet, separating grains of different kinds of cereals, was what he tried to explain. A guard free of stereotypes, combined with focusing on the moment to see which technique to use rather than which form to display, made his way of applying all the martial arts techniques he had learned a bible for many martial artists.
He won several awards for his philosophy books in which he discussed martial arts and how a way of facing a problem could be a way of facing an adversary in a fight.
A demonstration of this theory, after his recovery, caught the attention of several film producers. The chosen film was Big Boss. It was a box office success, and he was offered supporting roles in various films. He turned them down. At that time, he learned the story of the Korean "Tigers" (see the history of Hapkido). He learned about the Korean actor and artist Bong Soo Han; Grandmaster Ji Han Llae; and Grandmaster and friend of the latter, Kwang Sik Myung. They were based in the USA, and he contacted them. From those meetings, where they shared experiences and the origins of Hapkido, came the second book on Jet Jun Do, in which he used kicks taught to him by his new friends. From them, he learned the 360° kick devised by Ji Han Llae and popularized by Bruce Lee in his subsequent films, especially "Way of the Dragon," filmed in Rome, and "Enter the Dragon," filmed in Hong Kong.
Among the extras in "Enter the Dragon," known in Spain as "Operación Dragón," who worked on the film, were graduates of the Peking Opera School, including Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao. Their participation in this film (and their subsequent association with Golden Harvest) was a significant factor in helping to launch their careers.
The collaboration and practice of Hapkido resulted in major figures achieving stardom in martial arts films. A family photo of the great Hapkido masters (Choi Jong Sool, Myung Llae, Nam; Ji Han Llae; Le Dong Koo; Seo Bok Seob; Suh Bok Seob; In Seo Lim; Suh Seo Lim; Kim Tae Ho; Myung-Deuk Suh and students such as Kwon Tae-Man and Yu Yong-Wu), in which a young Bruce Lee appears before moving to Hong Kong, turned out to be this one from Ji Han Llae's personal archives. Ji Han Llae is to the left of Choi Jong Sool (both in the highlighted inset).
Bruce Lee can be seen on the far right (next to the highlighted box). Photo from 1953, shortly after the end of the Korean War.
In those years, the early 1970s, Jackie Chan was carving out a niche for himself in major film productions in China, utilizing the arts of Wushu. He became famous for not using stunt doubles in risky scenes.
At that time, he had several centers where he taught his unique Wushu, based on his Jeet Kune Do philosophy and the Hapkido knowledge he had acquired. One was in Philadelphia, another in Seattle, and another in Los Angeles, California, where he personally led the classes whenever his obligations as an actor and father allowed.
Bruce Lee starred in one more film that brought him worldwide fame, as it also marked his death. The cast included Karin Abdul-Llabal (the great center—famous for his hook shots—of the Los Angeles Lakers), Ji Han Llae himself, Yuen Biao, and others. It was titled "Game of Death."
It is said that in that book, he wanted to explain that in his third book, Jeet Kune Do, which he was finishing, the fighting style should be free and not bound by fixed forms, like different possible openings in a chess game. He stated in the third book that a fight should begin according to the circumstances and always depending on observing how the opponent moved and walked.
While writing this third book, he began to complain of headaches, migraines that seemed endless. In the film Game of Death, before finishing it, it is said that he couldn't concentrate due to his pain. He was given a pill, which he apparently took twice. Coincidentally, he was allergic to one of the ingredients in that pill and was admitted to Los Angeles Central Hospital already deceased, due, according to the autopsy, to a severe stroke.
Films like those starring Bruce Lee have inspired many of us to practice a martial art.
In those years, the early 1970s, Jackie Chan was carving out a niche for himself in major film productions in China, utilizing the arts of Wushu. He became famous for not using stunt doubles in risky scenes.
At that time, he had several centers where he taught his unique Wushu, based on his Jeet Kune Do philosophy and the Hapkido knowledge he had acquired. One was in Philadelphia, another in Seattle, and another in Los Angeles, California, where he personally led the classes whenever his obligations as an actor and father allowed.
Bruce Lee starred in one more film that brought him worldwide fame, as it also marked his death. The cast included Karin Abdul-Llabal (the great center—famous for his hook shots—of the Los Angeles Lakers), Ji Han Llae himself, Yuen Biao, and others. It was titled "Game of Death."
It is said that in that book, he wanted to explain that in his third book, Jeet Kune Do, which he was finishing, the fighting style should be free and not bound by fixed forms, like different possible openings in a chess game. He stated in the third book that a fight should begin according to the circumstances and always depending on observing how the opponent moved and walked.
Movies like those starring Bruce Lee have inspired many of us to practice a martial art.
From Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, the aforementioned Bong Soo, Han, and great artists like Jackie Chan, Let Li, Jason Statham, the great actor Steven Seagal, who has championed aikido everywhere, and others no less important but overshadowed by their supporting roles and more famous for voice acting than leading roles, have all dabbled in hapkido. The variety offered by this comprehensive martial art makes it tempting to try.
In recent years, artists who have brought ninja styles to the big screen have practiced arts such as Kempo karate, mentioned earlier, or the Korean martial art Kuk Sool Won, taught by Grandmaster In Hyuk Suh, who began his training in Hapkido under the tutelage of his grandfather, Myung Deuk Suh, president of the International HoShin-Hapkido Association.
Hapkido in film... An art that transforms an action scene originating from any martial art into a beautiful and captivating finale in any choreography.
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