One on One - Jhoon Rhee "The Father of American Taekwondo" Interview

I always love hearing the come-up stories from successful people. I find their stories very inspirational and I thought I should share this particular interview with you guys. Here is a video of Riz Khan, from AlJazeera's One on One, interviewing the Korean-American OG, Jhoon Rhee. Jhoon Rhee is credited as the "father of American taekwondo" as he popularized Korea's national sport in the United States. Jhoon Rhee was a contemporary and a friend of Bruce Lee and in the interview Jhoon Rhee says he taught Bruce Lee how to kick while Bruce taught him how to punch. Jhoon Rhee became such a popular martial arts instructor that he even taught taekwondo to over 300 United States Congress members in Washington, D.C. and noted personalities such as Tony Robbins, Jack Valenti, Bob Livingston, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Nick Smith and Mike Espy.

Part 2:



This is the television commercial that advertised Jhoon Rhee's taekwondo class. The commercial and the jingle was hugely popular in its heyday.



At age 75, Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee demonstrates his speed punch and 100 pushups at Columbia, Maryland school. Mind you, this was less than a year after he had a stroke!