Jhoon Goo Rhee

This is a Korean name; the family name is Rhee.
Jhoon Goo Rhee
Born (1932-01-07) January 7, 1932[1]
Korea
Other names Jhoon Rhee
Residence United States of America
Style Taekwondo, Chung Do Kwan
Teacher(s) Nam Tae Hi
Rank 10th dan taekwondo
Notable students Allen R. Steen
Website http://www.jhoonrhee.com/
Jhoon Goo Rhee
Hangul 이준구
Hanja 李俊九[2]
Revised Romanization Yi Jun-gu
McCune–Reischauer Yi Chun'gu

Jhoon Goo Rhee (born January 7, 1932), commonly known as Jhoon Rhee, is a South Korean master of taekwondo who is widely recognized as the 'Father of American Taekwondo' for introducing this martial art to the United States of America since arriving in the 1950s.[3][4] Rhee is ranked 10th dan.[4]

Rhee was born on January 7, 1932, in Korea, during the period of Japanese occupation. He began training in the martial arts at the age of 13, without his father's knowledge.[5] Rhee received martial art training under Nam Tae Hi and graduated from the Chung Do Kwan.[6] During the 1960s, Rhee befriended Bruce Lee—a relationship from which they both benefited as martial artists.[7]

In 1973, Rhee made his only martial arts movie, titled When Taekwondo Strikes.

Rhee is well known in the Washington, D.C. area for a television commercial that has a jingle by Nils Lofgren and features the catch phrase, "Nobody bothers me," followed by "Nobody bothers me, either." In 2000, Rhee was the only Korean-American named amongst the 203 most recognized immigrants to the country by the National Immigrant Forum and the Immigration and Naturalization Services.[3]

Rhee was inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame in 2007,[8] and he is listed as both the 'Pioneer of American Taekwondo' and the 'Pioneer of Taekwon-Do in Russia' there.[9] Rhee is listed as a pioneer in the USA (1950s, 1960s, and 1970s) in Chang Keun Choi's list of taekwondo pioneers.[10]

He created 'Martial Ballet' which is a martial art form that is conducted to music. Martial Ballet has been performed by different people in different ways and was incorporated in Rhee's school curriculum.


Jhoon Rhee also starred in a feature film in 1980. It was entitled Return of Rhee in Korea and for the Asian and international markets. It was renamed Rampage for U.S. distribution, but never got released in America. Rhee's protégé Jeff Smith and student Randy Anderson co-starred in the picture which was filmed on location in Seoul and Busan, South Korea.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Zia, Helen (1995). Notable Asian Americans. United States: Gale Group. p. 326. ISBN 0810396238.
  2. ↑ 조성식 [Jo Seongsik] (2006-08-14), "5세에 송판 깨는 美 태권도 황제 이준구: "내 주먹은 바람, 내가 인정한 유일한 고수는 ‘싸움꾼’ 이소룡"", Donga Ilbo Magazine, retrieved 2011-10-08
  3. 1 2 Grand Master Jhoon Rhee returns home to serve as Youngsan Univ.'s Chair Professor The Seoul Times, September 2004. Retrieved on 28 July 2007.
  4. 1 2 Kang, S.-W. (2008): Taekwondo grandmaster lectures at Yonsei University The Korea Times (10 January 2008). Retrieved on 26 January 2010.
  5. ↑ JhoonRhee.com: Philosophy Retrieved on 29 January 2010.
  6. ↑ Kang, W. S., and Lee, K. M. (1999): The Modern History of TaeKwonDo Retrieved on 14 October 2007.
  7. ↑ Nilsson, Thomas (May 1996). "With Bruce Lee: Taekwondo Pioneer Jhoon Rhee Recounts His 10-Year Friendship With the "Dragon"". Black Belt Magazine 34 (5): 39–43. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  8. ↑ Taekwondo Hall of Fame 2007 Banquet Retrieved on 12 January 2008. (Although the reference's address contains "2006," the event was actually held in 2007.)
  9. ↑ Taekwondo Hall of Fame Retrieved on 12 January 2008.
  10. ↑ Choi, C. K. (2007): Tae Kwon Do Pioneers Retrieved on 15 March 2008.

External links

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