UPDATED ON:
Sunday, August 09, 2009
10:12 Mecca time, 07:12 GMT
 
Programmes One on One
Jhoon Rhee

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This week on One on One, meet Grand Master Jhoon Rhee - the man who brought Tae Kwon Do to the heart of the US in the 1960s - teaching some of the most prominent figures in politics, sports and entertainment.

Building a reputation for remarkable discipline, he trained and sparred with his friend, the legendary martial arts movie star, Bruce Lee, and taught the charismatic world boxing champion, Muhammad Ali.

The irony is, Jhoon Rhee describes his childhood in Korea as one where he was known for being terribly uncoordinated in sports and as a youngster was pushed into self-defence after being beaten up by a girl.

Once he moved to Washington DC, the US capital, his catchy television commercials, featuring his then young children saying "Nobody bothers me" - made him a household name and won him dozens of political recruits from Congress, who were all keen to be taught self-defence.

Over the years, his following has grown and thousands of his students have gone on to teach his style.

Jhoon Rhee has continued to promote and even revolutionise the teaching of Tae Kwon Do - maintaining a remarkable level of personal fitness and visibility in the world of martial arts.

This episode of One one One aired from Saturday, August 8, 2009.

 Source: Al Jazeera
 
 
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