Anyone know what Ho Sik Pak's background is and his MDK Dan Bon number is? Or did he train in Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan?

Ben

He is TSD MDK. His instructor is Lee Pal Yong.
His dan # is somewhere in the high 10,000 but i forget exactly where. (10,800something) he was promoted in '67 (easy to remember, the year I was born)
Very nice person. He will be in Philadelphia next week for some seminars. If you are in the area, let us know & stop by.
Check out www.greatwarriorpak.com
I think it gives his lineage on there. If it does, he has right before him Lee Hon In. GM Pak taught under him at Kunsan Air Base so he lists him out of respect, but never really studied under him.
Hope that helped.
jack

Thanks Jack, but I heard it was more like the mid 70's when he was promoted and not the late 60's. I know I heard he was very nice and his web site does tell about his instructor. I've heard from others that he has good technique but that he makes up his forms rather than teach the new Soo Bahk Do hyung.anyways thanks for the input.

Ben

Ben,

I am actively training at his Bon Kwan. You have heard wrong. While he is no longer with the Federation, he also does not make up his own forms, save for certain forms expressly for tournament. His classes are very strutured in basics, and he follows the Kicho -Pyung Ahn Set as well as the Chil Sung Hyung.

Grandmaster Pak is truly a great man, and never asks students to do what he himself is not willing to do.

Frank is right,
Other than the "Hwa Rang" & "High Mountain" competition forms, he is very traditional. He did not addopt the newer forms the SBD fed is doing. the Yuk Ro for example, sorry, i forget the name of the other series they do. I heard from GM Ferraro that the SBD fed changed some things & am not totally familiar with them myself.
He has some pics from the late '60s where he is wearing a black belt. (It is a guess from the style of clothing the people are wearing & the cars around them) His secretary called me last night & I asked her what his dan bon is but she could not remember exactly either. She is working on an article for TKD Times mag about him & since it was brought up, she is going to include it.

Frank,
One piece of advice if you have to sparr with GM Pak. He loves to do backfist with his right hand. He even told me when he would do it & I could not stop it. lol
jack

You know, he doesn't throw that with me... it seems to be more of a kicking match. (lol) He has some rather vicious sweeps. Apparently he has some different strategies apparently. But its of no consequence because if he wants you, he is gonna get you (lol).

Where and when will the seminar be held? I'm interested in attending.

Is there a website for the event?

Ben,

I had e-mailed his webmaster, and she asked him and told me that Ho Sik Pak's Dan Bon.

Ho Sik Pak - Dan # 13282

My understanding is that Ho Sik Pak teaches the Kicho, Pyung Ahn, and Chil Sung forms. Also, he teaches a set called Hwarang, which are used for tournament competitions. I believe that the Hwarang forms were created by Ho Sik Pak.

I hope this helps.

Patrick K.

Patrick,
she mentioned that someone at one time asked about it. She actually thought it was higher when we talked last night. He was in Arizone for a seminar & is coming back so we were trying to guess at it. It's heck to get old. lol
jack

Hi Jack,

That was probably me asking her back in late June. I have been working on a project for some time now, but have run into an obstacle. Anyway, I won't bore you with the details.

I don't think the Dan Bon I have for him is incorrect, but I could be wrong. Kyosa Ursula was kind enough to give me that information, but she didn't get back to me regarding Lee Hon In's and Lee Pal Young's Dan Bon. I am still waiting for that info, but I don't think she is going to give me that info as she hasn't responded to the last couple of e-mails I sent to her. Oh well.

Patrick K.

I don't know that it will be given to her. There are things which are considered rude, and I believe that would be one. Perhaps if you offered a reason to them in writing they would be more willing to cooperate?

Hi Kungfuren,

I was a little shocked that asking for someone's instructors Dan Bon would be considered rude. Afterall, isn't learning the history of Tang Soo Do and the history of your instructor (lineage) part of the curriculum for the Federation. I believe some of this information (lineage) was asked on some of their Dan tests. I may be incorrect about that as I am not a member of the Federation. Regardless, I do appreciate your opinion as I had never even considered that point of view. Thanks again!

As an aside I had told them all about the project, but this project for me is of a personal nature. And it did seem like she was willing to get the information for me. I just thought that Ho Sik Pak decided that he didn't want to hand over that info. But perhaps I am mistaken. Perhaps she became really busy, and just forgot to get back to me. Or perhaps you hit the nail on the head!

Either way, there is no hard feelings. And once again thanks for your point of view.

Patrick K.

There are also those who do not want to give information because of people who either slander them,or outright attack them. Grm. Myung, a Hapkido KJ, for this reason did not cooperate with Marc Tedeschi when writing his book. There are also numerous instances of people being misquoted. I know that some Koreans feel it is rude to ask about their dan bon... a few years back I ran into that one and got a very thorough rear chewing.

Thanks again. I had not realized that asking for a Dan Bon could be such a touchy subject. I appreciate the heads up.

Patrick K.

It is only a touchy subject for those that have a personality weakness. Most self confident practitioners don't care if you know it. It really has no bearing on their level of expertise...as has been born out over time.

JH

That I doubt. The gentleman I had a run in with was VERY talented and very very muscular. I bench almost 400 and this guys arms look like my thighs. There is such a thing as kibun. A junior questioning a senior falls under kibun for many Koreans.

Most Koreans are proud of their dan bon unless they are junior to what you think!

Ben

I have to e-mail her later tonight, I'll try to remember to ask her for you.
Probably wouldn't be as much of a bore as you might think. Let me know sometime.
The one you have is the correct one if that is what she told you. She said it was a few months ago someone asked for it.
Good luck with your project.
jack

Master Jack Pistella,

I appreciate any assistance you could give. I will e-mail you about the project later today. Thanks!

Patrick K.