Dark Days in the Martial Arts

[Brat]

I need some help once again. I am in the process of putting up my own web page. I am going to have information about myself, pictures, and to start-a custom forum for matial arts chat and disscussion.

Here's the problem. When I was 15 years old, I began studying Judo at the local Kodokan club. 2 years later I achieved 1st Dan. My interest began to wane at this point and I began to search out other avenues. I met a guy at an open sparring seesion one night and began talking martial arts with him. All us Judo guys would assemble at the YMCA on wednesday and saturday evening to spar, and give others who could not afford regular classes, or whatever other reason a chance to train in Judo.(This was pretty common in those good ol days back in the 80's before lawsuits were flying around everywhere.) Well it was after one of those sessions that I met Aaron Selby. He was a brutish looking guy with lots of tatoos. He would come down to the Y and watch us. I first noticed him in early Oct. of 86. He never participated just sat on the bleachers and watched. He attended 3 of these sessions before I finally struck up a conversation with him.

Aaron claimed to be a 4th Dan in a not very well known style of "Korean Karate" that was called Kang Duk Won. He said he had learned it from his cellmate who was a Hell's Angel, who had learned it from a Korean immigrant. I told him that I'd like to see some of it and we arranged to meet one day at the University gym.

Well Aaron arrived at the gym and began showing me some forms and some fighting techniques. He was very good. He was able to take me to the mat with almost no effort, and my Judo skills were almost useless against him. I asked him to train me and he told me that he would have to think about it. Well, I kept bugging him and he finally gave in.

Aaron said that Kang Duk Won was a very secret style and practiced by only a few in the lower level of organized criminals(Hell's Angels.) According to him it was known by only a few namely the Sargeant of Arms and his immediate contacts and passed on to those of lower rank only in bits and pieces. Aaron said that while in prison he was constnatly being bullied and beat up by various ethnic, jailhouse gangs and his cellmate finally took pity on him and began instructing him.

Here is how the style was organized from what little I avtually was exposed to. A student was taught a series of stances first which wer accompanied by various applications of escapes from holds, throws, punches, and kicks associated with each stance. After those were mastered, you learned about 30 self defense techniques utilizing the material from the stances. After that was complete you did a basic form which emphasized all the movements of the stances and self defense techniques. After that you began training in the internal aspects of the art, which would dominate every facet of what you would do from there on out. I trained for 8 months and was just beginning to start on the internal aspects when Aaron was arrested and thrown in prison again. He had violated parole.

I felt bad for Aaron, but I was really angry because I could not finish my training. This is what led me to eventually sever my ties permanently with Judo and seek out another instuctor-ending up with my studying Savate for 3 years.

I never talked much about this episode because 1. I didn't think I learned enough of the style for it to have any bearing on my greater fighting style. 2. I didn't want anyone associating me with Aaron as he was a criminal. But now that I look back on my history in the fighting arts, I wonder about it.

I have made various inquiries into the style of Kang Duk Won, but to no avail. My friend Steve who is a Hapkido instructor didn't know anything about it, but said that the moves sort of ressembled a few he'd seen from Kuk Sool Won. I obtained a book of Kuk Sool Won from a friend of mine and although some of the self defense techniques are similar, they are obviously different styles.

Steve reffered me to a Kuk Sool Won guy from Korea who lives in New York. I called him and he said that although he never has seen a style like the one I described or heard of the name Kang Duk Won, he might know of the possible origins of such a style.

He said that there were a group of Koreans in history known as the Sulsa. They were a sort of Korean Ninja. They Primarily practised Hwarang Do, but there was another prevelant style known by a divergent group that was reffered to as the "style with no name" or "nameless style." All the members of this sect were thought to be wiped out but a certain man was said to have escaped to the U.S. through China in the earlier half of the century and was absorbed into the Asian crime syndicate. Back in the 70s a rich Korean man whose grandfather had practised the nameless style had come to America to live. He said that one day he passed a Biker Guy who had a tatoo of Korean letters, and a symbol that his grandfather had in his possesion that identified the style.

With all that aside, has anyone ever heard of this style? I called black belt magazine and noone there seemed to have heard of it. I recieved an email a few days later from the editor, who said that during the later part of the 80's (87,88) A man ran an ad on a set of Videos he was offering with the name of Kang Duk Won as the style. But they had neither seen or heard from him since then and BB had never done a story on such an art. Furthermore he said that over the years they had drafted numerous stories on supposed "outlaw Karate styles" that were practised by a few groups, but they could never get enough info on them to do publication.

I was just curious if anyone here could help me because I would like to put that part in my resume, or at least make reference to it. I will not include it unless I get enough information to justify it as being credible.

Aaron said that Kang Duk Won was the most internal of the Korean styles and is thought to have developed without the Chinese and Japanese influences which spawned TKD, or Hapkido.

[Bill Glasheen]

Brat

If the style is not associated with TKD, then I would call that a big plus. TKD and styles like it are so homogenized and tailored for public consuption that in most schools they have lost their martial relevance. I know nothing of this particular style, but the story fascinates me.

My fist general comment is that one must remember to separate the style from the man. This gentleman (?) you speak of was obviously a tough fellow who needed to learn no-nonsense fighting to keep from getting killed in a very hostile environment. No doubt his innate ability and the prooving grounds of his environment shaped his execution of the style.

Another general comment is that in China it was not unusual to find styles choreographed for single individuals or families by very creative martial artists. What we see in Okinawa, Japan, Korea and elsewhere is to some extent a snapshot in time of the very fluid China experience. Perhaps this style is from that general milieu, although Korean in origin. You may not ever find much more about it. But I wouldn't stop the research.

Is there any chance that you can get back in touch with this Aaron fellow? What about the person who taught him? I realize that it isn't a good idea to hang around folks that seem to invite trouble, but it sounds like this is the best source. And in your investigation, who knows - you may find that these prisoners had a lot to do with the development and refinement of what was taught you. It's something to consider, and not necessarily a bad thing in terms of the "authenticity" of the style. I can't think of a better proving ground for an empty-handed art in a modern environment.

Let us know what you find out, and please come to camp some time and show us what you learned. In the mean time, I'll check with a few of my sources.

- Bill

[This message has been edited by Bill Glasheen (edited March 14, 2000).]

[SEAN C]

Brat,

Just an observation that there might be some people who find it important to keep this stuff secret. For what it's worth.

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sean