They are all open for the right hook. Sloppy technique.
5 o clock shadow - 1Haffnegr0,
During the Japanese Occupation (1910-1945) lots of Coreans fled into Manchuria, including areas occupied by the Soviets (Vladivostok, Kharbrovsk). These Coreans transformed vasts swaths of forest into fertile land. Stalin labelled these Coreans as "latent state traitors," and deported them enmasse (500,000+) to Central Asia (Kryzakstan, Uzebekistan, and Kazakstan). Their land went to White Soviet settlers, while the Coreans were under orders to transform Central Asian desert into farmland. Fast forward to 2005 or so and the new independent Central Asian Republics made a move to expel all Coreans after they labored for generations to transform desert into arable land. South Corea rejected these Coreans because they were perceived as "poor" and "dirty." So those Coreans could be looked upon as slaves of a sort.
My friend, however, was part of the Corean contingent that was sent to Sakhalin as slave labor for the Japanese. There is still a community there, in addition to descendents that have long since moved on.
The North Corean laborers live and work in isolated labor camps in Russia. I haven't seen the Vice documentary yet, so I can't comment any further.
Feel free to spell Corea with a "K," some of us chose to use the "C."
fos
Right, but what does that history have to do with spelling the name of the people/country with an anglicized "K" or "C"?
Koreans do not refer to themselves as Korean... they are ???
My wife is from Seoul and she thought your post doesn't make sense, because; to a Korean, the "K" or "C" makes no difference, as they are just letters of the Latin alphabet which is irrelevant to Koreans.
San, that link I posted was an LA times article from 2003 saying some Korean groups wanted to change the anglo spelling back to 'C', as that was how it was spelled prior to Japan's influence.
The article states, "The seemingly arcane campaign is based on an increasingly prevalent belief that the original "C" was switched to a "K" by the Japanese at the start of their 1910-45 occupation of the peninsula so that their lowly colonials would not precede them in the English alphabetical hierarchy."
Krazy Coreans are Krazy!! 
Hmmm i think there is some bullshit afoot.
^would've been so much cooler if you said "fuckery", but which part are you referring to?
5 o clock shadow - In 2000, I trained with a guy from Russia who did Sambo and North Corean TKD (he was a 4th generation Korean living in Russia -originally from Sakhalin, but grew up in Moscow). TKD in North Corea is from the International Taekwondo lineage as opposed to most South Corean TKD that comes from the World Taekwondo Federation lineage.Good info bro, vu
My guy from Russia used lots of low kicks (including some Muay Thai-ish clubbing kicks) and knees, whereas WTF stylists seem to be the stereotypical front leg flippers.
Those demonstrations include lots of "parlor tricks" used by martial artists worldwide, but goddamn! Breaking boards while standing on broken glass? Bending two metal stakes at the throat and abdomen? Having a hatchet smashed onto your forearm? Crazy shit. I understand the physics behind everything, but that shit seems INSANELY dangerous.
Props to the guy who broke TWO bricks that were just sitting upright with a horizontal strike. That's crazy power right there.
With all that said, Taekwondo is an unfortunate derivative of Japanese Karate. One of the last surviving traditional Corean martial arts is Taekkyeon. It is a mixture of the kicking techniques of Taekwondo with the grabs and throws from Ssireum (Corean belt wrestling) and Judo. They traditionally practice to a drumbeat (kinda like capoeira) and competitions combine landing clean kicks to the body and head along with scoring takedowns (no punching is allowed). Fun stuff.
One last note, when I was in Pyeongyang in 2009, one of the people I met asked if I was a wrestler. I told her that I did mixed martial arts, and she said, "oh, is that like sambo?"
fos
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rootsnattyroots - But, can they stop a takedown?Sidestep imo.
Chael would take them all down at will...
Wait
Yeap
Meh.... looks like usual TMA demo to me 
indianrob -rootsnattyroots - But, can they stop a takedown?Sidestep imo.
and you sir win Corea of the North and of the South
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Jeez - I didn't mean to create controversy. Seriously -spell the word whatever way you like.
Kirik,
General Choi was born in the Northern part of Corea before there was an actual North Corean state. He served with the Japanese military and became a South Corean officer after the US "liberated" South Corea (and put all Japanese collaborators back into power).
It's unclear when he had his change of heart, but General Choi was distraught about the idea of TKD being used by one group of Coreans to kill another group of Coreans. From what I know, Choi eventually refused to be involved with teaching TKD to the South Corean military. Consequently, he was banished by South Corean dictators and spent his life in Canada until he returned to his homeland to die in 2002 (he had cancer.)
His wikipedia entry has lots of interesting stuff that I never knew before. It says that he served unwillingly in the Japanese imperial army and was implicated in fomenting some sort of rebellion. It also said that he must have learned martial arts as a kid. His father sent him to study calligraphy under a man who also happened to be a taekkyeon master. (Doesn't that sound badass? Mild mannered calligraphy instructor who can wreck shit! Perhaps he is the Corean version of Yip Man!) It also said that he studied shotokan under Funokoshi Gichin.
Now that people are beginning to master the fundamental arts of MMA, fringe techniques from other disciplines are going to creep into the cage. Although I doubt that we are going to see a "pure" TKD stylist in the cage, we can already see some TKD techniques working their way out in fights (spinning kicks, front leg kicks, side kicks, etc.) Of course, TKD doesn't have a monopoly on these techniques, but that's what fighting is all about -a kick is a kick and a punch is a punch, no matter where it came from.
fos
Sub
North Korea is the best Korea
Forget the axe and sledge hammer... Check the penis on that statue at 4:00.
5 o clock shadow - Jeez - I didn't mean to create controversy. Seriously -spell the word whatever way you like.
Kirik,
General Choi was born in the Northern part of Corea before there was an actual North Corean state. He served with the Japanese military and became a South Corean officer after the US "liberated" South Corea (and put all Japanese collaborators back into power).
It's unclear when he had his change of heart, but General Choi was distraught about the idea of TKD being used by one group of Coreans to kill another group of Coreans. From what I know, Choi eventually refused to be involved with teaching TKD to the South Corean military. Consequently, he was banished by South Corean dictators and spent his life in Canada until he returned to his homeland to die in 2002 (he had cancer.)
His wikipedia entry has lots of interesting stuff that I never knew before. It says that he served unwillingly in the Japanese imperial army and was implicated in fomenting some sort of rebellion. It also said that he must have learned martial arts as a kid. His father sent him to study calligraphy under a man who also happened to be a taekkyeon master. (Doesn't that sound badass? Mild mannered calligraphy instructor who can wreck shit! Perhaps he is the Corean version of Yip Man!) It also said that he studied shotokan under Funokoshi Gichin.
Now that people are beginning to master the fundamental arts of MMA, fringe techniques from other disciplines are going to creep into the cage. Although I doubt that we are going to see a "pure" TKD stylist in the cage, we can already see some TKD techniques working their way out in fights (spinning kicks, front leg kicks, side kicks, etc.) Of course, TKD doesn't have a monopoly on these techniques, but that's what fighting is all about -a kick is a kick and a punch is a punch, no matter where it came from.
fos
Sorry for off topic, but Zelg Galesic comes from ITF Tae Kwan Do and he did good in stand-up, to bad his ground game sucks.
The bare-chested guys seemed to be getting all their nutrients. Glad someone's eating in that country.
5 o clock shadow - Jeez - I didn't mean to create controversy. Seriously -spell the word whatever way you like.
Kirik,
General Choi was born in the Northern part of Corea before there was an actual North Corean state. He served with the Japanese military and became a South Corean officer after the US "liberated" South Corea (and put all Japanese collaborators back into power).
It's unclear when he had his change of heart, but General Choi was distraught about the idea of TKD being used by one group of Coreans to kill another group of Coreans. From what I know, Choi eventually refused to be involved with teaching TKD to the South Corean military. Consequently, he was banished by South Corean dictators and spent his life in Canada until he returned to his homeland to die in 2002 (he had cancer.)
His wikipedia entry has lots of interesting stuff that I never knew before. It says that he served unwillingly in the Japanese imperial army and was implicated in fomenting some sort of rebellion. It also said that he must have learned martial arts as a kid. His father sent him to study calligraphy under a man who also happened to be a taekkyeon master. (Doesn't that sound badass? Mild mannered calligraphy instructor who can wreck shit! Perhaps he is the Corean version of Yip Man!) It also said that he studied shotokan under Funokoshi Gichin.
Now that people are beginning to master the fundamental arts of MMA, fringe techniques from other disciplines are going to creep into the cage. Although I doubt that we are going to see a "pure" TKD stylist in the cage, we can already see some TKD techniques working their way out in fights (spinning kicks, front leg kicks, side kicks, etc.) Of course, TKD doesn't have a monopoly on these techniques, but that's what fighting is all about -a kick is a kick and a punch is a punch, no matter where it came from.
fos
Very informative post, thank you!
Damn I guess wood does hit back Bruce lol