Skunkeye just met the “Father of U.S. Tae Kwon Do,” Grand Master Jhoon Ree! Anyone watching TV in the DC area in the eighties will remember his “Nobody Bother Me!” local commercials. What a legend!
He was speaking at the annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month festivities at HHS across the street. We always go for the free food at the end but have to sit through keynote speakers and cultural performances first. This year it was Jhoon Ree and and the Mabuhay Dance Group - believe me, i've had my fill of Filipino Tinikling/Pandanggo Sa Ilaw cultural performances. The Grandmaster looked amazing at 77 and considering he recently had open heart surgery and gave an inspiring but rather long-winded talk. The finale was a Martial arts ballet performed a little too earnestly by his students to an inspirational reading by him and then to Kate Smith’s God Bless America. Kinda camp the whole affair. You can sample some of his music on his website. He’s really a immigrant success story- over 60 Jhoon Ree studios in the US and 65 in Russia (!!) and he was the Martial Arts instructor for Muhammad Ali, Tony Robbins, Mike Espy, and Jack Valenti and all sorts of famous and colorful people. Ree and his wife were very sweet and said they enjoyed meeting my folks in Soeul. The Rees were accompanying Bush Senior on his recent Korea trip.
Today I met with the Cambodians to plan a retirement party for their Chief but nothing got accomplished and I couldn't motivate anyone. They want food at the event but they don't want to prerpare any to bring OR contribute money. Cambodian food, by the way, is amazing. Now I understand better why you have to go all the way to Rhode Island to find a Cambodian restaurant.
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