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Jun Chong

A Dedication to Excellence

He is a role model to the entire martial arts world. Devoted to the arts and to his students, Master Chong is one-of-a-kind individual. Shy during his teen years in Korea, he managed to beat the odds and blossom as a tough competitor in junior high and high school. Immigrating to United States changed his whole life. His career evolved into different areas and he became extremely successful - opening several studios in Southern California and getting involved in the movie business. With thousand of students in his system and several successful films to his credit, Master Chong still trains several hours per day. He can usually be found every night at a different school, teaching classes as much as possible and explaining the history, philosophy, and techniques of the art he devoted his entire life to.

Q: What prompted you to get involved in martial arts?

A: I wanted to learn how to defend myself from the big guys. I was always small as a kid - and even now I’m only 5’6” tall. I was raised by my mother, without a father to take care of me. I had no family support outside of my mother. She encouraged me to take martial arts. The training was very hard and I was shy and had a weak mind at first. When I was ten years old, I got injured: my arm was cracked from a side kick. So I quit for three or four months. My mother was very supportive. I was scared by the injury, but she encouraged me to continue. She set up private lessons two times a week, for several years. Through this individualized instruction, I got physically stronger and also developed a stronger self-image and character.

At that time there were no international federations of any kind. When I trained, all the different Kwans were active. My master was from Song Moo Kwan - Master Kim II Sung. My mother, who was a single parent, wanted me to know how to protect myself because I was an only child. During that particular time, right after the Korean War, things could get a little rough. Many people did not have money and there were some hard times in Korea. At first, I was a bit hesitant, but I needed some discipline. I may have been a little bit scared too, but that may have stemmed from a lack of confidence. Initially, I went five days per week. Of course when my arm was broken I got scared and didn’t want to train anymore. I thought the sport was too rough.

Eventually, my skill and confidence grew. My teacher taught me how to spar and convinced me to compete. He gave me confidence in everyday life, not just in martial arts. Even today, I use his methods when I teach. At the time we did non-contact sparring, so this really helped my coordination, balance, timing, speed, and strategy. This also enabled me to use more techniques because it was non-contact. If you go with contact, you have to limit your techniques. We used to train outside in the yard, even during the winter. We used to practice in the rain and snow for hours. I still remember those types of things. 

Q: Was it difficult to practice in such bad weather?

A: Well, we did not wear shoes so it was pretty slippery and cold. However, once we got going and got sweaty, the cold did not bother us. When it snowed hard, sometimes it was hard to focus, at least at first. Eventually, my focus improved. In fact, training in the snow enabled me to strengthen my focus and concentration skills. If I could focus during that, I was confident that I could focus through anything - including a fight. Training during the rain made the practices slippery and uncomfortable because water splashed into my face, but it was fun. We also hung a heavy bag from a tree and threw kicks for 30 to 40 minutes almost every practice. Eventually, those trees started to die.

After several years, Mr. Cho went into military, and I never saw him after that. I did learn to not go into the snow to practice the martial arts (laughing). Seriously, I think it’s important for beginners to start with non-contact sparring. This enables them to become very natural in their techniques once they do contact sparring. I also learned that even when you are angry, you should not hurt your opponent. The purpose of the martial arts is to provide balance and control. 

Q: What was the most important thing you learned from Mr. Cho?

A: He taught me many things, but I think enjoying training and believing in myself were the most important things. He also taught me strategy in combat. After class, we would sit and talk. He always told me to look at my opponent’s face. He said that the eyes tell everything. I should be able to look at my opponent’s face and determine what he’s going to do.

Q: Did you ultimately get back into formal training?

A: Yes. There was a taekwondo team at our school, and I trained almost eight hours per day. I would get up at 6 a.m. and do a two-hour workout, I’d do an hour at lunch, more time after school, and then I would train from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the dojang (training hall). I’d finally get home about 10:30 p.m. Sometimes, I would think about how to fight on the way home on the bus and other times I’d just fall asleep because I’d be so tired. I had six years of that routine.

Q: Do you have an orientation toward the traditional aspects of martial arts?

A: I think traditional is the right way to teach. In high school in Korea, I got into tournament competition. They were not like tournaments today. In those days, tournaments were very physical and there were no limitations on techniques. You could have many techniques, like punching to the face, sweeps, and grabs. Today, there are many rules. I think martial arts have to allow more varied ways of defense and use every possible situation of a real fight. I think this is very important and should not be limited. In the 1970's tournaments, even though they allowed more techniques, they were controlled in other ways. Tournaments had respect and a sense of beauty. Nowadays, competitors wear no uniforms, carry a radio, do not bow, and show no respect. It is foolish to make a tournament like that. I think students should avoid these kinds of tournaments. I’m afraid my students will go and learn bad attitudes! In my studio, we teach how to respect. There are a lot of big names in tournaments and the Olympics, but in the long run this is limited. They may kick well, but they are leaving out most everything else which is important to the martial arts.

Q: Did you always want to come to the United States?

A: Not really. Actually, I was going to go into the military. Later, however, I had a chance to come to America, which is what I did. After high school, in 1966, an American family adopted me. I was 18, but they reduced my age for the adoption to 15. I moved with them to Olympia, Washington. My mother approached them because she felt there was no future in Korea. She worked on a United States military base and met a man and wife who did not have kids. She recommended that they adopt me. To be honest, at first I didn’t like it. After I thought about it, though, I thought it might be a good chance to make a living in America. At that time, Korea was a poor country and there were times when we had to fight for food. These people, Mr. and Mrs. Graf, were very nice people.

Q: What did you tell your mom when you left?

A: I told her I would be back to bring her to America some day. She said she would wait. When I was flying to America, I cried the whole time. It was quite sad. But I kept my word and she came over three years later. She was very happy that I did not forget her - as if I could. She did so much for me. We didn’t have a lot of money and times were very hard for us in Korean, but she always made sure there was money for private lessons and education for me.

Q: Los Angeles is a big place for a young man on his own.

A: After graduating from high school and coming to the United States, I studied with hapkido founder Sea Oh Choi for four years. He taught me the real knowledge of the martial arts. Hapkido is pure knowledge: knowledge of throwing techniques, kicking techniques, and punching techniques. During those four years I learned from him spiritually, too. I also looked for a taekwondo school that needed an instructor. I met Mr. Choi in Gardena, California and I asked him for a job. That was in 1968, and I stayed with him until 1972. I stayed in the studio and slept there and cleaned the school. I tried to go to college but it didn’t work out so I did martial arts full-time. Then I opened my own school in Rosemead, California in 1972. Three years later I bought Chuck Norris’ school on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. I had 200 students within two years and 400 within four years. I still have my school on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, and we offer 11 classes per day, and are open seven days a week. I think that one of the reasons we’re successful is that I give hard martial arts to my students. They accept that and appreciate it.

Q: What do you mean by “hard” martial arts?

A: The students are very focused and there is plenty of strong, physical work. There may not always be contact, but there is lots of kicking and punching combinations, lots of time devoted to practicing techniques, and the action is non-stop. I truly believe that the only formula for success is hard work. I think it also helps that we blend taekwondo and hapkido. With taekwondo, the students get a lot of kicking and punching - they sweat a lot and spar a lot. On the other hand, hapkido is calm with its hand grabs, takedowns, and joint locks. These two arts give students a balance in class, and that is how I teach. After they are sweating from the kicking and punching, we stop and do some hapkido movements. Once they’ve had a chance to cool down while doing hapkido movements, we start with some hard kicks. The balance is good for the class. I think it’s also because we provide flexible hours. We have many professionals who train here and time is a concern - therefore we have flexible hours.

Q: You have trained in many other systems. Why?

A: I just want to know what tai chi was, what aikido was, and what shotokan was. I wondered what the difference was between aikido and hapkido, and so I found out for myself instead of asking someone. Aikido is more graceful and more precise with each lock. Hapkido is more powerful and more physical. It’s graceful too, but it has more power. Tai chi has very soft power. I always get stiff after tai chi workouts because there is no training quite like it. In taekwondo, we stretch ourselves to our utmost physical limits and totally put ourselves mentally and physically into it. Tai chi, on the other hand, is very slow. Dan Lee always says how tai chi is different from taekwondo. Of course they are different - but that doesn’t mean one is good and one is bad. Everybody is different. For some people, tight is good and for others tight is bad. So for some people taekwondo is good and for others it is not. All styles are different and none is the best for everybody. 

Q: Do you favor the idea of cross-training in different styles?

A: Definitely - but you have to be careful what you are doing. You need to find elements or styles that directly improve what you are already doing, and not jump from one style to another just for the sake of learning something new. You need to have a direction and a purpose in your research and training - otherwise, you may end up with a combination of many styles that do not bring anything good to yourself as a martial artist. If you practice taekwondo, you can learn shotokan or boxing to improve your hand technique - this makes sense. You should look to improve and complement what you have.

Q: Do you do full-contact sparring at your school?

A: We do contact always, but we have to pull back, like in shotokan. And we do totally controlled kicking. We also teach two-against-one and three-against-one. But this type of sparring must be no-contact because of the possibility of many injuries. Two-on-one sparring is very tiring and requires tough mental discipline. Three-on-one, the way I teach it, is only one minute long - one quick round. To fight three-on-one you must use a defensive concept: never think attack, think defense. You will automatically lose if you start a fight one-against-three, no matter how good you are!

Q: What is your teaching methodology?

A: I think the master must have strong discipline to be at the school every day. No matter how many students come, I teach - even if it is only one student. I give sincere teaching, with the philosophy that one student will bring ten students later. When beginners first walk-in, I make it very loose, very relaxed. I teach them a relaxed meditation for five minutes, Then I teach yoga stretches and breathing, combined with taekwondo stretches for about 15 minutes. Next we do punching techniques, somewhat like shotokan punches, and we perform a routine of blocks. Then we start kicking - stretch kicks and kicks. After a little more stretching, we do hyungs or forms.

Q: Which hyungs do you teach?

A: We do Palgwe hyungs, though I changed them a little. The traditional Palgwes were designed by old instructors and they are a little stiff. They look more complicated to learn, but they are more challenging that way. Then I teach how to fall. The traditional taekwondo doesn't usually teach how to fall. We also teach self-defense against grabs - how to deal with somebody who grabs the neck, or from behind, et cetera. Students love the self-defense training because it is very practical. Finally, we teach jumping kicks and one-on-one sparring, but no-contact sparring at this level. After the first year, I teach more advanced methods of kicking and punching. It's organized with the same  routine, but has more advanced techniques. At the black belt level, I teach boxing. All of my black belts know how to box, which is combined with our kicks. But kickboxing can be sloppy. In taekwondo, punching and kicking is more focused, with many different varieties of punches and kicks. We combine everything together. After black belt, we teach weapons like the nunchaku, bo and sai.

Q: So you teach a balanced system of old and new methods.

A: People continually want to learn. I am always learning. My students are the same way. So I teach what I know and I teach what I learn. This is what it means to be a master: to keep learning and stay ahead of your students, bringing new things for them to learn! Many people limit themselves. I feel no one martial art is best. I’ve become an American taekwondo martial arts school. Although I teach one traditional style, I have brought in many other things. We teach meditation. We also teach the meaning of techniques. Like when you throw a kick, you must understand why. Perhaps we show a defensive position. There is a different spiritual involvement when you think about what you are doing. Besides teaching many techniques, the most important point is that I am disciplined. I know many great instructors, but they are not disciplined enough. I workout every day and discipline is the most important principle of all. The instructor must be more strongly disciplined than the students. Then everybody will follow the instructor.

Q: What is your personal training routine and diet like?

A: On an average day I work out around five hours - but it could be more depending on the number of lessons. My exercise routine includes a lot of stretching for every part of the body. Some of them are yoga postures, which have an overall benefit. For high kicks and speed I use the barre, similar to those in ballet. I also borrowed a few punching techniques from boxing that I include in my punching bag routine. As far as my diet, I don’t follow a particular one but I try to eat healthy and clean which it means to stay away from starches and sweets. Of course, I complement my nutrition with vitamins and minerals, which sometimes are lacking due to my busy schedule.

Q: Would you describe your martial arts system and philosophy?

A: We begin by teaching the right attitude. The right attitude starts by treating students warmly to bring them into our school. I require my instructors to teach gently or go elsewhere. The military approach is important, but not for martial arts schools. A beginning student is much like a baby. They cannot walk, they cannot focus or punch correctly, so we have to teach them like a baby. Then slowly, after the first year, we help them develop tight discipline and tight attitude - tight and strong. By the time they reach black belt level they have developed the right attitude. Taekwondo mainly uses kicks, and I have dedicated most of my life to Korean styles - they are what I know best. Personally, I love kicking and the art of taekwondo offers me a great variety of techniques in this particular aspect of combat. Hapkido is a great self-defense method and unintentionally I began to blend one system with the other in a natural way. Hapkido also emphasizes kicking, but in a different way. Kicking develops your legs, which in turn makes you a better fighter. If the legs are weak, it will be easy for your opponent to throw you off-balance. On the other hand, training the legs to kick makes them stronger - providing a good, solid stance.

As far as my philosophy goes, I would say that I believe in change - but change for the good and for a reason. The art of self-defense is not only for royal families or warriors. I teach a modern style, not because I made it that way but because that is the way taekwondo has evolved. As I said before, unintentionally and over a long period of time, I have blended hapkido and taekwondo techniques to create a number of self-defense combinations. These combinations happened naturally and I have been using and teaching them for years. By integrating elements from Japanese hand-techniques, I have made our punching more varied and complete. Also, traditional taekwondo never makes use of throws. Nevertheless I consider them very important for self-defense situations outside the ring. That’s when hapkido comes in. A timely reverse punch, like those practiced in Japanese hard styles, are excellent for counterattacks or in combination with other techniques. As far as kicking, there is nothing like taekwondo. All I can say is that this system has proved very successful for tournament competition, and for the overall black belt quality of my students.

Q: How long does it take to earn a black belt under you?

A:  Three to five years. I like to say three but it usually takes five. I like to teach the entire system, but I also like to teach mind power and the spiritual way, too. We have many obstacle courses such as sparring, breaking, and jumping kicks. In the black belt test we do knife defenses, two-man defenses, two-man attacks, and jumping kicks - both single kick and double kick. Many women find it difficult to do jumping kicks. My wife has had knee operations which make jumping kicks difficult. She has studied for 23 years and finally got her black belt this year. We also teach women. We have half kids, half adults, and 30 percent of them are women. I am very proud of our women. They are very interested in learning martial arts, sometimes even more than the men. They look good and they kick fast. Women train hard. They use a very different approach from men as far as training is concerned.

Q: Do women need a different approach to train in the martial arts?

A: Just in the beginning. They need a little bit gentler training in the beginning, but after the first year, around blue belt, they are treated the same as the men. I like to teach women to have strong minds. I think nowadays, women have minds as strong as men. When it comes to dangerous moments, women have a stronger mind. I can appreciate women becoming black belts and not just honorary black belts. They must fight two against one, flip men around, perform jumping kicks, and break wood. I respect the more artistic way women do it. Men have more of a physical way behind their taekwonko. I like to encourage women in martial arts. They do very well. Sometimes when a women scores on a man, the man does not know what to do! He gets angry and loses his composure. This is stupid. When we become black belts, we choose to not let our feelings get out of control. Black belts learn to control their anger. If you are in a fight, never lose your mind. If you do that you can kill people or you can get killed. That is not the focus of martial arts.

Q: How do you teach mind power?

A: There are many ways. Kiai, the yelling, is one. Also through breathing and sparring. Every one - women, men and children - must learn these things. If you've been sparring for four or five years, you become confident. After many years you have no fear at all of sparring. The same is true with jumping kicks. First the front-kick, then the side-kick followed by the back-kick, then double-kicks. Each time they master one method they get more confident and their mind becomes stronger. Step by step, they go through many obstacles. After a long and hard course, they become a black belt. Unfortunately, only one or two percent of the students get the black belt. I've been teaching for many years, but we only have over 200 black belts.

 Q: Is sparring important in your schools?

A: Of course, but the art of sparring does not compare to street fighting - they are two different things. Sparring is a game - even if there is contact the superior fighter doesn’t need to hurt his opponent. He knows how much power must be released on impact with undeniable target accuracy. He does not draw blood. Of course, accidents occur; they come with the territory. But in sparring there is no need to hurt someone to prove who is better. Street fighting is different, very different.

Q: How often should a student train?

A: Three times a week is enough at first because the body needs time to recover - especially from a hard taekwondo class. They cannot walk the next day after all the kicking. But once they are black belts they should train every day and stay with their martial arts. Many instructors become involved in movies, too. Once they get good, they take off and do movies. I’ve done many movies, but teaching always comes first and movies second. The school is always here. People come to my school for how I teach - because I teach sincerely. They might be drawn in because I’ve done movies, but that isn't right. They should come because of how we teach.

Q: What is the essence of self-defense?

A: To me, self-defense is confidence and confidence comes from sparring. Taekwondo is a sparring art, and hapkido enables you to control your opponent. Thus, my students get a blend of the elements they need. If you spar a lot, a street fight should be very easy. If you don’t spar, a street attack could be difficult because you won’t even know how to relax your mind. Relaxation is the key element. In professional boxing, the first thing you learn is how to be calm so you can seize your chance. It’s the same thing with the martial arts. You have to be calm so you can look for an opportunity to attack. It’s the same thing in the street. You have to be calm. Wait for your chance. You don’t want to panic. If you panic, you lose.

 Q: How important is discipline in your student’s behavior?

A: I think it is the key to martial arts training. Without it, I don’t think you’ll find happiness. Discipline makes you better. When you are better, you are happy. If you are not happy with what you are doing, you will enjoy it less, train less, and be disappointed.

Q: What does the future hold for you?

A: It’s hard to tell. I would like to make more good martial arts movies. I’d like to stay away from too much fantasy. I’d prefer pure martial arts fighting scenes. I think realism is important. The movies with fantasy will come and go. After all these years, people still enjoy Enter the Dragon because it’s more realistic than fantasy.

Q: What would you like to say to all martial artists?

A: My advice is to stay interested and make martial arts a way of life. The martial arts way is a good one - it contains discipline and confidence - all of this can help you in your life. Many people start to train and then quit after a short time. Instead, make a long-term commitment. You must make a commitment or you will never be successful. Find what you like - a good system and a good school - and do long-term martial arts training. The rewards are there for you.