Sanko Lewis and the Philosophy of Taekwondo

Sanko Lewis is an English literature professor who has a special passion for poetry. He writes, edits, is a martial arts instructor, and just recently, he got his PhD in the philosophy of martial arts. No, he did not have to spar physically to get the degree, just verbally.

His research centered around the East Asian philosophy of martial arts—Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Moism, Bushido (the Way of the Warrior aka the Samurai Code) — and his interest is in their philosophies, their morals, and how both of these might have influenced their individual development of martial arts. 

Sanko Lewis

While Sanko is familiar with tangsudu, Brazilian jiu jitsu (which by the way originated from Japanese jiu jitsu), and parkour or urban free-running, his primary focus and bulk of knowledge is on Korean martial arts. He has a fifth-dan in taekwondo, a third-dan in hapkido, practices taekyun, as well as does some yulsu (sp?) (a type of Korean wrestling). He says that martial arts aren't only about fighting but are also the embodiment of the culture. 

How do martial arts change a person physically?

• taekwondo and other quick-moving martial arts are more for developing long, lean muscles that are very flexible for quick kicks

• jiu jitsu and other grappling martial arts create a more bulky body with strong core muscles, bigger shoulders and arms, more back strength

How do martial arts change a person mentally (the more interesting question)?

According to Sanko, there are three words that translate to martial arts in Korea: 무술, 무예, and 무도, and each of these words functions as a paradigm of one's growth in the "arts." Basically, the stages of one's growth. (무 translates as "military")

• 무술 — learning the "military skills/techniques" and this takes years

• 무예 — when the movements become intuitive and the actions flow, the person is now achieving the level of "military art"

• 무도 — when the military art has become a lifestyle and a symbol of life, it has become like "Dao", the Way. (도 stems from Dao)

Sanko was first introduced to taekwondo in South Africa. He and his brother watched a lot of kungfu movies as teenagers and wanted to learn, but there were no places to learn kungfu. However, they did come across a taekwondo school. Not knowing what it was, they found in the newspaper it was referred to as "the best of the best" which alluded to a movie that came out in the 1980s. It sounded good and they wanted to learn a martial arts so enrolled. 

The guy who ran the school was a South African who had learned from another South African. The latter South African had obtained a textbook on taekwondo from some unknown place and ended up, traveling to Singapore to learn the art. In Singapore he studied under Rhee Ki Ha, first Grand Master of taekwondo. (Most of the Grand Masters of taekwondo are still living, as is Rhee who currently lives in England.)

The student of Rhee Ki Ha returned to South Africa in 1976, bringing taekwondo skills with him, and the first taekwondo school in South Africa was opened. So basically, Sanko's taekwondo education is an inheritance of the Grand Masters. (Choi Hong-hee, who was a general in the Korean military, was the founder of taekwondo.)

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This summary comes from his June 21, 2016 KBS radio interview.

Sanko Lewis also blogs on taekwondo under his Korean name, Soo Shim Kwan 水心館수심관.

Everest, a Nepalese Restaurant

Among the 10 highest peaks in the world, Nepal itself boasts eight of them, including the world's highest, Everest, in its northern region. Everest is also known as "Sagarmatha", meaning "the head of the earth" in Nepali and "Chomolongma/Qomolungma" meaning "goddess mother of the world" in Tibetan. It was determined as the highest peak in the world by British during the Great Trigonometric Survey, and the official name "Everest" was given in honor of Sir George Everest, the British Surveyor General. Until May 1999, the height of Everest was widely accepted as 8,848m (29,029ft) as determined during 1955, but the American Everest Expedition team revised Everest's official height and stated it to be 8,850m (29,035ft) that year. The recent height is still a contradiction.

The Everest restaurant, serving phenomenally delicious Nepalese and Indian food, is located near Dongdaemun subway station, exit 3, in a Nepalese district. The food is divine. The atmosphere is pleasant. And the restaurant is proud of its cultural contribution in both culinary arts and in cultural authenticity. And by taking the name "Everest" the restaurant evokes the largest icon of Nepal, the huge mountain, and in the front of the restaurant menu is the above information on the mountain and its naming. Everest is also the oldest Nepali restaurant in Seoul and that is also proudly posted in the front of the menu booklet:

"During the year of 2002, Everest Restaurant was established, first of its kind of Nepali restaurant in South Korea. Since then, we have been serving our customers with aromatic and tingling taste of Nepali, Indian and Tibetan delicacies. Nepal, landlocked between China and India has lots of similarities with India and Tibet. Nepal has lots of commonness in religion and commonness in food is no exception. So, here in Everest one can find the great fusion of Nepalese, Indian and Tibetan culture and food. Your visit to Everest is more like a virtual mystical tour to these three countries." [sic]

Promising write-up indeed! Mystical? Well, yes, a bit enchanting, but the food .... DIVINE!

The Nepalese restaurants tend to serve off of brass-ware, the ware for honorable Buddhist monks,
and so the customer is being honored in the serving.

Oh, the food is simply amazing, a beautiful blend of flavors that excise the mouth and harmonize with the tongue. India food is too hot, but Nepali food is my kind of cuisine perfection!

Nepal is a country that cultivates peace, probably since their history was very tumultuous and feudal so now is a time for finding an alternative. I love it: Never Ending Peace And Love.
Truly a beautiful culture ... with amazing food and delightful milk tea served after a meal. Yum!

Paintings Depict Jesus in Korea

A fascinating article on the art world considering the culture and times of Jesus Christ being born and raised in a different era, different country, under different and yet curiously similar circumstances. Artist Woonbo Kim Ki-chang paints the hypothetical culture condition of Jesus Christ being born and raised in Korea, during the Joseon Dynasty, by parents however not of lower socio-economic status as can be ascertained from the hairstyle, type of clothing and the hat worn, and with angels suggesting Buddhism hovering overhead. Truly fascinating depictions of an alternative space. 

The article here was originally printed in the Korea Times.

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Imagine if Jesus Christ was born not in a manger in Bethlehem, but in a stable during the Joseon Kingdom in Korea. This is exactly what the late master artist Woonbo Kim Ki-chang did in the series of exquisite "sacred'" ink paintings that depict the life of Christ in a Korean setting.

In "The Birth of Jesus Christ,'" Mary is shown wearing hanbok or traditional Korean dress, while her husband Joseph is wearing the gat or traditional Korean hat. This work is part of the "Sacred Painting Exhibition of Woonbo Kim Ki Chang'' and is currently being held at the lobby of the CCMM building, Yeouido, Seoul through July 31 (2008).

Kim had originally created the series of sacred paintings in the 1950s, holding the first exhibition at the Whasin Gallery in Seoul from April 22 to May 1, 1954. The works were made public again in 1984, for the 100th anniversary of Korean Christianity.

In an essay he wrote in 1984, Kim said he started creating paintings based on the life of Christ in 1952 while taking refuge at his mother-in-law's house in Gunsan during the Korean War (1950-1953). Following the suggestion from a missionary, he started painting Christ's life "during a time of agony suffered by Koreans because of the war.''

"I was praying for the quick end of the Korean War and a unified peace, and soothed my painful mind with a paintbrush,'' Kim said.

He was so engrossed with his work that he even had a dream that he was weeping bitterly, while hugging the dead body of Christ. "Why did Jesus Christ appear to me in a dream? It might be God's will,'' he said.

Kim had some difficulties procuring the materials for his works, like paintbrushes and paint colors, but Kim Hyong-min, mayor of Seoul after the war, brought materials from Japan.

"I took great pains to portray the likeness of Jesus. First of all, He should be a global character. Second, I had to portray a figure with the spirit of Christ whom all the people in the world can depend on spiritually beyond the countries and religious denominations and class,'' Kim said.

It took around a year to finish the 30 paintings, which start from Christ's birth to death to resurrection. These were the first sacred paintings to depict Christ in a Korean setting. 

For example, Jesus was depicted wearing the gat, which was traditionally worn by government officials and gentleman scholars during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Instead of angels, he drew Korean nymphs; and the characters wear Korean traditional outfits while the background features Korean villages and mountains.

"I tried to make Koreans experience Jesus through the paintings … I think I portrayed the noble sacrifices and the spirit of love of Christianity successfully,'' Kim said.

Kim is one of the most famous traditional ink painters. He was born in 1914 in Seoul. He became deaf and partially mute, as a result of suffering from typhoid fever when he was eight years old. His mother introduced him to art when he was 16 years old. Kim has always created folk paintings that depict the life and spirit of Koreans. He died in 2001 at the age of 86.

by Cathy Rose A. Garcia,  Staff Reporter - cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

A few of Kim's paintings depicting the Koreanized Jesus Christ: