The World Jidokwan Federation (WJDKF)

The World Jidokwan Federation (WJDKF) was founded in an effort to continue promoting the style of Jidokwan Taekwondo. We here at the WJDKF do not want the Jidokwan name or its contribution to Taekwondo lost to future generations. We hope as time goes by and good martial artist join we can become a larger force in the TKD arena.

As you may know, some martial art sites promote their members at a fast rate -- we do not! If someone can provide legitimate documentation then we will recognize their ranking and issue a Dan Certificate; however, we are not in the business of passing out certificates just to paste walls.

We do not want "Paper Tigers" here at the WJDKF, we try to filter out the phonies and recruit true martial artist. We want good martial artist.

Here is a short brief and we hope this information will help you understand where the WJDKF is coming from and where it is going.

Master Herb McGuire (Short Resume) currently runs two Taekwondo Clubs (USTU # 3717) and is the founder and president of the WJDKF. He also teaches Taekwondo at three local elementary schools in support of the "After School Mall Program" in Jackson and Scioto County Ohio.

From 1974 - 1978 Master McGuire learned Taekwondo (Jidokwan) from  Master Kuk Do Chun (Master Randy K. D. Chun, 7th Dan, Retired). Master Chun first learned at the Seoul Jidokwan School under Master BAE, Young Ki (The first Jidokwan Dan Member) and Master LEE, Chong Woo. Also, Master Chun was the first instructor to open a Taekwondo Dojang in Hawaii (American Tae Kwon Do Ji Do Kwan Hawaii Academy), starting in 1969.

Master McGuire lived in Korea for over ten years and reads and writes the language. He has an extended family in Korea. He stays in very close touch with his former classmates, instructors and the Korea Jidokwan Association through family, friends and associates.

Support from the Korean Jidokwan Headquarters

At present the Korea Jidokwan Association is offering little support for Jidokwan outside of Korea. That does not stop, minimize or reduce our efforts by any means. In time, we feel we will obtain their support. We need to increase our numbers and show that we are very serious by continuing to promote Jidokwan. For the record, the Korean Jidokwan Headquarters does not officially recognize any organization outside of Korea other than those in the Olympic charters of the WTF.

Forms/Hyungs/Kata's

As an organization, we honor any Hyungs (form) that have been used during the history of Jidokwan. The older Shudokan style, the middle styles Palgwes or the present and modern Tegueks. The WTF model is the most popular. Our position is that as long as the forms are being done correctly, the goals and outcome are the same. We want good martial arts by good martial artists. In the beginning we did only accept various forms but have since expanded our views. We wanted to recognize all the time periods of Jidokwan. With the absence of guidance from the Korea Jidokwan Association, the forms used are dependent on when the instructor learned them.

Jidokwan can be broken down into early, transitional and present forms.

Sport (Kukki Taekwondo) and Non-Sport

Some of our members are heavy in to the sport side, that is the beauty of our organization, it supports both sport and non-sport. There is usually a question if the WJDKF supports or promotes Point or Olympic type sparring. We do both, yet we do not push the Dojang to one or the other. The individual organization or Dojang may choose to do either, both or none. This is dependant on what the schools focus is; martial sport or martial art. We probably have a 50/50 split here at the WJDKF, with some participating in WTF competition events and the others not. Some prefer not to compete at all in Olympic style sparring and prefer the Karate type tournaments. Mr. McGuire and immediate staff do the WTF (Olympic Sport) side of the house, yet others concentrate on the self-defense side. It depends on what your individual goals are for you and your students. We at the WJDKF do not push or interfere with the route you choose. We want to promote Jidokwan and Taekwondo.

Semantics

There are only so many ways the human body can move. There are only so many blocks, kicks, and punches in anyone's inventory. A front kick is the same in Japan, Korea, Okinawa or the United States. They have different names because it's the name used in a particular language. We still say Karate because in English saying the way of the empty hand sounds funny. We say Taekwondo because saying the way of fist and foot fighting sounds funny. People spend too much time arguing over semantics instead of concentrating on the task at hand for all: GOOD MARTAIL ARTS!

Uniforms

The WJDKF promotes the wearing of Taekwondo Uniforms (Pullover Style); however, the type of uniform to be worn is an individual club's decision and not that of the WJDKF. The WJDKF however does not promote or like the outlandish look and recommend you avoid going with wild or flashy uniforms. What binds us all together is the love of Taekwondo (Jidokwan). The JDK patch can make us all one. It would be wonderful one day to meet at a seminar/camp/tournament and see the many types of uniforms and the many forms of JDK under one roof. All different but yet the same.

JDK and the WJDKF

Jidokwan Taekwondo is one of the five (some say eight) original Kwans (schools) that came out of the liberation of Korea from the Japanese. Because of the heavy Japanese control during the 35-year occupation, only Karate and Judo were allowed. Everything Korean was suppressed. Though some levels of indigenous Korean martial arts existed secretly, almost everything Korean was lost. The early Tae Kwon Do was nothing more than a mirror of Shudokan Karate. Shudokan is Kong So Do in Korean and is still practiced in Korea by a small minority. As Taekwondo developed, it broke away from Japanese influence came into its own. The TKD of today is uniquely Korean in that it has developed into a martial sport and bears a limited resemblance to the martial art it came from.

One can equate JDK with the WTF similar to the Army regimental system. The system establishes your roots and gives you a home. As an example, if you served in Special Forces, you may have been with any number of Special Forces Groups. The 5th, 10th, 7th, or 11th (reserve). But regardless of group, you would be a member of the 1st Special Forces Regiment. This particular regiment exists only on paper but serves as your home and lineage. Consider the Kwan like a regiment. Jidokwan is where you come from regardless of what association you belong to.

JDK is an important part of TKD history. There are many outstanding JDK people located through out the TKD community. They fill very major key roles any almost any TKD organization you can think of. JDK is active in Korea as an association but not very active outside Korea. The TKD world has shifted somewhat into sports or traditional with traditional placing second in numbers. But that's OK because different people have different reasons for learning martial arts. The current Korean philosophy is teach sports to children first, let them rise up the ranks and learn, then teach them martial arts when they are older.

JDK can be split into almost three very neat categories depending on the time frame one learned it. It has the early form, which mirrors Shudokan Karate. And it has a middle transition form in which the old Karate forms where replaced by the Palgwe forms (1970-1975 approx.) and the current version in which they follow the WTF with Teguek forms (1975 to present). Really what you learned depended on when your Instructor learned it and if he ever transition to the new forms.

Basically JDK is highly respected for the great fighters it produced and is accepted by the WJDKF in any version. Anyone who wishes to have JDK as their root Kwan is welcome in the WJDKF and will be supported regardless of if they teach martial art or martial sport. Our goals here at the WJDKF are to preserve the history of JDK and promote it so it is not lost to future generations.

Ideally, we would like to pull in any and all JDK people from all over the world into our organization and provide a home base for everyone. We would like to establish a network of qualified and dedicated martial artists. We would like to be the umbrella organization and offer support services like instructor networking, tournament organization and information, seminars, instructor certification and even more as we grow. And we would like members who might not need any of our services other than just wanting to belong to an organization to provide some assistance.

So with all that in mind and the information on our Web Site we hope you enjoy the journey.

Sincerely yours

Short Resume

The WJDKF is an Independent Martial Arts Federation and was founded in an effort to continue promoting the "History of Jidokwan Taekwondo."

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