Our Martial Arts School's

Philosophy

Due to our instructor's extensive background in a variety of martial arts, he has embodied the concept, "Philosophy Of Many Ways", as represented by the use and meaning of both Korean and Chinese characters and expressions on our school emblem. The Korean characters for North American Tae Kwon Do, phonetically pronounced, "Buk Mi Tie Kwon Doh", represent our Tae Kwon Do Chung Do Kwan roots. As such, our training heavily emphasizes kicking. The Chinese characters, left to right across the Black Belt design, for which the phonetic (Pin Yin) translation is, "Wan Fa Tong Yuan", embodies a broad concept of training as reflected in their meaning: "10,000 Ways Belong to the Same Root". With this end in mind, Grand Master Mondschein has introduced various philosophical perspectives, additional close range "fist-fighting" methods, joint locking and other self-defense techniques. Being a former All Scholastic Wrestling Champion and schooled in Judo and Ju Jitsu, he integrated grappling techniques into the curriculum. Weapons introduced into the training program are comprised of Japanese and Isshinryu Bo Kata, Double Dagger [Cern Bei Sau] Form from Praying Mantis Kung Fu - 7 Star Northern Shaolin, Chen Village Broad Sword, Tonfa and Korean Bayonet Form.

History

The University of Rochester Tae Kwon Do Club was founded in 1972 by Raymond Mondschein after receiving his 1st Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do Chung Do Kwan that May from Grand Master Son, Duk-Sung. In 2000, Master Mondschein, with support from his senior students founded the parent organization under which we currently train, North American Tae Kwon Do, with member schools in order of establishment: Rochester, NY; Houston, TX; Portland, OR; Corpus Christi, TX and Canton, MS.

Grand Master Mondschein's Martial Art Credentials include:

5th Dan in Tae Kwon Do Chung Do Kwan under the auspices of GM Duk-Sung Son, World Tae Kwon Do Association, Manhattan NY HQ

6th Dan in Tae Kwon Do Chung Do Kwan under the auspices of GM Dong-Hoon Kim, President, Tucson Chung Do Kwan Schools and GM Woon-Kyu Uhm, President, Chung Do Kwan, South Korea

7th Dan in Tae Kwon Do Chung Do Kwan under the auspices of GM Ted Hillson, Executive Director, CHUNGDOKWAN USA

9th Dan in Tae Kwon Do Chung Do Kwan under the auspices of the Reviewing Board of North American Tae Kwon Do [Chung Do Kwan]

Korean Bayonet Form as instructed by Grand Master Rico Dos Anjos, Westchester Tae Kwon Do, Port Chester, NY.

Induction: Great Grandmaster Aaron Banks World Professional Martial Arts Organization Hall of Fame Award Presented to Tae Kwon Do Grand Master Ray Mondschein by GGM Aaron Banks at Madison Square Garden Induction, New York City

1st Dan, Iaido Samurai Sword under the auspices of Honshi Cindy Jones, Collamer-Jones Karate, Bergen, New York. Additional training includes Japanese and Isshinryu Bo Kata, Kali (Filipino Fighting Sticks), and seminars in Muy Thai, Jun Fan/Jeet Kune Do [Honshi Jones & Sifu Seaman]

Trained in Chen Style Taijiquan including weapons with Bob Loce of Rochester Chen Style Taijiquan