North Korea Troops MA training

[Mr_Wood]

Yeah it looks like a poorly made trailer from a 1980's kung fu film but they do seem to have got brick breaking and generally smashing stuff against there bodies down to a tee. No skill on display other than iron shirt / hand etc.. but entertaining nonetheless

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKR_gC_yBPU

[Michael]

Looks very much like the United States Marine Corps to me, although with a lot more energy and verve. I think the NORK's get better food than we did. You know, better protein.

[Andy_S]

Silly stuff but impressive for the layman. Pretty funny to see the Nork officers diligently scribbling down everything Kim III says, when it is pretty clear from his phys that he could barely do a front kick. However, the Nork special forces MA training is not to be sneezed at.

When Kim Shin-jo ("The Hit Man" and the only one of 31 Nork commandos to survive the spectacular raid on the South Korean presidential mansion in 1968) was debriefed, it was discovered that his MA skills were far above those of the South Koreans, which led tot the creation of the South Korean SF MA Tukong Moosool. Likewise, when the only Nork SF survivor of the Rangoon bombing in 1983 (whose name escapes me now) was captured and imprisoned, he took on three Burmese MA instructors in a staged fight in prison, and apparently took out all three, even though he had lost an arm in the bombing.

Tough chaps. And as Michael notes, by no means over-fed...

[edededed]

Pretty interesting stuff, Andy. Next time I visit Korea, maybe I should go and attend services at his church (well, he is only 1 of several pastors there, I think?).

Any details about how his MA skills were superior, and what they adopted from his skills?

[chud]

The North Koreans really went heavy on the patriotic music and dramatic narration in that video (I didn't understand it, but could recognize the dramatic tone).
Reminds me of 1950's era propaganda that we might've made back in the day.

I think the NORK's get better food than we did. You know, better protein.

Unfortunately I don't think the rest of the country eats very well, but I think if you're in the military or a government official you probably get enough to live on.

[Doc Stier]

As I recall, the ROK White Horse Brigade back in the day enjoyed their reputation for being hard as nails, no quarter asked or given fighters who essentially deployed themselves with the belief that "if you kill me, I kill you right back"!!!

This of course is in direct opposition to their Buddhist teaching of "to injure others is to injure yourself".

Oh, well, what's the harm in a little bad karma, if it's for a good cause, right?

[Andy_S]

Ed:

I interviewed Shin some years ago and we discussed MA for a bit, so if you attend his chuch, make sure you are polite or you may expect highly trained fist of God to deliver its wrath!

I read about his being the inspiration for Tukong Moosool on a TM website some time ago; Google might unearth it. The bit about the Burma bomber being a prison badass even with one arm comes from his biographer, Rah Jong-Il (himself, an ex-spook boss).

if you have access, I did a story on Kim for the South China Morning Post and a piece on Rah for Straits Times.

[edededed]

Thanks, I think I did read those articles already (I read two different articles about him, penned to your name!).

Your Korean must be quite good - mine is alright for conversation, but not for talking with old people to be honest (the whole politeness thing for one)... (But maybe he'd like my Nork impressions.)

But his story is really powerful - shows how people are just people, and ideologies can be sowed to create hate, killing intent, etc.; but take it away, and they are just people, really. I'm glad that he was pardoned and was allowed to live a new life, although many were sacrificed as a result.

[Andy_S]

Ed:

Actually, my Korean is (at best) conversational: For the Kim job, I took an interpreter. I am crap at languages - except for bad language, that is.

[windwalker]

As I recall, the ROK White Horse Brigade back in the day enjoyed their reputation for being hard as nails, no quarter asked or given fighters who essentially deployed themselves with the belief that "if you kill me, I kill you right back"!!!

This of course is in direct opposition to their Buddhist teaching of "to injure others is to injure yourself".

Oh, well, what's the harm in a little bad karma, if it's for a good cause, right?

had to smile,
I trained back in the 70s with a GI back from nam who trained
with the "white Horse" group in nam.
he did mentioned that they never took prisoners

very tough guy, very brutal training.
had to stop before it became ingrained, didnt want to give up
on the CMA.

[edededed]

Ah well - Korean is a hard language to learn (according to the Foreign Service Institute, they ranked Korean as one of the 5 most difficult languages for English speakers to learn (http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.co ... difficulty)). Plus, there is the problem of there not really being anything interesting in Korean to read or watch (Giant women's magazines? Archaic Bibles equipped with black leather and zippers? Ho hum.)...

There is also the problem where your native tongue takes a dive if you gain advanced proficiency in other languages...

[Michael]

Plus, there is the problem of there not really being anything interesting in Korean to read or watch

Ed, don't ever say that in mainland China or you'll have 750 million women beating you over the head with their pirate DVD's of Korean soap operas.

[edededed]

Ah yes, the Korean drama - a dubious cultural export indeed.
The only good thing it has ever led to was a soothing of relations between Korea and other Asian countries - well, only the female half.
In return, many gaggles of women now expect young, handsome, super-rich, and super-suave men to sweep them off their feet.

A few years ago, I saw a Japanese housewife on TV who had a life-sized cardboard cutout of one of the Korean male stars at the dinner table. More importantly, the kids and the husbard tolerated it...

[Michael]

One of them thar drama characters is supposed to be the perfectly suave alien from outer space, immortal, etc., not sure if he has extra "endowments", lol. I guess that let's us all of the hook since we're flawed terrestrials and don't unnerstan' the womins.

[edededed]

Guess they are running out of ideas, eh?

Koreans like to pretend that they are conservative and probably won't talk about any endowments or the like (yet, they like to sell young deer horns, taken to increase "vitality").

But I do think that most Asian countries are not like America and do not have their wimmin talk about how big packages are, etc. - instead, they try to be cute and almost adolescent (with Hello Kitty adornments, etc.).