We get asked this all the time because PaSaryu is not well known. Its an art mostly confined to the Mid-South region of the U.S. (TN, MS, KY, AR) mostly due to the fact that Master Kang Rhee, the founder of PaSaRyu, has his school in Memphis, TN.
Kang Rhee came to the U.S. in 1964 and founded PaSaRyu Mu Do. His pedigree, if you care about such things (I personally don’t), is as follows: he studied Chang Moo Kwan under Master Nam Suk Lee (1953-1956) and Kang Duk Kwon under Master Chul Hee Park (1957-1964). I’m not sure of any connection but I have seen a photo of Rhee together with Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. I’m not sure of Kang Rhee’s current rank but I know he attained Seventh Dan Kuk Ki Won in 1975 (at Seoul’s TKD HQ).
Over the years Grandmaster Rhee has had a few famous individuals study under him including Bill “Superfoot” Wallce and Elvis Presley (who was apparently referred to Rhee by Ed Parker).
There’s a whole self-improvement and social responsibility philosophy as well but I’m not well-versed in it and honestly don’t have much interest in it.
Ok, that’s the basic background. Now here’s what most people really want to know: what’s the PaSaRyu style like?
Basically, its a hybrid of Karate and Taekwondo performed with Kung fu influences. The katas come from both Karate, like the pinans and heians, and TKD, like Choong Mu. Katas are not performed using TKD’s “sine wave” or the metronome-like pace of karate. The katas are performed in a more dynamic manner of fast and slow, hard and soft. Master Rhee also teaches Tai Chi and yoga and suspect they have influenced how he sees kata. I’ve had Karate guys watch a kata and recognize it as a pinan or whatever remark that they had never seen it done “like that”.
Stances are performed VERY low and wide. The terminology used, as best I can tell, is the same as used in Kuk Sul and not TKD but I’m hardly an expert on Korean martial arts.
Testing is based pretty much on kata technique (individual, two-man, and weapons). In order to advance you do not have to do any sparring, breaking, or competing. You do not have to be able to demonstrate any self-defense techniques. PaSaRyu is great if you love doing kata and want to get into shape and improve your strength. If you want to learn practical self-defense, I would look elsewhere.
PaSaRyu does have its own tournaments which include padded sparring, weapons kata, and creative routines. PaSaRyu students also participate in TKD and Karate tournaments, at least on a local level.
Weapons taught at PaSaRyu schools include the usual suspects: bo, chucks, kama, cane, sai, tonfa. The weapons katas I have seen and learned tend to have a flashier XMA feel to them rather than practical fighting application but that may be more an influence from my school’s master and not indicative of all PaSaRyu schools.
Usually if someone asked the generic question of what style of martial art we study we just say Karate instead of getting into the lengthy explanation.
Like any martial art, there are those who love the style and those who scoff at it. Personally, I’m glad I did it as my first art because I feel like I got an intro to several arts at once. I like how the katas are performed from a aesthetic perspective, its more interesting to perform and watch being performed. But the performance of the kata and the explanation of the purpose of the moves…well, lets just say I’ve been shown much more convincing explanations.
Some other things you run into with PaSaRyu is that being centered in the Mid-South, it is not that unusual for the schools to have an open “Christian” element to classes including things like concluding class with a prayer. I don’t think this is a Kang Rhee thing, I thinks its a Southern thing. I never really got the combination of martial arts and Christianity simply because it seems that turning the other cheek and learning to kick a cheek would be in conflict, but what do I know?
Another thing about PaSaRyu is it is not unusual to see weapons introduced as early as orange belt. I don’t think this is so much a martial philosophy as it is a way to attract younger students.
One last thing about PaSaRyu students is the use of the word “Sun”. Its used to acknowledge a good performance, as a congratulation on an achievement, a sign of respect to higher ranks, or as a way of acknowledging understanding. At tournaments, a competitor will probably yell “Sun” 4 or 5 times as a sign of respect to the judges and to acknoledge their instructions. The judges will say “Sun” to show appreciation of a competitor’s performance and and as a return sign of respect.
So there you have it in a nutshell. The pedigree is based on official PaSaRyu publications. The rest is based on my own experience over the past three years with our PaSaRyu school, our attendance of local PaSaRyu tournaments, and discussions I’ve had with a number of PaSaRyu black belts. Its not necessarily indicative of others experience with the art. I’ve heard and read praise and critiques of the art by others and all I can say is that the quality and value of any art to an individual is extremely subjective so feel free to express your opinions on it, or any other art for that matter.
