Martial Arts: From Rehabilitation to Life-Long Career

My second blog post should probably answer some Martial Arts questions. People ask how I got started in Martial Arts all the time so maybe it will be interesting to a few.

Johnnie Clark breaking bricks from the head of his son, Shawn Clark, at a demonstration in Florida.

I guess it actually started on Paris Island with the some simple basic stuff. I remember one DI showing us how to take out an enemy sentry and keep him from shouting or yelling for help. We did some throws and take-downs, etc. And there was some more at Camp LeJeune and some more in jungle warfare school at Camp Pendleton.

The last time I got wounded I was sent to Yakusaka Naval Hospital in Japan. From there I was shipped off to Okinawa for rehabilitation from gunshot wounds. We had a young Lieutenant there who was ahead of his time. He believed that Martial Arts, with all the stretching and strength work could really help a lot of the Marines, especially the guys with leg wounds. So he ordered me to go into Kim Village and start training with this old Okinawan.

Of course at the time I didn’t have a clue who the guy was and the Marines coming out combat were a pretty salty lot. We weren’t easily impressed. But this old guy managed to impress us. His name was Shimabuku and as it turned out, he was a very famous 10th Dan Grandmaster of Shorinryu Karate. The Dojo was on the roof of his house with a small matted room across the street for throwing each other around.

When we free sparred it was possible to knock each other off the roof though there was sort of a fence around the Dojo roof made of Makiwara post. Those were for punching and kicking to harden the hands. At first you just bled a lot but eventually your hands became like rocks. There were also these boxes, one filled with sand, one filled with round rocks and one filled broken glass. They were for punching and doing fingertip strikes. You worked your way up to the broken glass.

We weren’t training for trophies or belts. All many of us wanted to know was how to kill someone in hand to hand combat. I had every intention at the time of going back to my outfit in Nam as soon as they gave me the okay and I’m sure most the Marines on that roof believed we were going back into combat. It came as a great shock and disappointment when my request to go back to my unit was denied and I was given orders to return to the States. But that’s another story.

After I came home I discovered that there were no decent Shorinryu Karate schools in our area. I hooked up with a buddy and next door neighbor named Larry Miller. Larry was just returning from Thailand where he had trained for over a year with the Koreans and a world famous Master named Dong Keun Park. There are some great stories of Park in Thailand when he first arrived and even the other Korean Masters didn’t know at first that he was “That Park.” There are about a million Parks in Korea but only one that is the greatest Tae Kwon Do Master in their history. Only one who has never been defeated in over 270 fights around the world and many time fighting by whatever rules were in effect.

A demonstration in Honk Kong in 1967. During this demonstration Park broke records that have never been equaled.

Maybe as the blog grows I will tell some funny stories about my times with the great Grandmaster Dong Keun Park. Let me just say that I’ve been to Korea with him to test for my 8th Dan in the Kukiwon and my 9th Dan in the Jidokwan, there is no 10th Dan in Korean Martial Arts so it was sort of my last hurrah. While in Korea I saw first-hand what a legend this man is. And I mean a legend. Masters from all over Korea came to our hotel lobby to bring gifts and pay respect.

When this man came to train me or test my students it was always a visit from royalty. Many times I flew to New York/Jersey to train with him. But just for now I’ll tell you one example that will give you some idea of who this man is.

Grandmaster Johnnie Clark, Grandmaster Dong Keun Park, Master Russell Artille

When he came to my house it was normal to get phone calls from all over and always some Korean master who usually knew me but I never knew them. They all wanted to speak with Park. One day the phone rang and a very gracious man was on the line. He knew me and praised me as Park’s senior student. I was flattered but thought it was just another Korean master and asked if he wanted to speak with Park. He said yes and they spoke for awhile in Korean of course.

When Master Park got off the phone I said, “That was a very nice man, he was exceptionally gracious, Sahubumnim. He seemed to know me, who was it?”

He frowned at me and gave me his usual tone of Master to student, “John, this was President Park.” I’m quite sure that from that moment on I’ve been on an FBI list.

I ended up training with two of the greatest martial arts masters in history and all by pure luck… and those who know me know that I don’t believe in luck… it was all done by God for His purposes. Forty-six years of teaching and training has been a wonderful blessing in my life and I owe most of it to Kwanjangnim Dong Keun Park.

Semper Fi,

Johnnie Clark