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University Professor In Korea & BJJ Black Belt, John Frankl On Training With Rickson & BJJ In Korea

University Professor In Korea & BJJ Black Belt, John Frankl On Training With Rickson & BJJ In Korea

 

 

John Frankl is a martial artist with a background in several different styles including Karate, Kuk Sool Won, Serrada Eskrima and Thai boxing (Muay Thai). Frankl is also a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Roberto Maia and a pioneer in bringing the sport of BJJ to South Korea having opened possibly the very first legitimate Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy in the country (in 1999). From BJJ Heroes. In this interview with BJJEE.com he talks about his training with Rickson Gracie, his job as a University professor and BJJ in Korea:

1. Hi John, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe?

Yes, my full name is John Mark Frankl. I am a 46 year old 3rd degree black belt. I was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Santa Cruz, CA. I am a university professor and jiu jitsu instructor. I usually train at a couple of my academies in Korea, but right now I am spending a sabbatical year in Boston and training with Roberto Maia and a few of his black belts. As far as “main titles,” I have never really been that big on competition. I do compete occasionally, precisely because it makes me uncomfortable. I think it is important to face that discomfort from time to time. That said, I most recently competed at the USBJJF Boston Open last September. I took second place. The match was a complete tie in terms of points and advantages, but my opponent got the referee’s decision.

2. What’s your Jiu-Jitsu story?

I was first introduced to BJJ in the summer of 1989. A friend in Hawaii was training with Relson, and when I visited he showed me a few things. I was hooked, but living and studying in Korea at the time, so I just trained with some friends by watching Rorion’s original videos. In 1994 I moved back to the States and immediately moved to LA to train with Rickson. I received my blue belt in about 8 months and stayed there a year. In 1995 I moved to Boston for graduate school. There I began training with Roberto Maia, cousin to Renzo and the Machados, and founder of Boston Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I received my purple, brown, and black belts from Roberto.

3. Please tell us about the BJJ scene in Korea. How is the sport growing there? ( Who are Korean BJJ talents that we should be looking out for)

When I was a brown belt in 1999 I went back to Korea to do research for a year. There was no jiu jitsu, but I was not going to stop training. So I started a club. We trained two days during the week at Yonsei University, then Saturday and Sunday at Samsan Gym, a Muay Thai academy. I left after a year with 2 blue belts on the ground. One, my first student and first black belt, Steve Capener, is still with me and running our team while I’m away. The other left at brown belt for another team; his jiu jitsu is not bad, but our philosophies were just too different.
Since then, and really in the last 2-3 years, the scene has really taken off. There are a lot of very technical, very tough young Koreans out there now. The first generation of black belts were either a bit older or a bit too worried about protecting their reputations to continue to roll with students and to compete. But that is changing. We have a younger generation of black, brown, and purple belts who are extremely talented. I’m not 100% sure about the English spellings for their names, but guys like Junyoung Park (박준영) and Seungjae Lee (이승재) have spent a good amount of time training and competing in Brazil and now have academies in Korea. Dugwang Chun (전두광) and Youngam No (노영암) have had good success domestically and internationally, while Byunggyu Choe (최병규) and Wangi Chae (채완기) haven’t been able to leave Korea, but are really dominant in domestic competitions. Of course there are also a lot of very good purple belts, but there are just too many to mention, and I like to see who will actually stick around to brown and black belt before getting too excited:)

John Korea

4. Please tell us more about your work as a University professor and does your passion for Jiu-Jitsu influence your everyday life and work?

The two are really inseparable. From the perspective of jiu jitsu, I made a lot of sacrifices for my academic career. I moved away from L.A. and Rickson to complete my graduate studies. This was a very big decision, but one that I don’t regret. At the same time, my academic colleagues sometimes wonder how and why I train jiu jitsu so much. To me it is all about balance. Balancing the mental and the physical. I see the two as mutually reinforcing each other, rather than as detracting. In addition, jiu jitsu in Korea is an unforeseen outgrowth of this search for balance.

5. Please tell us about your academy and your team.

There are two academies in Korea with my name on them. I train at the one by my university just about every morning during the week. On weekends I hold team training at the one near my house. There are about 15 more academies run by my students. They all choose their own names but are part of the John Frankl Jiu Jitsu Network. On a larger scale, I am the East Asian Regional Director for Straight Blast Gym International. Although the great majority have a language barrier to accessing a lot of really good SBGi material, all of my gyms and teammates are also influenced by that ethos. The only real requirement is that they come to team training every Saturday and continue to learn from me, from their teammates, and, most importantly, continue to roll with other advanced belts. “Instructor-itis” is a big and serious disease in Korea. As soon as many people become instructors, their egos don’t allow them to spar with and tap to other people. This is not a part of my team culture, and I have had people leave the team precisely because they cannot handle this.

6. What is next for you and your team in 2013?

I’ll be back in Korea from this summer. I have 8 black belts right now, and 3 more are absolutely ready to go up when I return. I am extremely excited to get back and train with my team. Prior to that, I am also seriously considering the Masters and Seniors Mundials, but we’ll have to see how my schedule works out with moving back to Korea this summer. Balance.

7. If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free

I’d like to thank all my teachers, but here I’ll just name the main ones: Rickson Gracie to begin. Luis Herredia as the main instructor at Rickson’s back then. Roberto Maia as the man I have spent the most time with. Claudio Franca in Santa Cruz; I get to train with and learn alot from Claudio whenever I’m visiting home. And Marcelo Garcia who I had the pleasure of welcoming to my academy in Korea and who I now train with every time I am anywhere near New York.

8. Thanks John and all the best!

Thank you!