SPRINGFIELD – As another successful year of Hanmadang wraps up, organizer Tim Greathouse is thankful for the new light the event shines on martial arts.
“Part of our purpose has been to educate western society that this exists – martial arts for fun, martial arts for lifestyle, martial arts for community gathering,” Greathouse said. “It’s not just money, fame, and beating each other up. Because that’s the only real picture that Americans get.”
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Greathouse attempted a world-record power break toward the end of the night. He was unsuccessful in breaking the 12 boards on Friday.
“When you get to this level, you really have nowhere to go but up,” Greathouse said. “I’ve done 11 and I’ve done 12 before, and when I found out the world record was only 10 I figured why not (attempt the world record at Hanmadang) … I thought it was appropriate to give it a shot, even though it might be, ‘Look at me, look at me!’ I did it for martial arts, and that made me feel like I could do it here. And I’ll do it again next year.”
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Eight Grandmasters also attended Hanmadang over the weekend. The Grandmasters in attendance were: GM Steve Miller, GM Henk Boese, GM Jae Hyeon Jeon, GM Sang Lee, GM Ron Suggs, GM Robert Nicholls, GM Herb Perez and GM Hung Choi. During the expo, guests had the opportunity to meet Lee and Perez.
