I don't think she is a more prominant person in HKD but she is a 6th dan in Hapkido. I don't talk to her about too many personal things but the best I can tell she was born and raised in Korea (quite difficult to understand what she is saying sometimes). I will try to get more on her HKD lineage and what the name of the school is she learned in. She teaches in Clermont, Florida under American Dragon Martial Arts. I have only been learning HKD since the beginning of this year and still trying to learn all I can about the different federations and associations and the best I can tell its all a name game and politics.
Never heard of her. My advice is that if you like "Hapkido" and the instruction you are getting... stay there and enjoy it. There are a lot of federations, a lot of politics, and a lot of BS within the Hapkido circles. Honestly, if you can avoid that, you will probably be happier. If you'd like more info, you should check out Dr. Kimm's Hapkido History book (http://www.martialartsresource.com/Dr.Kimm.htm) . You can also look at www.hapkidoforum.com for lots of info on the various groups.
i checked out the websites. i'd be pretty wary if i were you. why? anything that promotes "benefits" other than fighting seems, to me at least, pretty mcdojo-ish. also, i love this line... coveted? by who?
This website? http://www.freewebs.com/americandragonmiyi/haemukwanhapkido.htm I see at the bottom that her name is Master Mi Yi Hackworth. I wonder if she is affilaited/related to Richard Hackworth. I think bullshido did an investigation on him that you may wish to read before you decide on a long term affiliation with this group. http://www.bullshido.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-4973.html Also see http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-10051.html
there were actually several. the one you mention above, and this one... http://americandragononline.com/ there's another one, but don't have time to look it up again. something like clermonthapkido or maybe hapkidoclermont.
Thanks... my gut feeling advice to the OP would be to look around and see what else is offered in the area (whatever style) and transfer schools.
A FAR BETTER choice would be GM Billy Burchett. GM Burchett is located in the same area and does not have a bad reputation like Hackworth. I have been on the mat with GM Burchett countless times and I know him to be a good and honest person with an extensive hapkido background.
i just did a search on billy burchett. um....not exactly positive. actually, pretty bad. edit: it seems all the bad reviews are from a single source, some korean hapkido federation blog and videos. hmmm....
Go figure. Those bad reviews are from none other than Richard Hackworth!! Hackworth obviously seems hell bent on discrediting a good man. My advice is to avoid this Hackworth character at all costs.
Again??? Hello all, I have a few quick comments... Thomas is correct, Mi Yi is Mi Yi Hackworth - and is listed as the co-owner of most of Richard Hackworth's businesses. Why would someone use the logo of the organization as their avatar, then their first two posts are questions directly related to the ORG.? I don't have a particular horse in this at all, or an axe to grind, but this is EXACTLY how the Hackworth's started their campaign or misinformation regarding Hapkido, Taekwondo and Yudo in the late 1990's. It was a very subtle start..."do you know us?" and such then getting to the point where they claimed that if you did not have certification through them that your cert's were useless. Then there was the internet wars - these became nasty and very personal. The Hackworth's making lots of claims...check the archives here... The end came October 24-26, 2003; when there was a huge seminar in Florida billed as the "First KHF Seminar in the US" - mush to the amazement to the other longer standing KHF guys in the US... Oh Sea Lim, the then Presidant of the KHF and other Korean and International Representatives were there...and the whole thing fell apart when people found out then and there that Hackworth had been handing out phony certificates claiming they were issued in Korea...from someone that was there, I was told it was a real mess. I believe that it was a pivotal reason that Oh Sea Lim was forced to resign from the KHF (only my supposition) - and the Hackworth's were shamed off the grid. Soon after, Hackworth devised his own version of the KHF, with two logos, one of which is show above in the avatar. That particular type of symbol is very common with police and military in Korea and I have seen virtual copies of that logo at every police station in Korea. Again, this stuff is not my opinion (except the resignation of Oh Sea Lim) but is really well documented on the internet in many places! And yes, it is humorous that it is Hackworth that is speaking so poorly of Master Burchett, I think they are in the same area of Florida - but given Hackworth's past issues, it might be wise to take examine anything he has to say. Their version of the "KHF" is just that, their version - it is not the mainstream version of the organization that has been around for quite a while. I believe that some of the higher ranking members of the original KHF, and witnesses to that debacle in 2003 might still be members here... EDIT - I read the original post, and looked at the website for the name listed - Richard Hackworth is listed as teaching at that location - this guys is a troll - arrrrgh! Yeah, I just reported him to the MODS.
She was married to him years ago but they have been divorced for several years as well. She feels about him now pretty much the same as everyone else on here, she very seldom mentions him but when she does the term of endearment is A$$****. She says she has nothing to do with his Hae Mu Kwan. I found a post on BullShido is as follows sorry its so long. "The List of KHF Non-Korean Masters in the world This is the list of KHF masters over the 4th Dan level in the world. If you have any question, please contact Director Sung-Book Bae. (Tel: 82-2-3437-3530, 82-11-258-7106 Email: yesb279@hotmail.com ) * notice * The masters listed below are from the data base from 1997 to 2003. The names before 1997 will be up-loaded soon. THE 4TH DAN PHIPILE TAI-PA PINERD (FRANCE) DIEGO FERNANDO RAMOS (COLOMBIA) UWE NOLTING (GERMANY) QUINTELIER PATRICK (BELGIUM) MICHAEL BYRD (U.S.A.) THOMAS HAUCH (GERMANY) RONDY RAE MCKEE (U.S.A.) JESUS CASTELLANOS PUEBLAS (SPAIN) REZA VALI NEJAD (IRAN) ROSE ANTONIO LAGIER (ARGENTINA) BRUCE HOWES (AUSTRALIA) MARK D HUME (U.S.A.) MICHAEL RHOADES (U.S.A.) ANTONIO MANUEL MARTINS FRAGA (PORTUGUESE) JONATHAN KLEINEMAN (U.S.A.) KONRAD SPILLMAN (U.S.A.) MOLLET REMI (FRANCE) WADE LANGIN (CANADA) PLORENTIN ANDRE (FRANCE) PHAM MINH PHUOC (VIETNAM) FABIAN DUQUE (COLOMBIA) COUET RAPHAEL (FRANCE) THE 5TH DAN CHRISTIAN MEIER (U.S.A.) FRANCISCO OSCAR TAJES (ARGENTINA) MIHEE HACKWORTH (U.S.A.) LIVIO BALOCCO NICOLAY (U.S.A.) RONALD C. GARLAND (U.S.A.) ANDREW SANDS (AUSTRALIA) JOHN GILL (AUSTRALIA) THE 6TH DAN HECTOR ALDERETE (ARGENTINA) RICHARD HACKWORTH (U.S.A.) SAMUEL G. PLUMB (G.B.) THE 7TH DAN SCOTT SHAW (AUSTRALIA) HOLCOMBE THOMAS (U.S.A.) HAROLD L. WHALEN (U.S.A.) JULIAN LIM (MALAYSIA) " If I'm not mistaken that is her listed under 5th dan as Mihee Hackworth. She whited out Hackworth on her cert. and put her Maiden name (I assume is Yi). I guess she really doesn't like him if she was willing to white the name out on her certification. She claims the Federation she is using has nothing to do with him I'm not sure how to find out for sure. I agree I'm only mos. into my training and I'm seeing more politics than Washington D.C. what ever happened to learning something because it was fun or just for self defence. Whats with all the BS behind it now. As far as I can tell she is teaching traditional Hapkido so I'll stick with her for now at least unless something drastic changes. Thanks for everyone who replied.
Judo in Clermont Can you tell me about where it is located I might like to go check it out sometime. Is there as big a problem with finding legit Judo as there is Hapkido? I know Hapkido gets alot of what it is from Aikido can anyone tell me if there are just as many polotics and problems behind it as there is with Hapkido?
GM Burchett I looked into his School (went there) and his reputation is just as bad as Hackworth if not worse. He teaches Hapkido from Videos (DVD). I couldn't find anything good on him while looking him up online. As far as Master Yi, Yi is her Maiden name she is using since her divorce from Richard Hackworth and she has as much distain for him as you seem to. Have you been to Billy Burchett's school before or learn from him? I'm only asking to see why you would recommend him.
I would like to start by saying that if I'm starting some big controversy I sincerly appologize! I got started in the Clermont branch of said school only a few months ago. I only ask if anyone has heard of her or the Federation because I'm legitimatley trying to find a true legitimate Hapkido school. If I say something or post something I assure you I'm only doing so with good intentions on finding out the truth about the people I have become involved with. As I can tell so far from the replies I'm getting so far when my contract is up (unfortunately I had to sign a 1 yr deal to start) I will be looking for something else. As far as my avatar I'm only using it because it happens to be used by the school I am in, but since I'm new to this forum and it seems to have offended you and how ever many others I will go ahead and change said avatar to something less offensive. Again I appologize for any controversy or misconceptions my original posts may have initiated. As far as my earlier reply about Master Burchett I couldn't find anything positive as I stated before but to answer any forthcoming questions I didn't know who was responsible for the material but some of what I found was on Bullshido.com forums. I Also didn't see his name anywhere involved with the original KHF at all. If you have information exhaunorating him and proving he is legit and has the proper credentials please share and enlighten me.
What makes you think GM Burchett has a bad reputation? The only negative things that I have ever heard about GM Burchett were put on the internet by Richard Hackworth. No I am not a student of GM Burchett (he is a friend). For you to suggest that GM Burchett teaches from videos is just plain silly. If you are being sincere (whuich I doubt) go get on the mat and train with GM Burchett. JUST TO BE CLEAR I THINK YOU ARE HACKWORTH TRYING TO STIR THE POT!!
There really is no problem finding "legit" Hapkido - but it is just as easy to fall prey to phony Hapkido as well if one does not due one's due diligence before signing a contract.
You went to Master Burchett's dojang -what did you SEE there - then you say he had a bad reputation online yet you saw NOTHING "Bad" about the Hackworth's? COME ON! Now that's being disingenuous! Tell us what you SAW, not what you read after you said you went there. Now suddenly you know Mi Yi is divorced from RH, well why is she still teaching in his school group? If this is no longer true, she needs to have her name removed from all his online material. And most of the people you have spoken to here are not members of the KHF, and didn't have any direct loss from the Hackworth mess, but he made the art look bad - so we all care about that. At one time Mi Yi was listed by the KHF as a 5th Dan, but seems to have been removed with Hackworth - I wonder if there was less disdain when the money was really good from selling phony certs. (editorial rant). Again, if you knew all this, why did you ask? Hmmmmm.
Understand that when you pose a question, using an avatar from a group then question the group it looks fishy. No one here that you have spoken to has a horse in your race. But several of us have been around the block with the result of the antics of Mr. RH and its not something that we want repeated. Anyone can be chopped up on the internet, I have been - on BS'do - and I went there and straightened it out...but if you have BEEN to someone's dojang, that should be a more reasonable way to judge. I am not listed with the KHF, but my credentials would NEVER be questioned as far as Hapkido. The KHF is a single organization that represents one group of instructors, it is an older org. but not the only one. Again, if we are touchy, it is because some of us were affected (maybe not financially), by the things RH did (and he was married to Mi Yi at the time). Most of us have been threatened with lawsuits and the end effect was a very tarnished reputation for the art as a whole. Many people left the KHF as a result, and seeing the back of RH was a good thing for the art. So, when it looks like his old tactics are being used again - we care. So, if you are asking legit questions, stay here and learn. If you are just trolling, please go away. I am sure that you will get some more info about Master Burchett here, as well as other places you can go to train. If you have a contract, look for an out clause based on reputation and/or the fact that the school was not as it was represented when you signed. If they claimed to be part of the KHF, and are not, for example, that's deception and the contract is probably void. Write a letter to the school and tell them so and say that you will not ask for a refund if you are immediately allowed out of the contract. Contact your bank and have any direct payments stopped. Also tell the bank, depending on the things you were told when you signed up, that the contract was negotiated fraudulently, and they should not allow any more drafts. If you are in earnest, this is my advice. We had the same issue with Bally's Total Fitness offering "Hapkido" classes when the instructors said that rank was granted by the KHF. Some people showed me the certs, and they were fakes - and those contracts were voided. If you are sincere, then don't waste a year with questionable people. Good luck.
