Portal:Personalities

In the world of martial arts, there are a few individuals who stand out among others because of their contribution and excellence in their own field. Because of handwork and discipline, their name is forever etched in the history of martial arts. We ask followers and fans to include their life narratives (biographies), works and everything about them in this section dedicated to martial art personalities.

Born Lee Jun Fan, on November 27, 1940, in San Francisco, California. His father, a Hong Kong opera singer, moved with his wife and three children to the United States in 1939; his fourth child, a son, was born while he was on tour in San Francisco. Lee’s mother called him “Bruce,” which means “strong one” in Gaelic. Young Bruce appeared in his first film at the age of three months, when he served as the stand-in for an American baby in Golden Gate Girl.

Lee finished high school in Edison, Washington, and subsequently enrolled as a philosophy major at the University of Washington. He also got a job teaching the Wing Chun style of martial arts that he had learned in Hong Kong to his fellow students and others. Through his teaching, Lee met Linda Emery, whom he married in 1964. By that time, Lee had opened his own martial arts school in Seattle. He and Linda soon moved to California, where Lee opened two more schools in Los Angeles and Oakland. At his schools, Lee taught mostly a style he called Jeet Kune Do.

• … that Jigoro Kano was born on October 28 1860, in what is currently the East Nada district of the city of Kobe?
• … that Gichin Funakoshi was an Okinawan karate master who formally introduced karate to the Japanese mainland in 1921?
• … that General Choi was born in what was to be North Korea during the Japanese Colonial Period and died in P'yŏngyang, the North Korean capital?
• … that the Hwarang were a group of aristocratic young men who gathered to study, play and learn the arts of war?
• … that Grandmaster Jonathan Makiling is the founder and originator of Jendo, an original Filipino Fighting Art that utilizes empty hands, sticks and bladed weapons as means of self-defense?

History wrote by the founder of Wola-Do Throughout centuries the traditional Martial Art live trough real warriors. My Grand-Father was a King(named King Ado) for Three Kingdoms: Kingdom of Klikor in Ghana, Kingdom of Mission Tove in Togo, Kingdom of Agoe in Togo. According to our kingdom history, my Grand-Father was a Warrior defending our territories against enemies before he becomes king and he used to teach warriors from our land some open hand combat and weapons techniques to defend our lands against enemies. Where he learn it from? from our ancestors who came from Egypt.I am a Prince born from a Royal family of Klikor (Ghana called the Gold Coast) on Friday the 30th days of July 1976 at 9:10 AM in Lome capital of Togo. Togo is a country of Occidental (West) Africa (South of Sahara) he is limited on his North by the country of Burkina-Faso, on his South By the Atlantic Ocean, on his East by the country of Benin, on his West by Ghana (Gold Coast). He’s wide is 56.600km2 and his population is approximately 5.000.000 peoples.I learned Karate Shotokan in my youngest age and left Karate to learn Taekwon-do by my own throughout books. I meet Patrick Placa, Aklesso Richard and Malam Oumarou Seidou who teached me Taekwon-Do WTF in Togo. I taught Taekwon-do in my own club the one I named Temple des Moines school (Monks Temple) in Lome capital of Togo. I learn from different styles from different Masters also. I received my National Referee degree and a 2nd degree black belt in 1996; I was the captain of the National Taekwon-Do WTF team in Togo. I study ITF Taekwon-do through the North Korean Embassy in my country and received my 2nd degree black belt from the ITF Taekwon-Do sign by the founder of Taekwon-do himself (General Choi Hong Hi) in 1996. In 1997 I learned: Aikido, Yoga and Tai-chi. I was Taekwon-do instructor for the Presidential Body Guards in Togo, I was certified by the department in charge of the presidential body guard’s Sports. In May 1996 I became the Heavy Weight Champion. I was the champion in sparring and forms for many years. I went for my 3rd degree black belt in WTF Taekwon-Do.I practiced Evala with my friends from the north of Togo (Evala is a traditional ceremony mans fight with empty hand, wrist, trow and ground techniques the fighters are called Evalo) this is practice by the ethnie Kabye from the north of Togo.January 15, 1998 I became the certified representative of the International Taekwon-do Federation by the North Korean Embassy in Togo. I decided to stop practicing and teaching the WTF and concentrate on the ITF technics. In September 1998 I created the Togolese Taekwon-Do Association ITF (Association Togolaise de Taekwon-do ITF) (ATTKD) and I was the president and technical advisor. I learn some Capoera from one of my friend who is a Capoera instructor in Paris. Later, I decide to develop my own style of Art, who will be superior in both spiritually and physically in 1998. The revelation of Wola-Do come out from a long period of dictatory power of obscurity in some part of the world during witch time war and poverty are the root causes of human being across Africa and some part of the world. Wola-do is one of the most sophisticated Martial Art, and at its higher-levels, an effective discipline for the integration, development and utilization of man’s powers (physically, psychically and mentally (spiritually)). This may appear at first to be a method of defending yourself against any type of attack. Wola-Do is a discipline of coordination, a way of strengthening our body and mind when a human being continues to seek a better way of life. Wola-Do is a power of fusing of an individual’s physical and mental energy so that we will emerge as a more fully integrated human being.One night around the 3rd hours (3:00am) early in the morning I finish praying and I lie down and was meditating deeply about what I want to do and who I’m really and if I am ready to creat an Art who will help people in this world. I was deeply in meditation when I feel a invisible light paralizing me from my legs to my head the light was so pure and so clear than the daily light, this light pass troughout my entire body and is like he is purifiying me then I saw the light in front off me and inside the light I saw a spirit more white than the daily light. From there I know that I just cross-over. The only thing I know is I was in communicating with the Spirit of the Universe. After we finish the conversation, the light disappear and all become black again around me at this moment I know in fact that I was in communication with the Grand-Master and architect of the Universe (the Universe himself). But sorry I can’t write you what I was told; but I promess you that I will tell you a part of it in one of my seminar. I began the process of writing technics the one I will name Wola-Do the Way of the Creator or the Way of the Universe. I named my style Wola-Mo / Wola-Do on my 23rd birthday (30th Days of July 1999) this to remember my own birthday on Earth. I began teaching some of my closest students the new style and then left my country for a fight, to raise money to build my own Academy and a Wola-Do Temple in Togo where I will have more space for my students who will come from every part of the world to learn Wola-Do, to meditate or to visite the origine of the style, and I self though English to myself during my visit in USA this was in October 2000. I then went to Canada for a ITF seminar to learn more about the Martial Art from the real Masters to see which of there move I will use and learn more about theire phylosophie in the seminar the son of the founder of Taekwon-do Grand-Master Choi Jong Hwa (actual president of the ITF) told me that: Hukporti from Togo you make me feel the Spirit of Martial Art, he also told me to stay in Canada for couple days to train but I didn’t have to much time. The 16th day of January 2002 I become certified officialy by BUTODRA (Togolese Copiright HQ) as Author and Writer of Wola-do Martial Art.On the 15th day of February 2007 I was certified by the Martial Arts Masters World Federation located at Dunedin, Florida (USA) as Doctor Phd in Martial Arts Science. The first Wola-do Association was founded the 17th day of January 2002 in Lome capital of Togo by the name of Hukporti’s Academy of Martial Art Wola-Do with myself as the President.