Article By Bruce Budagher
It is not often we have the opportunity to learn from a true Master, one who has devoted his or her life
to mastering a skill or way of life. In Martial Arts there has been many such Masters, great people with
knowledge, skill, abilities and the desire to be the best not for themselves but for the love and passion
of the art. Grandmaster Hee Il Cho is one of these great masters thousands have trained under
Grandmaster and he is known world wide for his knowledge and wisdom in the art of TaeKwonDo.
Master Philip Ameris is the senior student of Grandmaster Cho and has the same passion for Martial
Arts and teaching TaeKwonDo as many of the great Martial Artists.
This summer Cho’s of New Mexico, Mr. and Mrs. Farrell hosted a mini summer camp in Albuquerque
NM. There was great anticipation of the three days with Master Ameris and Mrs. Ameris. Master
Ameris is a 7th degree black belt with 38 years of experience in the martial arts he is the technical
director of AIMA, has won numerous national and international championships and was the Captain
of the USA TaeKwonDo team for the 1988 world championships. Over 80 Martial artists participated
from all over the Southwest and instructors representing three AIMA schools; Albuquerque, Mr. and
Mrs Farrell; Phoenix, Mr. and Mrs. Corupe and Silver City, Mr. Scalice. Throughout the training all of
the instructors were on hand to assist where needed and to provide guidance in new techniques and workouts.
With every good training seminar, physical conditioning is an important part. Training under Master
Ameris one must always keep in mind perseverance and indomitable sprit because you’re going to
need it. The workouts and drills moved rapidly keeping the heart rate up and the boredom down.
There are many reasons why not to exercise: I don’t belong to a gym, I travel too much, I don’t have.enough time blah
blah blah. Master Ameris showed several different exercises which can be done easily in the home or hotel and on
limited time.. in other words “no excuses”.Going through the patterns and one step sparing techniques with full intensity and power is a great exercise for both the mind and the heart. Training both mind and body through Tae Kwon Do part of the pledge means to train the mind on how you can do something instead of why you can’t do something. As Grandmaster has always taught, basics are the foundation of becoming a good martial artist.
Master Ameris believes and practices this principal. Once understanding the movement, one must
gain power and focus performing the movement. If you don’t think you can get a good work out
practicing the basics drills, you have never worked the basics with Master Ameris. Every action must
be done with intensity and power, and Master Ameris, as does Grandmaster Cho, commands the
training to maximize the effort. Rapid repetition with full effort will create speed and strength equaling
power but it is critical to understand and perform the movements correctly to make sure it is effective
if you should ever need to rely on it in competition or protecting yourself.
There is one word that describes Master Ameris’s self defense techniques, “incredible”. We practiced
blocking punches and then learned how to make the attacker not want to punch you. We practiced
roundhouse kicks then learned how to make your opponent not want to kick you. He showed us how
to neutralize an opponent with a long reach and when a fighter is good on the inside work him from
the outside and if he is good outside, get inside. All the techniques were practical and effective for
sparing and self defense. Master Ameris is always dynamic in his demonstrations with the people
looking on thinking “man I am glad he didn’t pick me for that one”.
Most of the bruises and sore muscles have gone away but the teaching will be remembered for the
rest of our lives. This summer session was truly an epic training opportunity. To be able to train under
Master Ameris is a privilege and an inspiration. Those of us who have had the honor to train under
Grandmaster Hee Il Cho can see the resemblance of one who has walked in his footsteps.
