Two old friends connected this past week as a result of a Taekwondo connection that has spanned 40 years, from China to the Cariboo and beyond.
Master Redver Ku is the general manager and Master instructor at the Prime Elite Taekwondo Academy in Williams Lake, and Master Ray Chui manages and instructs at Sam Park Taekwondo studios in Toronto.
Both started Taekwondo as young boys in Hong Kong, both became instructors as teenagers and both achieved significant success in China and in Canada.
Master Chui came to Canada as a teenaged Taekwondo instructor and travelled to different studios in the Toronto area until he found one that appealed to him.
“I always observed, and always wanted to improve on what I learned and modify it to make it the best I could,” he said.
He returned to Hong Kong after college to help his family and ended up at his old club as an instructor. Travelling from club to club, instructing, he ended up at a club where Redver was teaching.
Redver said that when he heard about this Taekwondo instructor from Canada, he was curious to see what Ray Chui was all about.
“I absorbed so much from him. I’d never seen anything like it: I became very focused on his teaching and teach today what I learned from him,” Redver said. “He taught me so much and gave me more confidence to teach others.”
By 1994 Redver had become the Master at Elite Tae Kwon Do Club in Guandong Province with 100 students per session, and Ray helped him open new studios. This proved to be a very successful enterprise, and by 2004 Redver’s students had spread out and opened their own studios.
The two became friends, and have visited each other over the years, meeting in China and in Canada. This past week was Ray Chui’s first visit to Williams Lake, along with his wife and two teenaged daughters.
“I love the mountains and the people here are so friendly,” he said, adding that he enjoyed helping out in the studio during his visit.
Master Redver Ku’s been in Canada a couple of years and opened Prime Elite Taekwondo Academy in Williams Lake seven months ago. His two young children attend school in town, and both are Taekwondo students.
Looking back, Redver said he learned everything he knows from Ray.
“He is my teacher, my idol and my friend,” he stated. “He made me want to teach and share this with others.”
Master Ray Chui said that the big appeal for Taekwondo is that it covers everything.
“The name says it all: hands, feet and art,” he explained. “It’s a huge variety of movement that also includes kicking and jumping.
Students learn good things and become good people and he hears great things back from parents, he continued.
“Students learn discipline, encouragement, perseverance and respect. Taekwondo is not about fighting, it’s about control.”
Looking back, Redver said he learned everything he knows from Ray.
“He is my teacher, my idol and my friend,” he stated. “He made me want to teach and share this with others.”
READ MORE: 40+ years of Taekwondo training? You want him as your teacher!
This article was contributed by LeRae Haynes, Special to the Tribune.
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