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JOHN GILL from Hapkido to Hollywood
© Marc Wickert When John Gill was growing up in the Sydney suburb of Chatswood, he had no idea the path he chose, as a competitive sportsman, would lead to his becoming a world-renowned martial artist. "I did a lot of rugby and cricket. At one football grand final I scored six tries, which was a turning point in my life. I started to realize if I wanted something badly enough, and if I was prepared to work hard enough at it, then I could make my dreams become a reality," says Gill. John took up judo at age eleven, which he continued for three years before enrolling in boxing at North Sydney Police Youth Club. His early dedication to fighting arts and his love of Kung Fu films lead to Gill’s acquiring the nickname "Fu" at school.
"I used to study Bruce Lee movies and Kung Fu books. When I left school, I got my driver’s licence, and was able to travel to Tae Kwon Do classes. Prior to that, there wasn’t a lot of martial arts available in my area, and being one of five kids, Mum wasn’t able to drive me to classes too far away." Gill says he did attend a karate school briefly, but found TKD to be more exciting with its high-kicking and flying-kick techniques. Whilst John believed these tactics to be impractical on the street, he found the TKD basics to be very practical self-defence techniques. "I started Tae Kwon Do at twenty years, and really enjoyed the fancy kicks. Graham O’Donnell was an excellent instructor and gave us good, basic, self-defence techniques as well. I dabbled in Karate and Kung Fu, but found the styles too limiting." John later took up Hapkido under 9th Dan Grand Master Sung Soo Lee, adding joint and wrist lock manipulations to his TKD striking system. Gill believed this to be a more complete defence capability. In 1998, John saw an advertisement in Blackbelt Magazine inviting martial artists to compete in the American Black Belt Championship. "I had previously done some demos for schools and other establishments over the years, and everyone commented, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool’, so I knew what I was doing and I was always conscious of the self-defence aspect of my training. I thought, ‘I can win that competition’."
John travelled to Santa Barbara where the American Blackbelt Championship was being contested, and teamed up with local martial artists Joshua and Jeremy Roarty and their instructor, Mike McDonald. The newly formed team put together a routine and went on to win the gold medal for self-defence. "It was only then I found out the World Championships were being held four weeks later in Las Vegas, so I decided to stay on in the US. I was in an incredible frame of mind when I went to the World Championships. Unfortunately the Roarty brothers were unable to attend due to a prior engagement, so I went alone." Gill entered the World Championship Full-Contact Sparring event, which suited him because it was run under TKD rules. He came away with 1st place and a 7-foot trophy. "I was always good at sparring. I learnt a lot over the years from a couple of outstanding instructors, such as Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace and Grand Master Sung Soo Lee." In 1999 and 2000, John returned to the United States and won the USA National Championships in self-defence whilst competing in the open black belt division with his partners from Santa Barbara. By doing so, Gill became the first non-American to win the title. Work commitments quashed John’s plans of returning to the States until 2003, when he took out gold yet again in the self-defence category.
"This event was judged on different movements, where the boys attack me and I just throw them around the place. It’s like a movie in that sense: one attacks me from the back and applies a choke, whilst another throws a punch and I take him out. Another guy might go for a bear hug and I deal with him. The routine is judged on speed, technique, practicality and a little bit of fancy stuff. The boys fall really well, so I throw them through the air a bit." In 1999 Bill Wallace did an Australian seminar tour with John Gill. And Grand Master Sung Soo Lee has recently completed making Hapkido DVDs and videos with Gill, which are available to the public.
John intends competing in the Nationals in 2004, and will be filming Hapkido videos and DVDs with his American teammates whilst in the States. Gill has also appeared on film through his acting career, which dates back to the 80s, and will be talking to agents in America from that perspective. "People have been impressed by my demos, and tell me I should pursue an acting career in movies which would incorporate my martial arts ability - such as action films - so I will be putting my name in the hat." Whatever John does in 2004, we can be assured he will do it with a passion and the professionalism he is renowned for.
For more on John Gill and his Australian School of Self-Defence, his seminars, or to purchase John’s Hapkido DVDs and videos (which include bonus Superfoot Wallace/ John Gill Australian seminar discs or tapes): www.johngill.com.au
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