Jhoon Rhee, the grand master who introduced the Korean martial art of taekwondo to the United States, died Monday at 86.
Taekwondo is notable for its kicks delivered through high-speed jumps and spins.
Rhee, a 10th-degree black belt grand master, came to the U.S. from Korea in the 1950s and was called the “father of American taekwondo,” operating 11 schools in the Washington, D.C., area by the 1980s.
His friends included movie star Bruce Lee and boxer Muhammad Ali.
Rhee’s television commercials — featuring him leaping, a catchy jingle and his two young children winking at the camera, saying “Nobody bothers me” — had a lasting impact on Washington’s popular culture.
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