Martial Arts Articles By And About Willie Lim

Mr. Lim was born into a Malayan family of Kung Fu practitioners, his uncle was Head of the Eagle Claw division of Ching Wu and his grandmother a practitioner of Lotus style Kung Fu, yet Mr. Lim began his formal training in Kyokushinkai Karate. Willy enjoyed the usual dose of injuries and through his physician, began his training in Tai Chi with Master Yo Ching-hai, a disciple of Master Cheng Man-ching. In 1963 Mr. Lim began his training in Taekwondo under the legendary Choi Chang Kim in Penang.
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We are all so familiar with the progress society has made in many different areas. Yet when we look at Tae Kwon Do it seems we have moved backwards. From a standpoint of self defense we have veered of course and developed into a sport. I am not saying this is wrong, but simply trying to lead you to analyze the whole situation further.
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When I was training in TKD I was young and eager, an like so many others, interested only in the free sparring. In my limited capacity at the time, free sparing was real self-defense to me. I hated doing forms and did them only because they were a prerequisite to my next grade. It had been said that a lifetime was needed to master a form. Yet within the teachings of the time that idea seemed ridiculous and so was generally rejected by most students. (Read Article)

Speak to your friends who do Karate or Tae Kwon Do about Tai Chi Chuan and they will tell you it is a slow health exercise for old people and not self-defense. Speak to someone from the alternative healing camp and they will speak about energy, moving meditation, centering, etc. Are they correct? Definitely, to a certain degree. However, alone, these aspects are by-products of Tai Chi Chuan. (Read Article)

A true understanding of karate is to found by returning to classical forms. Unlike modern karate, it is they which hold the key to ancient knowledge. Modern karate, as taught in both West and East, focuses on the basic block/punch/kick with its supposedly obvious explanations. (Read Article)

The articles below were written about Willie Lim.

by Malcom Martin from TKD & Korean Martial Arts, February 1999
The master magician is a controversial figure who has ripped the magic circle apart with hi revelations. A superb showman, he stages elaborate illusions, amazes us, then piece by piece dissects the illusion to show us how it's done. Love him for his honesty or hate him for shattering our fantasies, he is compelling television. (Read Article)

TCAH: Could you please start by telling us how you became involved in Tai Chi Chuan?
I was getting injured all the time with Karate and my Tai Chi teacher was a Chinese herbalist, who looked after me, so I became involved with his art by chance.
TCAH: Why did you choose Tai Chi Chuan as opposed to other styles?
Firstly, my teacher was a close friend of my uncle and as stated above, he looked after all my bruises from my Kyokushinkai sparring. (Read Article)

by John Dawson, Asst. Editor Martial Arts Illustrated, September 1995
The constant on going battle to search for ultimate truth persists within the very soul of humanity. For some it is an endless quest, an adventure to seek self satisfaction, substance, logic in a puzzle of illogical consequences. In the arts two specific factors are more apparent than any others, the first is obvious: perfection, a goal that persists. We never attain it but chase it regardless. The other is underlying truth, the veritable whys and wherefores that allow us to reason. We look for a more pertinent answer, a solution to a problem, answers to questions.
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By Harry Cook, Contributing Editor Terry O'Niel's Fighting Arts International #86, 1994 - Why would a Taekwondo 7th Dan give up a successful chain of dojos and health clubs in New Zealand, and move to the U.S.A. to study an obscure form of Okinawan Karate? I was able to put this question - and a number of others - to Master Willie Lim, after attending one of his training seminars. Listening to his experiences under the Okinawan Tuite Master, Seiyu Oyata (F.A.I. No 81), the reason for his move became clear. The Okinawan art of Tuite which incorporates the ‘hidden’ system of attacking the vital points, has of late caused a huge stir in the Martial Arts world. Once Wille Lim had seen a demonstration of this hitherto secret art, he was hooked . . . and just had to learn more. (Read Article)

By Richard Cotterill, Combat, March 1994
Willie Lim is presently 7th Dan in Tae Kwon-Do and Ryukyu Kernpo. He also teaches Tai Chi and Balintawak (Arnis) professionally. He has been involved in Martial Arts since 1960. He pioneered Tae Kwon-Do and Tai Chi in New Zealand, teaching professionally since 1970. He has taught in New Zealand, Australia, USA, Singapore and Malaysia. He is presently based in Scottsdale, Arizona and continues to travel extensively to reintroduce the old way of Tae Kwon-Do Karate. (Read Article)