The Art of the Fist

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

Exhibits, Postal Museum, National Museum, Science, Tony Cohn, African American History And Culture, Air And Space, Zoo, Sidedoor, Dc, Art19, Washington, Megan Detrie, Pop Culture, Exhibit, Society & Culture, American History, History, The Smithsonian, Smithsonian, Museum, National Zoo, History Of The World, Natural History

4.7 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The United States has more martial arts schools than any other country – by far. Chances are you or someone you know practiced karate or another martial art growing up. While martial arts gained popularity in the U.S. for many reasons, one name stands out: Jhoon Rhee. Known as the Father of American Taekwondo, Rhee famously taught Bruce Lee how to kick and Muhammed Ali how to punch. His bare-knuckled American dream made an impact on generations of Americans.

Guests:

Terence Nicholson, a D.C.-based artist. Creator of Safety Jacket: A Mourning in Chinatown

Sojin Kim, curator for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s exhibition: Sightlines, Chinatown and Beyond

M. Aziz, an Assistant Professor of African American Studies in the Department of American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington

Chun Rhee, son of Jhoon Rhee

Jimmy Rhee, son of Jhoon Rhee

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Side Door, a podcast from the Smithsonian with support from PRX.
0:12.4	I'm Lizzie Peabody.
0:28.0	When Terrence Nicholson was a kid, he'd come home from school and have the house to himself.
0:33.8	I remember one time I tried to make a popsicle out of fritos, and that didn't work at all.
0:34.9	That was horrible.
0:36.6	A popsicle out of fritos? Yeah, I put some fritos in a Ziploc bag and rolled it with a rolling pen and added some water and stuck a popsicle stick in the bottom of the bag.
0:45.4	And put in the freezer?
0:46.3	Yeah, I thought it would freeze and make a, you know, I mean, I would experiment with all manner of stuff, you know.
0:50.6	It sounds like a good science experiment, honestly. This was before we had a cat that I could blame that stuff on.
1:00.7	Terrence was an only child, raised by his mom in Southeast Washington, D.C.
1:05.3	When he wasn't innovating new food delivery systems or doing homework, he did what many
1:10.1	other latchkey Gen Xers did before
1:12.3	their parents got home. He watched cartoons. Tom and Jerry, the Flintstone, the Fantastic
1:21.1	Four.
1:21.6	And while he watched these cartoons, there was a commercial that would come on. Every single day.
1:29.2	Like clockwork.
1:31.0	In the commercial, a muscular man in long, flowy pants and no shirt is doing a flying kick through the air.
1:38.0	When you take Jewelry self-defense, you know, and then you got people like, you know, punching and flipping and stuff like that.
1:46.7	Nobody bothers me.
1:49.8	And in perfect 70s style, it's all happening in slow motion.
1:54.8	The slow motion is definitely everything, right?
1:57.7	At the end of the commercial, a young girl comes on and says,
	...

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