World War II unleashed incredibly powerful weapons.

The
plane came into its own. So did the tank. Hitlers Panzer
divisions and blitzkrie war almost succeeded in con!uerin
all of "urope.
#arantuan battleships$ stalkin subs naval duels on an
immense scale. The fihter laden carriers enaed in battles
of %idway and the &oral Sea chaned the course of the war
in the Pacific. Then came Hiroshima. The ultimate weapon$
'the bomb( had been unleashed on humanity.
It appeared that the lowly foot soldier and hand)to)hand
combat would be releated to obscurity. Wars henceforth
would be decided on the basis of which continent was wiped
out by atomic hydroen bombs. There was talk about the
*balance of terror$* in terms of Polaris subs$ atomic powered
carriers$ portable weapons capable of devastatin a city and multi)meaton bombs.
+ut a strane thin happened. ,and wars became composed of *mini battles.* The
familiar battle lines of the two World Wars evaporated into nihtmarish forces appearin
suddenly in une-pected places. Wars became limited to *conventional weapons.*
.merica ot boed down in a lon$ drawn)out war on the .sian mainland. Interest in
uerrilla tactics increased. Slowly it became apparent that knives$ bows and arrows$
stalkin techni!ues and all the other specialties of individual human combat were as
important as ever. The only heroes of the /ietnam war were the .merican *uerrilla
forces$* the #reen +erets in their isolated Special 0orces &amps.
So today$ you can see modern .merican soldiers bein trained in ancient fihtin
techni!ues in such places as the Hwarando Hand)to)Hand &ombat and Special
Weapons School. This Special 0orces camp is located at 1ohn 0. 2ennedy &enter for
%ilitary .ssistance$ 0ort +ra$ 3orth &arolina.
Here %ike "chanis$ hwarando e-pert$ teaches the ae)old arts utilized by uerrilla
fihters the world over$ and particularly the 4rient. Thouh hwarando is of 2orean
oriin$ its roots and ties are shared by other .sian nations such as &hina and 1apan. .nd$
in fact$ the most celebrated uerrilla fihters of history were the *invisible assassins$*
the nin5a$ who were employed as spies$ kidnappers$ killers and special surprise and
shock attack forces durin 1apan6s pre)%ei5i 7estoration period. Today$ .merica is
developin its own nin5a)like army$ the Special 0orces$ and %ike "chanis is one of its
foremost instructors.
"chanis teaches the full repertoire of
fihtin techni!ues employed by
hwarando. The art itself is a rab ba
containin all forms of personal
combat trainin in the use of hand
weapons$ revival techni!ues$ 5oint)breakin techni!ues$ stalkin techni!ues. Techni!ues
similar to various other martial arts$ includin 5udo$ aikido$ 5u5itsu$ karate$ tan soo do$
2orean kwon pup or kempo$ are utilized.
Students at the special trainin camp learn the standard martial arts punchin$ blockin
and 6kickin techni!ues. +eyond that$ finer pressure points$ 5oint breakin and throwin
techni!ues are tauht. There is a full week6s instruction in such areas as knife fihtin$
knife throwin$ short stick fihtin$ arrotes$ crossbows and handun reaction$ blowuns
and bayonet trainin.
"chanis6 specialty is what is called in 2orean "un shin bop$ or makin oneself invisible.
Here students are tauht to conceal themselves in front of others$ utilizin such
techni!ues as conformin to the terrain and movin in liht shadow. Sentry stalkin$
silent killin and prisoner)of)war snatches all fiure prominently in the instruction. *We
have two more sections to our school and military orders$* says "chanis$ *but they are
classified.*
The trainin is desined to teach
instructors in the basics of operational
hand to hand warfare and the use of
special weapons as tauht by the
hwarando method. Instructors then
report back to their units and teach their
staffs. "chanis$ of course$ has one a
lon way in his hwarando trainin$ and
is capable of the more advanced
demonstrations of internal power or *ki*
trainin. 4nly a few$ hiher)deree
hwarando black belts are able to utilize this somewhat esoteric power. 0or e-ample$
"chanis can push a spoke throuh the fleshy part of his arm or his throat and lift a
bucket of water from a rope suspended by the spoke. Thouh the e-periment appears
rotes!ue$ "chanis feels no pain and is not in5ured in the slihtest. He can also allow
vehicles to be rolled across his body without bein hurt.
"chanis thus possesses the martial arts credentials to teach such an elite body as the
Special 0orces. . #reen +eret himself$ "chanis also had practical battlefield e-perience
in /ietnam. He served with the 89th 7aner +attalion. In :;8<$ "chanis was awarded
the +ronze Star medal with */* device for heroism while under enemy fire in /ietnam.
The details of the award are in army records=
*Specialist 0our %ichael >. "chanis distinuished himself by valorous action when the
truck in which he was a passener was ambushed in the .n 2he Pass.* The truck had
approached a sharp switchback$ and he and his crew were reeted by a heavy volume of
enemy. fire. "chanis immediately returned the fire. *.s the truck rounded the corner$
Specialist "chanis was wounded in the left foot$* the order reads. *He disrearded the
pain in his foot$ reloaded his weapon$ and continued to fire on the enemy.*
The truck rounded the curve$ skiddin into a
ditch. "chanis$ while reloadin his weapon$ was
hit in the head by framentation from a small
arms round that e-ploded in the rear of the
truck. .fter further encounters$ "chanis *was
wounded for the third time when an .2)?8
round hit him in the riht foot and loded in his
calf.*
The award record continues= *Specialist "chanis
was then wounded for a fourth time when his
continued resistance drew a hail of enemy fire. >espite his numerous wounds$ Specialist
"chanis continued to fiht until the beleauered truck was relieved. Specialist "chanis6
aressive spirit and undaunted courae were decisive in preventin the annihilation of
the truck and its personnel.*
"chanis later returned to the
States and bean teachin in
a hwarando school in ,a
Habra$ &alifornia. *He was
5ust too touh on the
students$* says 7andy
Wanner$ the current
instructor. *+esides$ he was
a military man and liked it.
That6s where he was happy.*
So "chanis survived his
ordeal and returned to
become a kind of modern day nin5a instructor for the Hand)to)Hand &ombat @ Special
Weapons School. He is 5ustifiably proud of his accomplishment. *I believe I am the only
&aucasian man$* says "chanis$ *teachin charyok trainin to military personnel in the
Anited States.* +eyond that$ says "chanis$ *I teach mind control and hypnosis three days
a week for 4perations and Intellience.* "chanis also teaches hwarando to 3avy
S."...,.S.$ %arine 0orce 7econ units. "chanis credits his skills and capabilities to his
teacher$ Hwa7an>o 0ounder >r. 1oo +an ,ee. *Were it not for him$* says "chanis$ *I
would know nothin about the martial arts.* Today$ the former #reen +eret and .irborne
7aner is the chief instructor for about B<< instructors in these special warfare branches
of the service.
(Black Belt Magazine January 1977)
By Peter Koenig