John Morgart was 7, when his dad first tried to introduce him to martial arts. He took him to C.S. Kim Karate in Irwin, Pa., but the visit didn’t go as planned.
“When I first went, I was a little scared and intimidated,” Morgart says. “It wasn’t for me at the time.”
It would be four more years before Morgart returned to a karate studio, but since 2004, he’s barely left.
“I was watching Bruce Lee movies and Jackie Chan movies, and it got me inspired. So when I was 11, I asked my dad if I could try again,” says Morgart, now 24.
And after 13 years of practicing, the fourth-degree black belt (that’s a martial-arts master, for the uninitiated) has even created his own karate style: Wei Son Do. Last month, he officially trademarked it.
The meaning behind the Korean words that make up Wei Son Do reveal Morgart’s inspiration for creating the new martial-arts style. “Wei” means to guard, to defend and to protect; “son” means hand; and “do” means the way or the path of your life. So essentially Wei Son Do is about using your hands to protect yourself.
“I wanted to create something that would be engineered for an actual fight, if you’re actually defending yourself,” Morgart says. “I wanted to build something geared toward helping people learn how to defend themselves in different situations. I wanted to create a martial-arts form that could help you outside of class. If you’re walking down the street and someone grabs you on your wrist, you can learn how to quickly get out of that move, defend yourself from your attacker and get away.”
In other martial-arts styles, like Tang Soo Do, students don’t learn defensive moves like wrist grabs and knife defends until they’ve been promoted to the first black-belt level after four years of training. But Morgart believes it can be important for students to learn these maneuvers earlier. In Wei Son Do, students learn the basics like low block, middle punch and high block, but also advanced techniques like knife defends, gun defends and wrist grabs.
“If someone comes up behind you and puts you in a rear-neck chokehold, you’ll know how to get out of it,” Morgart says.
Instead of setting what a student learns based on their years of experience, the moves a Wei Son Do student learns will depend on other factors, like the student’s age.
“I don’t want to teach a 5-year-old or a 6-year-old knife defends or gun defends right away, but they will learn wrist defends and, if someone puts you in a chokehold, how to get out of it,” Morgart says.
Learning self-defense was one of the reasons Morgart’s first Wei Son Do student — a 10-year-old girl who started training with Morgart last year — first turned to martial arts. Morgart says the girl’s father wanted her to start taking martial-arts classes because she was being bullied at school.
“When a student first comes in, we do private lessons to make sure they understand some of the terminology and the moves before they get introduced to class,” says Morgart. “I love teaching. It’s great to see students grow, not only in the martial arts, but in life.”
And working with the 10-year-old Woodland Hills Intermediate School student has been especially rewarding. After a year of training, the girl was promoted to green belt in Wei Son Do.
“She’s come a long way,” Morgart says. “When I first started training her, she had a little bit of an attitude, and she’d just throw her uniform in her bag. But after a year, she loves training in martial arts. She has a more respectful attitude. Even in her school work, her parents told me she’s been doing very well.”
Morgart plans to continue teaching Wei Son Do and Tang Soo Do, another martial-arts style he is proficient in, at C.S. Kim Monroeville, but one day he plans to open his own studio. And even as a young master in his mid-twenties, Morgart has earned a fair amount of recognition in the martial-arts community.
Last month, he competed in the 2018 Arnold Martial Arts Festival 43rd Battle of Columbus in Columbus, Ohio, and placed second in the Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwon Do forms competition. There, he displayed his Wei Son Do Sannaum form and earned high praise from a few of the veteran masters in attendance.
“When I was executing the form at the festival, other instructors were really impressed. They said it was excellent,” says Morgart. “It was a great experience.”
This article appears in Apr 4-10, 2018.
Sadly, it is people like Mr. Morgert who give martial arts a bad name. I trained with this person at different times through out his 14 years of training in Tang Soo do. He is a mediocre Martial artiest at best as far as his over all martial arts ability, and below average in his sparring ability. Key word being sparring ability. Sparring is a very controlled pretend fight in wihich students play an elaborate technical game of tag for points. : the man has never been in a real fight so he is the very last person I know who would have any a ability to creat a style and call it true self
Defense. For those who know the history, the original UFC was a true testing ground for those who felt they had a true street self defense martial art. What was proved in those early days was that so many out there, like Mr. Morgert, made huge false claims regarding their abilities and the art they created and taught. But when they had the chance to step into a ring and demonstrate their abilities, they didnt exist. Im very sad to see this article. And see these claims presented to the public. Me morgert only training came from his instructor, grand Master C. S. Kim. He is teaching the things taught to him and claiming them as his own style. The Gracies altered Japanese jiujitsu and than spent 65 years tearing it against much larger stranger opponents before they made such claims. What has Mr. Morgert done aside from follow his own instructor and than demonstrate extreme arrogance and false confidence in his attempt to fool people into believing he has knowledge and experience that doesnt exist. Sadly, he will only give the same false confidence to anyone who trains with him as he has in
Himself.. Im very sad to see this publication backing someone like this.. thank you. Master Brian Ward
I was a 2nd degree black belt at CS Kim karate before Mr. Mogart even started. Its a McDojo Belt factory. Completely useless in a real fight. The so-called self defense techniques are against opponents offering no resistance. This clowns new style will be even worse. Who does he think he is, Bruce Lee? So hes basically taking the garbage he learned at CS Kim karate and rebranding it as his own garbage? What a joke…
I know Mr. Morgart from the farmers markets and he is a respectable and knowledgeable young man in martial arts
Mr. Morgarts training came from Grandmaster C.S. Kim, but Mr. Morgart has also ventured out and trained with other Masters, Instructors and students from different Martial Art styles in PA and in other states (Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and Muay Thai). He has also researched Kickboxing, Krav Maga, Kung Fu and Ninjutsu. Over the past four years Mr. Morgart has been working very hard to create a martial art style and has not told anyone in Tang Soo Do about his plan until he felt he was ready to announce it. I have trained with Mr. Morgart in the past and just recently. He is a good teacher and Master in the martial Arts. He takes martial arts very seriously and wants to teach students how to defend themselves, learn respect and discipline. One day out of the week he and a group of people get together and have a wrestling/sparring night. Mr. Morgart told me some nights they do not wear any sparring gear and have sparring matches to see how it feels in a fight. I am very excited for Mr. Morgart and his future in martial arts. I even seen online about Mr. Morgart being inducted into the American Martial Arts Alliance (AMAA) 2018 Masters and Pioneers Whos Who in the Martial Arts Book and Legends of Hall of Fame award on August 3, 2018 and I would like to congratulate Mr. Morgart on this major achievement. Can not wait for the growth of Wei Son Do Martial Arts. OSS
I just bought the American martial arts alliance martial Arts masters & pioneers who’s really Who in the martial arts and it is a very impressive book filled with amazing martial artists all over the world. Including Pat Johnson who was the fight coordinator / stunt coordinator for Karate Kid 1,2,3 and 4, Ninja Turtles 1,2, and 3, Batman and Robin and more. This is one book to buy and I can not believe mr. Morgart is in this book with very skilled and even famous martial artists around the world. Congratulations mr.morgart. You deserve this amazing achievement. If you love martial arts or action movies you have to get this book. This book even has Vincent Lyn who fought Jackie Chan in the movie Operation Condor
The Book Mr. Morgart is in is a Milestone in the History of the Martial Arts. The Books name is Martial Arts Masters & Legends Autobiography Book, U.S. & World Edition or Martial Arts Masters & Pioneers Autobiography Book: Who’s Really Who in the Martial Arts Volume 4. From world famous martial artists to those only known for their lifelong dedication to their local communities, this book honors those determined to bring positive change to the world, one student at a time. It shines a spotlight on the lives of men and women who have taught, fought, and innovated from the early days of martial arts in this country through 2018. It is one of the most important works in the industry and is a must read.
I just found out Mr. Morgart is now training in the United Fighting Arts Federation or Chun Kuk Do under the direction of Grandmaster Chuck Norris
Let me clue everyone in on these martial arts books, Halls of Fame, Publications, and “World Championships.” The books are all business – you PAY to be listed in them or “featured.” The Halls of Fame are the same way – you PAY to get into them. You don’t pay – they don’t induct you. And as for “World Championships” – there’s a million of them. Anyone can host their own and call it a World Championship, Just to give themselves a title. It’s the dirty little secret in martial arts – and actually dance as well. The only way to know if someone is “Good” is to get into the class and SEE what they’re teaching. ASK them about their philosophy, and their background – see if the rubber meets the road, or they’re ALL TALK. It’s the only way. Martial artists will run down any other martial artist they deem as successful – it’s how they’ve been brainwashed with a poverty mindset. You can’t trust trolls’ opinions. You have to SEE it and QUESTION it for yourself. If it looks like BULLSHIT, it probably is.
It sounds like Martial Arts Whistleblower is Jealous. There are a lot of great martial artists out there. Some receive recognition for their hard work and dedication but unfortunately some do not. As individuals/Martial Artists you should not be jealous, angry, vindictive or bad mouth other Martial Artists or Martial Art Organizations because you were not inducted into a Hall of Honor or win a World Championship. There is no dirty little secret in Martial Arts. I have experienced a lot in my life as a Martial Artist and I know the hard work and dedication a person must put in to be inducted or win a World Championship Tournament. It is not easy and sometimes you feel like giving up. I’ve seen Mr. Morgart training and even trained with him during some seminars. He is a great person, knowledgeable and wants to learn more about different styles of Martial Arts. He definitely earned his awards, trophies, and medals in Martial Arts. It is just a shame that some people like Martial Arts Whistleblower like to bad mouth others to make themselves look better and/or even feel better about themselves.
I’d like to know how many real-world fights with weapons Mr. Morgart has been in, him being a “master” and claiming is style is real self-defense….
To the person who posted by He’s a Mcdojo Fraud. You really can not call him a Mcdojo Fraud if you have not seen him in person. Once you have seen him in person then you can say he is a Mcdojo fraud or not. I would like to know that information to but I am not going to put posted by He’s a Mcdojo Fraud. You want to know information but you are being negative about it instead of neutral until you know the facts.
To “comment”: I HAVE seen him. All you have to do is look at this youtube stuff. Nothing but flashy forms and techniques, jumping over bags, and tournament point-sparring. I’ve been there done that….CS Kim is a mcdojo that’s focused on little kids and teaches watered-down impractical nonsense. All the “self-defense” techniques were against non-resisting opponents. Has he ever even been in a full-contact fight no pads no gear? Anyone that has only done point-sparring and has no real-world experience can NOT claim the things they teach are “self-defense”. It’s just that simple.
To He’s a Mcdojo Fraud: So what you are telling me is that you have NOT seen him in person. Only his YouTube videos. If that is the case then maybe he wants to just upload flashy forms and techniques, Jumping over bags, tournament point sparring. C.S Kim maybe a McDojo, however, the person training can make adjustments to make him/her not a McDojo person. The person can train with different martial artists/organization to get a better feel of self-defense with resisting opponents. I actually read an article that him and other martial artists get together and spar each other without pads and gear for training and self-defense purposes
To comment: Listen I got my E-Dan (2nd degree blackbelt) at CS Kim Monroeville in 2004 so I know what it’s all about. The “self-defense” taught there consisted of staged one-step sparring where you opponent throws a single punch then stands there immobile while you do flashy techniques. And wrist grabs where your opponent grabs your wrists then also stands there immobile and doesn’t resist while you do flashy techniques. NONE of that stuff is real-world practical and is what his “training” is based on. He might goof around with other martial artists on the weekends, but that isn’t quite the same as testing your skills in the ring is it? What is his MMA-style competition record again? Oh yeah, ZERO. All he’s ever done is point-sparring which is controlled and little to no contact. I’ll say it again, anyone who has NO full contact competition experience and has ONLY trained in McDojo-style karate can NOT claim the stuff they teach is “self-defense” and anyone who does is a FRAUD that gives their students a false sense of security, just like CS Kim.
This is towards “He’s a McDojo Fraud”. So you were a 2nd Degree Black Belt in 2004. Are you still with C.S. Kim? To me, it looks like John saw the flaws that cs kim was teaching, started to secretly go and train with other martial artists from different styles while still attending cs kim karate. I know for a fact that if John told Master Kim he was training with or at another Martial Art Organization Master Kim would not allow him or anyone to do that. I know because that happened to me. I was under Master Kim for years and then decided to take Tae Kwon Do also. I told Master Kim and he said there is a fork in the road. You Stop going to the other organization and only train here at cs kim or don’t come back. I made my decision and I stand by it. For years I looked up to them and wanted to be like them until I saw their true selves and I did not want to be a part of them or what they stand for. cs kim forces you to do what they want and not what the student wants. An an artcile it states that John left cs kim and now is under the United Fighting Arts Federation and training with other martial art styles. I stand by what John is doing and hope all the best for him
To Former C.S. Kim Master: I left over 10 years ago because I had to move away, thankfully. I’m not surprised one bit that that happened to you. That’s what cult leaders do, they don’t want anyone going out and straying from the cult. And that’s exactly what CS Kim is, a CULT. I remember one time I told them I wanted to start lifting weights and was told I shouldn’t do that because it could “affect my speed and agility”. In reality they probably didn’t want me doing anything that might stop me from showing up to class and getting pulled from training to teach little brats their forms (for free). I actually saw Master Kim one time on a flight a couple year after I left and I told him where I was and what I was doing and one of the first things out of his mouth was “Aaaaah you should open a school there”. Sorry Master Kim, I work 40-60 hours a week at a REAL job and don’t have time for that nonsense, get someone else to peddle your crap and pay you a percentage. As for Mr. Morgart, I’d have a lot more respect for him if he admitted wasted time and got a “master” belt at a McDojo and started over from zero getting some REAL training, rather than still claiming he’s a martial arts god (mentioned in several books and magazines BTW) and thinking he is so knowledgeable that he can come up with his own “style”, which based on the picture and quotes in the article, sounds a lot like CS Kim….
Well, I am putting a challenge out to john morgart. I practice Tang soo do and am a green belt with two red stripes. First of all, let me say that he got kicked out of the ITF because he was teaching tang soo do without Master Kim’s permission. And was told to stop when he didn’t he was removed from the ITF. The style he is teaching is Tang soo do just watered down. How is it that he can just give himself a masters rank in a style he created??? It is people like this who get people hurt or killed trying to fill an ego or live some fantasy. The guy teaches in his mother’s basement last time I checked and I’m not even sure he has the legal paperwork/child clearances to do what he is doing, I may be wrong but I’m just saying. So back to my challenge, I am challenging john morgart to a UFC rules fight. Let me be clear when I say this I love the martial arts and what this guy is doing is very disrespectful. So i want to meet him in the ring for a full contact fight and i want to see his style first hand and how it is able to be applied in every situation. To John or anyone who knows john i want you john morgart to take this fight and prove that it works meet me in the ring and fight me full contact NOT sparring. I live in Pennsylvania and am not far and I am also willing to drive to whatever venue you wish so we can do this. My email is ctomaszewski00@gmail.com feel free to contact me ill be waiting 🙂
joseph tomaszewski: you think he would actually accept? These mcdojo masters almost never do, and when they do they get their asses beat. And I agree, he is delusional trying to create his own style. He thinks because he got a CS Kim mcdojo master belt bought and paid for that he is a martial arts wizard or something. I know in all his time at CS Kim he probably never took a real punch or kick, becuase I went through the same crap….
To Joseph Tomaszewski. First, Nobody owns the rights to Tang Soo Do. Tang Soo Do was developed a long time ago and is actually an Ancestry of Shotokan Karate. So, if he was teaching Tang Soo Do outside of the organization why would he need Master Kim’s permission. I teach Tang Soo Do and I don’t have Master Kim’s permission. Why? Because he does not own Tang Soo Do. Note: This is why I left C.S. Kim because they are a cult. If you do not follow them, you do not follow at all. Second, Who ever told you that Master Kim kicked John out of the ITF they are not telling the truth. John left the ITF of his own free will. Finally, What is disrespectful of what he is trying to do? He is trying to build a system that is not focused on politics, treat everyone as a human being not as money signs, not only train people in martial arts but educate people and more.
Master Morgart should train with George Dillan and learn the art of pressure point and no-touch chi KOs. Hed fit right in there…..
*Dillman. His chi power affected my brain so much I couldnt type his name right….
This pizza face couldnt fight his way out of a paper bag….
To Bullshido master and Anonymous: I would not be quite sure. I see him training around Pittsburgh sometime (especially around Oakland) and his techniques look solid, strong and very quick. One thing I always tell my self is “To Never Underestimate Your Opponent” and I definitely would not underestimate him.