"Bruce Lee of NFL" teaches 49ers martial arts

KIRKLAND — His life intersects at the corner of East and West, a place where ancient forms of combat are applied to current, much more profitable ones.

George Chung takes the San Francisco 49ers and trains them in the martial arts. The team pays him to do this, to introduce Chuck Norris to Chuck Bednarik, to teach discipline and honor and respect.

"He looks like an average Joe," 49ers defensive end Andre Carter said. "But he's really the Bruce Lee of the NFL."

In the wide world of NFL training techniques, Chung falls somewhere outside the box of convention and into the realm of philosophical. Several teams have experimented with martial-arts training, but none as extensively as the 49ers.

By day, Chung works as the 49ers' executive producer of television programming. By hour, he works as the team's martial-arts consultant. One's a job. The other's a passion. And somehow, some way, they intersect.

The credibility comes from the black belts Chung holds in five different disciplines of martial arts. It comes from the national and international karate championships he won between 1979 and 1983, from the induction into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame.

"All athletes are looking for an edge," Chung said. "That begins in the mind. Martial arts almost becomes a romantic notion. I don't like to make the analogy of war, especially in these times. But martial is war, martial arts is the art of war. Martial arts were developed for combat, and they've moved into more of a discipline. That's what it's about: honor and respect and discipline."

The proof, well, that's in the padding. The kind worn by the players who keep coming back to Chung to further improve their technique.

Guys like Derrick Deese, who played for San Francisco until going to Tampa Bay this offseason. After working with Chung, Deese didn't allow a sack in 35 games until Grant Wistrom blew by him for one last Sunday.

Or 49ers running back Kevan Barlow, who started working with Chung before this season and gained 114 yards and scored two touchdowns against New Orleans last week. Carter raised his sack total from 6.5 to 12.5 after working with Chung.

Chung teaches linemen hand-to-hand techniques. He teaches running backs and safeties balance. He works with some players in the offseason, others during training camp and others before games. To a man, they swear by the training.

"All these forms are self defense," said Chike Okeafor, a Seahawks defensive end who played for the 49ers. "Is a man trying to put his hands on you? Yes or no? If it's yes, then you get his hands off you, you don't let him put them on you and you punish him for trying to. That's martial arts. That's football."

Chung retired from competing in 1983, and the next year, a martial-arts instructor he knew approached him. His friend worked with Marcus Allen. He wanted to know if Chung would work with Ronnie Lott.

And thus a long and fruitful relationship with the 49ers was born. Lott started bringing Charles Haley and Dwight Clark. Then Joe Montana and dozens more.

Clark pushed the team to bring Chung to training camp in 1990. He worked almost exclusively with defensive linemen, empowering them with proper hand techniques to fall back on when failed by speed or strength.

Seven years ago, Chung met Kevin Gogan, a former University of Washington offensive lineman. They clicked. And Gogan taught Chung how he could apply martial arts to the offensive line.

"There are a lot of gurus out there, you know, guys who think they have the answer to everything," Chung said. "I don't have the answer to everything. I have the answer to one thing. One thing that can help these players immediately."

Immediately, as in, the next practice. Carter said he's seen it work first hand, watching players who were initially resistant to work with Chung, then improve their technique that day.

At 5 foot 10, 200 pounds, Chung doesn't exactly cut an imposing figure. But he'll still spar with players to mix it up.

That's usually when they learn that size and speed and strength will only do so much.

"Most of it is mental," Carter said. "It's like the art of war. You know your enemy. You know his strengths. You apply that on the field. And you apply that to everyday life. His lessons stick with you."

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com