Martial Arts Teacher and Actor. He was one of the world's foremost practitioners of the Korean martial art of Hapkido. Studying the Japanese martial arts led him to a dedicated life of teaching Hapkido. In 1967, he moved to America and formed a school to promote his art. In his early days of teaching, he trained police and Green Berets in the U.S. Army's Special Forces. By 1971, he was instructing actors and choreographing fight scenes for motion pictures. He appeared in or coordinated fight scenes in "Billy Jack," "Force Five," "Kentucky Fried Movie" and "Cleopatra Jones," among others. In 1974, he founded the International Hapkido Federation which now consists of nine affiliated schools. In decades of teaching thousands of students as Grand Master, he held the rank of 9th Dan Black Belt and is referred as the "Father of Hapkido in America". He wrote many magazine and newspaper articles and authored the book, "Hapkido, The Korean Art of Self-Defense". He is a member of the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame and the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame. In 2006, Black Belt Magazine presented his International Hapkido Federation with its Industry Award for Best Traditional School for its commitment to preserving the legacy of Hapkido. He died of cancer.
Martial Arts Teacher and Actor. He was one of the world's foremost practitioners of the Korean martial art of Hapkido. Studying the Japanese martial arts led him to a dedicated life of teaching Hapkido. In 1967, he moved to America and formed a school to promote his art. In his early days of teaching, he trained police and Green Berets in the U.S. Army's Special Forces. By 1971, he was instructing actors and choreographing fight scenes for motion pictures. He appeared in or coordinated fight scenes in "Billy Jack," "Force Five," "Kentucky Fried Movie" and "Cleopatra Jones," among others. In 1974, he founded the International Hapkido Federation which now consists of nine affiliated schools. In decades of teaching thousands of students as Grand Master, he held the rank of 9th Dan Black Belt and is referred as the "Father of Hapkido in America". He wrote many magazine and newspaper articles and authored the book, "Hapkido, The Korean Art of Self-Defense". He is a member of the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame and the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame. In 2006, Black Belt Magazine presented his International Hapkido Federation with its Industry Award for Best Traditional School for its commitment to preserving the legacy of Hapkido. He died of cancer.
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Grand Master
Father of Hapkido
The Way of the Heart
