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Suggest pagesKim Ki Whang
| Kim Ki Whang | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kim Ki Whang 1920 Seoul, Korea |
| Died | September 16, 1993 (aged 73) |
| Other names | Ki Whang Kim |
| Nationality | Korea |
| Style | Taekwondo; Tang soo do; Shudokan Karate-do; Judo |
| Trainer | Kanken Toyama |
| Rank | 10th dan Taekwondo, 8th dan Tang soo do, 4th dan Shudokan Karate, black belt Kodokan Judo[1][2] |
| Occupation | Martial Art Instructor |
| University | Nihon University |
| Notable students | Sang Kee Paik, Richard Chun, Chuck Norris, Pat Johnson, James Roberts Jr., Albert Cheeks, Mike Warren, Bernard Floyd, Marcella Byrd, Michael Wolff, John Critzos II, Mitchell Bobrow, George Thanos, Greg Battle, Stan Holcomb, George Garnier |
Kim Ki Whang (1920 – September 16, 1993), also known in the United States as Ki Whang Kim, was a Korean martial arts grandmaster. He was Chairman in the US of the Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Association, Chairman of the US Olympic Taekwondo team and helped unify several Korean martial arts into the overall style of taekwondo.
[edit] Biography
Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1920. At the time Korea was occupied by Japan. Under their regime martial arts had been banned since 1909, though the practice of taekkyon was not banned until the year of Kim's birth.[3]
Despite the Japanese ban, Koreans still practiced martial arts in secret, and Kim was able to study Judo at the Kodokan from 1931, earning a Black Belt five years later. The ban did not extend to Koreans who lived in Japan, and Kim learned Shudokan Karate from its founder, Kanken Toyama, at Nihon University in Japan. He became captain of the team, earned the nickname "Typhoon" and earned a fourth degree Black Belt rank in this style. He also went to China for two years, probably as a draftee in the Japanese army, where he learned kempo and shaolin kung fu.[4] He returned to Korea where he founded the Chung Do Kwan style, teaching it at Sung Kyun Kwan University.[2][5]
In 1963, he emigrated to the United States, where he remained for the rest of his life. His U.S. students included Richard Chun,[6] Chuck Norris, James K. Roberts, John Critzos II, Pat Johnson, Mitchell Bobrow, George Thanos, Mike Warren, and Kwabena Rainey Cheeks. He taught more than 25,000 students and issued 424 black belts. He had a wife and a daughter, and retired in 1992. He was awarded a 10th dan black belt while in the hospital with liver cancer at the age of 73, and died on 16 September 1993. Kim was held in high regard and more than 650 people attended his funeral.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Paik's Traditional Martial Arts History Page" (downloaded 7 January 2009)
- ^ a b c Black Belt Magazine, January 1994, p. 14, retrieved 24 June 2010.
- ^ Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Volume 6 Issue 1 (1997), p. 33, retrieved 24 June 2010.
- ^ A History of Modern Taekwondo-part-1,retrieved 11 Aug 2010.
- ^ Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Volume 6 Issue 1 (1997), p. 34, retrieved 24 June 2010.
- ^ Black Belt Magazine, January 1980, p. 84, retrieved 14 August 2010.
[edit] Other sources
- Burdick, Dakin (1997) Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Volume 6 Number 1 - 1997. People and events of Taekwondo's Formative Years
- Corcoran, John. "Memorial for Grandmaster Ki Whang Kim (1920-1993)." Inside Tae Kwon Do, 3:1 (Feb. 1994), pp. 56–59.
- US Taekwondo Grandmasters Society 4th Annual Hall of Fame Awards, 2009, "Pioneer Award" section detailing career.
