Bong Soo Han
Encyclopedia
Han Bong-Soo also known as Bong Soo Han, was a martial arts instructor, author, the founder of the International Hapkido Federation, and one of the foremost practitioners of hapkido
through his participation in books, magazine articles, and popular films featuring this Korean martial art. He is often referred to as the "Father of Hapkido" in America.
, South Korea
. He began his study of hapkido as a teenager with Yong Sul Choi in Seoul, Korea. Han studied and refined this Korean martial art for more than 50 years. He held the rank of 9th dan black belt
in hapkido. He was the founder of the International Hapkido Federation, and was its president until his death.
During the occupation of Korea by Japan between 1910 and 1945, all school-age children were required to read, write, and speak Japanese. In addition they were taught judo
and kendo
for discipline and physical education. Han studied these arts from 1943 to 1945.
From 1948 to 1950, Han studied kwon bup, which was a mixture of Chinese chuan fa methods and Shudokan
karate
, and earned a black belt in the art under Byung In Yoon. Yoon's teachings later led to the development of one of the Korean schools of kong soo do
and greatly influenced two of the early schools who helped to form modern taekwondo, the chang moo kwan
and the jido kwan. At the outbreak of the Korean War
, all martial arts schools in Korea were closed.
Han began his training in Hapkido after going to see a demonstration put on by the founder, Yong Sul Choi. From then on, he committed himself to hapkido training under Choi.
In the late 1950s, Han would meet with other instructors to train and exchange ideas. From time to time, between 1956 to 1959, he traveled to Hwa Chun, Kang Won Province, where he spent time training in the art of tae kyon, under Bok Yong Lee.
taekwondo and Han in kwon bup and tae kyon. They joined Ji's Joongbooshijang hapkido dojang in 1958 to receive extra training in order to become bodyguards to Korean Labour Party presidential candidate Jun Jin-Han. When Jun withdrew his candidacy they both decided to continue their training in hapkido.
Han being older, a native of Seoul, and a senior student of Yong Sul Choi, assisted in promoting the first hapkido school in the country's capital city. In 1959, Han opened his own hapkido school in the Samgangji section of Seoul. Han became one of the most important teachers in the influential Korea Hapkido Association and taught many important people in both the Korean military and the Korean presidential guard. Eventually, he secured a position teaching martial arts to U.S. security personnel at the Osan American air force base where he continued to teach for 6 years.
In 1967, during the Vietnam War
, Han taught self-defense to hundreds of American and Korean military personnel as part of a demonstration team for the Korea Hapkido Association.
On July 4, 1969, Han Bong Soo was giving a demonstration of hapkido at a park in Pacific Palisades, California. In the audience was Tom Laughlin
. After a spectacular demonstration, Laughlin approached Han about being involved in a movie project called Billy Jack
. Han gained critical acclaim for staging and performing some of the most realistic martial arts fight sequences in a film. Before Billy Jack, movies contained at most brief references to martial arts, with fights portrayed by actors who had little training. With Billy Jack, Han introduced authentic hapkido techniques to Western audiences. In its sequel, The Trial of Billy Jack
, he received a co-starring part where he spoke about and demonstrated the art, mentioning the art by name for the first time.
Han continued to choreograph fight sequences and bring martial arts to the big screen. In 1977, he played the evil Dr. Klahn in the spoof film, The Kentucky Fried Movie
, and in 1980, he appeared as the Karate Master to a group of boys in the action-comedy film, The Little Dragons
. In a serious demonstration of pressure-point techniques, Han also arranged the fight scene in which Sean Connery
uses one thumb to defeat a burly assailant in the 1988 movie, The Presidio.
Han has been the subject of many magazine and newspaper articles, martial arts magazine cover stories, and was a member of the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame in 1999. He was also featured in the A&E
documentary, The Martial Arts and the Wesley Snipes
-produced Master of the Martial Arts.
In addition to being cited in dozens of martial arts books, he wrote many articles on the Way of martial arts, and also authored the book, Hapkido, The Korean Art of Self-Defense, that was published by Ohara Publications in 1974, which is now in its 23rd printing. He completed a series of ten instructional Hapkido DVDs which are in worldwide distribution.
In 1974, Han founded the International Hapkido Federation. On July 6, 2006, Black Belt Magazine
presented the International Hapkido Federation with its 2006 Industry Award for Best Traditional School for its commitment to preserving the legacy of Hapkido. Han's legacy is kept alive by the continued efforts of several of his students: most notably Eric Friske, Danny Cruz and Stephen Cord of Mushin Hapkido, Phillip Turner of Morning Calm Hapkido, Monty Hendrix as the U.S. East Coast Director of the World HapKiDo Association, Steve Bettencourt and Jim Lerman of Bettencourt's Taekwondo, and Julia Khan of Do Shim Mudo.
Han died at his home in Santa Monica, California, on January 8, 2007. He was laid to rest in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
.
Hapkido
Hapkido is a dynamic and also eclectic Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, techniques of other martial arts, as well as kicks, punches, and other striking attacks...
through his participation in books, magazine articles, and popular films featuring this Korean martial art. He is often referred to as the "Father of Hapkido" in America.
Early life
Han was born on August 25, 1933, in IncheonIncheon
The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. He began his study of hapkido as a teenager with Yong Sul Choi in Seoul, Korea. Han studied and refined this Korean martial art for more than 50 years. He held the rank of 9th dan black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
in hapkido. He was the founder of the International Hapkido Federation, and was its president until his death.
During the occupation of Korea by Japan between 1910 and 1945, all school-age children were required to read, write, and speak Japanese. In addition they were taught judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
and kendo
Kendo
, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
for discipline and physical education. Han studied these arts from 1943 to 1945.
From 1948 to 1950, Han studied kwon bup, which was a mixture of Chinese chuan fa methods and Shudokan
Shudokan
, literally "the hall for the study of the [karate] way," is a school of karate developed by Kanken Toyama . Characteristics of Shudokan karate include large circular motions with an emphasis on covering and its own unique kata....
karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, and earned a black belt in the art under Byung In Yoon. Yoon's teachings later led to the development of one of the Korean schools of kong soo do
Kong Soo Do
Kong Soo Do is a Korean martial art. Its name is composed of the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese characters for "karate-do". In English it means "empty-hand way". However, it is different from karate-do...
and greatly influenced two of the early schools who helped to form modern taekwondo, the chang moo kwan
Chang Moo Kwan
Chang Moo Kwan is a Korean martial arts group was founded by Lee Nam Suk and Kim Soon Bae.- History :At the end of World War II, several Kwans wet set up. In the late 1950s, these Kwans united under the name Tae Soo Do...
and the jido kwan. At the outbreak of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, all martial arts schools in Korea were closed.
Han began his training in Hapkido after going to see a demonstration put on by the founder, Yong Sul Choi. From then on, he committed himself to hapkido training under Choi.
In the late 1950s, Han would meet with other instructors to train and exchange ideas. From time to time, between 1956 to 1959, he traveled to Hwa Chun, Kang Won Province, where he spent time training in the art of tae kyon, under Bok Yong Lee.
Discovering hapkido
Han and his friend, Seo Oh Choi, were both employed by the Hankuk Shil Up Company which assisted other companies in bidding on army surplus goods. Both had prior training in striking based martial arts, Choi in the JidokwanJidokwan
Jidokwan is one of the original nine schools of the modern Korean martial arts that became Taekwondo and was founded in what is now South Korea at the end of World War II. Its name translates as "School of Wisdom". The Jidokwan in Korea still exists today. It functions as a social fraternal order...
taekwondo and Han in kwon bup and tae kyon. They joined Ji's Joongbooshijang hapkido dojang in 1958 to receive extra training in order to become bodyguards to Korean Labour Party presidential candidate Jun Jin-Han. When Jun withdrew his candidacy they both decided to continue their training in hapkido.
Han being older, a native of Seoul, and a senior student of Yong Sul Choi, assisted in promoting the first hapkido school in the country's capital city. In 1959, Han opened his own hapkido school in the Samgangji section of Seoul. Han became one of the most important teachers in the influential Korea Hapkido Association and taught many important people in both the Korean military and the Korean presidential guard. Eventually, he secured a position teaching martial arts to U.S. security personnel at the Osan American air force base where he continued to teach for 6 years.
In 1967, during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, Han taught self-defense to hundreds of American and Korean military personnel as part of a demonstration team for the Korea Hapkido Association.
United States
In 1967, Han emigrated to the United States of America, first staying with and teaching at his friend S. O. Choi's hapkido school in California. Han later opened his own school in Los Angeles in 1968. His early years were difficult and he worked in a factory during the day while he taught at a struggling hapkido school in the evening located in an economically depressed area. Later, he relocated his school to the Pacific Palisades area in an effort to be closer to Hollywood and the movie industry.On July 4, 1969, Han Bong Soo was giving a demonstration of hapkido at a park in Pacific Palisades, California. In the audience was Tom Laughlin
Tom Laughlin
Tom Laughlin is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator and political activist. Laughlin is best known for his series of Billy Jack films. He has been married to Delores Taylor since 1954. Taylor has also co-produced and acted in all four of the Billy Jack films...
. After a spectacular demonstration, Laughlin approached Han about being involved in a movie project called Billy Jack
Billy Jack
Billy Jack is a 1971 action film. It is the second, and highest grossing, in a series of motion pictures centering on a character of the same name, played by Tom Laughlin who also directed and co-wrote the script. Filming began in Prescott, Arizona, in fall 1969, but the movie was not completed...
. Han gained critical acclaim for staging and performing some of the most realistic martial arts fight sequences in a film. Before Billy Jack, movies contained at most brief references to martial arts, with fights portrayed by actors who had little training. With Billy Jack, Han introduced authentic hapkido techniques to Western audiences. In its sequel, The Trial of Billy Jack
The Trial of Billy Jack
The Trial of Billy Jack is a 1974 film starring Delores Taylor and Tom Laughlin. It is the sequel to the 1971 film Billy Jack and the third film overall in the series. Although commercially successful, it was panned by critics.-Plot:...
, he received a co-starring part where he spoke about and demonstrated the art, mentioning the art by name for the first time.
Han continued to choreograph fight sequences and bring martial arts to the big screen. In 1977, he played the evil Dr. Klahn in the spoof film, The Kentucky Fried Movie
The Kentucky Fried Movie
The Kentucky Fried Movie is an American comedy film, released in 1977 and directed by John Landis. The film's writers were the team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker. This same team would go on to write and direct Airplane!, Top Secret! and the Police Squad! television series and its...
, and in 1980, he appeared as the Karate Master to a group of boys in the action-comedy film, The Little Dragons
The Little Dragons
The Little Dragons is a 1980 American film about two young brothers who use their karate skills to rescue a friend after she is held captive for ransom. Produced and directed by Curtis Hanson...
. In a serious demonstration of pressure-point techniques, Han also arranged the fight scene in which Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
uses one thumb to defeat a burly assailant in the 1988 movie, The Presidio.
Han has been the subject of many magazine and newspaper articles, martial arts magazine cover stories, and was a member of the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame in 1999. He was also featured in the A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
documentary, The Martial Arts and the Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
-produced Master of the Martial Arts.
In addition to being cited in dozens of martial arts books, he wrote many articles on the Way of martial arts, and also authored the book, Hapkido, The Korean Art of Self-Defense, that was published by Ohara Publications in 1974, which is now in its 23rd printing. He completed a series of ten instructional Hapkido DVDs which are in worldwide distribution.
In 1974, Han founded the International Hapkido Federation. On July 6, 2006, Black Belt Magazine
Black Belt Magazine
Black Belt is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports founded in 1961 by Mitoshi Uyehara. During the early years of the publication, Uyehara was a hands-on owner and publisher...
presented the International Hapkido Federation with its 2006 Industry Award for Best Traditional School for its commitment to preserving the legacy of Hapkido. Han's legacy is kept alive by the continued efforts of several of his students: most notably Eric Friske, Danny Cruz and Stephen Cord of Mushin Hapkido, Phillip Turner of Morning Calm Hapkido, Monty Hendrix as the U.S. East Coast Director of the World HapKiDo Association, Steve Bettencourt and Jim Lerman of Bettencourt's Taekwondo, and Julia Khan of Do Shim Mudo.
Han died at his home in Santa Monica, California, on January 8, 2007. He was laid to rest in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood....
.