Edward B. Sell (July 17, 1942 - February 5, 2014) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

instructor, and the highest ranking non-

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

practitioner of

tae kwon do Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In a ...

, holding the honorary rank of 10th degree black belt in the art. Sell founded the U.S.

Chung Do Kwan Chung Do Kwan, created by Won Kuk Lee in 1944, is one of the first of nine schools or '' kwan'' teaching Tang Soo Do. Later, the school began to teach what came to be known as taekwondo. This style of Tang Soo Do is known for its overall pow ...

Association.

Biography

Sell was the founder of the United States Chung Do Kwan Association (USCDKA) and the only non-Asian person to be recognized by the

World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo, formerly the World Taekwondo Federation, is an international federation governing the sport of Taekwondo and Para Taekwondo. WT is a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF). The World Taek ...

as a 9th

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa ** Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivo ...

Black Belt in the

school of

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

, making him the highest ranked non-Asian Tae Kwon Do practitioner in the world. Grandmaster Sell was a member of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

from 1959 to 1967. For much of this time, he was stationed at

Osan Air Base Osan Air Base (K-55; ; Hanja: ) is a United States Air Force (USAF) and Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) base located near Songtan station in the city of Pyeongtaek, South Korea, south of Seoul. Despite its name, Osan AB is not within Osan C ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, where he began to study Tae Kwon Do. In 1963, he was the first American to compete in the 1st Taekwondo National Championship,

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, Korea. In 1973, he was certified as an International Referee at the 1st International Referee Course held at the

Kukkiwon Kukkiwon (), also known as World Taekwondo Headquarters, and home of the World Taekwondo Academy, is where the official taekwondo governing organization was established by the South Korean government.Min, B.-H. (2005): (11 July 2005). Publishe ...

. Sell was also on the original committee accepting the World Taekwondo Federation and the Kukkiwon. He was a USA Team Coach (1973), and on the WTF Technical Committee (1975). On August 18, 1967 he formed the U.S. Chung Do Kwan Association. In 1969 he published America's first Tae Kwon Do training manual, ''Forces of Tae Kwon Do'', and he has been featured on the cover of the Tae Kwon Do Times twice, in September 1988 and June 1997. In the fall of 2011 Sr. Grandmaster Sell was declared as an "American Living Legend" by the

South Korean government The government of South Korea () is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and ...

and will be included in the Taekwondo Park,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Sell died on February 5, 2014. He was surrounded by his family and wife at his home in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

United States Chung Do Kwan Association

In 1967 Sell began the "Korea Tae Kwon Do Association of America" in

Trenton, Michigan Trenton is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County, Michigan, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city population was 18,853. A Shawnee village was built in the area by war chief Blue Jacket after the 1795 Tre ...

. In 1974, he renamed his organization the "United States Chung Do Kwan Association" and relocated it to

. Its current president is Sell's wife, Brenda J. Sell, a 9th Dan Black Belt and the only recognized female American Tae Kwon Do Grandmaster. The USCDKA derives its roots from the World Chung Do Kwan Association and

(WTF). It currently contains nearly 250,000 members and over 4,000 black belts, and is considered one of the oldest

organizations in the United States. The USCDKA is known for its development of the Instructor's Degree System. Degrees of black belts, or

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa ** Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivo ...

, are earned separately of instructors' ranks. Each black belt is immediately eligible to earn an instructor degree upon earning their respective rank, but first must complete various training seminars (called NCITs), pass

background check A background check is a process used by an organisation or person to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and check their past record to confirm education, employment history, and other activities, and for a criminal record. The fr ...

s, and demonstrate techniques in a manner similar to previous instructors. This is done to promote a sense of uniformity among schools, which are located all over the United States and Canada.

References

External links

Official USCDKA Webpage

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sell, Edward B 1942 births 2014 deaths American male taekwondo practitioners 20th-century American sportsmen