Shin Kyung Sun (born 1933) is a Korean

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and a pioneer of that art in the United States of America. He is ranked 8th ''

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 ...

'' in judo,Piering, T. (''c.'' 2010)
Masters
Retrieved on January 7, 2011. and also holds ''dan'' ranking in

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

.Waite, D. V. (1971): "His own invisible weapons." ''Black Belt'', 9(12):36–39. Shin was born in 1933 in Seoul, Korea.Military Arts Institute: Martial Arts Faculty
(''c.'' 2010). Retrieved on January 4, 2011. He began training in the martial arts in 1943, and was a long distance runner in high school. During the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, he served in the Special Student Battalion of the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,0 ...

. He owned a pharmacy in South Korea, although he was not a pharmacist himself. He had studied English literature at

Hongik University Hongik University (; colloquially as Hongdae) is a private university in Mapo District, Mapo, Seoul, South Korea. It was founded in 1946. The university also maintains a branch campus in Sejong City. The university's colloquial name, "Hongdae ...

, but did not complete the course. He did, however, captain the institution's judo team to the National Collegiate Championship in 1958, his second year there. Around 1960, Shin emigrated to the US intending to seek a position in a pharmaceutical company. He went to Illinois at first, studied liberal arts in Georgia (where he met and befriended fellow Korean

Mas Oyama , more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a Zainichi Korean karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. Early life Mas Oyama was born as Choi Yeong-eui () in Kintei, Kore ...

, founder of

Kyokushin karate is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a Full contact karate, full-contact style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organizat ...

), and then returned to Illinois in 1963. He studied accounting part-time at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, and it was around this time that he met his future wife, Sandy Hamilton, a biochemistry student who is also a judo practitioner. She was ranked 1st ''dan'' at the time.Moshcovitz, P. B. (1973): "Martial arts media madness." ''Black Belt'', 11(9):47. Shin founded the Military Arts Institute in 1963,Martial artist shares passion with students
''WLS-TV'' (January 16, 2008). Retrieved on January 4, 2011.Martial Arts Institute
(''c.'' 2010). Retrieved on January 4, 2011. and also published a judo magazine. Apart from judo, Shin also teaches

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 ...

and

hapkido Hapkido ( , , ), also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do'' is a Korean martial art. It is a hybrid form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, chokeholds, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. ...

. Around 1967, he visited Seoul and discussed the possibility of a taekwondo tournament in Chicago with

Choi Hong Hi Choi Hong-hi (; 9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002) was a South Korean Army general, and martial artist who was an important figure in the history of the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, albeit controversial due to his introduction of tae ...

, founder of the

International Taekwon-Do Federation International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is an international taekwondo organization founded on March 22, 1966, by Choi Hong Hi () in Seoul, South Korea. The ITF was founded to promote and encourage the growth of the Korean martial art of ta ...

.Anonymous (1967): "Black Belt Times." ''Black Belt'', 5(10):50. In 1977, he was a member of the organizing committee for the Third World Taekwondo Championships.Anonymous (1977): "Third World Taekwondo Championships scheduled for September." ''Black Belt'', 15(9):8. Shin co-authored the book ''Judo'' (1977) with Daeshik Kim.Kim, D., & Shin, K. S. (1977): ''Judo''. Dubuque, IA: W. C. Brown. () One of the Shins' sons, Gene Shin, holds the rank of 5th ''dan'' in judo and teaches the art in Virginia.Shin, G. T. (''c.'' 2010)
Sensei Shin's Judo bio
Retrieved on January 7, 2011.Shin, G. T. (''c.'' 2010)
Sensei Shin's Judo lineage
Retrieved on January 7, 2011.Darter, M. (2010)
Oklahoma City Defensive Tactics: Heartland & OKCDT featured in USA Judo News
(November 9, 2010). Retrieved on January 7, 2011.

References

External links

Military Arts Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shin, Kyung Sun Living people 1933 births South Korean tang soo do practitioners Martial artists from Chicago Martial artists from Seoul South Korean male karateka South Korean male judoka South Korean male taekwondo practitioners South Korean hapkido practitioners 20th-century South Korean sportsmen