Sun-hwan Chung (born May 6, 1940), also known as James Sun-hwan Chung, is one of the highest-ranking

Tang Soo Do Tang Soo Do (; ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean martial art based on karate which can include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts. From its beginnings in 1944 to today, Tang Soo Do is used by ...

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. ...

, and taekwondo grandmasters in the world. He is founder of the Moo Sool Do (Martial Arts United) form of martial arts and is president of the World Academy of Martial Arts, LLC.

Early life and the Moo Duk Kwan

Sun-hwan Chung was born in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

, Japan and emigrated as a child to

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 ...

. He began training in the martial arts when he was eight years old under

Moo Duk Kwan Moo Duk Kwan is the name of a martial art organization founded by Hwang Kee in South Korea in 1945. Licensed Moo Duk Kwan schools teach Soo Bahk Do, formerly Tang Soo Do (and earlier 'Hwa Soo Do'). 'Moo Duk Kwan' translates as "School of Martial ...

founder

Hwang Kee Hwang Kee (; ''Hwang Gi''; November 9, 1914 – July 14, 2002) was one of the most important and influential figures in the Korean martial arts.U.S. Soo Bahk Do (Tang Soo Do) Moo Duk Kwan Federation > History. URL accessed on February 11, 2010 ...

, and instructors Chang-young Chong (''dan'' #15), Jong-soo Hong (''dan'' #16), and Jae-joon Kim (''dan'' #38). <3 He earned his first "black" belt (actually

midnight blue Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit night sky around a full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight Sunlight is the portion of the electromag ...

) from Hwang Kee at age sixteen. For three years (1963-1967) Chung won the Korean Tae Kwon Do National Championships. In 1966, he won the Asian Championship. From 1966 to 1970, Chung managed Hwang Kee's main training ''dojang'', located near Seoul Station (Jong Gu section of

Dongja-dong Dongja-dong () is a '' dong'' (neighborhood) of Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea. It is a legal dong (법정동 ) administered under its administrative dong (행정동 ), Namyeong-dong See also * Administrative divisions of South Korea S ...

) in downtown

Seoul, Korea 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 ...

. Chung became proficient in several martial arts, studying

, and

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 ...

. He created one of the essential poomse training forms for Tang Soo Do; Kicho Hyeong Sa Bu (Basic Form 4) as well as several others specific to Moo Sool Do. During the 1970s, he was a martial arts combat instructor for the

Republic of Korea Armed Forces The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength o ...

and active duty United States soldiers in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. In addition, he was a self-defense instructor to the Korean civilian police force and provided security services for the Korean national railroad system.

Among the earliest U.S. masters

Chung was sent by Hwang Kee, in the fifth wave of Korean martial arts masters, to the United States on June 13, 1969. His American sponsor was Dale Drouillard, the second American to be recognized as a Cho Dan by Hwang. As a new arrival to the United States, Chung instructed at (Jae-joon) Kim's Karate School in Grand River, Michigan. As representative of the dojang, he traveled the country and sparred with Mariano Estioko (the second American to become a Cho Dan in the Moo Duk Kwan), David Praim, Russell Hanke, Pat E. Johnson, and hundreds of others, with losing one match. In addition to building a tremendous reputation worldwide as a ruthless fighter, Chung gained renown for his mental toughness, often performing demonstrations such as lifting large buckets of water using needles pierced in his arms and neck - while standing on broken glass, or having a car drive onto his chest. As his reputation grew, he gained many friendships with martial arts pioneers in the United States during the 1970s, including Sang Kyu Shim, Kang Uk Lee, Bong-soo Han, Jhoon Rhee, Mike Stone, and

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...

Development of the system

In September 1972, Chung moved to

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, Michigan where he opened a dojang, teaching his own form of mixed martial arts - combining

, Moo Sool Gi, and Ki Gon - entitled Moo Sool Do (Martial Arts United). He has authored and published several training books in the Moo Sool Do system, and has continued to teach in Kalamazoo, as well as through other satellite dojangs, for more than forty years. Chung was the third grandmaster to introduce

, and

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

in the early 1980s, through one of his students, David Avery. In addition, Chung teaches Moo Sool Do martial arts physical education classes at both

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

and

Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo College is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by American Baptist Churches USA, Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, K ...

. He has served as vice president of the Michigan Tae Kwon Do Association, as a certified (Level 3) International Referee with both the World Taekwondo Federation and the

United States Taekwondo Union USA Taekwondo (USAT) is the national governing body (NGB) of Taekwondo for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and thus the United States' official Member National Association of World Taekwondo USAT has complete authority over all deci ...

, and as a member of the U.S.A.T. (Olympic National Governing Body) Martial Arts Commission. He has also been named Master Instructor of the Year several times by the Pan American Moo Duk Kwan Society. As one of the highest-ranking black belts in the United States, Chung was selected to serve on the testing panel and present Chuck Norris with his 7th ''dan'' black belt. He founded and has sponsored for 22 years, the Michigan Cup International Martial Arts Championships, a competitive forms and sparring tournament held annually in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Awards and honors

*1984 - Presented with the "Keys To The City Of Miami, Florida" by Mayor

Maurice Ferre Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean *Maurice, Iowa, a city *Maurice, Louisiana, a village *Maurice River, a trib ...

, in recognition of his contributions to the martial arts. *1993 - 9th ''dan'' Grandmaster certification Kukkiwon - World Taekwondo Federation. *2000 - 9th ''dan'' Grandmaster certification Tang Soo Do - Moo Duk Kwan. *2003 - 9th ''dan'' Grandmaster certification Korea Hapkido Federation. *2007 - Enshrined in the Taekwondo Hall of Fame. *2008 - Selected to 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 ...

Advisory Council by organization President Dr. Un Yong Kim. *2009 - Awarded the Outstanding Educational Leadership Award (Hall of Fame) by Martial Arts World. *2010 - Inducted into the U.S. Taekwondo Grandmasters Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement. *2013 - Honorary 10th ''dan'' - Moo Sool Do (Martial Arts United).

References

External links

Chung's Black Belt Taekwondo & Hapkido Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Sun-hwan 1940 births Living people Martial artists from Hiroshima Prefecture South Korean male taekwondo practitioners South Korean tang soo do practitioners South Korean hapkido practitioners Martial arts school founders Martial arts writers Sportspeople from Kalamazoo, Michigan 20th-century South Korean sportsmen